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Old 03-28-2017, 12:27 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by Taylor3633 View Post
Hahaha! Wow, just realized this was you...
Nice! I'm getting stoked!

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Old 03-28-2017, 01:32 PM   #22
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I have received a deposit and it appears the van is sold.

Now what????

Considerations:
- a slide in for my 2016 Ram 2500 8' bed
- build another E-van
- new Sprinter build

I would love input. The reason for getting rid of this van is two-fold: first, we are gonna have a second child (hopefully) and the layout in this van won't work. Second, I felt like I might as well get full use out of my Ram and get a slide-in. I would really appreciate opinions on slide-ins from the group. I know that they are a compromise but aren't they all. In particular, if anyone can recommend quality brands that will hold up to off-road use.
Thanks!
I advise against the slide in because its just not comfortable traveling with kids in a crew cab truck. I bought a 07 z71 crew cab new back in 06 when I had no kids. I now have 3 kids age 3, 5, and 7. The problem with traveling with a crew cab truck with young kids is that they will kick the back of your chair and it's difficult for the wife to tend to the kids while driving. When traveling long distances, we would have to stop a lot just to comfort the crying kids.

I got so tired of it that I bought a conversion van so the wife could stand up and walk to the back to take care of kidos. This shortened driving time as we could now feed them while underway and not worry about them choking and could also address any crying fits without stopping the car. There were other clear advantages as well. All my cargo was inside so no more getting out and trying to bag up my cargo every time it rained. The TV/DVD player would keep kido's entertained and myself if I didn't feel like driving. The middle captain chairs had quick release mounts so I could put a bed in it very easily. All the seats were far more comfortable than stock factory seats and I could go to the back, recline the chair, and sleep much more comfortably while the wife drove. If I needed to get to my cargo, one of us could go get it without stopping. I love having a third car to drive when my other's are in the shop. The drawback is I don't like driving it around town as it's not efficient and rather big. I use the truck as my daily driver.

I recommend getting another van. Doesn't need to be a class B van. Can get a nice used conversion van and tent camping gear for what these slide ins cost.
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Old 03-28-2017, 02:38 PM   #23
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Hi Taylor,

If I were you I would prob. go pop up slide in. One less set of well....everything... to insure, store, and maintain. Alaskan? As far as price for your van? I think you will get your asking price.....
Also this (above) coming from a guy who has only poked his head into a slide in once....And it wasn't even an Alaskan....
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Old 03-28-2017, 04:20 PM   #24
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Slide in camper, kids

I've had a couple different slide in camper set ups, before becoming a van convert

I started with no kids, Sold the 1963 Westfalia Camper Kombi, and bought a 7-1/2' Six Pack cabover caper to mount on my on a 6 foot bed Nissan King cab. With forced air furnace, fridge, it worked great for duck hunting the California refuges, goose hunting at Tule Lake and Modoc, and 4 season camping. Even after the first baby, as the car seat for daughter #1, then second car seat for daughter #2 fit great in the Nissan King Cab's opposing jump seats. After surprise baby #3, the king cab was all of the sudden too small. Most of my family got car sick, so riding in the back, the swaying you feel, not being able to see the horizon, no factory seatbelts, the wife was never going to agree to put kids in the back while traveling. I'm not sure I wanted to put my family back there, either.

It took me a couple years, but I upgraded to a F350 dually 4 door crew cab, and 13-1/2ft Lance cabover camper. That worked great, towed my race trailer too, until the used Lance started to come apart from water damage and dry rot If you buy a used one, look long and hard for leaks and rot. Prime leak locations are front corners of the cabover bed, under the mattress (#1 common place for leaks I'm told)

Having the flexibility of owning a truck most of the time, and being able to load a slide on camper within 30 minutes works out pretty well. So long as you are an efficient packer, can resist taking along too much,

You have to have flat storage and access on your property (in my mind) or it will be too much hassle to go get it from a storage lot, never convenient hours, to use it very much. if you just leave it on the truck 95% of the time, it's a hassle to remove it when you need your truck, so you wind up borrowing a truck rather than go through the hassle, which makes you wonder "now why did I get rid of my van, anyway?"

The other downside to a cabover is cost. You can buy a nice trailer that has 3x the space for the cost of a decent cabover camper. Handling can be dicey if you don't set it up properly. Set up properly for the camper, can mean a buckboard-like ride when your truck is empty. With a family of 5, a cabover is cramped at bedtime, dinner, and getting dressed, but a van is worse.

How about a Ford class B motorhome with a 4x4 conversion/
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Old 03-28-2017, 09:41 PM   #25
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The dream lives on: just put a deposit on a new (to me) van! Couldn't be more excited!
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Old 04-21-2017, 02:54 PM   #26
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The dream lives on: just put a deposit on a new (to me) van! Couldn't be more excited!
The dream starts anew! I just made it back to Vermont in Taylor3633's "old" van!!!

STOKED!
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