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?

 

[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..

 

[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

 

[Will Wood]

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

 

[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!

 

[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.

 

[RobHASboots]

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?

 

[Will Wood]

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..

 

[bluebadgerblue]

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.

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[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.. ??

 

[SammyG]

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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[Carlvanguyrios]

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.

 

[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.

 

[Carlvanguyrios]

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

 

[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.