RV vs Conversion for family/solo dive trips

[Keith Blair]

I'm looking for opinions or experiences on the most cost-efficient and sensible options for a vehicle that can be used for overnight dive trips. The boxes I need to tick:

* Enough room to haul gear for a family of 4 recreational divers
* Some way to sleep inside, even if slightly cramped, without suffocating in the FL heat
* Normal gas preferred. I don't want to give up a body part for each diesel fill-up
* Don't care about age/mileage as much as I do about dependability
* Under $20k

We live in the Tampa Bay area of FL (central west coast) and would like to do more diving in southeast FL or the keys, but without doing down/back trips or staying at hotels. I also frequently travel while teaching at the springs and often stay overnight so it needs to be at least somewhat economical as a solo dive trip vehicle too.

We've been thinking of options like converting a mini-bus like the Chevy Candidate CII (a local school has one for sale) or like the Ford Transit/Sprinter, or even an old moving truck, etc. I haven't done much of a deep dive into what it would cost me to do a basic conversion myself but I'm wondering if would be wiser to just be looking at smaller RVs like a small Winnebago or something. I have no experience with the pitfalls of RVs and whether they're more/less dependable. I have no problem putting in the work and time to do an interior conversion and do it little by little over time in order to save money.

With the insane truck prices these days this might be the worst time to be thinking of this, but it's also why I'm looking at unique options. And with gas prices as they are, perhaps more people will be trying to offload their bulky vehicles for less. I know whatever I get will be older with higher mileage and that's fine as long as it's dependable and not a fortune to maintain.

BTW: I saw this thread asking about used pickup truck opinions for diving and thought about adding this to that thread but my question is more geared to overnight trips for a family vs just getting to/from dive spots. If I should hop on to that thread instead, please let me know.

 

[rx7diver]

I'm looking for opinions or experiences on the most cost-efficient and sensible options for a vehicle that can be used for overnight dive trips. The boxes I need to tick:

* Enough room to haul gear for a family of 4 recreational divers
* Some way to sleep inside, even if slightly cramped, without suffocating in the FL heat
* Normal gas preferred. I don't want to give up a body part for each diesel fill-up
* Don't care about age/mileage as much as I do about dependability
* Under $20k

We live in the Tampa Bay area of FL (central west coast) and would like to do more diving in southeast FL or the keys, but without doing down/back trips or staying at hotels. I also frequently travel while teaching at the springs and often stay overnight so it needs to be at least somewhat economical as a solo dive trip vehicle too.

We've been thinking of options like converting a mini-bus like the Chevy Candidate CII (a local school has one for sale) or like the Ford Transit/Sprinter, or even an old moving truck, etc. I haven't done much of a deep dive into what it would cost me to do a basic conversion myself but I'm wondering if would be wiser to just be looking at smaller RVs like a small Winnebago or something. I have no experience with the pitfalls of RVs and whether they're more/less dependable. I have no problem putting in the work and time to do an interior conversion and do it little by little over time in order to save money.

With the insane truck prices these days this might be the worst time to be thinking of this, but it's also why I'm looking at unique options. And with gas prices as they are, perhaps more people will be trying to offload their bulky vehicles for less. I know whatever I get will be older with higher mileage and that's fine as long as it's dependable and not a fortune to maintain.

BTW: I saw this thread asking about used pickup truck opinions for diving and thought about adding this to that thread but my question is more geared to overnight trips for a family vs just getting to/from dive spots. If I should hop on to that thread instead, please let me know.

Four recreational divers on an overnight trip suggests at least 8 cylinders (thinking 2 + 2 dives each) if you're using your own cylinders and you won't will be getting fills at a dive shop during the trip!

Have you considered pulling a small trailer for the gear? You can choose the tow vehicle for creature comforts (e.g., AC, sleeping accommodations, etc.) of the four divers.

EDIT: Corrected "won't be" to "will be."

rx7diver

 

[Keith Blair]

Four recreational divers on an overnight trip suggests at least 8 cylinders (thinking 2 + 2 dives each) if you're using your own cylinders and you won't be getting fills at a dive shop during the trip!

Have you considered pulling a small trailer for the gear? You can choose the tow vehicle for creature comforts (e.g., AC, sleeping accommodations, etc.) of the four divers.

rx7diver

Currently we have two cars so no way to really tow anything. When doing trips alone I've just been camping, but its getting hotter and I'm getting older. That and the wife hates camping.

 

[Tracy]

Look for a used city transit bus. They usually have lots of room and a wheelchair lift for gear. Many have v10 gas motors. Those are a solid reliable engine.

Something like this one.

2007 Ford Glaval E350 Transportation Bus - govdeals.com

GovDeals' online marketplace provides services to government, educational, and related entities for the sale of surplus assets to the public. Auction rules may vary across sellers.

www.govdeals.com

 

[Gone for diving]

An RV is just like having and other house to maintain,,,, most houses don't vibrate, old RVs always seen to have something not working..
I had to work on a few..

For me.
I really like the 250 transit van, but I am tall and need the height...

 

[tbone1004]

I'm hunting down a medium duty ambulance to work for expedition type cave diving. It's going to get a fill station put in it which is a bit excessive for most people, but plenty of "campulance" conversions and with the exterior storage options it would let you keep the wet stuff out. Depending on how you work the inside will depend on where the seatbelts end up but it could be an option but sleeping 4 in anything that small is going to be difficult, especially if you need to get a toilet in there. Advantage to the ambulances is how safe they are in an accident *they are designed for severe rollover*, limited slip rear end if you're in the sugar sand at all near the springs, and they have solid air conditioning and insulation in the back.
Something like what @Tracy linked to is probably better if you need it primarily to sleep 4 but may be hard to find space for all the wet gear.

 

[broncobowsher]

I will state I am a van owner. I picked that for various reasons. One of which, it does fit (tightly) into regular parking spots. The bus/RV option usually don't. I could daily drive it if need be, it is the backup to my daily driver. No issues carrying that amount of gear. The big bonus for me is that it will (barely) fit into my garage. I can load it up and store it loaded in the security of my garage. I know of a few people who have had trailers/RVs parked outside there house broken into and the toys stolen. I like the security of getting into the garage.

Now you mentioned hauling 4 people, yes plenty can do that and in pretty good comfort.
You also mentioned sleeping in it overnight, but that sounds like a solo deal while teaching and not trying to sleep 4. Gear for 4 and sleep them, not in a van, RV type of thing.
Comfort in FL summer, sounds like a need for A/C while parked. That is a generator or RV park with hookups. For the small size, with RV hookups, I would be looking at a portable A/C unit. Only haul it when needed. Some are even heat pumps that could work in the winter.

Vans come in a few versions (talking full size here).
Old school econoline and chevy express. Front seat comfort generally sucks, the dog house eats so much foot room. The Sprinter is a really nice van, but bloody expensive for maintenance and repair. The Transit is better. Don't rule out the Nissan NV3500 either. I have the 2500 version with the V8. Gas mileage is nearly as good as my mid sized SUV. And are know for being extremely durable. Good old fashion body on frame construction. The front clip is based on a pickup truck so there is a lot better ride comfort than the others. Probably the best riding van out there. No issues eating up miles of highway driving. I'll do a 500 mile (one way) road trip and not even think twice about it.

 

[Desertlifter]

I am an RV'er in addition to my bubble blowing habit. And golf. And a few other things.

Anyway, there are a ton of plus and minus column issues with RVs. Quality is shall we say somewhat less than dive gear. They take a fair bit of maintenance. I assume you will want AC where you are, so you will need either shore power (AC hookup) or a pretty big generator. Prices are nuts right now as demand skyrocketed, but I expect in a year or two there will be a used market that is cheap as people realize they don't like RVing as much as they thought. Pluses are a bathroom and shower, plus all the rest of the amenities. My sister, brother in law, and I plan on taking an RV trip down the west coast, diving and hiking as we wander south from Puget Sound.

For my money a trailer and pickup would be better as an option. The pickup will get you around easily with your gear. If money wasn't an issue, a smallish toy hauler would be great for dive gear. Lacking a toy hauler, you will likely want your dive gear in your truck to make securement easier.

YMMV of course.

 

[arew+4]

Small pop up camper, depending on car type and motor you could probably easily pull one of these. They are surprisingly roomy.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2014-Livin%27+Lite-QUICKSILVER+8.1-5021764669

 

[tbone1004]

fSmall pop up camper, depending on car type and motor you could probably easily pull one of these. They are surprisingly roomy.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2014-Livin%27+Lite-QUICKSILVER+8.1-5021764669

I would be VERY careful with trailer recommendations. You are almost guaranteed to need a 3/4t pickup to pull that off

4-door F150 payload is ~1700lbs. Most mid-size SUV's, minivans etc will be around 1200lbs.

2x adults+2x kids+clothes bags=~700lbs depending on individual sizes but that's within spitting distance.
8x AL80's=42x8=336lbs
4x sets of gear with weights=~200lbs
Call that 1200lbs for round easy math.
Add an 80qt cooler at ~150lbs since you'll definitely need food/drinks.

At that point you need a 1/2ton something whether that is an Expedition, F150, Tahoe, Suburban, whatever because you are bumping up against the capacity of anything smaller. The trailer linked claims 130lbs dry hitch weight, probably closer to 200lbs wet so with the hitch let's optimistically say 200lbs, more realistically 250lbs.
Grand total of all of that is no less than 1600lbs of payload capacity. Right up against the limit with anything 1/2 ton if you're packing light and not safe or legal to do it with anything smaller. Sadly in the RV world payload capacities are usually ignored which is unfortunate and leads to all sorts of dangerous behavior. Even though that trailer is designed to be pulled behind something like a CR-V the weight of everything inside the vehicle needs to be added up and payload goes away shockingly quick. For any trailer bigger than that you would need a 3/4 ton truck or something like a Ford Transit to handle the payload capacity *but not a fully kitted out Transit as the buildouts are wildly heavy. The passenger variants can all haul roughly a 4,000lb trailer which would have roughly 700lbs of tongue weight with the hitch. Would put you at call it 2500lb payload which any of the Transit Crew 150's can handle. You would need a Crew van to be legal to seat 4 and unfortunately and you would want the 350 Tall/Long like what @The Chairman *will link to his build thread below* has to be able to put any sort of outfit in the back to handle either camping if it is just you/wife or be able to comfortably dive out of it.

The New Scuba Wagon... 2016 350 Transit XLT

A few of you have probably seen my old 2005 Sprinter. I was proud of the old girl, but it seemed I was spending more time fixing it than having fun with it. It was time to trade up a bit, so I started looking. I have to say, I was sold on the Sprinters. Great gas mileage and very flexible, but...

scubaboard.com