Learn Me: Craigslist Class C Ford-based RVs

There was a long term campground near my university years ago. Viable sounding option. But, the few miles journey between school and camper would have been a bugger on nasty weather days. Bicycles are fine when it's warm and sunny, not so nice in freezing drizzle and such.

A trailer instead of an RV, where you leave the trailer there and drive the tow vehicle to class might be a better foul weather choice/thought.

Keeping the interior of an RV or trailer from freezing isn't that hard with enough BTU's. But, keeping a water tank that's hanging down below away from heat from freezing, that can be an adventure I'm sure.

Not at all sure how the Walmart thing works, but I know it does. There are campers that have been at our local Walmart for years now. As in many years. Guess they potty in the Walmart, but I've no idea how bathing works.

I know you said you've got places to stay worked out. But beware of complaining neighbors. Many won't object to a visiting RV showing up on the neighbors yard for a weekend, but after a week, they may start calling in complaints, which can create headaches.

Just a few random ruminations.

There are a couple of websites out there for more "stealth" living, which sounds like what you're looking for:

Cheap RV Living
Reddit Subreddit of stealth camping

Going that route, many companies have shower and/or workout facilities. You could also join a gym for the same amenities. The big concerns are where to "go" in the middle of the night if you're sick. Having so ability to bring friends or acquaintances over to visit. Entertainment will be a hotspot, off a business where you're parking or a mobile spot. Etc. If you're serious about keeping costs down and saving that money up, it's quite doable. Lost of insulation and battery powered blankets can help during the winter, but that also depends on how cold the nights would be. Not as big a deal in Texas, a HUGE deal in Vancouver, for example.

With the money you save, you could also "splurge" on a hotel room once a week or once a weekend to be able to do laundry, have a hot shower, sleep in a big bed, etc.

-Rob

I asked a similar question not too long ago and was told that absolutely everything in that price range would be a steaming heap of E36 M3.

Link to thread

Good luck with the "cheap" rv. I bought a Ford E350 C class for cheap [$3000 Cdn], so far I've replaced both fuel pumps, put a new roof on it and I still have to have it safety checked and I haven't started on the interior. There is no such a thing as a cheap motorhome.

rob_lewis wrote: There are a couple of websites out there for more "stealth" living, which sounds like what you're looking for: Cheap RV Living Reddit Subreddit of stealth camping Going that route, many companies have shower and/or workout facilities. You could also join a gym for the same amenities. The big concerns are where to "go" in the middle of the night if you're sick. Having so ability to bring friends or acquaintances over to visit. Entertainment will be a hotspot, off a business where you're parking or a mobile spot. Etc. If you're serious about keeping costs down and saving that money up, it's quite doable. Lost of insulation and battery powered blankets can help during the winter, but that also depends on how cold the nights would be. Not as big a deal in Texas, a HUGE deal in Vancouver, for example. With the money you save, you could also "splurge" on a hotel room once a week or once a weekend to be able to do laundry, have a hot shower, sleep in a big bed, etc. -Rob

He's not talking about Vancouver, he's talking about Hamilton, ON and those that are encouraging him have no idea how bad of an idea this is.

Hamilton can easily see -20 degrees C overnight in the winter with large lake effect snowfalls. These rigs have what 1-1 1/2" of rigid insulation? so like R7 or R8. No insulation on the floors. So lose the propane heater overnight and you might freeze to death by morning. How about being woken up in the middle of the night and being told to move your rig because they have to plow snow.

Almost every city in Ontario have bylaws governing unauthorized camping. One complaining neighbor and you lose your parking spot with both the camper and landowner potentially receiving fines.

This is a bad idea period.

I've owned a 25' class C Ford and a 20' class B+ Ford. Both of them had strengths and weaknesses but my overriding memory of both is their utter and complete lack of any sort of insulation. On even a modestly chilly night the propane heater would kick on and off (loudly btw) every couple of minutes. I'm talking 30F, not your semi-arctic Canadian sub zero ridiculousness, and the second it shut off you could feel the cold radiating in through the windows and walls.

NGTD types faster than me.

Look around more, find a basement apartment/room to rent, drive the Crown Vic. Do not, under any circumstance, think that wintering in an RV in Canada is a viable choice while trying to go to school.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: I asked a similar question not too long ago and was told that absolutely everything in that price range would be a steaming heap of E36 M3. Link to thread

Yeah, came in here to say basically that.

A travel trailer in the upper echelons of that price range would probably be pretty decent and if you could find basically a trailer park to rent a lot in, you'd be okay.

Insulation will be a problem. There are cold weather units, but I'm not sure how much of that is marketing vs reality.

NGTD wrote: ...those that are encouraging him have no idea how bad of an idea this is...-20 degrees C...No insulation on the floors....bylaws governing unauthorized camping...fines...This is a bad idea period.

Grin, you're not young anymore, are you?

I applaud your thinking outside the box. That said, bad idea, for all the reasons already mentioned. Suitable "parking", cold, amenities, quality of RV's in your price range, ect. I lived in a camper when I was 19. At best it was a PITA.

I think you will find class B tough to find at reasonable money.

There's a reason why many schools have started requiring freshmen and sophomores to live on campus: focus. What you're talking about would be a massive drain on your energy and ability to focus on your school work. When paying big money (or receiving big subsidies) to go to college that should be the biggest thing you're worried about. Not whether your heat is going to work or whether your house is going to get towed. Losing that focus means you're less likely to finish school and less likely to get enough out of it if you do finish. Trust me; I went down a similar road but with an electronics surplus business and awesome downtown loft I built in a warehouse. I never finished school. I made a lot of money and had a lot of fun but I could have done that a couple years later and with a college degree.

If you have an abundance of energy, spend it doing things that will get you the most out of the massive amount of tuition you're paying. Saving a couple grand now on housing is nothing when you look at the cost of school and your potential future earnings.

My wife focused on her school work and lived in the dorms. She finished her undergrad in three years and her Ph.D. Only a few years later. It took her a few more years but now she makes more than I ever did or will. She paid off her student loans only a few years out of school. Those are things you're unlikely to achieve in an RV park trying to get your poop pipe unfrozen so you can take a dump and go to sleep.

I vote bad idea too. Camping mostly sucks in my opinion anyway, and I sure as E36 M3 wouldn't want to be doing it full time. Get a small room somewhere, or suck it up and get a roommate. Isn't that what college is all about? New experiences. I don't know as I didn't go, but had I had the excellent opportunity I wouldn't want to live in a car which is essentially what you are proposing on doing. Get a real roof, and study your ass off. Mingle with some co-ed's , and trust me that will be much easier with a real place to live, not a rolling shag pad. I imagine it's hard to get a girl to come back to your 1983 motorhome in the Canadian Tire parking lot for some "studying" if you know what I mean. If you can pull it off though good for you, and the Timmy's will sure be closer for that after studying cuddle. Or walk of shame.

Roommates arent the end of the world. I had two, one sucked, the other was an awesome guy that I would go rock climbing with 3-4 nights a week and study together for a bunch of classes.

There are a lot of independence things that you have to suck up to do the college thing. I would suggest you suck it up for the first year at least, then, once you have done that you will better understand the realities of the situation regarding time demands and locality.

Having a roommate also teaches you valuable life lessons about how to get along with people and compromise and such.

Tom_Spangler wrote: Having a roommate also teaches you valuable life lessons about how to get along with people and compromise and such.

Truth. The University I graduated from mandated that you live in the dorms for the first two years, unless you lived at home within a certain number of miles. Numerous reasons for this stance, but basically they wanted you to avoid partying all the time and flunking out as well as having less of your study time eaten up by the daily household chores that come with living off campus.

If, as you said, you'd lose your mind sharing common living space with strangers, then I'd say the best thing for your growth and development as a functioning member of society is to share common living space with strangers.

My father and a good friend both had Ford Class C RVs with the V-10. Both would routinely describe their fuel mileage as "High sevens to low eights, depending upon the terrain".

Guess i should chime in, i lived in a bumper pull trailer when i was about your age. It sucked balls. It was tiny even though it wasnt, the roof constantly leaked along with hot water heaters crapping out (and it was only a 10 year old camper). It ended up costing us more money to stay in a camper that was already payed for than just getting an apartment.

Just suck it up and get a dorm like everyone else, its not that bad and im sure im just as anti social as you if not worse and i survived just fine in a dorm.

So basically, what I'm gathering here, is you go crazy and decide to be a big budget hobo in an RV at the end of a career, not the beginning? And only if you can afford to buy or build something that resembles an EarthRoamer?

Petrolburner wrote: If, as you said, you'd lose your mind sharing common living space with strangers, then I'd say the best thing for your growth and development as a functioning member of society is to share common living space with strangers.

Well put sir.

OK, different perspective time.

I don't think 100% of universities requiring freshmen to live in a dorm is for their benefit. Losing school revenue to off campus dorms and/or apartments is probably another reason.

But, to the OP's situation. We're all assuming that he has the cash to afford and apartment or a dorm. Perhaps, he got into the school he wanted and is dumping everything into the tuition and is looking for ways to not get into debt. Kinda like the movie Rudy, where he was able to live in the groundskeeping room because he couldn't have afforded the dorm or an apt. Not saying GBodyMan is in that situation, but it's possible.

It won't be easy. It could be stressful. Finding a place to "camp" for the night will be hard. Holding down a job at the same time (if needed) will be hard. You could fix some of that with finding a more permanent campground, but will need other transportation.

However, there's a good chance that the bulk of your day would be spent on campus, anyway. You'd only need it for a place to sleep (in theory). But, the hassles could be too much. I've heard of guys who stayed in tents while going to college (but many are caught).

Basically, if you're doing it just because it sounds neat but you can afford the dorm, I'd stay in the dorm. If you're too old (a 50 year old in a dorm might be wierd/creepy) and can afford it, get an apartment. If you're doing it to afford to go to the school you want and not end with a huge student loan at the end, you can do it, but expect some challenges.

Quick disclaimer. I'm from down south. So, the concept of temps below 30 is something my brain can't comprehend. Don't people (granted, crazy people) still camp in sub zero temps? Seems like if you could live in a tent or an ice fishing shelter, you could make a van/camper work? Probably not. If money is an issue, though, there are alternatives.

-Rob

I would not recommend this at all. I was posted in Trenton, ON which is kind of on the same latitude as Hamilton. -20C or colder, lake effect snow and the fact that if you do not buy a 4 season rated RV, read: not cheap, something will definetly break when its cold. Sorry man, this is a bad idea. If you wanted to do this in the Southern States, hell even Osoyoos or Vancouver, I would say give 'er a shot, but not where you are going.

Most motorhomes made today are not built for full time living and a lot of the manufacturers actually state that in their advertising. Motorhomes built ten years ago or more were built even more cheaply. If this was going to be for a very short time you might get away with it but long term I doubt it. Also there is the whole comfort thing and most Class C just don't have the space for a comfortable chair or couch even though there are places to sit. Also there is the room to keep things and storage issue. You would be better off finding a trailer in a trailer park which would be a bit bigger. Our son in laws parents actually purchased a lightly used trailer had it hauled to a trailer park outside of town and set up. Our son in law used during 4 years of school and they sold it for almost what they had in it to a incoming freshman. Son in law also had a used vending machine he stocked with beer behind the trailer for spending money.

You're in a tough spot but being an urban outdoorsman is not as easy as it sounds. My brother tried it for a while in school and finally gave in and moved into a proper building. He got a room in a boarding house full of Hispanic restaurant workers. It ended up working well. They worked nights so he had some quiet, he helped them with English and they helped him with Spanish which paid off when he started teaching in city schools, and there was always food in the house.

I'll chime in against it, too, but if you are insistent (or need to based on cash flow), I've read about a few students living in just a normal van during school. The keys to it are to have a parking pass that gets you access to multiple lots, and if the university does not have a gym where you can shower every day, get a membership to the Y or a gym.

And finally, make sure to be subtle enough that no one knows you're doing it. University administration will have no problem finding something in the rules forbidding it.

If you're going to go ahead and do it what about a truck? They are a bit tight but more suited for daily use and many shopping centers are used to someone spending the night in a truck.