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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Nov 19, 2018 - 04:44pm PT
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Ghetto camping a few miles in the other direction testing the 4x4 coming out of a site in bear tooth pass Black Hills
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Nov 19, 2018 - 05:36pm PT
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I hope to live to see a real breakthrough in battery technology. Cost, range, and ease/speed of charging are real barriers to widespread adoption of the tech.
BAd
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Lituya
Mountain climber
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Nov 19, 2018 - 06:27pm PT
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Agree. Competing with cheap oil is difficult. I don;t care what powers my ride--as long as it gets me there.
Maybe some sort of battery exchage will emerge. Instead of waiting for your vehicle to recharge, you simply swap out your depleted cell for a fresh one.
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Nov 19, 2018 - 08:28pm PT
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Pretty good MPG on that rig, Lituya. Towing our R-Pod with the V8 Tundra we get about 11. Ugh. Well, it ain't a commuting vehicle. Gets excellent mileage while parked, however.
BAd
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Nov 19, 2018 - 08:43pm PT
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Drove our new T@B 400 home to Ouray with our V6 Four Runner and got 13.5 mpg. Would be nice to have it here in New Zealand.
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Lituya
Mountain climber
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Nov 19, 2018 - 09:26pm PT
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Pretty good MPG on that rig, Lituya. Towing our R-Pod with the V8 Tundra we get about 11. Ugh. Well, it ain't a commuting vehicle. Gets excellent mileage while parked, however.
We love the Ford Transit chassis. 3.7L V6 with 280 hp I think. A bit underpowered for the long grades--but Canada highways are the friggin absolute best. Passing lanes to let the speeders go by exactly where they ought to be.
Unfortunately, we've had a few issues with the RV/box portion. Pretty much every cupboard hinge and latch has had to be replaced--and the shower and toilet both had leaks that had to be repaired in-flight. A nice big propane leak in Williams Lake too, fixed by the awesome staff at Caribou Propane. All factory defects and poor quality control.
Hopefully we're past all the repair issues now.
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perswig
climber
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Nov 20, 2018 - 02:23am PT
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Lituya, about that VanVan.
What's your experience with it as a roadbike? Comfortable up to 60mph or really geared for less and off-road stuff?
Weight and seat height seem attractive for a very small rider in mind (like 5'2" and a buck-ten); I'm interested.
Thanks!
Dale
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Nov 20, 2018 - 03:33am PT
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Without exception every factory build that I have looked at was like a cheap hotelroom that is not set up to my tastes... Even the Westy it cute and reasonably good quality but not how I would do it.... I obviously need a cargo van as a clean pallet for my dream build....
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, Bozeman, the ocean, or ?
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Nov 20, 2018 - 06:48am PT
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Would be nice to have it here in New Zealand.
I saw that same rig being towed b a runner on highway 50 yesterday near Gunnison. I thought it might be you and Angela. I guess not. It might have been the smaller T@B....I think you guys got the one with the permanent bed in it??
Anyway enjoy the New Zealand summer.
Susan.
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Bad Climber
Trad climber
The Lawless Border Regions
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Nov 20, 2018 - 06:49am PT
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Man, those T@B's be cool.
BAd
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Lituya
Mountain climber
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Nov 20, 2018 - 07:12am PT
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Lituya, about that VanVan.
What's your experience with it as a roadbike? Comfortable up to 60mph or really geared for less and off-road stuff?
Weight and seat height seem attractive for a very small rider in mind (like 5'2" and a buck-ten); I'm interested.
My wife loves it--super easy to ride with the fat tires and goes anywhere. Nice comfortable seat too. I ride a couple of other bikes, so this one feels way under-powered, but it suits its purpose--which is to get us out of camp and up mountain roads that the RV wont go. Love it!
It'll go 60mph full throttle. With a tail wind. It cruises easily at 50.
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perswig
climber
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Nov 20, 2018 - 08:11am PT
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^^Awesome photo op, and her smile!
Kinda what I figured, based on specs and that tire/wheelbase, but I still find it very appealing, and the built-in speed governor aspect might be a plus in certain hands.
Thanks again.
Dale
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telemon01
Trad climber
Montana
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Nov 20, 2018 - 09:37am PT
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12.8 mpg on our recent road trip to the desert. Our mini home on wheels- dang I can’t wait until retirement
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Nov 20, 2018 - 12:58pm PT
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If money was not an issue a cab over like that would be interesting...
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telemon01
Trad climber
Montana
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Nov 20, 2018 - 05:11pm PT
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Hey Tradman
Compared to a van build out truck campers are a great value.
I bought the truck in 2004. We bought the camper used for $7K a few months ago. Its a 2005 Four Season Adventurer. I spent about $1400 prepping the truck- camper tie downs and airbags for the suspension.
Considering all the amenities, traveling in this set up is really affordable. The truck is diesel and a workhorse with four wheel drive
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Nov 20, 2018 - 06:26pm PT
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I like the beastly 4x4 aspect. still a sh#t ton of $$$ for fuel and the truck and the camper....
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MattF
Trad climber
Bend, Or
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Nov 26, 2018 - 12:49pm PT
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Here's what I lived in for 2.5 years all over the western US. Towed my car behind my van - left the van setup as a basecamp for 1-6 weeks at a time while I used the car to spin around:
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Nov 26, 2018 - 01:29pm PT
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Lotta people at Walmart, too. Americans are only interested in price, although Airstream sales are very good.
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Jon Beck
Trad climber
Oceanside
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Nov 26, 2018 - 02:54pm PT
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The WakMart thing is coming to a grinding halt . . . Get ready!
Are you referring to the parking lot slumber parties or the gross materialism?
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