Looking For Ideas - May Give Up

[Sand crab]

Yup, I've been down the diesel pickup road before. It is not a win win situation.

[PirateFoxy]

Originally Posted by Dave9111

FWIW, I have had vans, trucks (light, medium, and heavy) and tag trailers and fifth wheels and goosenecks. Still have several.

IMO, the best rig for roaming the US for a period of time (weeks to months) in great comfort is a pickup truck with a fifth wheel travel trailer.

They tow really, really well. They are really easy to connect and disconnect by yourself. They are easy to back up and very manueverable. They do well in crappy weather. Drop the trailer, take the truck, no big deal. Class A motorhomes are not practical. You can't park them anywhere. Converted buses have the same problem. So you need to drag a car along with your Class A so you can get around without the motorhome. Its a crazy idea. Motorcycles don't do well in crappy weather.

Very few people buy a second Class A. Class C's are only slightly better, but still too big to park anywhere. You can park a pickup truck in NYC. It won't be fun, but you can do it.


A used 3/4 ton pickup truck (work style with rubber mats) are much cheaper than the luxury pickups and they do the same thing. Plus white is a good color! If you have carpet in your truck and you put in rubber mats. Does the carpet matter? Most diesel pickups are no longer practical. Too costly up front. They require DEF. The numbers just don't work. Gas is the way to go.

Slide in pickup truck campers are pretty small. They can blow you all over the road. If they are heavy, the big ones require a 1 ton truck.



Regarding your girlfriends depression, I can relate. That can cause your own depression. You both may need help to deal with her issues. Depression is depressing! Seriously!

We really like our class a. We like being able to just stop and run to the bathroom or grab some food without having to go outside or set up at all, and having multiple places to sit so if someone needs to do work while we’re driving they can sit at the dinette and use the table, etc.

Though to be fair, we also did not start out owning anything that could pull a trailer of any size. When you’re going to have to buy a vehicle AND a trailer, the price tends to end up in the same sort of ballpark as a motorhome, but with two things to park and take care of instead of one. (A pick up truck would not have been a good replacement for either of our cars at the time.)

[s/v Jedi]

After spending 10 years in the tropics full time, the rainy seasons got to us and we decided to spend the summers touring North America with a motorhome.

If the motorhome is all you have there, it becomes your primary residence and you need much more to really live in it rather than camping. Examples are washing machine, dryer, a real workable kitchen, a car to tow etc.

When you also have a house/cabin then you can do with a much smaller motorhome as you alternate between travel and staying in the place you have.

We went for the rig in the picture; can land this anywhere and live in it with everything one needs.

[malbert73]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

After spending 10 years in the tropics full time, the rainy seasons got to us and we decided to spend the summers touring North America with a motorhome.



If the motorhome is all you have there, it becomes your primary residence and you need much more to really live in it rather than camping. Examples are washing machine, dryer, a real workable kitchen, a car to tow etc.



When you also have a house/cabin then you can do with a much smaller motorhome as you alternate between travel and staying in the place you have.



We went for the rig in the picture; can land this anywhere and live in it with everything one needs.

Wow, the Sundeer of RVs [emoji3]

[Buzzman]

The RV options will, apart from personal preferences for space, also be determined by where you want to go, and where you want to stay.
So for example, the Isuzu NPR or Mitsubishi Fuso 4x4 trucks really are 'expedition vehicles'. Think African Safari, or Australian Outback. Big, heavy, thirsty, slow, might need special license endorsement...
Also, really only a requirement if you are A) going seriously off road a lot, AND, B) you want a Class B+ 'motorhome style' back on it. El cheapo versions could be the truck with just a caravan body on it. Mate of mine did this recently and found some issues. The caravan he purchased had a drop-down entry port - i.e. the door had a recessed stair in it that was lower than the rest of the floor. Fine on the caravan chassis, but fouled the flatbed on the Fuso, so he had to build it up. Costly, but it then gave him a lot more storage, between the truck flatbed and the caravan floor, but coversely made the overall height SO much higher and top heavy. The problme was the step-down was right where the wheel was on the Fuso, so he couldn't modify the truck bed or Fuso chassis to suit it. Bad choice of caravan body IMHO, but he'd bought it and sold the van's chassis before he realised this...

If you are going to be travelling on dirt roads that a normal truck can manage in good weather (note the qualification) then a full-size truck/van or a Mercedes Sprinter, Renault, Fiat, VW etc full height 'enclosed van' might be enough.

The width you lose compared to the carvan body (or a C-Class body on a truck chassis) you make up for in the 'stealth' mode such an apparently commercial vehicle enables. Can park in 'Loading Zones' for example. Can park on pretty much any non-suburban street and not be 'noticed' by authorities, whereas anything like a dedicated campervan, Fuso-style rig, or C-Class you are immedialtey 'visible' as a traveller, and can get moved on from otherwise nice areas simply because there is a local (and possibly unknown to you) ordnance prohibiting overnight camping.

I have another mate who bought a 2nd-hand Sprinter from a courier company at auction, and left the courier company graphics on it, and has full black out blinds inside. He says the only way he gets caught is if some local busybody walking a dog hear's him snoring and calls the cops!

So HOW and WHERE you will be camping should also inform your choice.

If you have the means, and desire, to do mostly RV parks, then an 'obvious' RV is not an issue, and so a wider-bodied C-Class or similar might therefore be better.
Event the truck + caravan is fine if you intend to pay per night in RV parks, as these are otherwise a right bastard to find parking for on the street.
Ditto any Rv towing a car. especially in cities.

But any of the van class/type vehicles could have a motorcycle platform custom built for the rear bar. See this often in Oz. Easier parking, and the 'dinghy' is strapped to the back, rather then being towed (i.e. a Class C or A towing a small car).

So if you don't intend a full-on offroad expedition, then the Fuso 4x4 has more negatives than positives, IMHO. One of the biggest being the great height above the road, which makes them a complete brick to drive and very top heavy and unweildy. Though, in the add-on-caravan version, it is possible to buy what's called a pop-top caravan, which reduces the height while driving, but once at camp, enables the pop-top roof to rise and provide adequate head clearance. This actually makes the Fuso a better offroad expedition truck as well. Similar to the pop-tops on some smaller trailer yachts.

But I also second the US-style F350 + 5th wheel trailer/caravan. You tend to get much more *usable* space for its length/value in a 5th wheel van, and the ability to easily disconnect and drive around as a truck is helpful.

I know Chotu has said he has experience of the B-Class Sprinter-type RVs and calims them too small..... All I can say is he must have had one that was really badly designed, or only based on the low roof, SWB van. The extra-long wheelbase, full height Sprinter is HUGE inside, and can be made with pop-outs if you insist!

As to whether to go RV or stick with the boat?

My feeling is the boat has been too much of a labout of love, and done too specifically for Chotu, that he will be gutted if he sells it, and may find that hard as the 'design requirements' are so specific to him, it might be VERY hard to get reasonable money for it.
Personally, I think $100K might be top dollar for an 'unfinished' boat. No matter how well built, it is still a 'project' and, as I said, a new owner may not like Chotus' specialised layout, construction style etc etc. As someone else said up thread - find the "right" buyer, and you might get the right price.
There was that beautifully built Simpson trimaran built by Wilson Lobau, in Peabody ME, that his family had to virtually pay someone to take away. They in turn have now realised they don't have the resources/wherewithall to complete it and have put it on the market. From memory they split the $18K hauklage cost from the build site to the boatyard. Tri's are wiiiiide....
Similarly there is a huge cat in a shed in Sydney, Australia, again a custom built boat, built to the (now deceased) owner's specs. Has to be moved from the shed in the boatyard, and has no engines fitted, no rig fitted, and the family is asking way less than $100K for it.


Project boats aren't worth what the materials cost to stick together, and the more 'personalised' the design or construction, the less likely to sell easily.
So, given the likelihood that Chotu's boat will be the same, my suggestion is, as other's have said, fix enough of it so you can just "go now" and see how that's working in 12 months. Fit A/C that can operate on either the bridgedeck or one hull, and basically live on the bridgedeck but have one berth and one head fitted out in one hull. Maybe cut a hatch in the deck of the other hull big enough to crane your small offroad bike into? Combine the best of both worlds...???

Best case, you find after 12 months that you love it and want to continue the sailing path, so can then justify the final finishing of the boat, prepping for a longer trip of several years perhaps.

Worst case scenario, you wil then know you've got the sailing bug out of your system, will have had some great experiences, and can sell it as a going concern "needing fettling and TLC" rather than as a 'project boat needing a lot', and THEN you get to revisit the RV options....

Kicks that ball down the road a year, at least, and keeps you moving forward, not sitting still.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by malbert73

Wow, the Sundeer of RVs [emoji3]

Who wants to spend their holidays being a bus driver !

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Who wants to spend their holidays being a bus driver !

You think it is different from driving a truck? Did both, diesel pusher much more comfortable and miles go by easier

[hpeer]

Buzzman wrote:

Kicks that ball down the road a year, at least, and keeps you moving forward, not sitting still.

Sitting still, ruminating …… fertilizer for depression. Mind cancer.

[Buzzman]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Who wants to spend their holidays being a bus driver !

It's a serious issue! A-Class motorhomes (and converted buses/coaches) can weigh 10+ tonnes and (in this country) require special license endorsements.

BUT, and this for me is a kicker, you are limited basically to concrete or bitumen roads, or very, very good dirt roads built to suit trucks - and woe betide any motorhome driver who goes off-piste - say onto grass, or non-hard ground...

At least the Fuso 4x4 or 4x4 pick-up versions of B-Class campers have an advantage in that scenario. And thos long front and rear overhangs on A-Class-type motorhomes are itching to 'hook up' and leave you spinning your wheels. Literally not just figuratively.

It really does depend on where you want to go.

At least the B-Class 2WD types allow you to use 'dry weather access' forest roads and off-highway roads.

But for Chotu, with his two-wheel 'dinghy' this need not be a serious issue, if he doesn't also want to camp off piste.

For me, that's a game-breaker. I like nature, peace and quiet, and free camping. Here in Oz it's now AU$50/night for most RV parks, and that usually does not include power.


Marina's are much the same. So I guess if you're someone who normally uses marinas, then a motorhome makes more sense, and clearly it's not a budget thing for you.


But $50/night is $350/wk, and that's a big chunk out of anyone's budget.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Buzzman

It's a serious issue! A-Class motorhomes (and converted buses/coaches) can weigh 10+ tonnes and (in this country) require special license endorsements.

BUT, and this for me is a kicker, you are limited basically to concrete or bitumen roads, or very, very good dirt roads built to suit trucks - and woe betide any motorhome driver who goes off-piste - say onto grass, or non-hard ground...

At least the Fuso 4x4 or 4x4 pick-up versions of B-Class campers have an advantage in that scenario. And thos long front and rear overhangs on A-Class-type motorhomes are itching to 'hook up' and leave you spinning your wheels. Literally not just figuratively.

It really does depend on where you want to go.

At least the B-Class 2WD types allow you to use 'dry weather access' forest roads and off-highway roads.

But for Chotu, with his two-wheel 'dinghy' this need not be a serious issue, if he doesn't also want to camp off piste.

For me, that's a game-breaker. I like nature, peace and quiet, and free camping. Here in Oz it's now AU$50/night for most RV parks, and that usually does not include power.


Marina's are much the same. So I guess if you're someone who normally uses marinas, then a motorhome makes more sense, and clearly it's not a budget thing for you.


But $50/night is $350/wk, and that's a big chunk out of anyone's budget.

Yes, it all depends on where you go. In the US you can go anywhere with a bus and park anywhere from free to the most luxurious high cost. Examples for free are: Walmart and Cracker Barrel parking lots, truck service stations and rest stops etc.

Canada and even Alaska are reported to be okay as well. Tothe south limited into Mexico (even ultra low sulfur fuel is unavailable so it depends on your range or specific service stations that do have the right fuel)

In Central America we saw the converted 4WD Mercedes trucks in expedition style and you need that to get around.

Even in the US you sometimes need different driver licenses for a bus, for air brakes etc. but for other states, like Florida, you don’t.

[Sand crab]

Many casinos also offer free overnight parking for RVs.

Warning thread drift!!!!!! I mentioned my ebike early on in this thread. I decided that it's not quite right for me because it's just too big and they only make one size in that model so have decided to sell it. I will convert bicylcle to an ebike with a more powerful motor and battery. It will go faster and further than my current one and it's also lighter. The goods will be here Thursday. The OP might want to look at these.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

Many casinos also offer free overnight parking for RVs.

Warning thread drift!!!!!! I mentioned my ebike early on in this thread. I decided that it's not quite right for me because it's just too big and they only make one size in that model so have decided to sell it. I will convert bicylcle to an ebike with a more powerful motor and battery. It will go faster and further than my current one and it's also lighter. The goods will be here Thursday. The OP might want to look at these.

I just bought an E-Bike.. the Rad Mission1.
It has to be constantly pedalled for the motor to work and that works like gears.. 0-1 for the flat, 2-3 for slight inclines and 4-5 for steeper hills.. you maintain the same pedal rate and effort but a lot easier than the traditional gearing system..
No, it goes nowhere without pedalling and needs a recharge after 45-85kms depending on type of use.
Bought it to help reduce the Covid related Belly..

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by boatman61

I just bought an E-Bike.. the Rad Mission1.
It has to be constantly pedalled for the motor to work and that works like gears.. 0-1 for the flat, 2-3 for slight inclines and 4-5 for steeper hills.. you maintain the same pedal rate and effort but a lot easier than the traditional gearing system..
No, it goes nowhere without pedalling and needs a recharge after 45-85kms depending on type of use.
Bought it to help reduce the Covid related Belly..

There are different classes of E-bikes (sometimes just a setting needs to be changed to switch class). It comes down mostly to evolving govt rules for bike lanes. There is concern that people will take electric motorcycles in bike lanes.

Some of the class is about top speed but also the presumption that you pedal if it's really a bike. Some of the more powerful "bikes" are really mopeds where there is no real intent for people to pedal but they have pedals to officially qualify as bikes.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

There are different classes of E-bikes (sometimes just a setting needs to be changed to switch class). It comes down mostly to evolving govt rules for bike lanes. There is concern that people will take electric motorcycles in bike lanes.

Some of the class is about top speed but also the presumption that you pedal if it's really a bike. Some of the more powerful "bikes" are really mopeds where there is no real intent for people to pedal but they have pedals to officially qualify as bikes.

That's why I chose what I did, I wanted the physical exercise but without the faffing around with the old gearing system, chain jumping causing skinned ankles, jamming etc..
A traditional bike of this style would have cost me €1000 less but I gave my last one away coz it pissed me off..
Sad I sold my m'bike though, really starting to miss her..

[Sand crab]

Boaty, I see a throttle on that bike. Are you sure you have the controller setup right? There's usually a pedal assist only mode and a power by throttle mode and you can also pedal assist while operating the throttle.