Empty nesters. After nearly 7 years on the road that’s what we were looking at. How to change things up? Get tiny.
Our second RV - a 2014 Wildcat Fifth Wheel - served us well. It met all of the goals we had for our “next rig” when we bought it. Then our son moved out. Then our daughter turned 18. Then the truck had issues.
Goals
We wanted to be nimble. We wanted to be able to take any old road we came across. We wanted to stop at roadside stands. We wanted to camp in more rustic and remote campgrounds. We wanted to be much smaller. We wanted to be in one thing.
Class B Time
Class B vans - or camper vans as they are also called - looked attractive to us. They have most of the advantages of traditional RVs without most of the disadvantages:
- No rubber roof
- No sticks and staples walls
- No plywood floor
- No significant damage from having a flat tire
New Class B’s often go for well over $100K. We couldn’t afford that.
I also thought building something would be fun. But knowing my pace on projects, it would be at least a year-long process.
Cheap Buy-In
But would we be happy living this small? Better to buy in cheaply and find out.
With a $10K budget we set out to find a workable Class B Camper Van. After months of searching coast to coast we wound up with this 1995 Pleasure Way SRL. We’ve named it Sally. You can read the story of retrieving her from Florida to Texas.
These photos capture the “as-purchased” condition of the rig - all we’ve done is a quick power wash before driving it home. It needs some work to be suitable for fulltime living - I’ll post our fixes and upgrades to the new Vanlife category on the blog.
A class B is next on my list. I enjoy reading what you have done and look forward to taking the dog and working my way around the US. I am not very mechanical when it comes to cars/trucks…had an older Chevy pop top and things always went wrong…so looking for something a bit newer. All of your input helps. Thanks.
Hi Shirl -
Newer might be better. Or not. And when newer needs fixin’ it’s always more expensive. ;)
I’ve finally found time to look back at older posts…all your updates look great compared to where Sally started out!!!
Thanks Marie! I have a blog post about restoring the paint job just waiting for a chance to get the van washed and then take some beauty photos.