Living quarters with ability to stay dry, heat interior, cook & bathe.
Is better served by a trailer.
The limiting factor (before re-supply) isn’t engine fuel, it’s
Water
Closely followed by
Propane
The second factor is a very close runner-up to the first. As one may be able to purify a local source. Then transfer to trailer tank.
Fuel, is the thing.
Solar may be nice for keeping batteries topped up, but a big dollar solar electrical system is reliant on expensive & rare controllers, etc.
Propane may be harder to find, but supply isn’t a limit. Just distribution.
A trailer means that the prime mover can be less than what’s shown in earlier posts. No advantage to vehicles without a support network.
Does NAPA carry the part numbers?
To run to town for supply (carry neighbors, etc) is ideally once every couple of weeks to a month outside if coldest weather.
Really, to park on a rural homestead already occupied by family is AN ideal for a BOV.
Running way back into the wilderness just means an expensive way to die. Isolated.
As a support vehicle for A GROUP the ninja mall warrior thing may have more use. In which case as a mobile genset and/or radio comms wagon.
As to what travel trailer, the benchmark for longest life still holds:
All-Aluminum
Layout would be the space-efficient (front to rear):
Lounge
Kitchen
Beds
Bath
As weight is above axles and plumbing runs shortest. My 35’ has a plumbing run “area” of a ten-foot length (kitchen & bath share a wall)
Weather & Climate take their toll. Water is the destructive force. Typical composite trailers have rubber roofs which delaminate quickly. (A few years at best). Walls and ceiling part ways. Mold & Mildew build long before rain comes pouring in.
A permanent overhead roof (shed without walls, just beams) helps but won’t prevent.
1965-1985 the golden age of these types. Many, many examples remain.
27-28’ best size for extended travel. Larger just means bigger lounge.
(5) persons do well in this size.
Don’t need a truck, either. A van would be better.
Example shown is close to that owned by my parents. Owned it 29-years. Barely any repairs.
The expense when new was comparable to a mountain house or lake home. (Quality = $$$).
The SoCal workforce that built several brands all built the WWII warbirds by the tens of thousands.
Standardization was the hallmark of the period noted. No surprises.
Airstream was the entry-level bargain brand. Lighter construction with SOME more problems. Bought as the vanity line by a major RV builder. Why it alone survived as Americans went broke.
Units 10-15 years old are still new, but depreciation has ended. That’s a sweet spot at which to buy.
A BOV is just a way to get yourself and family away from strife. A transition. Those transitions kill people. Exposure; or, wet, hungry, & dirty. Without adequate rest or food.
A TT in the backyard, today, is shelter when power goes out in The Big House. Much easier to keep dry & warm. Etc.
Hitch the family car and leave. We covered (literally) North America and Mexico.
Solo duty predominates for vehicle spec. Pulling one of these isn’t any challenge. Trucks give up too much with compromised design versus being fuel AND passenger-efficient.
Hiding Out isn’t a plan.
Having “a home” which can be moved, is much, much, closer.
An indefinite lifespan on these. Units 50, 60, 70-years old are on the road.
My parents unit now more than 45-years old and still going. Must have more than 300k miles on it by now.
The typical composite units sold are at 10-years or 75k miles before they can no longer resist the song of the landfill.
Naysayers haven’t submitted their plastic boxes to a moisture meter (with probe) test.
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