Total Cost of Ownership: Eurovans

I did some crunching on the NADA site and here is the breakdown for TCO over 5 years. So the cheapest total cost over the first 5 years would be the NV, with the Promaster in a close 2nd place.    Most expensive is the Ford Transit. With just running costs (not including purchase) the

shower thought: when to buy the camper

As I noted on CRVL forums I am starting to see used Promasters (some with a bit of warranty left) on the used market under the $20k mark.  Mostly 136″ models; I figure more of those were sold in the first place. upside of buying soon There are some advantages to buying soon (late 2017), and

SB 1588 and Texas domicile

SB 1588 would effectively eliminate passenger vehicle inspections in Texas. Today in Austin, Senator Don Huffines (R-Dallas) filed Senate Bill 1588, a bi-partisan bill that will repeal the annual requirement that all passenger vehicles receive a state-certified inspection. A significant and diverse body of scientific evidence indicate that safety inspections do nothing to increase road safety.

Promaster after my own heart

Winston in this thread on Promasterforum has his RV set up in some of the ways I’ve been thinking about.   Glad to see someone doing it so I can see how it looks and learn

Running the dealer gauntlet

I had a day off this “weekend” and was near civilization so I decided to get some time inside two of my shortlist van platforms:  the RAM Promaster and Ford Transit.  Luckily there was a Ford and RAM dealership next door to each other on my way home. I’d seen a High Roof (HR) Promaster

nature says “do not touch”

This morning’s Craigslist browsing reminded me of Gary Larson’s wonderful cartoon from the 80s (?). Here are the ads:

nature says "do not touch"

This morning’s Craigslist browsing reminded me of Gary Larson’s wonderful cartoon from the 80s (?). Here are the ads:

Shore power donor

[Edit:  the idea of minimizing wiring losses is central to this idea.  So central that, like a fish is unaware of water, I forgot to mention it at all.  Thanks to the commenter for pointing this out.  Clarifications in orange below.] I’ve been thinking about this for a few months but finally wrote it out

Previous life: family living in a 24′ TT

When I was in the army I bought, unseen, a mid-70s Holiday Rambler to live in once I was discharged. I think it was 22 or 24′ and looked like the model shown here. Life intervened, and by the time I got out of the army I had a little family going: infant daughter, wife,

Previous life: family living in a 24' TT

When I was in the army I bought, unseen, a mid-70s Holiday Rambler to live in once I was discharged. I think it was 22 or 24′ and looked like the model shown here. Life intervened, and by the time I got out of the army I had a little family going: infant daughter, wife,