Class B van for college student

[shysher]

This weekend my son expressed an interest in possibly trading his sedan in for a class B van. This is due to impending attendance in college and is attempting to keep his expenses down but be very mobile at the same time.

I have done a search of Craigslists between southern Indiana/Kentucky area and eastern Oklahoma which is where he plans to attend if everything shakes out. So far I have not found any class B's...and he has no interest in class A or C's nor any in travel trailers or 5th wheels as he does not want to purchase a pickup truck at this point.

Since he has been the only child in our home since birth (his half-brothers lived with their mom), the small space is not an issue with him.

So...does anyone have suggestions besides Craigslist or eBay? He would even be interested in a conversion that is ready to use if possible. The biggest factor at this point is a unit that is as inexpensive as possible.

[Dodoremi]

Maybe you can check the college’s parking policies first

[charles]

I'll bet that van got pretty ripe inside after a few months.

Nick

[SkiMore]

Awhile back I read a story written by someone that lived in his van (illegally) on campus while going to school. It was a van with blacked out windows. He used the gym for showers and public bathrooms. I think he ate lots of noodles and peanut butter

He talked about living in constant fear of being detected and didn't tell anyone where he lived. He didn't get to experience the college social scene.

He enjoyed saving the money.

[Bouvie_dogs]

Read the book "The Tiniest Mansion" by Tynan for some good pointers and ideas.

[shysher]

All the responses are much appreciated. He is also exploring other options and we will see how those pan out. I have forwarded all the responses to him for his reading so he can process them. At this point he may initially go into a dorm but may only do that for a short period of time and then transition to a class B. Again, thanks everyone!

[Fastpaddler]

Shysher

Now I am really worrying about your son living in a B Van or any van unless he has a legal, realiable and viable parking location, especially, one with the necessary hydro. He also needs black/grey tank dumping facilities, noting that B vans dont have large capacity storage for waste. Security is also a consideration. If he has a known friend or family member with a safe location, then it might work. Then again, he needs to find a well -maintained RV or he might have costs which are prohibitive.
My very best wishes for this young person.
AL

[stan909]

I just had a thought. You say your son is studying avionics. If it is near a small airport,they may have a few camp spots on site. My oldest brother who fulltimed stayed at one from time to time.

[mlts22]

RV Trader also has an iPhone app as well. Usually it lists dealer inventory, but there is that occasional private sale that pops up that is worth a look-see.

[DAWg134]

RV Trader is a good source for researching used RV. Rather than pore over dozens or even hundreds of irrelevant entries, you can set filters for MH class, diesel/gas, distance from location, etc.

Start simple and local with "Class B" , "Used" and "100 miles" from his zip code. That should get him a few candidates at least. If nothing there suits him, then expand out to 250 miles. If there happen to be too many candidates, add in some more filters.

If cost is a key consideration, sort the resulting list from cheapest-to-most-expensive.

Also, eBay Motors works similarly to RV Trader in that you can set your filters to narrow down the choices. The good thing is that you're likely to find quite a few private sellers and you can look at their feedback to determine whether or not they're legitimate. The bad thing is that inventory of Class B motorhomes is hit-and-miss. You may have to be patient, waiting a few weeks for something suitable to come up for sale.

Another eBay plus is that the older RVs often come up for auction, rather than a set price (or "Best Offer"), so you can frequently find some real bargains.

[mlts22]

Finding a good class B takes some doing. Watch out for CL scams because there are a lot of people with no "B" for sale, but yet wanting your money.

I've been in the used "B" market myself, but they go fast, and usually the models for sale tend to be early 1990s vintage vans. Almost anything newer tends to be snapped up quickly. Even PPL Motorhomes has no vans made since 2000 on their lot (although this likely can change.)

[lindentrev]

Well .. First you need to understand for how much you can sell a sedan. And keep in mind what kind of class b van he can buy. For me - these are two parallel processes
http://indianapolis.claz.org/classifieds/vehicles/cars
http://indianapolis.claz.org/classifieds/vehicles/rv?q=class+b&m=70
Take into account the the middle option, and not the most optimistic

[tatest]

shysher wrote:
I will attempt to add some clarification to my original post. My son's desire is to study avionics in Tulsa, which is approximately an 18 month certificate course. Once that is finished, he hopes to work at one of the hubs for package delivery (UPS or FedEx mainly).

However, we are not a family loaded with money, so much of it is going to have to come out of his own pocket from simple hard work. That is why he is exploring the idea of a class B more thoroughly, even though he entertained the prospect of one even before college came into the picture.

During my single years, I lived in a park model trailer so I totally support his idea of having a class B. He wants the ability to be very mobile and this seems to be the best way to accomplish that.

Please keep up the ideas. All are appreciated and many thanks are due!

In that case, he is likely attending a commuter school with no residence hall program, no rules to try to force him into it. His problem will be finding a safe place to park around the north side of Tulsa, then staying warm enough in winter, cool enough in summer (actually a greater problem). The northeast side of Tulsa is an interesting place, much of the former industrial area vacant, much of the residential area abandoned. There will be places he can park on the street or an a vacant lot and expect to be safe, places where he can park and not be bothered by the police or a security patrol, but the two things together, I'm not so sure.

I suggest the RV parking area at Expo Square as a place to get hookups when needed. Next closest place to the airport is Mingo RV Park, $185 a week, $475 a month with laundry, WiFi, Cable TV. Mingo gets some bad reviews from tourists because of the large number of long term residents (this seems to scare people) but he is going to be there with temporary workers and other students. Expo Square doesn't publish rates, I expect they are higher and may even be variable, because most of the business is people coming for "events" and rates can be raised for busy weeks and weekends.

[drsolo]

"If he doesn't have a reliable engine plus built-in toilet, holding tanks, refrigeration, cooking, and heating facilities, and sources for water, electricity, and sewage disposal, isn't living in it going to get old pretty fast? Kind of like living in the back seat of a car?
And unfortunately if the van has those qualities, there's a boat-load of people trying to find such a van so the price will be high."

People do what people need to do. At least he has a plan with a light at the end of the tunnel. The course of study suggests mechanical ability. An older conversion van would be much cheaper. I find my RVan to be jusssst right, cozy, everything in reach, a place for everything, everything in its place and uncluttered. After a month or more in my van getting back to my house feels a little overwhelming. Too much stuff, too much to do. I am getting the itch to get back on the road. sigh.

And we still dont know if he actually wants to live in the B or not.

[NCWriter]

drsolo wrote:

NCWriter wrote:
Although...knowingly violating university rules against living in vans... Or Illegally using someone unsuspecting random person's address found on Google to register for the college parking pass, a "harmless lie"? ...might not be ideal advice for embarking on a college career.

These are really minor violations or end runs around often mindless rules. OTOH, it shows this individual has persistence, creativity, ingenuity and determination, all qualities that are predictive of a successful academic and post college life.

If some NC college kid decides to use my address so he can get a parking pass (as suggested by a Duke student on that College Van Dweller web site), I won't consider it minor or creative.

But I realize times have changed for college kids, and I wouldn't want to be in their shoes struggling to get through, and then trying to get a decent job. Back in the dark ages, we all lived in cheap dorms and very few of us owned vehicles during the four years+. An unheard-of luxury in my family, so we took public transportation. All four of us got scholarship money, worked several jobs and paid off our student loans within a couple of years. Persistence and determination, I guess.

Anyway, getting back to the original poster's question. Yes, there are some class B vans at rock bottom prices, but he may want to allow some extra savings to keep the thing running.

If he doesn't have a reliable engine plus built-in toilet, holding tanks, refrigeration, cooking, and heating facilities, and sources for water, electricity, and sewage disposal, isn't living in it going to get old pretty fast? Kind of like living in the back seat of a car?

And unfortunately if the van has those qualities, there's a boat-load of people trying to find such a van so the price will be high.