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Ontario lakeside
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# Posted: 14 Aug 2022 21:27
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Hey All
I hope everyone is having an excellent summer. Im posting this in the off topic section because I have loved this group for ideas and questions while building our cabin and thought you all might be interested. We are building a overland vehicle / small cabin on wheels. We found a Chevy Express cutaway van that we are converting to a RV. We love our cabin and will be spending summers there but winter has been challenging with unpredictable lake ice it's hard to access.
Ill post the link to the first video, let me know if this project is of interest.
https://youtu.be/FXMRySwOTYc
Thanks Andrew
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Irrigation Guy
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# Posted: 16 Aug 2022 06:26
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Cool! keep us updated
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 17 Aug 2022 10:35
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20yrs ago we had an alum bodied step van (think bread/potato chip truck) diy converted into a camper/motor 'cabin'. Painted 2-tone, root beer over tan.
Hardware store technology inside so if/when something broke I could basically fix it in a hardware store parking lot (did it).
It was a 'truck', so places that wouldnt touch a real motorhome (miserable to work on) would be much more likely to.
We replaced a full size Ford van diy campervan with it; WOW, the extra space was great. So was being able to fully stand up!
Gas hog. Chevy 350 v-8, 16mpg at best If I drove super easy and 55mph without a headwind. Under bad or faster runs it could be 8-9mpg.
Man, those tires are big, heavy and expensive!!
We traveled a fair bit and used it as a guest 'cabin' at home.
Eventually we tired of the issue that when we were camped somewhere we had to break camp to go anywhere (did not tow a small car behind). A scooter or small motorcycle would have been handy for a grocery run....
Finding out of the way, remote and rustic campsites was a challenge even then, gotta be harder now I should think.
But it does make you a turtle, you carry your house with you and where you are, there you live 
Have fun!
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Ontario lakeside
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2022 21:49
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Thank Gcrank1
Sounds like you had a blast. We will be bringing bikes for sure, maybe a motorcycle. The internet makes finding campsites easier but there is certainly a lot more RVs on the road.
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gcrank1
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# Posted: 24 Aug 2022 22:02 - Edited by: gcrank1
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Also should have added that we had some great conversations along the way. Practical folks could see the good sense in it all and being a story-teller is a good skill to cultivate  .
Some with very fancy, expensive motorhomes were, um, unimpressed with our turtle......
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Ontario lakeside
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# Posted: 27 Aug 2022 00:31
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Ya we dont care about fancy!
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paulz
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# Posted: 28 Aug 2022 15:26
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I also, 20 years ago, bought an old camper van for $1,500, cut a big door in the side, gutted everything in the back and hauled motorcycles. The toilet/shower were behind the driver's seat and the kitchen was behind the passenger seat, so all that stayed, and we slept above the cab. The big door also made a nice sun/rain shade and gatherings underneath were frequent.
Spent the next decade on trips through all the western states and BC, with some unforgettable memories (like getting it stuck under the light standard at a McDonald's drive through). When I bought my land it sat for a few years collecting mold so I sold it to a homeless guy to live in.
There's good and bad to motorhomes, it can be a chore if you're doing it alone and moving around frequently, but once set up in a nice area they're a lot of fun.
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Ontario lakeside
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# Posted: 30 Aug 2022 07:36
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Paulz. Sounds like you invented the toy hauler! We are excited to give it a go!
Heres video #2 for anyone interested,
https://youtu.be/dTuHE68j_8c
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FishHog
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# Posted: 30 Aug 2022 07:42
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Fun project lakeside
A few years ago we bought a ford transit cargo van and. Converted it into a camper van. Unfortunately with Covid we haven’t used it near as much as we planned but hopefully a few trips this winter
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paulz
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# Posted: 30 Aug 2022 08:39 - Edited by: paulz
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Quoting: Ontario lakeside Paulz. Sounds like you invented the toy hauler!
Yeah, I built it right about Y2K. There were a few around but they really exploded in popularity if the following years. What made mine different was the side loading door, really handy for curbside loading. Also with a 20' total length it could park in a standard parking spot. Cramped inside though.
That's a nice rig you got there. You mentioned nixing the roll up door, seems like a handy feature. Do you have bathroom/kitchen plans?
Interesting cameras too, checking out the web site.
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Ontario lakeside
Member
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# Posted: 30 Aug 2022 23:16
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We will be hauling bikes so no need to have the roll up door. We will have a shower and kitchen. we are basing the layout on a RV called the leisure travel van "Wonder" Ours will be about $130,000 cheaper!
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