So, wait. This is just a nearly $70,000+ base (and significantly higher optioned) Transit... that you still have to build all of the actual camper systems into?
Seems like a significant price for an empty van. I can only imagine the upfit costs post-van would run you up into the "why didn't I buy a class B from the start" territory.
I've seen a lot of pretty nice builds that were in the low to mid 5 figures, but those are generally conversions done by an owner rather than a shop and aren't starting with a brand new vehicle.
Yeah if the car manufacturers are gonna start selling trims that do all the really scary stuff for you (like cutting a hole in the roof), and basically include that work as part of the car financing, it should lower the difficulty of a DIY conversion and make it a more reasonable option.
Actually a good number of us DIY folks do buy these new. We can do a conversion, live in it a couple years and then flip it when we're ready to do another build for nice profit. I bought a brand new AWD transit two years back and cut two 14" vent holes in the roof on day 2 of ownership. The used market is just wild enough to make buying new make sense, and clean ownership history makes resale easier. There are lots of people doing what I do.
Are they really using stronger parts? I haven't seen what is beefed up in any brochures, articles or press releases.
They mention a 3.5 inch lift, and some 30 inch tires. That's all I can find. Can't find a single other thing that makes this "off road" worthy other than a bunch of useless black cladding.
This is probably as beefed up as an AWD Rav4 is vs a FWD Rav4.
I think the pricing varies. I have a friend who bought a used RAM van for around $15k and put $25k into converting it into a home—and a pretty nice one. $40k is a lot of money, but she left her apartment and started living in the van full-time. So I think there are always trade-offs.
I am skeptical at how many people are investing a house down payment into a Sprinter van. There are plenty of people out there doing it for a fraction of the cost.
There would be people spending almost $100k and they can probably justify it. A gap year trip would be $x0k. Doing it in your 30s, you can probably justify spending more. Travel around for 6-24 months, and every night you're boondocking and cooking cheap in the vehicle saves you $100-200.
But you're right that there are definitely people doing it cheaper. We're an Australian family who bought an old bus in the US for $3500 and then spent $5-7k on fitting it out across two trips. We sold a half-share to another Australian and recouped some of the money. Car hire alone would be thousands per month and motels right now are not cheap, so it's worked for us. Gas costs remain the enduring issue, however, especially if you're moving around a lot to see things and not just living in a localised area.
Whoever makes an EV-based van chassis to build upon will sell loads.
Yeah, but for $115k you can get an entry model Winnebago Class B[1] and not have to sink the time and labor into something that will still have resale value once you get bored of it.
I would never, ever want to buy someone else's "project" RV when they decide to get rid of it. You don't know what corners were cut there. (I know I'm hypocritical here, I know RVs aren't always the best built think in Elkheart (or Forest City), but at least an RV has an expected standard of things you get.)
RV interiors are not built for full-time living and will quickly fall apart if you use them that way. They are built for being used a few times a year.
Vans are usually a lot better equipped than traditional motorhomes. Before vanlife, a motorhome (in Europe; I don't know about the US) was basically just for driving from home to a campsite, without the hassle of towing a caravan (travel trailer). The batteries were maybe enough to power the lights while you cook dinner and the only way to charge them was by hooking up to mains. The water tank was tiny, barely enough water to wash up, and the toilet needed to be emptied every other day.
Today an off-grid van will have two or three ways of charging the batteries, enough water to last a week, a toilet that needs emptying once every few months, and a heater and enough insulation to comfortably camp in the next big freeze. Traditional manufacturers are starting to realise some of these things, but most are still primarily designed to be used on a campsite with a mains hookup.
Seems like a significant price for an empty van. I can only imagine the upfit costs post-van would run you up into the "why didn't I buy a class B from the start" territory.