Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 07:01:47 -0700
Reply-To: phil stanhope <napszeerf@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: phil stanhope <napszeerf@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: living in an rv (no vanagon content)
In-Reply-To: <000001c1e432$a1e01700$6202a8c0@dadspc>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Wow Dennis you are a brave man to try this in NYC.
Once I lived in my westy for 6 months in San Diego. It
wasnt that bad(mostly becouse i had good friends) Most
of the time i would "couch cringe" at my friends house
during the day, while at night I would sleep in my
westy parked on a public street. I helped pitch in by
doing dishes, recycling beer cans-ALOT of beer cans,
and sometimes i would pich in a $50 here or there for
bills. When they would party late and i was tired, i
would park in the Kmart or Wallmart parking lot next
to my job(ALOT of RV's /vans do this there) When me
and my friends got layed-off, they moved to LA and i
started living completly out of my Westy god bless
her. I would park at the beach and surf or park in
front of 24hr Kinkos during the day and fax resumes
etc.. Dont park near the beaches anywhere in San Diego
at night. A cop rudely woke me up by rocking my westy
back and forth(i thought it was a thief stealing my
surf board off the roof racks) I pointed my head out
the curtain separating the front drivers cockpit and
my living area. The cop flashed his flash light in my
face and said "BOOM! that could have been a gun" He
let me drive away but warned that i could be arrested
and car impounded for doing this. My LP fridge was a
real champ and I would get up in the mornings boil
water in the kettle for tea/coffee(in bags) I would
boil Rommen noodle or Spagetti. As for PRIVACY and
STEALTH i got a few jumbo reflective windshield sun
blockers and cut them to the shape of my windows and
then duck taped all the cracks-Im STILL trying to get
all that stickie gum off. This Windshield sun blocker
acts as a good insulator on cold nights as well as
keep the westy cooler during the days. It will destroy
your window tinting if you have any becouse of the
heat trapped between te glass and the silver
insulation drys it out and makes it bubble off.
Good luck!
Phil***84' Westy Tiico "Millenium Falcon"
***84' Westfalia Wolfsburg edition GL--Rolling
chassis(has NO engine)-FOR SALE/SE VENDE!!-Florida
Title/2nd owner. AC, PS, 4spd. Deluxe Instrument
panel(tach/digi-clock) Super clean interior/cabinets,
all in good condition. captains chairs, removable
bench seat for 6 passenger capability. 2 tables/arms.
Nice Curtains Body has rusty seams but none on top of
front bumper. Nice Pop Top/Canvas. Sony Stereo. Could
be perfect for a conversion project-Tiico? Subaru?
***60' Morris Mini1340CC(Also for sale)
So it helps to have some friends
--- Dennis Haynes <dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET> wrote:
> There are many variables to consider in the cost of
> running an RV as
> compared to an apartment. The major benefit of an RV
> is the ability to
> move as compared to an apartment which is fixed. Of
> course the cheapest
> type of RV is the Westy. However, it is limited to
> fair weather and you
> will need to find bath and toilet facilities on a
> regular basis. The
> daily cost of running an RV depends on whether you
> own it or rent, and
> how much you plan to drive it. Class "C"s, (Medium
> motor home on van cut
> away chassis) will do 7-11 mpg. Class "B", (Van
> conversion or Rialta)
> will do 8-14mpg, and most class "A"s, (Big boxes 30+
> feet on RV chassis)
> will do 6-9mpg. Diesels will do slightly more.
> Generators will use
> between .5 and 1 gallon per hour depending on size
> and load. Some RVs
> will have two air conditioners. Refrigerators
> usually run on propane, <
> $.50 day. Furnaces and water heaters use
> approximately .3 gallon propane
> per hour. Generators are only needed to operate Air
> conditioners and
> microwaves, and charge batteries if you're not
> driving. Everything else
> essential will work off 12 volts or an inverter.
> Many roadside rest
> stops have facilities to empty the gray and black
> water waste tanks.
> Some also have fresh water available. Flying J truck
> stops also have
> waste and fresh water facilities for free. If you
> need to use a
> campground to dump, figure $2 to $4. Campgrounds
> will cost anywhere from
> $5 to $70 per night. Many campgrounds have full hook
> ups that also
> include cable TV and in some cases phone access. An
> RV at a full hook up
> is almost like being home with water and sewer use.
> Plan where you want
> to be. Consider joining Camp Coast to Coast or
> another club that has
> discounted rates. Insurance for a true RV is more
> reasonable than most
> cars. RV insurance also includes liability for your
> camping area. Yes,
> you rent the camping sites and can be responsible
> for some getting hurt
> near your RV. If financing, the interest can be
> written of your income
> taxes as a second home mortgage. Go to RV.Net for
> more information.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List
> [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of Andrew Payton
> Sent: Sunday, April 14, 2002 7:54 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: living in an rv (no vanagon content)
>
> This may sound a little bit ridiculous but I was
> trying to calculate
> whether
> it would be cheaper to live in an rv or an apartment
> over the course of
> a
> year. I was being generous with all my figures and
> it seems that the rv
> would be more expensive so I was wondering if anyone
> could give me more
> specific info on how much it would cost to live in
> an rv for a month. I
> would be curious to know what kind of gas mileage
> the vehicle gets, how
> much
> it would cost to maintain the range, how much
> insurance might cost, how
> much
> taking care of water/sewage might cost, and
> especially how much it would
> cost to run the generator that would have to
> maintain atleast a fridge
> and
> occassional uses of other appliances. If anyone can
> give me further
> information on this it would be much appreciated.
> Thanks a bunch guys.
>
> Andrew Payton
> 82 Vanagon, "Trusty"
>
>
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