Living out of an SUV

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Jacob Dryer

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Location
Oxnard, CA
It's not as poor as it sounds



I'm thinking about a LONG road trip. My wife gets deployed in Nov, and I'm thinking of driving from CA to visit pretty much anyone and everyone I know around the country. I haven't purchased the vehicle yet, but it's going to be a fullsize SUV. The plan is when I'm between friends houses to be able sleep in it.



Any must have mods/accessories that you can think of?



I have a fairly large power inverted (I think 1000 watts?)

I was thinking about adding a second battery with an isolator so I could run my accessories.

A 12 volt cooler type thing so I could use both ice and power to keep goodies cold. (who doesn't want an ice cold beer after driving 500 miles?)

GPS (obvious)

what else am I forgetting?
 
You have kids don't you? You need to think of them.



If you are coming through NE Ohio, you are welcomed to stay at my place. I almost always have cold beer in the fridge and if I am out, I got a quickie mart 1/4 mile away from me that is open 24/7.





Tom
 
I do have kids, they are small enough to stand up in any vehicle.. so as long is there is a fairly decent sized space they can run "inside" while we are camped out.



If we are in the wilderness they can get out and run around.. they travel great, we've done tons of long trips with them so I'm not worried about that at all. I just can't plan to do 500 miles every day.. I have to pick my distances based on how they are doing riding.
 
Are you planning to pay cash for this vehicle, or finance it? If you're financing, consider buying a small, used RV instead. That way, you can deduct the interest. With boat & RV's you can deduct the interest so long as the vehicle has a galley, head, and a place to sleep on board because it's considered a second (or in some cases first) residence.) That would give you and the kids more room to be comfortable in one of these.



The RV industry has taken a huge hit in the last several years, and it's definitely a buyer's market. So there are tons of good deals out there if you shop around.



 
I would put my vote in for a diesel Excursion if you can't do a small RV. I would get one with the 7.3 not the 6.0 from my experience the 6.0 would be in the shop more than on the road. The 7.3 would be reliable get decent milage and already has two huge batteries. Our work trucks (cube van) can get about 18mpg on the highway with 4.88 gears.The only downside is you have a huge loud rattling diesel in front of you.



Maybe you want to think about an entertainment system for the kids, possible something that can run all the time so you can watch movies etc. If you want more ideas there are plenty of site about expedition vehicles, basically taking SUV's and converting them into something that can be self sustaining for long periods of time including hot and cold water tanks etc. You may be able to pick up a few tricks or hints from one of those sites.



Hope that helps



Mike
 
It's got to be something that fits in the garage.. Expedition if I stay with Ford, if not then one of it's competitors.



mp3 for sure along with laptop and the inverter so worst case if the new ride doesn't have a dvd system the laptop can just play movies for the kids. I'm not a coffee drinker, so just cold drinks for me. Which is why I like the idea of the 12 volt cooler.. I won't have to constantly feed it ice.



I'm thinking more along the lines of gadgets and mods that would make the vehicle work and be more functional for something like this. Worst case I'm 2-3 nights from someone I know just about anywhere in the country. I can alway get a hotel if I need to, I just hate paying for a place to sleep.



I won't really be on a schedule so I can drive as much or as little as I want each day (depending on the kids too) and there are always parks, or big open areas to let the kids run for some entertainment outside of the vehicle.
 
The only difference right now between the SUV and our house is space.. I don't have any help here at the house. I'm a stay at home dad, and my wife has been gone on a training mission for the past 2 weeks. At least if I drive some place I will have friends and family to talk to and help with child care.
 
Well, good luck to you. I spent a chunk of the summer living out of the ST with just 2 people, and it was brutal after a week of Life on the Road.



...and thanks to Canada being barren, and gas as rare as hen's teeth, too many nights were spent in the ST.



Saw an expedition tonight at the gas station...not much bigger than the Odyssey I was in, not much bigger than the ST.
 
With kids, I would advise a nice used Class C motorhome. Ford. V-10. Just sell it when your trip is done. Or at the very least a conversion van.
 
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Conversion van is the way to go, with TV and such, mine has a huge tri fold back seat that makes a nearly queen size bed. Everyone makes fun of me and my old van but they all keep borrowing it to take on trips. Nothing beats it.
 
So how does living out of a SUV avoid paying for a place to sleep? Unless you're crashing @ rest stops & parking lots (been there), won't you still have to pay to park?



 
National Forests and BLM are free as long as you are 1/4 mile from a paved road. Lots of those out west. Once I make it further east thats a different story, but that is also where most of my old friends and family are...



And I'm not against the random parking lot crash either, just have to be a little more careful. :fire:



I also have military base privileges so I can find cheaper hotels that way when the need arises.
 
2 kids for 2 weeks in an SUV?



Leave the guns home. :fire:



Bring Valiam for you :angry: and Ritalin for the kids. :yawn:



Good luck - you're a better man than me.



 
my friend is currently on a 10 day road trip with his 2 young kids plus a friend and his kid.

do the math, 5 in a brand new escalade. nice ride but it doesn't matter, bordem sets in quick!

they are making 5 MLB ball parks/games and a stop at the corvette meseum.

a hotel/motel is a must.
 
A 1000 VA inverter is pretty small compared to the power needs of even a small home. Think of it this way, the average power drop is a 240V, 100A single phase, dual voltage (120, 240) setup that can run a full-time load of 18,000 Watts all day long. Your 1000 VA inverter (I'm assuming that it's not a pure sine wave model. and therefore can't power many motors, your air conditioner or refrigerator for example) is about enough for you to watch TV. The average battery that powers it will let it run for maybe an hour. Unless you're extremely talented at conserving energy AND have other sources like solar and wind, 1000 VA isn't going to get you into the 20th century.



My advice is to invest in a >3000VA genset that runs on the fuel that runs your camper, or the propane that runs other things. 3000VA will still leave you needing to conserve energy, but is a more realistic power source. If you have the capacity to carry a ton (literally!!!) of lead-acid batteries to feed a 3000VA inverter, that's a legitimate alternative. I'd still keep a ~100 lb. generator for security, but rely on a literal ton of batteries to run a ~3000VA pure sine inverter. I'm a trained electrical engineer, with $100,000 in '80s dollars invested in that knowledge. If you're not as highly trained as I am, your results will vary...to the negative.



If you're relying on a genset (motor running all the time), plan on spending $3000-5000 to install it. If you want to use battery power, plan on spending as much, with less run-time. Don't think for a minute that you can recharge a bank of batteries with a 12V, 200A (that's aftermarket, not stock!) alternator. That high output alternator is needed to keep your rig running as it drives, and can't do more than that.



If what I'm saying seems like Greek to you, seek the help of a RV professional. Do keep your 1000VA inverter, with a dedicated deep cycle battery to run it. I suggest the biggest Sears DieHard PM-1 deep cycle battery (~75#, ~$200 ea.) to feed your inverter. I own two Sunforce 1000VA pure sine inverters. One can power my 5000 BTU A/C unit for an hour, and the other can power the other things all night. If I tie both batteries together to a 2500VA modified square-wave inverter, I can do everything except turn motors. I can turn motors with it, but the efficiency sucks, and is a big waste.



Use your prime mover (automotive) motor and A/C for air conditioning during the day, and plan on having no A/C at night. Likewise, use your prime mover, a gasoline, Diesel or propane powered genset to keep your food cold. A relatively small lead-acid battery can run LED and/or fluorescent lighting all night. A 1000VA inverter with a single deep cycle battery will give you lights, a couple of fans and limited TV and gaming. The battery must be recharged every day. This can come from a high-output, dual battery charging system, which can be augmented by a solar array. Don't think that the solar array will provide enough power unless you're a real electrical engineer. It can be done, but don't expect Utopian results.

 
Thats not camping. That it RVing. That is a whole different world.



No tv, just a laptop.. charge my phone and camera, and keep my kids milk cold. Cook on a backpacking stove that will burn any kind of fuel that I can put in the bottle.



I come from a backpacking/rock climbing background.. we are minimalists when it comes to being outside because before kids I had to carry everything I needed on my back.
 
Sadly I'm allergic to (this is a direct quote from my allergist) everything that's green and grows. The last time I was able to camp out without some kind of hospital visit was when I was still in my teen growth spurt (and the steroids/hormones that came with it). I still like to get out in the country, but these days it's often me sitting in the comms van during an ESDA operation. I miss the Good Old Days when I had my rucksack, sleeping bag, waterproof matches and little else. Enjoy your commune with nature for me, please!!!



Meanwhile know that folks like me might not be up to the "camper" standard, but we do come in handy if you have an emergency. Here's to the hope that we never meet that way!



Bill

 
We have a guy around here who loves to ski. He has outfitted a Suburban as a weekend cabin. He buys a seasons pass to a mountain hill and stays in the parking lot,almost every weekend over the winter. He stays alone but seems happy enough. He runs a small tv /vcr I beleive too. Have fun and enjoy the trip.



 
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