Model list to explore with young family

[Brianc43]

Thanks for the additional suggestions.

The 4 wheel drive thing is a requirement of one of the beach associations we are planning to join. My wife's sister is already a member and planning to sponsor us at the annual membership enrollment drive this year. The path to get there is a bit hairy/rutted out and beach sand, so they have the '4 drive wheels' requirement. As a car guy, i hear you on the open diff situation and it doesn't make a ton of sense. Likely one idiot got stuck and they decided to make it a rule to get him out of the club or upgrade. lol ground clearance and driver ability are likely the bigger factors in getting in or out.

This is also the reason for no class A or trailers. 30' max length and trailers aren't allowed.
DRW C's are most common, B's are increasingly common but still not a big population there.
Most vans don't qualify due to single rear axel or non 4wd.
They don't allow tents, canopies, etc and all bathrooms must be plumbed (no cassette or buckets), nor outdoor showers. all grey water must be tanked and hauled out. no buckets or portable containers. This is to reduce waste dumping i guess. Again, probably they had a problem with one idiot and made it a rule.

I understand my budget is the biggest blocker, and that's an easy one to fix by going used/older to the extent possible and scrounging for a bit more budget from the wife. I'm not looking to design a unit myself - no time or skill for that.


I considered a poptop class B, and there's plenty around in 4wd configurations, but my wife is against it for 'safety' reasons. she doesn't want the kids up there alone where someone can 'Kinfe' into the canvas and steal the kids.
Valid, I guess... but she's not on board with that design.

Same reason why i considered a slide-in to my truck, but my truck is only a 1500 short bed, so there's not a whole lot of availability that i can safely haul in a hard-wall unit and the soft-wall popups aren't much lighter and have the same knife concerns. plus, the toilet design and shower doesn't cut it for the rules.

The Safari Condo XL Flex seems perfect, but they don't exist until 2026 and are about 5-6x my budget.

 

[Dave in Nevada]

I started with a travel trailer pulled by a big Bronco. Then I went to a 37 foot motorhome with a Ford gas engine in front. Boy was that noisy. Then I went to a 40 foot Monaco diesel pusher. Very quiet on the road. With what you list as "requirements" you are talking about something older, maybe custom or hand made. 4x4 is pretty rare. I would start by looking at commercial vans that come with 4x4 as that will be the basis for the RV. Once you find what companies actually made a 4x4 van then you can start looking for RVs based on that. You are really limiting what you can get with that requirement and it will be OLD because 4x4 does not come cheap. If you are willing to give up on that you will find there are a lot of things out there that meet your requirements. But as far as someone doing all the research for you, sorry, I do not think that is going to happen. Try RV Trader and sticking in the requirements one by one.

 

[Detroit80]

T
I understand my budget is the biggest blocker, and that's an easy one to fix by going used/older to the extent possible and scrounging for a bit more budget from the wife. I'm not looking to design a unit myself - no time or skill for that.

I don't think budget is the first major block here, rather it's a glaring misunderstanding of the amount of space you're dealing with inside these things.

Shower is the first delete in mine..lack of floor space and lack of height meant showering was the equivalent of sitting in a kitchen sink. I can't even imagine a grown adult doing more than rinsing off their head in these things. I'm going to an outdoor shower set up. At 6 feet, I can just barely clear the ceiling in my van. The bottom of the shower was another foot off the floor.

My other camper is a LARGE Lance truck camper with a full wet bath, it's cramped in there too, and there's no way I could even consider anything less than a 1 ton dually to haul it (this coming from the guy that frequently used a Suzuki XL-7 SUV to transport my Nova on a HD car hauler trailer). The Lance is considerably more spacious inside than the van, and it's still not a "comfortable" experience...just a "barely workable" one.

Then comes the issue of holding tank sizes. I'm guessing you won't have full hookups, which means you're going to blow through holding tank capacity FAST. My van has a 20 gallon fresh water tank in it. That means a family of 4 has to be EXTREMELY disciplined in the use of the RV shower method. You'll probably run out of water a few times before the kids "get it", you'll be quickly looking at ways to carry additional water tanks with you, and then you'll be boned by an equally small gray tank.

The suggestions to rent one are EXTREMELY valid. I would take that one step back, go visit a RV dealer, and just walk through a few Bs to see what you're really dealing with space wise. Not suggesting you buy a brand new one, only using it as a gauge.

I'm betting it will quickly be an eye opening experience, and you'll quickly nix the idea of a B.

 

[wcpastures]

hybrid camping

We are somewhat in the same boat as the OP and I would not be as discouraged about looking for a class B as some are making it. Although our goal is more a step up from strictly tent camping and to move up to what I would call "hybrid camping" in that we would still plan to also pitch a tent (we have 4 kids ranging from 2 to 12). Many class B's have seating for 6-8 so any of these would be a step up from our mini-van. The Winnebago (VW) RIALTA on our list, it doesn't have 4wd though (open to other suggestions). We really like the class B's for their fuel economy, easy to maneuver, park...

 

[Brianc43]

Thanks, all, for the continued interest in the thread.

Water/waste in particular, is a concern. I don't think showers will be a huge item as we'll be at the beach and 'wash' in the water a lot of the time The shower itself will be quick to get the salt off. Or, we'll be in a place that has a shower. It's really just a nice to have and with the young kids, a wet towel and a squeeze cup for rinsing goes a long way with just a few quarts of water.
I intend to bring a 5 gallon water jug or something of the sort for drinking water anyway with one of those usb pumps, something like this: https://amzn.to/435rU18
I wouldn't want to be drinking/cooking from the holding tanks.


I ran into this model,
https://www.knaus.com/en-int/camper-vans/boxlife-pro-xl/interior/

Which would be great if it wasn't a German market vehicle. Has everything i want and need except 4x4.
so, basically, i want this interior on a 170 high roof 4x4 sprinter for under 50k

 

[GallenH]

brianc43: So it appears to most of us that all your needs are not going to be met by any B in your budget. Part of the reason for your needs seems to be camping in a specific beach location. Does that location have any facilities such as bathroom/shower? Would a C work at that location? What do others do that camp there to offset the restrictions?

 

[wcpastures]

It seem ironic to me that on the "Class B Forum" there are so many trying to talk the OP out of a class B!?
It seems there are a few things they missed from the OP:

1) He is NOT looking for new model

2) "We will be outside 95% of the time"

3) "I intend to cook outside most of the time"

The 4wd demand will make it much more difficult to find within budget
If you are ok with a 20+ year old model and know or are willing to learn basic mechanical repair / maintenance skills, or build your own. There are so many options.

Everyone has there own reasons for looking to the class B. Gas mileage, maneuverability, and parking top our list, and we currently camp with a mini-van and cartop carrier (tent camp) so any amenities right now would be an upgrade. I am calling in hybrid camping. So I wouldn't let the naysayers talk you out of it. Although renting first does seem like a valid suggestion IF you can find a 20+ y/o camper to rent that will actually be like the one within your budget.

I hope you find something that works for you, if you do please let us know!

 

[Detroit80]

It seem ironic to me that on the "Class B Forum" there are so many trying to talk the OP out of a class B!?

Since you clearly are more aware of class B offerings than everyone else with experience here, which models are we not aware of that checks off all of OPs boxes?

Or maybe, just maybe, there are plenty of people here with the experience to know that what OP wants either isn't physically possible or won't be any kind of enjoyable in actual use?

This is like someone going on to a small truck forum, and asking what truck is no bigger than a Chevy Colorado, capable of carrying a family of 4, while towing a 30,000 pound trailer. Everyone tells him "not gonna happen...you need a bigger truck" and then someone says "I can't believe everyone is trying to talk him out of a small truck on a small truck forum!"

 

[wcpastures]

1 queen-ish for us, and 2 bunks for the kids would be ideal. not sure how all this fits in a class B. 4 twins in dual bank bunks might be an option. My wife will hate it but she can deal with it for a few days at a time sleeping alone.

It might have to be more like you and your wife BOTH in a twin bed together! Warning! this may result in more children and you will outgrow your small RV :wink:

 

[wcpastures]

Will be off grid with no hookups (beach) so want solar to be the main power source instead of gas. I don't want to run a genny if i can get away with it. I'd rather put out additional panels and grab another bank of LiOns to run the a/c. My guess is that i'd need it for an hour or 2 to cool off around sunset and then it will be pretty tolerable to run here and there.

Most stock AC units use a huge amount of power so you might have to go with something designed for solar. And if you are planning on running it much in the evening you will need a large battery bank. For more on this check out this forum:

https://diysolarforum.com/forums/vehicle-mounted-systems.7/


BTW What is your current method of camping?