Author Topic: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?  (Read 8676 times)

Tom

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2993
    • View Profile
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #15 on: October 11, 2017, 10:32:03 AM »
I agree 100% with cowboy. I've van camped for many years and now camping with a small trailer. Each different type of camper has its advantages and dis advantages but small campers that are tow-able by a mid-sized car really work the best for me and something you should check out.

Zooport

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 3533
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #16 on: October 11, 2017, 12:56:16 PM »
Thanks for the replies everyone!  I'm especially glad to find the sportsmobile site, thanks Bean.
8'6 Soul Compass
9'1 Sunova Creek
9'6 WaveStorm SUP
9'8 Starboard Element

PonoBill

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 25864
    • View Profile
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #17 on: October 11, 2017, 06:52:51 PM »
I'm a big fan of Airstream trailers. Used ones in good shape go for about 50% off new, and don't depreciate much after that.

Trailers, van conversions, small RVs, behemoths all have their advantages and disadvantages. A lot depends on how much you plan to move it and how you will use it. I've rented and.or owned pretty much all the options I could think of. Building Fritz is as much a design project as it is anything else, but the end result will suit our aims well. I'll generally carry two e-bikes but I can tow a car if I choose to, or a motorcycle trailer with a couple of bikes.

My airstream actually gives me a lot of options for camping, but I rarely use it. Having the ability to carry any small vehicle and a lot of stuff inside without compromising the living space is unusual.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

OUTSIDEWAVE

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1894
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #18 on: October 11, 2017, 11:06:49 PM »
Winnebago has a nice 4x4 sprinter also but pricey at 100k. For other ideas try an overlanding site. Like expedition portal.
SEA BIRDS THEY DO TOUCH AND GO AS THE WORLD JUST TANGOES BY.... SO I SADDLE UP MY SEAHORSE WITH MY FLYROD IN MY HAND.... 10'3 King custom  10'6"  c4 da beachboy

tautologies

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1871
    • View Profile
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #19 on: October 13, 2017, 12:26:33 PM »


The whole conversion stuff would drive me nuts.
Why not just go with an RV or camper? You have to be able to store the board securely and if the switch takes you 30 mins every time you make it I think you'll go nuts (I would).

I am sure you know but Thor Outlaw can be found as a class C RV with a garage for your boards. 


SlatchJim

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2614
    • View Profile
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #20 on: October 13, 2017, 03:10:22 PM »
Pop Top Heaven off the 10 out in Yucaipa have some interesting options too Mike
https://www.poptopheaven.com/
My current line of thought on a future trailer camper is a very small toy hauler camper with a completely droppable door for easy loading and unloading of boards. Similar to:
https://palmsprings.craigslist.org/tro/d/small-toy-hauler/6328592456.html
https://dunesport.com/12_foot_toy_hauler.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN6mM6Y6o3M

dns

  • Rincon Status
  • ***
  • Posts: 138
    • View Profile
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #21 on: October 15, 2017, 01:53:56 PM »
It really depends on how small you can live with. A friend was in the same boat recently and wound up going with a 5th wheel. It's what I would go with too, get to where you're going, park it, and you still have a truck to run errands and do day trips in. And my wife can't live without a proper shower.

https://www.granddesignrv.com/showroom/2018/toy-hauler/momentum

clay

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1138
    • View Profile
    • www.clayisland.com
    • Email
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #22 on: October 19, 2017, 12:02:43 PM »
Great thread, thanks for starting and all the posts.

For me van life and the idea of cheaper living and being able to travel with the swell/seasons sounds very seductive.  The buzz kill for me is the lack of support or infrastructure for van life.  Reminds me of the electric car chicken and egg problem of no/few charging stations...

The van dwellers I know park on streets guerrilla style and if the cops knock they pretend not to be home, or they end up in a Walmart parking lot.  My own experience is the same of needing to keep out of sight or a low profile, which I suspect would get really old really fast, and feel very isolating and be a big hit to self worth and the need to be seen and valued.

I am wanting/seeking a support system up and down the coasts of tiny house/van villages designed for full time van livers.  Kinda like a "house" swap or time share where the spaces are trade-able and reserve-able or open so that a van traveler can always have a place to park and be welcomed wherever they go.  Complete with community amenities so we can travel light and still have all our needs met.

My understanding is hospitality used to be universally practiced, and travelers were welcomed and treated like honored guests.  I would love to see a revival of this custom.
Aloha, I welcome and appreciate all responses of positivity and good feeling.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOIE6FWr1SpWvbPJIIiEgog

Rider

  • Rincon Status
  • ***
  • Posts: 213
    • View Profile
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #23 on: October 19, 2017, 07:28:14 PM »
Hi Clay, You're kidding.  Right?  Those day's are long gone.  Just the mental picture of you in you're tiny home makes me chuckle. When I was a kid in the 50's we had places like you want.  We called them campgrounds.  They're still there but you have to book ahead.  Have fun at the contest.

Zooport

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 3533
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #24 on: October 19, 2017, 08:21:21 PM »
Is this stupid?  I'm thinking of getting a smaller van that would just fit inside one of the stalls of my garage.  Then rent out my Newport Beach house with the stipulation that I will be parking my van in there and sleeping each night.  I could give a rental credit of $200 or $300 and guarantee that I will not disturb my tenants in any way. 
8'6 Soul Compass
9'1 Sunova Creek
9'6 WaveStorm SUP
9'8 Starboard Element

starman

  • Peahi Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 869
    • View Profile
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #25 on: October 19, 2017, 09:21:04 PM »
Quote
Hi Clay, You're kidding.  Right?  Those day's are long gone.

I'm not so sure about that......https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Right_to_access_in_the_Nordic_countries

SUPcheat

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2677
    • View Profile
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #26 on: October 20, 2017, 12:39:25 AM »
Is this stupid?  I'm thinking of getting a smaller van that would just fit inside one of the stalls of my garage.  Then rent out my Newport Beach house with the stipulation that I will be parking my van in there and sleeping each night.  I could give a rental credit of $200 or $300 and guarantee that I will not disturb my tenants in any way.

It's Orange County.  I'm sure you could find renters that wouldn't mind you sleeping right in bed with them as long as you brought your own lubrication.
2013 Fanatic Prowave LTD 9'3"x30.5x@134L
Sunova Speeed 8'10"x29.12@131L
Sunova Flow 8'7"x30.25"@121L
Carbon 9.3x32@163L Hammer
Me: 6'1"@230 lbs 68 years old

PonoBill

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 25864
    • View Profile
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #27 on: October 20, 2017, 06:45:24 AM »
Starman: Right to access almost never includes motorized vehicles.

Clay--Campgrounds and RV parks certainly meets the general description of the system you propose. The challenge is that it's a relatively scarce resource--not because there aren't plenty of them, but because the demand is so high. You'd expect high demand to set off a boom, but high land prices in desirable places stifle that.

A lot of van and small RV campers do "boondocking" today, which is the kind of camping I always did. Find empty public land and pull off the road. This generally means desert or isolated BLM land. Anyplace you can smell salt water is pay to play, not cheap, and crowded. Community? Sort of. A bit redneck for the sensibilities I detect in your posts.

Zoo--sound like you're getting a bit desperate, but calm down and view this as the adventure it's bound to be. I'm sure you can make that stipulation about your garage, and it might even work. Hell, some people would think it was an advantage to have the owner close by but not in the house. You'll be handy to bitch at for everything that doesn't work properly.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2017, 06:48:09 AM by PonoBill »
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

Zooport

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 3533
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #28 on: October 20, 2017, 08:37:40 AM »
Zoo--sound like you're getting a bit desperate, but calm down and view this as the adventure it's bound to be.

LOL, it does sound that way, doesn't it?  I'm actually not desperate at all and don't even have to do this.  This has always been a fun idea rolling around in the back of my mind.  I'm just looking for a way to be a bum...and still have a lot of money.  Trying to figure out how to best tap into the goldmine that is my house.
8'6 Soul Compass
9'1 Sunova Creek
9'6 WaveStorm SUP
9'8 Starboard Element

Zooport

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 3533
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Amazing VW camper van? Ultimate surf bum vehicle?
« Reply #29 on: October 20, 2017, 08:47:37 AM »
Thanks for the links to camper options everyone.  That has opened my eyes to possibilities.



.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2017, 09:02:06 AM by Zooport »
8'6 Soul Compass
9'1 Sunova Creek
9'6 WaveStorm SUP
9'8 Starboard Element

 


SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal