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You keep assuming that the people buying these and living out of them are doing it for no reason. There are a whole slew of reasons why that form factor is grow

by shkkmo 4y ago

You keep assuming that the people buying these and living out of them are doing it for no reason. There are a whole slew of reasons why that form factor is growing in popularity. It's hard to beat the ratio of fuel efficiency, to living space in a good van conversion. A trailer, even a short one, is a massive problem to park in urban areas and to turn around on remote forest roads. That said, teardrop campers have also been skyrocketing in popularity, as have rooftop tents.

vsareto 4y ago
Those tradeoffs don't seem worth paying thousands to tens of thousands extra to me though. If vans were more competitive in price with trucks/trailers, I'd be all for it, but right now it seems massively inflated. It seems like paying many thousands for conveniences that have work-arounds or solutions.
- shkkmo 4y ago
  Well, everyone has a different set of priorities and there is no perfect solution for everyone. It's all about what tradeoffs you want to make (even within the category of "van conversions"). Van conversions, in general, provide an pretty good balance between maneuverability, living space, gas mileage, amenities and price. There are very expensive 6 figure conversion vans, but also simple ones for 4 figures. Again, it's all about what your priorities are and what tradeoffs you wanna make. I would not discount the value of manueverability (even if you aren going to just be be moving between RV hookup locations )
- idiotsecant 4y ago
  It's worth noting that the people using these setups as actual living quarters are few and far between. Generally people who use them for something other than instagram fodder have a larger RV or tow-behind setup because they want something livable, or they have a cheap DIY setup because they want something cheap. Generally the people paying 300k for these #Vanlife setups are not particularly interested in living in them exclusively.
ad700x 4y ago
Actually these new Ford vans do no get great gas mileage at all. I've owned a 2016 (lived in for 2 years), a 2022 and soon a 2023. The AWD High roof model gets 14-16 mpg before you mess with tires. I'm guessing this Trail model with the 3.5" lift and 30+inch tires will be 12mpg or less. 12-15mpg is a really easy target to hit with lots of massive vehicle platforms...
- olyjohn 4y ago
  You just can't get around the fact that it's a brick with wheels going down the highway. The brick shape is what makes it so versatile and useful for a lot of things... but they're not the most aerodynamic. And let's be real, this thing isn't going to be THAT off-road worthy. 30 inch tires are basically nothing these days. The wheelbase is too long... And what's the 3.5 inches of lift going to get you over? I doubt this thing will have enough power without a low-range to climb up any steep obstacles anyways. Especially once all the batteries / solar panels / and the rest of the "camping" gear are loaded up, these things are going to be too heavy to do much more than hit up some random logging roads on a dry day. Ford's marketing team is doing a great job selling them though.

by shkkmo 4y ago

vsareto 4y ago

Those tradeoffs don't seem worth paying thousands to tens of thousands extra to me though. If vans were more competitive in price with trucks/trailers, I'd be all for it, but right now it seems massively inflated. It seems like paying many thousands for conveniences that have work-arounds or solutions.

shkkmo 4y ago
Well, everyone has a different set of priorities and there is no perfect solution for everyone. It's all about what tradeoffs you want to make (even within the category of "van conversions"). Van conversions, in general, provide an pretty good balance between maneuverability, living space, gas mileage, amenities and price. There are very expensive 6 figure conversion vans, but also simple ones for 4 figures. Again, it's all about what your priorities are and what tradeoffs you wanna make. I would not discount the value of manueverability (even if you aren going to just be be moving between RV hookup locations )
idiotsecant 4y ago
It's worth noting that the people using these setups as actual living quarters are few and far between. Generally people who use them for something other than instagram fodder have a larger RV or tow-behind setup because they want something livable, or they have a cheap DIY setup because they want something cheap. Generally the people paying 300k for these #Vanlife setups are not particularly interested in living in them exclusively.

ad700x 4y ago

Actually these new Ford vans do no get great gas mileage at all. I've owned a 2016 (lived in for 2 years), a 2022 and soon a 2023. The AWD High roof model gets 14-16 mpg before you mess with tires. I'm guessing this Trail model with the 3.5" lift and 30+inch tires will be 12mpg or less. 12-15mpg is a really easy target to hit with lots of massive vehicle platforms...

olyjohn 4y ago
You just can't get around the fact that it's a brick with wheels going down the highway. The brick shape is what makes it so versatile and useful for a lot of things... but they're not the most aerodynamic. And let's be real, this thing isn't going to be THAT off-road worthy. 30 inch tires are basically nothing these days. The wheelbase is too long... And what's the 3.5 inches of lift going to get you over? I doubt this thing will have enough power without a low-range to climb up any steep obstacles anyways. Especially once all the batteries / solar panels / and the rest of the "camping" gear are loaded up, these things are going to be too heavy to do much more than hit up some random logging roads on a dry day. Ford's marketing team is doing a great job selling them though.