When I retired at Solar Today and ASES, I thought it was a return to full time ski bumming. But Gail wants to do a lot of summer travel, too. We wanted a camper van — a machine for ski resort parking lots, beaches, desert adventures and maybe a trip to Alaska. Who knows where we might go?
The van would have to be big enough that we could be comfortable living in it a couple of weeks at a time, or even longer. It had to be small enough to fit in a standard 20-foot parking slot. We wanted to get at least 15 miles per gallon. It had to carry my skis in the winter and bicycles, a motorcycle (maybe my 1970 Triumph) or boat in the summer.
In winter, we would need four-wheel drive and very good insulation. I wanted room to install at least two inches of polyiso insulation over aluminized bubble-wrap, in the floor, walls and roof. That would be roughly R-15. I planned to install the water tanks inside the envelope, protected from freezing as long as the van was either occupied or plugged in. We would need a high top, and it would carry the 280-watt solar array I salvaged from my old 1976 Ford motorhome. We wanted enough hauling capacity, and power, to carry a 400-lb motorcycle or boat on a trailer-hitch carrier, or pull a light trailer.
We looked at some Class B motorhomes. Some were ideal on the inside, with the bed in the back and galley forward. But they were inadequately insulated, with rear-wheel drive – and very expensive. I lusted after a four-wheel-drive diesel Sportsmobile with good aftermarket insulating, but it had 200,000 miles and a $44,000 asking price – far beyond our budget. We drove an affordable RoadTrek but it had no insulation and RWD. I didn’t want to rip out the interior of a nice rig to upgrade the insulation, then try to reinstall everything over thicker walls.
After driving half a dozen cheap used RWD vans we visited Denver Fleet, a small family-owned operation in northeast Denver set up to recycle vans. We told Tim Alex what we wanted and he said, “That one is all-wheel-drive.” He pointed to a freshly-painted silver-gray 2007 Chevy Express, shiny clean inside and out. It was as clean as Gail’s kitchen, and she fell in love.
The truck had new tires, good brakes and no rust. Yes, the odometer read 320,000 miles, but the engine looked and sounded tight. Compression and power were good, everything electric worked, and the Carfax report was clean. It had spent most of its life in Las Vegas, servicing ATM machines – light duty in a dry climate. Thanks to the high mileage, the price was right – low enough that, if necessary, we could afford to put a used low-mileage engine in it. Tim promised to remove the steel bulkhead and shelving, and to replace the leaking transfer case. We came back a couple of days later to drive it, at up to about 50 mph, around the industrial district. Gail found it easy to handle and comfortable. On April 30, we drove it home.
The plan was to put in the insulated floor and first layer of insulation in the walls, and install a suitable mattress, and drive to California and back over ten days in late May. Back home in Longmont in June and July, we would install the high top, complete the insulation and paneling, run wiring and plumbing and put in the tanks, bathroom, galley and cabinetry. In due time, we’d install appropriate insulated windows, vents and the solar system.
The Chevy is an Express 1500 – a one-ton truck. Gross vehicle weight is 7200 lb, and curb weight (with a full 31-gallon fuel tank) is 5200 lb. That gave us 2000 lb for fixtures, water, sporting goods and crew. I put together a spreadsheet estimating the weight of all appliances and materials, and came up with 6750 lb with crew and appurtenances. That would leave us about 450 lb for an external load.
On May 2 I made a 200-mile round trip to Arapahoe Basin for a good day of spring skiing. The truck handled nicely and went over the 12,000-foot Loveland Pass easily. Fuel burn was 17.5 mpg for the day.
The only problem was a loud drumming vibration above 57 mph, growing intolerable at 65. It felt like a drive shaft imbalance. Tim identified it as a bad bearing in the transfer case — a part he had installed — and he agreed to fix it before we leave for California.
I cleaned up the van floor and laid two-inch polyiso foil-faced foamboard, covered with half-inch strandboard. We will finish this with hardwood or laminate flooring. I put a layer of aluminized bubble wrap over the walls and in the doors. We’ll install foamboard and paneling over these surfaces after the high-top goes on. A shop in Loveland quotes $3500 to cut off the steel roof and install the fiberglass high-top.
VAN DESIGN
We looked at a lot of Class B floor plans. The layouts we liked best put the bedroom in the back. We’re smallish people (5’8″ and 5’2″) so we don’t need a full-size bed. Even with nearly three inches of insulation and panelling on each wall, we figured to have six feet from side to side, so our bed can be oriented cross-wise. Four feet wide is cozy and sufficient. So we sketched in the bed for the rear four feet of the ten-foot cargo bay. Underneath, between the wheel wells, goes the heavy stuff: freshwater and gray-water tanks, and the deep-cycle batteries for the solar system. The bed is elevated to create a big storage locker for skis and the like. To avoid punching holes through the insulated walls and floor, filler and drain plumbing for the water tanks is accessible through the rear doors.
Because there are only two of us (and maybe a dog or two), we don’t need extra cots. With six feet of width and six feet of height to work with, we planned cabinets 24 inches deep with a 24-inch aisle.
The layout:
Driver’s side, front to back:
- swivelling driver’s seat
- hanging locker, tool drawers below
- refrigerator, pantry stacked above
- toilet, in shower stall with water heater. We chose a chemical toilet to avoid plumbing in a black water tank, which would require anti-freeze measures in winter.
Passenger side, front to back
- swivelling passenger seat
- folding table/work surface
- galley with three-burner cookstove, cutting board, sink
- propane tank under, accessible through side door
- furnace, storage lockers above
- overhead storage lockers full length of hightop
Of course we’ll cut through the walls and high top as necessary for double-pane insulating windows and vents over the stove and shower stall.
Gail is shopping for flooring and panelling materials. I like birch-veneer plywood for panelling and cabinet facings.
May 12: The mattress has arrived. We bought a full-size memory foam topper, four inches thick. Very comfy. We also picked up a two-burner camp stove that will serve for our maiden voyage.
May 14: Tim Alex rebuilt the transfer case and all four brake calipers. Van runs smooth and quiet at 80 mph. It will be quieter still when the insulation is finished. I weighed it at a local truck stop and it calculates out to 5190 lb without the new flooring but with a full tank of gas — right on the book curb weight.
May 16: We built and installed the platform bed. A serrated bread knife worked well to cut the memory-foam mattress to fit. Gail bought a nice mattress cover. Tomorrow I’ll build a table to use as a temporary kitchen. We have eight nice plastic milk crates to use as under-bed storage and hold the water jugs.
Now it’s time to get cleaned up and attend Cleo’s graduation in Fort Collins!
May 17: Spent the day packing and provisioning. Got both mountain bikes to fit under the bed. All that will be left to do in the morning will be to load the cooler and buy ice. Then off to Telluride, and Yosemite, and Truckee, and Sausalito, and Cambria. Home on May 28 or 29.
gailandsethtravelling 
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