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BS Slarver

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Posts
1,527
Location
Biggest skiing in America
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Road to the sun, Glacier NP and Flat head lake Northern MT
 

RachelV

I run TheSkiDiva.com and work at OpenSnow.
Ski Diva Tester
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
607
Location
Boulder, CO
We were close to you @BS Slarver! We camped at Hungry Horse Reservoir just outside Glacier last week and drove by Flathead on our way home.

Van did A+ on its first outing. Needs some packing / organization tweaks but otherwise it's such a nice way to camp.

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Can you spot the van? Can't recommend the camping down forest road 38 on Hungry Horse Reservoir enough. Amazing spots right on the water.

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jmeb

Enjoys skiing.
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
4,490
Location
Colorado
@RachelV -- amazing shots. What's on the sliding door? Hood to sleep with window open at night?
 

RachelV

I run TheSkiDiva.com and work at OpenSnow.
Ski Diva Tester
Joined
Nov 8, 2015
Posts
607
Location
Boulder, CO
@RachelV -- amazing shots. What's on the sliding door? Hood to sleep with window open at night?

Yeah, we got 2 of these and like them a lot:

They're not quite big enough to fit around the entire sliding doors, but we put them around 3 sides and use a few small magnets on the 4th side. They fit around the front doors no problem but we like being able to have the big middle windows all the way down. We only bother putting them on when there are mosquitos, otherwise we just open the windows.

Any chance there's a small fan you like? We picked one up but it's not that powerful and is hard to position in the van. Even with the big middle windows down, if there's not an actual cross breeze it gets stuffy in there.
 

jmeb

Enjoys skiing.
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
4,490
Location
Colorado
@RachelV -- haven't explored fan options. But if it's a camper...you might as well go all the way and put in a mighty fan :).
 

Pajarito-bred

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
May 20, 2020
Posts
142
Location
Grand Junction CO
Here's our "camper van" entry, as you might guess there's some history....

G'pa first bought the 1976 F250 from a Forest Service auction in Hailey, ID in the early 1980's and added the 1969 Great Divide of Denver camper from a Boulder junkyard. It's been to Alaska, to Nova Scotia, to the Oregon coast and everywhere in between. But since we inherited it 11 years ago, have kept it local to Western CO and SE Utah, we are less tolerant of the lack of AC and terrible mileage of the 460 cu.in. V-8. The Ford commercial says "Built Ford tough for 43 years" What about the year before that?
For us it's a 3-season rig, the only ski-camping outing I know of is a trip from Summit County CO down to Taos Ski Valley, sometime in the mid-80's. It's not winterized, no water or toilet in the winter. not too keen on steering the loosey-goosey Ford Twin-I-beam front end on snowy curves, either.
Someday we'll upgrade-- to what, though? Likely not a rig for winter ski-camping, more likely a SUV/travel-trailer combo, That's likely to mean also upgrading the 4Runner daily driver to something V8 (Sequoia or maybe Ford Eco-boost V6). One of our favorite campsites is only 40 miles away but 6,000 feet higher elevation. Our ski destinations are either day-trips or with a place to stay already, or too far to lug an RV to. Driving an RV or trailer in the snow doesn't sound like a great idea, especially not over Red Mountain Pass--
There are so many enormous and pricey rigs out there -- I sure like the looks of the Earthroamer, holy crap, I could buy up my whole street for the price of one of those! Maybe I'll get a 30-year-old one 29 yars from now. Sprinter vans are pushing six figures, too. A newer truck for the old camper sounds like a nice idea......but for $20k that'd buy a nice trailer.....

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Plus's:
Don't need to deconstruct the table to set up the bed
Lots of storage for tools, toys, gear. (bikes go inside)
Low initial cost (free)
G'ma's curtains and cushions
Ice cold beer, ice for G & T's
In-house toilet
Playing cards at the table while listening to rain pelt the windows
Low overhead

Minus's
Gasoline cost and qty
New NH3 (ammonia coolant) fridge for that ice cold beer
Loud and slow and no A/C
Repairing the in-house toilet
I learned not to put teflon tape on the fuel filter threads, the friction is too low, and the carburetor casting gets destroyed by over-tightening. (Learning that could be marked down as a plus, plus $350 to the cost of the camper, the jury is out until after next time I replace the fuel filter)
Wondering if the road got too muddy to make it home.
Really Low overhead (over the bed)
 

Idris

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Dec 6, 2018
Posts
106
Location
Chamonix
I'm guessing this vehicle has been the staging point for some serious GNAR posted by the owner..
Sorry it's only a daily at the moment.... any GNAR accessed by this vehicle so far is also possible by bus ;)
 

jmeb

Enjoys skiing.
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
4,490
Location
Colorado
Got the awning installed today.

Since we're both full remote, this fall we're making a big road trip out east. Spending a week with each of my folks -- S. Indiana and Asheville. Nice to be able to just pack this up, sleep where we will on the drive.

And when we get back...ski season.

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Tony

tseeb
Skier
Joined
Jan 17, 2016
Posts
1,284
Location
Northern CA
Took my camper to private property I where I have access to watch the Perseid meteor shower last month. I think I saw 4, including two good ones, while my wife did not catch any. She did enjoy the dinner we re-heated using the microwave, the wine and the hot chocolate I made well after dark. We may have gone too early in the week as the moon came up not much after 1 and I saw as many from home, where there is a lot more background light, later in week. That is Loma Prieta of the 1989 Earthquake fame in background just behind the camper. Also note that this ridge with deep, dry grass stayed 3-4 miles out of nearly 400K acre/7 county SCU complex fire that is still not 100% contained almost three weeks after rare summer lightning storm hit CA with 11K strikes.
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Next picture with camper barely visible to left was following morning when fog was moving in although it never got very close to us. Turn onto the road that went up this ridge required me to go into 4WD and would not be possible without more clearance than most motorhomes.
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We have a trip planned to Northern CA and Southern OR later this month, staying in State and Federal park campgrounds. We also have four nights staying at wineries with Harvest Hosts that I recently joined. If anyone wants a link to join that will help me recover cost for my membership, let me know. They require you to be self-contained with bathroom and cooking facilities on board.
 

jmeb

Enjoys skiing.
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
4,490
Location
Colorado
Minivan camper is about to get an upgrade. 5min install/remove kitchen setup. Running water (5gal fresh, 3gal grey), electrical charging, space to cook, and removable table extension that can be used inside or out.

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jmeb

Enjoys skiing.
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
4,490
Location
Colorado
Took a while...but it's finally at version 1.0. Sink with running water and soap, 7gal fresh/2 gal grey, battery storage, kitchen supplies, and a secure mounting system. And an old ski boot ladder to spin to keep things in place when it gets bumpy or twisty.

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And a shot from last night...
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And one from this morning cause dog
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DanoT

RVer-Skier
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
4,788
Location
Sun Peaks B.C. in winter, Victoria B.C. in summer
Here is what I use for a portable shower. With the unique low flow shower head, 2 gallons of water, heated on the stove is all that is needed:

 

JeffB

ODAT
Skier
Joined
Jan 12, 2016
Posts
753
OK, RVers. Question perhaps you can help me with. I have a propane fired pizza oven that is nominally portable. The hose on it is the standard one with a female adapter that mounts to a normal 20lb liquid propane tank - same thing you would see on any propane grill at the big box store. What I want to do, however, is get an adapter for that fitting such that I can use the much smaller, disposable liquid propane canisters like the green ones made by Coleman, for example. Are any of you aware of such an adapter or series of fittings that could be used to do it?

Basically, I want to be able to make awesome pizza at tailgates and the like without having to lug around the large propane tank. Thanks,
 

DanoT

RVer-Skier
Skier
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Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
4,788
Location
Sun Peaks B.C. in winter, Victoria B.C. in summer
Basically, I want to be able to make awesome pizza at tailgates and the like without having to lug around the large propane tank. Thanks,
The fitting/adapter is probably available at a larger RV store or maybe on Amazon but instead I would just buy a small 5 or 10 lb refillable propane tank. They are more expensive than the 20lb standard bbq tank but because a 5 lb tank can be refueled it will cost less and be more convenient than the non refillable 1lb tank in the long run.
 

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