As for my van, it was thirteen years old, had 62.000 miles on the clock and was in excellent condition. Complete with insurance, registration and all encilliary costs it was $10K. None the less over the 75000 miles she has given me, she has required more than half that again in repairs.

Another place you may think to look is on some of the 'vandweller' websites, where you can see what folk have done with anything from a VW Beetle to a Box delivery truck, to make it suitable to spend time in.... some for roadtrips; some for permanent occupancy. Several of those sites have great forums which might help you decide what will work for you.

As an aside, I spent almost 6 months in a Dodge Caravan in 2009. Took me to Alaska and back. Seats removed; camping mattress on the floor and my luggage next to that, for one it was ample big enough, but I could not stand up. The conversion van has that advantage, as it is a hi top.

BTW: I think Michael meant "We actually find a good rule of thumb is that you have to be on the road for at least 2-3 months for a car purchase to actually be a better deal than renting when you factor in all the costs of car ownership."

Lifey