Almot
Vancouver
Senior Member
Joined: 03/02/2010
View Profile
 Offline
|
My newbies apologies, I've tried hard searching the net before posting here.
Getting closer to semi-permanent RV-ing, most likely Baja Mex in winter.
Looking for small low-key pop-up roof van, no shower, no hookups. Live in a condo with underground parkade, so 8-ft tall van wouldn't work. Besides, in summer I'll use it as a city van, so long wagons like Dodge Ram aren't desirable even if it had a pop-up. Extra bed in the roof isn't needed, but without pop-up I'm afraid it will be too hot to sleep in early fall in Mexico. Besides, without a pop-up you can't stand up inside (though cooking will be mostly outside, 'cause it's usually warm there).
VW Westfalia (aka Vanagon) is no more, for 17 years.
Eurovan MV Weekender or Eurovan Camper is no more, for 7 years.
Dodge Sprinter is expensive, pop-up roof added in 2007, so no bargains yet, and if I'm correct, it is 8 ft tall not including pop-up.
I could only find 2 models with pop-up and under 80" height:
Toyota Hiace Chamonix - not imported officially, right steering.
Mercedes Viano - has optional pop-up not sure since what year, don't see any used ones (can't afford paying more than 15K).
Did I miss anything? Are there any businesses in WA, OR or Canadian BC that could convert a regular tin-top van into pop-up, without costing me a fortune? (I know about roof-top tents, but this isn't what I need).
* This post was
edited 03/02/10 09:15pm by Almot *
|
targaboat
sulphur springs, tx, usa
Senior Member
Joined: 09/20/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
Try this.
Do no know how long they have made this model.
Fly Boy
|
ennajean
Wisconsin
Senior Member
Joined: 05/19/2006
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Sportsmobile
They also have used ones listed on the web site.
Anne and Dick
DABEE a 2006 Ford Sportsmobile Penthouse top.
States we've camped in.
|
mumkin
Minot ND USA
Senior Member
Joined: 07/16/2004
View Profile
|
Both the Pleasureway Traverse and the pop-ups from Sportsmobile are 83 inches. I can't find the height on the GTRV website, but you could call them and ask. GTRV does its conversions in Vancouver, so that would be nearby.
Mumkin
2011 LTV Libero
|
landyacht318
Near a large body of water
Senior Member
Joined: 07/11/2007
View Profile
|
Almot wrote:I'm afraid it will be too hot to sleep in early fall in Mexico. Besides, without a pop-up you can't stand up inside (though cooking will be mostly outside, 'cause it's usually warm there).
I don't know how familiar you are with Baja, or where you are going in Baja, but I've seen many pop up campers who decide to keep their tops down due to the wind. I have seen a couple Westfalias ripped to shreds by owners who went for a hike in low winds and came back in a gale. And many tents/ pop up shades that blow off the cliff or just collape under the onslaught. I have to laugh when I see tent campers sitting miserably inside their cars eating cold beans from a can as their campsite gets sand and dust blasted.
So consider attempting to cook outside in sunny gale conditions. It's not gonna happen. As far as the heat, unless your going far to the south or primarily on the SOC side, nighttime heat should not be an issue.
Comfortable DIY Van camping in warm climates is about ventilation. And if your on the pacific side near the ocean, it gets cold at night, year round, except in the far south.
|
|
|
Handbasket
Asheville, NC
Senior Member
Joined: 01/17/2003
View Profile
|
I'm not real sure of how tall the pop-top Tiger GT is with the top down, but I know most owners refer to them as "garageable in a standard garage." They haven't been made since 2005 due to the demise of GM's Astro van, but you can see what they look like in the Photos section at http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/tigermotorhomeowners/. There's a listing of some of the ones for sale in the database section there. Most are RWD, but some can be found with OEM AWD, and a few with 3rd party 4x4, tho' the latter would be too tall, I'm sure. They do have a toilet and shower and kitchen, however.
Jim, "Mo' coffee!"
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison (aka 'Loafer's Glory') www.tigermotorhomes.com
|
Almot
Vancouver
Senior Member
Joined: 03/02/2010
View Profile
Offline
|
landyacht318 wrote:
... I've seen many pop up campers who decide to keep their tops down due to the wind. I have seen a couple Westfalias ripped to shreds by owners who went for a hike in low winds and came back in a gale. ...
So consider attempting to cook outside in sunny gale conditions. It's not gonna happen. As far as the heat, unless your going far to the south or primarily on the SOC side, nighttime heat should not be an issue.
Hm... It does get windy in Baja, can be hot in the day and cold in the night. but I love this place. Wind was not a problem in a 4ft ground tent, since I could pitch it behind some dunes or rocks (or a car), and it's low, to begin with. Same with cooking outside - with stove on the ground there is plenty of cover. Just got tired of getting in/out of the tent on my knees and cooking on the ground. May be I should stick to SUV/ground tent combination, enjoying table and/or "palapa" when possible.
Yes, nighttime heat wasn't an issue in a ground tent on the SOC side, except for a few weeks of early October and late March (then it's got a little stuffy). I suspect on same warm nights ground tent would be less pain than low roof van (50" inside height typically?), assuming there is no AC. Few very cold nights (40F?) bothered me more than hot nights, that's why I thought of sleeping in insulated van with a possibility to turn the propane heater on (though solid insulated walls should be enough already).
I don't feel like getting a high-roof van yet - more problems when I'm not in Baja. Besides (correct me if I'm wrong) high-roof vans don't have enough ventilation in sunny weather - no roof hatches, and narrow windows on the sides (above regular windows) can't be open.
Re: Sportsmobile with pop-up - this is mostly converted Dodge Sprinter, i.e. 8ft height before the pop-up. Sportsmobile site implies conversions of Ford and GM vans as well, probably there are some, not too many.
* This post was
edited 03/05/10 02:42pm by Almot *
|
ennajean
Wisconsin
Senior Member
Joined: 05/19/2006
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Almot...... I think Sportsmobile does more Fords and Chev. than Sprinters. They can also do a garagable Ford van I believe.
|
landyacht318
Near a large body of water
Senior Member
Joined: 07/11/2007
View Profile
|
Almot wrote:
Besides (correct me if I'm wrong) high-roof vans don't have enough ventilation in sunny weather - no roof hatches, and narrow windows on the sides (above regular windows) can't be open.
When I first got my conversion van with the raised fiberglass roof, I added one of these.
Which works pretty nicely and adds about 2 inches to the overall height of the van.
It started making clicking noises after 7 years, especially when cold. I wound up covering the mini solar panel, and removing the battery and then built a 4.75" to 4.0" step down ring, and put a variable speed Muffin fan up there. 33 to 110 cfm. This works very well.
I have a similar fan in a side window, and both of these, running on high, will keep my interior temperatures lower or at ambient temps until late afternoon, when things start cooling down.
I would also add one of these to a van with a non raised roof. Or at least a low profile hatch like this:
|
mumkin
Minot ND USA
Senior Member
Joined: 07/16/2004
View Profile
|
Almot wrote:Re: Sportsmobile with pop-up - this is mostly converted Dodge Sprinter, i.e. 8ft height before the pop-up. Sportsmobile site implies conversions of Ford and GM vans as well, probably there are some, not too many.
I believe that you have it backwards. Mostly they do Fords and Chevys. Doing the pop-ups on the Sprinters has just been allowed in the last couple years by Mercedes, and are likely the least common conversion that they do.
But, as I said above... they are 83 inches on the Fords, which I believe their website says is the lowest. If you wish to confirm this, you could call them.
|
|
|
|
