Van 4x4 Random Purchase Thoughts

[bravelion]

I ended up purchasing a 2012 Roadtrek Popular 190. Not where I thought I’d end up, no ground clearance, so not an “offroad” capable van, but it kept nagging in the back of my mind and started to make sense for me. I can always tow a small Jeep behind it and use it as base camp to go Jeeping from.

I’ve made peace with the fact that instead of an awesome looking offroad campervan, I’ve gone “full Grandpa”. Nothing cool about it. It’s really equipped like a small RV.

But I slept on the driveway in it last night below 30 degrees all night, and the t-stat controlled propane furnace worked flawlessly and kept the van toasty warm, and when I had to pee middle of the night, it was two steps to the commode.

 

[eblau]

No shame in those creature comforts! I shudder to think about the noises and chaos inside of one of those larger 4x4 vans even in mild offroad conditons, hell even a washboard road.

 

[86scotty]

I ended up purchasing a 2012 Roadtrek Popular 190. Not where I thought I’d end up, no ground clearance, so not an “offroad” capable van, but it kept nagging in the back of my mind and started to make sense for me. I can always tow a small Jeep behind it and use it as base camp to go Jeeping from.

I’ve made peace with the fact that instead of an awesome looking offroad campervan, I’ve gone “full Grandpa”. Nothing cool about it. It’s really equipped like a small RV.

But I slept on the driveway in it last night below 30 degrees all night, and the t-stat controlled propane furnace worked flawlessly and kept the van toasty warm, and when I had to pee middle of the night, it was two steps to the commode.

Nice find Bravelion! If you can, share some more interior shots. I'm curious of the layout. I'm assuming 6.0 gas engine? If so, it's a beast. Plenty of power for most and very reliable and durable. A friend of mine used to run these vans for hot shot/expedite and they got run hard. He said about the only problem he ever had other than routine maintenance was oil pumps around the 300k mark. He would run the vans to about a half million.

 

[Willsfree]

Looks like a nice van you picked up; built in comforts are nice.

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advrider.com

Not mine, but here is a 4x4 converted Roadtrek van.
I think you can remove all the lower cladding as well for increased clearance.

 

[bravelion]

Looks like a nice van you picked up; built in comforts are nice.

,

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advrider.com

Not mine, but here is a 4x4 converted Roadtrek van.
I think you can remove all the lower cladding as well for increased clearance.
View attachment 642109

That one is the longer to 10. They have one 70s, 190 and 210. The one I have is the 190 which is the basic extended Chevy 3500 chassis.

Ground clearance is very low, so it won’t be the off-road van I wanted. But I think I’ll add a lift to it.


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