# Rubber Tramping Vehicle of Choice



## SammyG

For all you rubber tramps out there, what is your vehicle of choice and why? How do you afford gas?


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## Will Wood

Haven't found a perfect rig yet. I'm in an E250 Ford right now. The more comfortable the van is to live in the more obvious that it is a camping rig. But I'd prefer to have an extended roof and extended length..


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## Deleted member 16034

I rubbertramped in my Hyundai Accent. It's not a big car by any stretch of the imagination, but I reclined the front seat and slept like that. It worked well enough for me and at 30-40 mpg I did well enough.

But if I go back on the road I'm looking at a 1994 GMC Sierra. It's fucking monstrous and would be so nice to live in


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## Will Wood

Yeah, a big Suburban type might be nice. And it is more stealthy than a van..


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## bluebadgerblue

We've been on the road (family of 3) for almost two years now in a 6x12 cargo trailer pulled with an F150. The trailer is modified with solar panels, beds, storage, etc. My wife works online remotely so that's our income source. We live on the road to keep our living expenses down while we pay off pre-marriage debts so we can eventually get a little off-grid homestead.

Pros of this set-up:

Our rig is pretty stealthy as we've kept the exterior of the trailer blank and most people never notice it's got solar panels on the ladder rack. Also the gear in the back of the truck is covered with a brown canvas tarp. Net effect: we look like a construction vehicle and none of the muggles ever realize we live in it until we tell them.
Customization! Since we got it as a totally empty, blank cargo trailer we were able to customize it exactly to our needs.
Space to stand up in since the interior of the trailer is 6'3!
Lots of room to live in. For a single person this would be an amazing out of space. For the three of us it's a little crowded but we call it "cozy" instead. (It's all about the phrasing....)
We can leave our camp without losing our site since we have a detachable tow vehicle.

Cons:

While it cost far less than any decent RV, our rig overall is still more expensive than a basic van but there was simply no way to fill all three of us in in a single van.
Gas expense. We average 12 mpg on flat prairie highways when towing. That gets expensive fast.
Less maneuverability towing on narrow roads than a single vehicle. I've gotten really good at navigating our little trailer down some seriously crap roads but turning around on them when necessary really fucking sucks. 
 So, that's about the long and the short of it for our rig. Hope it helps!


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## PatchTwist

I'm looking into a decent sized minivan. The Chevy Venture I wanted to look at got sold last night, so the search is back on. 
But my reasoning for wanting a minivan is that it's inconspicuous, has good gas mileage in comparison to most full sized vans, and I don't want nor need a lot of space to start off with. I may upgrade down the road, but we'll see.
As for affording gas, I aim to pick up seasonal and odd end jobs as I go. Ren Faires will be a big one for me in the summer.


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## RobHASboots

bluebadgerblue said:


> We've been on the road (family of 3) for almost two years now in a 6x12 cargo trailer pulled with an F150. The trailer is modified with solar panels, beds, storage, etc. My wife works online remotely so that's our income source. We live on the road to keep our living expenses down while we pay off pre-marriage debts so we can eventually get a little off-grid homestead.
> 
> Pros of this set-up:
> 
> Our rig is pretty stealthy as we've kept the exterior of the trailer blank and most people never notice it's got solar panels on the ladder rack. Also the gear in the back of the truck is covered with a brown canvas tarp. Net effect: we look like a construction vehicle and none of the muggles ever realize we live in it until we tell them.
> Customization! Since we got it as a totally empty, blank cargo trailer we were able to customize it exactly to our needs.
> Space to stand up in since the interior of the trailer is 6'3!
> Lots of room to live in. For a single person this would be an amazing out of space. For the three of us it's a little crowded but we call it "cozy" instead. (It's all about the phrasing....)
> We can leave our camp without losing our site since we have a detachable tow vehicle.
> 
> Cons:
> 
> While it cost far less than any decent RV, our rig overall is still more expensive than a basic van but there was simply no way to fill all three of us in in a single van.
> Gas expense. We average 12 mpg on flat prairie highways when towing. That gets expensive fast.
> Less maneuverability towing on narrow roads than a single vehicle. I've gotten really good at navigating our little trailer down some seriously crap roads but turning around on them when necessary really fucking sucks.
> So, that's about the long and the short of it for our rig. Hope it helps!


Sweet. Got any pics of that baddad?


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## Will Wood

Geraldo said:


> I rubbertramped in my Hyundai Accent. It's not a big car by any stretch of the imagination, but I reclined the front seat and slept like that. It worked well enough for me and at 30-40 mpg I did well enough.
> 
> But if I go back on the road I'm looking at a 1994 GMC Sierra. It's fucking monstrous and would be so nice to live in


Yes, I'm thinking of using a Suburban as my next auto-dwelling/camper.. People notice vans to much..


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## bluebadgerblue

RobHASboots said:


> Sweet. Got any pics of that baddad?



I don't have any good photos of the interior layout on this device but here's the exterior all ready to roll out of Nevada.


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## Sameer

For me it is a conversation van. Easy to do the mechanics and has WINDOWS! Mine is a 93 Chevy G20 with high top. I am not stealth. I look exactly like what I am doing. Squatting on Public Land.


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## Bedheadred

I travel in a 1976 Ford Econoline 150 custom conversion van. I've put about $1000 of repairs in it and it runs great. Has a bed in the back and lots of storage. I removed the back seats to make more room and put a cargo hitch on the back for even more room. There's a way to get gas for free known by travelers as "gas jugging", which is when you walk up to people who are pumping gas with a 5 gallon jug and politely say, "excuse me, I just ran out of gas and was wondering if you could spare a few gallons?" Works like a charm if you're a cute girl. I calculated that in the last year I've saved $5000 on gas. I get about 15-18 mpg and have a 30 gallon tank so the only downside is having to stop every 4 hours to jug


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## Will Wood

I have a 1996 Ford E250 shell van. She's getting a bit worn out. But still runs. I'd like to set her up with a long range CB. Being able to talk with friendly spirits in the area who are also Van Dwellers would be cool. But I've lately been thinking of trying to set up a Suburban as a camper?? Smaller but much more stealthy.. ??


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## SammyG

I just acquired a 1996 Chevy Suburban with about 270k on her, should work just fine.


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## wickedwench

I was going to comment about our rig, but I travel with @bluebadgerblue who described our rig beautifully already!  

We've though about a CB as well. I'm interested to find out if other people get good use out of one.


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## EphemeralStick

I'm rolling around in a Dodge Ram Promaster City. It's great on gas and simple enough to be moderately stealthy. There aren't any side windows and only driver and passenger windows open. Not so great in terms of ventilation. I keep it pretty simple; I have a cot in the back, as well as some bins and bags for storage. I even have enough room to store my bike inside. 

My biggest complaint is with how stuffy it can get inside without any windows open but that's really not too much of a problem. I pay for it by doing all sorts of small jobs. Bike courier work through Postmates and Favor, as well as, article writing through Textbroker.com.


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## Carlvanguyrios

I got a great deal on a 1999 Chevy Express 3500 15 passenger van. ($2500 bucks with only 116,000 miles). One major thing that makes this van a great van is the engine. Chevy/GMC vans have many engines but the 5.7 is extremely reliable and common. It is a favorite amongst most car people for those reasons. Reliable is a good trait for obvious reasons. Common is a great trait because if the engine is to fail, it is relatively easy/ cheap to have replaced. Any decent-sized town is likely to have a few 5.7 (aka 350 small block) engines for sale around 500 bucks.

Another thing I love about the van is the shape/ size. I took the rear seats out, and with the help of a good friend, had that bed made which allows you to be off the ground with a great view out of the rear long window as well as the ability to store things underneath. The stove that you see in the picture is a camp stove that I wire-twisted onto a half metal table. I got both the stove and the table at wal-mart for around 50 bucks. It's almost like it is made for van life. It works perfectly. They have a great camping selection and often a lot of great items on clearance for cheaper than ebay! I'm not too concerned with stealth. Although, the rear tinted windows are nice. It came that way. It's not too easy to look inside. I also cut out removable insulation squares for all the windows out of a great material called Reflectix, sold in the insulation section of most Home Depots. That was one of the first things I did just to have the ability to close off the outside world if I want to change or sleep in a wal-mart parking lot or am getting lucky or whatever. The van is heated by a mr. buddy heater, also available at wal mart.

One major key that took me way too long is, have 2 propane tanks! Shop around for the cheapest price and have 2. This will be more comfortable but also save you money in the long run. It's the same price to exchange a tank no matter what, having 2 allows you to empty one completely so that you don't waste any money on an unnecessary exchange.

I absolutely love living in this van. It's enough room to store things and even hang out with a friend or 2 without feeling claustrophobic, but at the same time small enough to be super easy to take care of.


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## Carlvanguyrios

Sameer said:


> For me it is a conversation van. Easy to do the mechanics and has WINDOWS! Mine is a 93 Chevy G20 with high top. I am not stealth. I look exactly like what I am doing. Squatting on Public Land.
> View attachment 36460
> View attachment 36460


This is so sick! I love it.


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## Celeree

Just snagged an '83 Chevy G20 with 72k miles on her for $900. It could be 172k miles, I don't know. I do know she runs great! Switched the back swivel seats to the more-worn front ones, removed back bench. Threw in some milk crates, a cut down piece of plywood and threw a full sized mattress on her, comfy and storage underneath. Had some camping gear from my last rig in some plastic storage bins that work great (stove, heater, cooking supplies, lanterns, road atlas, solar shower, small folding solar panel, 12v fan). For now I just velcroe'd some cut down black poster board in the 6 oval windows and added a few magnetic clips to attach to the metal frame for curtains on the bigger windows and sunshades for the front. Charged the AC myself which is still blowing cold. So far I'm out $900 for the van, $60 to change tile over, $160 for 6 months liability insurance, $28 for plywood, $25 for R134a, and about $15 for poster board and magnetic clips from walmart. My piece of crap car that has been losing compression for over a year now is about to be sold for about half that, so I'm recuupping some loss and will have a sweet ride. 

I'm not full time, mainly a daily driver, to camp in, and for trips, but this is also my backup home should I ever need it, and will be continually worked on in that vein.


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## Carlvanguyrios

Celeree said:


> Just snagged an '83 Chevy G20 with 72k miles on her for $900. It could be 172k miles, I don't know. I do know she runs great! Switched the back swivel seats to the more-worn front ones, removed back bench. Threw in some milk crates, a cut down piece of plywood and threw a full sized mattress on her, comfy and storage underneath. Had some camping gear from my last rig in some plastic storage bins that work great (stove, heater, cooking supplies, lanterns, road atlas, solar shower, small folding solar panel, 12v fan). For now I just velcroe'd some cut down black poster board in the 6 oval windows and added a few magnetic clips to attach to the metal frame for curtains on the bigger windows and sunshades for the front. Charged the AC myself which is still blowing cold. So far I'm out $900 for the van, $60 to change tile over, $160 for 6 months liability insurance, $28 for plywood, $25 for R134a, and about $15 for poster board and magnetic clips from walmart. My piece of crap car that has been losing compression for over a year now is about to be sold for about half that, so I'm recuupping some loss and will have a sweet ride.
> 
> I'm not full time, mainly a daily driver, to camp in, and for trips, but this is also my backup home should I ever need it, and will be continually worked on in that vein.


Congrats on the new ride! Looks sick


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## bjorkedfork

I have been looking around for a cheap, reliable van. Currently living out of a '97 Subie Legacy Outback. Since it's summer it's easy throwing a tent up but I would like to find something larger and more stealthier for the PNW wet and cold.


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## Zigali

A Jeep Cherokee XJ lifted for them out of the way places plenty of sleeping and storage room and lots of off road maneuverability


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## Joe Btfsplk

Nothing opulent. A small 2007 Mazda 5 minivan which is more like a station wagon with sliding doors. I bought it new.

It has a five-speed manual transmission. Only van-type vehicle at the time with a manual. My preference. Love it.

I did twenty-odd years driving big trucks and learned the advantage of transmission control. Shitty winter storms and mountain drives are the top two.

I am more comfortable with manual. Anyone else? Another advantage--theft deterrent. Thieves don't know how to operate them. Most people don't.

Anyway, as said, this is not opulent. I travel with a small luggage bag, a sleeping bag, a DC powered cooler and a box of beer.

I fold down the back seats and have enough room to crash for a few hours between motoring; just a nap and back on the road. I stop at cheezy motels for long sleeps and showers. They are interesting. The stories...

I can cook while driving with a small DC slow-cooker. Again, not opulent but it satisfies after roading. Stroganoff, spaghetti, lasagna, that ilk. Better than restaurants. I make them at home ahead of the trip, freeze and put them in the cooler . They feed for a good while. The cooler is interesting.

Big, heavy AC/DC cooler with no wheels. Heavy when filled. Mine was used for cans of beer and food. It was heavy. No ice, it was DC. Didn't date the AC coolers...


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## dumpster harpy

Mine's not currently road-worthy, but I'm sure that some of you know the lofty highs and abyssal lows that come with ownership of a Chevy Astro.


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## Grubblin

Your perfect vechile depends on your needs and how and where you want to stay. I have a small SUV with a factory lift on it. It works great for me bc I like staying on the tops of mountains and mesas when possible. My truck is much more maneuverable than a van and has more ground clearance than most. Even the four wheel drive Vans are typically lower to the ground. Plus a van engine has much less space to get your arms into when you have to work on it yourself.

So that being said, a van would have much more room for you and your stuff. I can see where that would be much less cramped and much more convenient and organized. I wouldn't mind a four wheel drive van but I go to too many wild places to ever have a motor home.

It's all about what you want to suit the need that you have. As I've said, it's just me so I don't need much and can make do. I make do to live how and where I want. It's not perfect but nothing ever is and at 310k, every thousand miles is a gift to be thankful for.


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## Wild Ty Laserbeam

Me, my partner, and our hound dog stay in a 26 Ford e450 diesel shuttle bus I converted. Gets about 6 to 10mpg for now but I'm planning some mods. That's not great but there trick is to stay put more often. We saved up a few thousand dollars working shitty restaurant jobs and selling off our possessions. Mainly a couple cheap cars. We're planning on doing high pay short term jobs such as the sugar beet harvest, Amazon, Christmas trees, fireworks, and trim as well as picking day with on Craigslist as needed or when we're bored. With food stamps and free campground our only real expenses are fuel, beer, and luxuries. 

The conversion it's very basic with a Coleman propane stove running on a 20# tank,A7 gallon water jug positioned above a sink drain to a bucket, and a handful of cheap solar or USB charger lamps providing light. 

We have 3400 in the bus and less than 1000 in the rest of it. That may sound expensive to some but we pulled it off with shitty jobs and a lot of frugality. Hope this helps


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## Sameer

I like traveling. But the truth of the matter is that I really live in a corridor that extends from Yuma in the South to Durango, Colorado. I spend my Winters in Ehrenberg Arizona which is across the river from Blythe. During the summer is when I am more mobile and travel as far up as Durango, Colorado but mostly spend my time in Flagstaff Arizona, for example today it is 74 degrees. To me van dwelling is very practical because it allows me to live in the most beautiful places. A Chevrolet G20 engine is easy to work on. I have taken off the running boards which looked like crap anyway and I have more ground clearance. To be honest, 14 days in one spot is sufficient. Everyone needs to do what suits them best. There are a lot of advantages to a conversion van like great windows. It is better to look like exactly what you are doing as the idea of stealth is Just an Illusion.


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## Coywolf

1993 Xtra cab Toyota pickup, with camper shell. It's all around awesome, I don't really live IN it, more of out of it. 4WD, great gas milage, old Toyota reliability. God I love my truck!


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## VikingAdventurer

Coywolf said:


> 1993 Xtra cab Toyota pickup, with camper shell. It's all around awesome, I don't really live IN it, more of out of it. 4WD, great gas milage, old Toyota reliability. God I love my truck!



Yeah, years ago, I had a '99 Tacoma with the TRD off-road racing package.

I miss that shit.


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## autumn

EphemeralStick said:


> I'm rolling around in a Dodge Ram Promaster City. It's great on gas and simple enough to be moderately stealthy. There aren't any side windows and only driver and passenger windows open. Not so great in terms of ventilation. I keep it pretty simple; I have a cot in the back, as well as some bins and bags for storage. I even have enough room to store my bike inside.
> 
> My biggest complaint is with how stuffy it can get inside without any windows open but that's really not too much of a problem. I pay for it by doing all sorts of small jobs. Bike courier work through Postmates and Favor, as well as, article writing through Textbroker.com.



Have you thought about installing roof vents (like an rv has)? You can get them with fans as well. Without a vent cover it's very low profile, you just can't open the vent when it's raining. They're easy to install once you get the cutouts done


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## wanderlovejosh

Started with a 2000 ford E150 conversion van, did minor build out, after living in it for a year and traveling around, decided I personally wanted a little more comfort, so I bought a 2012 16ft rebuilt salvaged travel trailer. 

Few reasons for this, it'll be easier to find a RV park to stop for months while I work, which I know some people have only the van so they can stealth, but I personally got tired of this, i'd rather have the trailer in one place, drive to work, and come home with no issues.

I also wanted a full kitchen that I could comfortably move around in. After being hunched over in the van for a year cooking, and washing dishes with a weed sprayer, I felt there was no reason to deny myself of making life a little easier. I wanted to be able to stand up, and after seeing so many people say, "if you want to stand up go outside" I realized this was bullshit, when it rains for a couple days and there are two of you, being able to have room helps a lot.

I also looked for one with bunk beds, that way there would be extra room for a friend to have a place to sleep should they want to fly out to where I was and chill for a few weeks.


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## ThatDrunkGuy

Sameer said:


> For me it is a conversation van. Easy to do the mechanics and has WINDOWS! Mine is a 93 Chevy G20 with high top. I am not stealth. I look exactly like what I am doing. Squatting on Public Land.
> View attachment 36460
> View attachment 36460


love the set up!


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## Roxannefartz

got a 2007 jeep grand cherokee 4x4 its nice, the back seat folds down into a decent sized platform not really ideal for sleeping, especially since i have tools back there


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## mouse

zim said:


> Have you thought about installing roof vents (like an rv has)? You can get them with fans as well. Without a vent cover it's very low profile, you just can't open the vent when it's raining. They're easy to install once you get the cutouts done



Window vents might not be a bad idea, either. They can stay open an inch or so in the rain. Or in the heat if you are away from the vehicle. Can't tell from the outside that the windows are cracked.

Maxxfan makes a roof vent with a built in cover/snorkel. Lays pretty flat when not in use. Pretty expensive but I am working fulltime and could make the investment


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## travelingheathen

"Maxxfan makes a roof vent with a built in cover/snorkel."

If you can swing the investment install one. You will love it. Planted one on the van and leave it open all the time... pouring rain, no problem, dry as a bone inside.


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## darthvader

To me its not about the vehicle of choice but it's more of a lifestyle choice. There is no perfect vehicle as each will have pro's and con's


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## mouse

Spider Tempura said:


> Currently my micro setup is a fat tire bike with a honda 160cc mower motor and camping gear is about 50lbs in a mid size pack.



Have you thought about a bike trailer? It might be a more comfortable way to bring gear along.

I recently bought baby trailer at a garage sale for $15. I'm going to remove all the material and make a plywood platform for carrying stuff:


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## NattyKiwi

PatchTwist said:


> I'm looking into a decent sized minivan. The Chevy Venture I wanted to look at got sold last night, so the search is back on.
> But my reasoning for wanting a minivan is that it's inconspicuous, has good gas mileage in comparison to most full sized vans, and I don't want nor need a lot of space to start off with. I may upgrade down the road, but we'll see.
> As for affording gas, I aim to pick up seasonal and odd end jobs as I go. Ren Faires will be a big one for me in the summer.


 How do you get into the Ren Fair seasonal job ?
And is it pretty fun ?


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