Thank you for your reply, Michael. I would be traveling alone with little gear on my actual trip, but even from the pictures on Nissan's website I think you may be right.Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Michael
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Thank you for your reply, Michael. I would be traveling alone with little gear on my actual trip, but even from the pictures on Nissan's website I think you may be right.Quote:
Originally Posted by Midwest Michael
If you are purchasing a Nissan for taking roadtrips and want the option to sleep in the vehicle, you may want to look at a crossover or SUV instead of a subcompact hatchback.
Thank you for that suggestion. I do really like the Rogue, but it is simply out of my price range at nearly double the price I could get the Versa for. If sleeping in the Versa isn't an option, then I will just have to camp, couch surf, or as a last resort get a hotel for the night.Quote:
Originally Posted by glc
I can't say ENOUGH about how much i love to sleep in my Dodge coversion van, its a short wheel base model thats perfect for me. I camp in it and its my Daily driver in Good weather.I also work 60 + miles from home and take 100-200 mile mile trips often. I have a Queen size remote controlled mattress, a 22" flatscreen tv/ Blu ray player, microwave, coffee pot and toaster along with a Coleman Convertible icebox. Its ready to GO, all the time. I slept in many car over the years, I don't ever remember a Full nite of Restful sleep.
I am a woman 30 yrs old who roadtrips alone often and sometimes with my boyfriend im my Montana van, I always sleep in truckstops. The truckers are great and very friendly and helpful. I was alone and caught in an exceptional cold snap once and aa guy knocked on the window and offered me his upper bunk in his sleeper he was worried I might freeze, it was warm and cozy with a heater running. My van sleeps really well I remove the seats and have a foamy comfy. love It umakeme
where do you usually sleep with it?
I know someone who bought an old Chevy truck with a topper on it, and installed a platform about 1.5 feet up from the bottom of the truck bed. He then put in a thin mattress and a foam sleep pad. Wall-ah! The ultimate road trip vehicle- tons of storage underneath and a comfy bed on top. He's talking about putting curtains on the topper's windows- not sure if he's joking or not!
I thought about getting a Ford Ranger and doing this myself (love those little trucks), but I'm torn between that and an Escape (for easier access to luggage and more passenger space).
I posted this on another thread. Keep in mind ALL the cars you folks are suggesting are $20,000 MINIMUM! for that price you can TOTALLY restore a 67-69 Barracuda! Please read the following;
Your going to think I'm totally crazy, UNLESS you do some research on this! An you have to compare this to the cost of a newer car. Here goes. Take a deep breath and think outside the box. Find a solid (no rust?) 67-69 Barracuda $3000-$7000? But one with a Slant Six. You can probably get a Slant Six free nowadays? Take it to a GOOD engine re-builder. It's probably still running. The most reliable engine ever built. Don't believe me? Google Slant Six! Have it rebuilt, NOT bored. And the carburetor rebuilt. $2000? Do the Big disk brake swap for the front end using all re-manufactured B-Body parts. $300? Find and put in a clutch pedal assembly. (ebay) Put in the A-833 4spd transmission with the Feather Duster over drive kit. Same tranny they used behind the Hemi! Can you say, reliable? New rims, tires and suspension bushings. If you do most of the mechanicals yourself you could have a car for under $15,000. You can sleep in it FULLY stretched out. Drop down the back seat and open the bulkhead to the trunk. About 7 feet of space perfectly flat. And with the Overdrive transmission and the Slant Six Motor, you have a motor that can easily make 200,000 miles and do 35mpg! You could even convert it to a fuel injected throttle body for easier starts and even BETTER MPGS!! Don't believe me? Research the Plymouth Feather Duster! It's built on the same chassis. So all the parts will swap over. I toured the country in my 68 Barracuda in 1987 when I worked for Ringling. I carried a change of clothes, foam mattress, sleeping bag and my BMX bicycle in the car with me. I still have the car to day. You can always get the $3000-$7000 back out of it if you haven't fallen in love with it when your done with your trip. Well, just an idea.
Welcome to the RTA Forum!
Um, First of all, its pretty rediculous to say that all the cars mentioned above will cost a minimum of $20,000. That's simply not true. The only way you'd be close is if you were only taking about brand new cars, and even then, some of the cars would be less than that.
Not to mention, you could take any of the cars that have been talked about and have something almost brand new if you wanted to buy something used and drop another $8,000+ of repairs into it.
If you love classic cars, and love rebuilding them, good for you. However, the average person doesn't have the training to rebuild engines, install a new transmission, etc, not to mention finding a 40 year old car of any specific model that is still in good condition with no rust and no other major problems simply isn't going to be easy (an internet search and willingness to travel to any part of the country to check it out would be a minimum).
And yes, at the end of it, I suppose you could sell it back for what you originally paid for it, but unless you've got it into car show quality, you're never going to get back the thousands of dollars in repairs/upgrades and the hundreds of hours of labor it would take to do all the things you mentioned.
If you're looking for a project or a hobby, it could be fun, but its certainly not a practical idea for the vast majority of people.
I've been totally happy with my 06 Rav4 and have gone on tons of extended road trips with my girlfriend and dog where all 3 of us sleep in the car. If you're willing to do a bit of handy work, the inside of the Rav4 is plenty big to fit a queen sized futon plus, when I'm not road tripping, I have a great, run around town, reasonably economical little car. I have to take the rear seats out to install the bed but it's only 8 bolts and takes be about 5 minutes.
Here are some pics:
http://www.rav4world.com/forums/98-4...4-camping.html (4th post down from marley365)