How important is "stealth mode" to you?

[Punkinhead]

Besides the poor quality and possible damage to the van in a sudden wind gust, the big problem with attached awnings is they're so frequently in the wrong place to block the sun. A detached awning is not only a lot cheaper, but it can be moved to a place where it actually creates shade.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by RossWilliams

There are a couple reasons for stealth. One is clearly HOA that don't allow RV's. The other is you want to actually park in settings where overnight sleeping isn't allowed. An example would be parking in a friend's driveway or in front of their house. If you park for several days a "van" may or may not attract attention. An obvious RV would.

HOA's. Yes there are people that try to fool their HOA's usually with failure and making a pariah of themselves. There are reasons for those rules and it is mostly keeping home values up and not cluttering the neighborhood. If one gets away with it, others will follow. I bought into a 16 unit HOA with no on street parking but with 4 public parking stalls and no driveway parking except for guests. All owner vehicles have to be garageable. I knew it going in and keep my van off site in a condo garage I bought. Best real estate deal i've made besides space for a wood shop and man cave. The 18' x 45' garage has appreciated 3X in 6 years. If you can't do that. Simple. Don't buy into an HOA. I didn't until I was 10 years retired.

I previously mentioned I don't break any laws whiile boondocking. I've parked in driveways and on streets and never had an issue. Most parking is but a day or two. I've boondocked in New Your City on a one way narrow street. I've boondocked in Newport, RI behind a mansion where I once lived in a carriage house when in the Navy (with permission). Those are two extreme examples. I've done those two in a van, not "stealth" with full all around windows and an awning!

People have to get it through their heads. Stealth as you call it is a personal aesthetic decision. Heck, at one time I could have been happy with this.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by N147JK

Isn't there a lot more to it than that? The greatest joy of having a van isn't just the camping, it's the FREEDOM from OBLIGATION it provides. For example you don't have to find a hotel every night, though you have the freedom to do that if you so choose. You don't absolutely have to be anywhere at a particular time. Instead your schedule becomes completely flexible. That kind of freedom is priceless.

Well, you saw a picture of my van right?

We absolutely love traveling, but, the car is so much more athletic.....I mean it can literally go anywhere and you can't imagine how much flexibility we have just flying under the radar with no reservations. The car affords us the option to arrive at a destination after sunset.

We ALMOST never, with a few exceptions, book hotels in advance. Rather, we'll just take our chances with finding something at the last minute right from the car on the road driving to a city. I do that because I don't know where we'll be exactly. This technique has rarely failed.

Like I said, it's so much easier to just book a room, go out for dinner and feel completely relaxed and pampered. It's a different kind of travel. I'm not saying one is better than the other.

We keep an overnight bag in the car and just walk in.



.

[booster]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

Well, you saw a picture of my van right?

We absolutely love traveling, but, the car is so much more athletic.....I mean it can literally go anywhere and you can't imagine how much flexibility we have just flying under the radar with no reservations. The car affords us the option to arrive at a destination after sunset.

We ALMOST never, with a few exceptions, book hotels in advance. Rather, we'll just take our chances with finding something at the last minute right from the car on the road driving to a city. I do that because I don't know where we'll be exactly. This technique has rarely failed.

Like I said, it's so much easier to just book a room, go out for dinner and feel completely relaxed and pampered. It's a different kind of travel. I'm not saying one is better than the other.

We keep an overnight bag in the car and just walk in.

If that is the way you feel, why have a camping van at all? Seems like a total waste of funds and added hassles.

[N147JK]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

We absolutely love traveling, but, the car is so much more athletic.....I mean it can literally go anywhere and you can't imagine how much flexibility we have just flying under the radar with no reservations. The car affords us the option to arrive at a destination after sunset.

Hmmm I think of this the other way around. One of the very reasons to own a van in the first place is to be able to travel freely and NOT be stuck in a car. Having a van completely eliminates the expense and hassle of having to worry about finding hotel accommodations every night. And that's just one of many problems it frees us from. BTW our 17' van will go anywhere a car will, and probably many places a car wont.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by booster

If that is the way you feel, why have a camping van at all? Seems like a total waste of funds and added hassles.

We've gone over 43,000 miles in our rig with plenty of adventures, twice across the USA on one 11,000 miles trip.

Like I said before, every trip is unique.

Sometimes, you need a specific vehicle for a particular purpose. You wouldn't want a jet aircraft to go across town and likewise the helicopter is not designed to fly across the USA ......so you see what I mean?

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by N147JK

Hmmm I think of this the other way around. One of the very reasons to own a van in the first place is to be able to travel freely and NOT be stuck in a car. Having a van completely eliminates the expense and hassle of having to worry about finding hotel accommodations every night. And that's just one of many problems it frees us from. BTW our 17' van will go anywhere a car will, and probably many places a car wont.

If you've ever been to the "Chicago Stump" in Sequoia National Park you'll know that your van wouldn't be able to go there. The road leading to this destination is a washed out unmaintained road with portions of it with split into sections with deep crevices. The Sprinter and I'm sure your van would struggle to deal with these very uneven surfaces.

My Subaru Outback is very agile and actually has a higher ground clearance than the van. It was able to make this 2 mile journey in and out of this canyon. I'm not even sure I'd want to do this again, but, the Subaru safety took us to the destination and back to the regular roads. Many of the vehicles we observed making this trip were 4WD Jeeps and other serious off road vehicles. Fortunately, our AWD Subaru Outback made it just fine.

It all really depends on the car....

So, be careful making sweeping generalizations like this...

BTW our 17' van will go anywhere a car will, and probably many places a car wont

Tell me, does your van have 4WD? Even if it did, there's a lot of undercarriage equipment that I wouldn't want damaged on a "rocky trip" like this.... just why chance it??

[booster]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

We've gone over 43,000 miles in our rig with plenty of adventures, twice across the USA on one 11,000 miles trip.

Like I said before, every trip is unique.

Sometimes, you need a specific vehicle for a particular purpose. You wouldn't want a jet aircraft to go across town and likewise the helicopter is not designed to fly across the USA ......so you see what I mean?

Nope, and probably never will. As soon as a trip gets to be overnight it is the van and not the car. Same is true if it is a place nearby to hike or do other stuff outside where having the bathroom and kitchen are nice to have. We strongly dislike hotels.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

If you've ever been to the "Chicago Stump" in Sequoia National Park you'll know that your van wouldn't be able to go there. The road leading to this destination is a washed out unmaintained road with portions of it with split into sections with deep crevices. The Sprinter and I'm sure your van would struggle to deal with these very uneven surfaces.

My Subaru Outback is very agile and actually has a higher ground clearance than the van. It was able to make this 2 mile journey in and out of this canyon. I'm not even sure I'd want to do this again, but, the Subaru safety took us to the destination and back to the regular roads. Many of the vehicles we observed making this trip were 4WD Jeeps and other serious off road vehicles. Fortunately, our AWD Subaru Outback made it just fine.

It all really depends on the car....

So, be careful making sweeping generalizations like this...

BTW our 17' van will go anywhere a car will, and probably many places a car wont

Tell me, does your van have 4WD? Even if it did, there's a lot of undercarriage equipment that I wouldn't want damaged on a "rocky trip" like this.... just why chance it??

Yes, be careful making sweeping generalizations. I have Subaru Outbacks. They are not the vehicle you mentioned. You just have the wrong Class B van. If a Subaru Outback can negotiate that road, a 4x4 Sprinter with way more clearance will do better. That's what the Winnebago Revel and other like vans were designed for. Then at the end of the road you can relax in comfort, boondock if you want and enjoy a good sit-down meal and a beer. Oh, and no suitcases to schlep in to a bed bug infested room.

[Roadtrek Adventuous RS1]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Yes, be careful making sweeping generalizations. I have Subaru Outbacks. They are not the vehicle you mentioned. You just have the wrong Class B van. If a Subaru Outback can negotiate that road, a 4x4 Sprinter with way more clearance will do better. That's what the Winnebago Revel and other like vans were designed for. Then at the end of the road you can relax in comfort, boondock if you want and enjoy a good sit-down meal and a beer. Oh, and no suitcases to schlep in to a bed bug infested room.

Facts can be very inconvenient.

The Subaru Outback has a 8.7 inch ground clearance while the Sprinter vans you mentioned have an 8.1 inch clearance. As an additional point of information the Subaru Outback Wilderness Edition has a ground clearance of 9.5 inches.

You're making some pretty wild ass assumptions about where I stay and I can easily check into some nice hotels and relax in a comfortable setting, and go out for dinner and be waited on with table and linen service. $200,000 will buy a lot of first class vacation experiences.

Like I said earlier, you can't take your van to Europe.

Get off your high horse and realize that there's many ways to vacation. Sure, I appreciate having my RV for certain kinds of trips, but, I'm not going to let that dominate everything. That's why there's 31 Flavors at Baskin Robbins.

Sorry, I'm not buying what you're saying about this "life style" being the only way to live.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

Facts can be very inconvenient.

The Subaru Outback has a 8.7 inch ground clearance while the Sprinter vans you mentioned have an 8.1 inch clearance. As an additional point of information the Subaru Outback Wilderness Edition has a ground clearance of 9.5 inches.
............................

3’ shorter wheelbase matters too.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by Roadtrek Adventuous RS1

Facts can be very inconvenient.

The Subaru Outback has a 8.7 inch ground clearance while the Sprinter vans you mentioned have an 8.1 inch clearance. As an additional point of information the Subaru Outback Wilderness Edition has a ground clearance of 9.5 inches.

You're making some pretty wild ass assumptions about where I stay and I can easily check into some nice hotels and relax in a comfortable setting, and go out for dinner and be waited on with table and linen service. $200,000 will buy a lot of first class vacation experiences.

Like I said earlier, you can't take your van to Europe.

Get off your high horse and realize that there's many ways to vacation. Sure, I appreciate having my RV for certain kinds of trips, but, I'm not going to let that dominate everything. That's why there's 31 Flavors at Baskin Robbins.

Sorry, I'm not buying what you're saying about this "life style" being the only way to live.

Maybe your van doesn't have the clearance but my back bumper is 18" off the ground and the lowest point, my SmarkPlug, is still 12".

You can't take your van to England and drive on the opposite side of the road. Anyway what the hell has this got to do with it? How many take their van over seas? But why not take it over? What's to prevent it? Do you take your Outback to Europe? If you did, I think that is the stupidest thing you could do.

I still go to dinner wherever I want in Class Bs, autos, hopping on an airplane to go to some cities, over seas or cruises. Yes, you can do all this and own a Class B camper van. You brought up this "wild ass assumption" and arrogant subject. I take it you made the mistake buying that $200,000 Class B.

My "life style" is 250,000 miles and counting. Have you been to every national Park you can get to by vehicle? I have and am going to Isle Royal NP in Lake Superior next month to finish off all of them. Only We have to go by boat, not a van or a CAR, and stay in a lodge overnight. I hope they have linen service with our dinner.

[Punkinhead]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Maybe your van doesn't have the clearance but my back bumper is 18" off the ground and the lowest point, my SmarkPlug, is still 12".

I very much doubt 12" is your van's low point. It's probably closer to 8". I don't know of any van where the bumper (or your Smartplug) is the lowest point. The lowest point is normally the bottom of the differential and lower shock mounts. In a poor build out the low point will be the black tank valve, generator, or running boards.

That said, I'm not advocating taking any van to a place where you need over 8" of clearance. Even with a lift, large tires, and 4x4 I wouldn't want to subject the cabinets, walls, and appliances to that kind of abuse. I take a proper off road vehicle to places like that.

[Davydd]

There is nothing hanging lower than that Smartplug including all the tanks. I have the lifts of a 4x4 but have 2WD. I agree with you about taking a Class B on those trails and roads, That's why I didn't get a 4x4 but it is doable more so than an AWD Subaru Outback which I have 4x experience with from1999 and on including our 2020 Outback and my toy car a Subaru Baja 2003 outback based trucklet currently.