Moving to Class B question

[AAFD]

Hello all, Im new to this forum. We currently have a class A and down the road moving into a class B for some off grid camping and camping in cities.

I have a few questions; How is showering in small shower? How do you pack (I know you take much less). How is cooking in the unit?

Thanks

KC

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by AAFD

Hello all, Im new to this forum. We currently have a class A and down the road moving into a class B for some off grid camping and camping in cities.

I have a few questions; How is showering in small shower? How do you pack (I know you take much less). How is cooking in the unit?

Thanks

KC

Think navy sponge bath.


For Class B... because of the limited amount of water you can carry with you, you will try NOT to have a shower inside unless you are at a full-hookup campsite.

But then, when you are at a campsite,
you don't have to shower inside because you can use the camp shower.

[avanti]

You will get lots of opinions on showering.

I for one consider using our very own shower one of the great joys of B-vanning. I shower every morning without fail, no matter where we are camping. Yes, you do have to learn to use the little on/off button on the shower wand, but I can easily go four days between fill-ups while dry camping. I would never even THINK of using a campground shower. And, no, I am not a germaphobe.

As for your question: In the two B-vans we have owned, the first one had a shower that was a torture-box for my 6'3" frame. Our current one is a real pleasure. The biggest thing is whether you can stand up in the shower or not. Try it out. If the answer is "no", move on. If you are tall, look for a unit with a skylight in the shower. It provides a LOT of extra head room. Elbow room is nice, too (more for drying than showering per se), but that is a challenge in a B. Some units have clever doors that can open to create more room.

Don't be afraid to give it a thorough "dry run" in the showroom. Feels silly, but do it anyway.

[Bruceper]

I have never cooked in my van and never will. I don't want the mess and the wife doesn't want the smell. We cook outside and if necessary under a canopy tent. We ensure that even if conditions are not favorable to cooking outside (hasn't happened yet) that we still have something we can eat inside.

The joy of camping is to be outside, get out there and enjoy it!

[avanti]

Cooking:
DW has a vast repertoire of recipes (stews, chili, lasagne, etc) that can be frozen before we leave. We have a fairly large freezer, and we always leave on a trip with it packed solid with frozen blocks of food. We probably eat half our meals at local restaurants and bars, and fill in with the frozen meals thawed in the microwave or on the stove. Augment with locally-sourced fancy breads and so on, and we eat like royalty. In nice weather we certainly cook outdoors as well. Foil stew is a staple of ours. Perfect when local corn on the cob is available.

Packing:
We have a large hanging closet (2/3 height), so we keep a lot of stuff on hangers. The bottom of the closet is great for extra beer and wine. We also like small duffles and those net zipper things that come with luggage. Under the bed we keep one of those large Rubbermaid under-bed roll-out things. Great for dirty shoes, boots, etc.

[Phoebe3]

Everything is downsized when you move from an A to a B. The bathroom is smaller, usually a wet bath (meaning the whole room gets wet) and the tanks are smaller. When you are in a campground with full hookups, of course, you are only limited by the capacity of the water heater and some B's have tankless on-demand hot water. Others have smaller tanks (ours is 6 gallon), but the water gets plenty hot so you get much more than that when it's mixed with the cold.

When you are off-grid and using the water tanks only, there is a button on the sprayer so you don't have to worry about the temperature mix when you turn the water on and off - but you can't stand in a full shower for very long.

Our B has a two-burner propane stove - your A probably has three or four burners. But even at home we never use more than two at a time, so it hasn't been an issue. We also carry a propane grill and cook outside if weather permits.

Some B's have an induction cooktop instead of propane burners. Most B's have a microwave and some come with a convection/microwave combo. You will need shore power, a generator, or significant battery power and an inverter to use them - which I suspect is just like your Class A.

You will have a LOT less counter space.

You will have a LOT less storage space.

To be honest, I think most of these are not really significant compared to the reduction in stress from having to maneuver a Class A.

However, the biggest change may be in your interactions with your traveling partner. There is no "me" space in a Class B so you need to be able to be together amiably. There's a lot of schooching out of the way so the other person can pass and since you don't really have a private bedroom, owls and larks have to learn to get along - and maybe wear earplugs.

But you can probably park your B at home and shoot out for a couple of days whenever you feel like it. And you can go pretty much wherever a truck can go and park in a regular parking lot. Having a Class B just makes things so easy, I wouldn't trade it for any other camping experience.

[gk&hc]

It depends on how you want to use your camper. My wife and I spent 7 weeks in our Travato 59K last summer, and we used the bathroom and shower daily. We took quick showers if there were no hookups, and longer ones if we had hookups. But we also met campers that only used the campground bathrooms. The Class B bathrooms do work; they are just smaller.

We packed light, and did laundry every few days. We also shopped for food every few days, although we did have staples (like peanut butter & jelly) for several weeks. We cooked very simple meals, and ate in restaurants only once or twice a week. If the weather was good we cooked outside on a camp stove and grill; indoors was mostly sandwiches or salads.

In the end, we had a great time. The class B let us park in places that couldn't accommodate anything bigger, so we were glad to have the smaller camper.

If nothing else, it's a great test of your marriage.

[FLTRISK]

We have a 2012 Excel, trouble free, simple, drive anywhere, park anywhere, sometimes we camp, but always have the options to check into a five star hotel. What more can you ask for. We average 15.7 for the past 12000 miles. My expedition only gets 18.9 mpg and doesn't have a bath/shower/stove/gen-set/bed. Love the class B's. Plus the wife drives, "priceless"!
FltRisk

[Ron J. Moore]

Don't take a lot....then you will see those essentials you need. In our first RT, we loaded up, clothes, food - you name it; then we found through this Forum and others what downsizing really meant. My wife's favorite saying now is - There's a Walmart somewhere. They are truly the greatest vehicle to have. Due to health, we don't spend much time camping, but the pleasure of having the amenities afforded by the B....priceless! Even a extra long parking lot on the Interstate is no big deal....no bushes to run to! Ron