Just back from 18 days on the road. The camper build worked as hoped. Number one concern for me was a good bed and that was a complete success. Dogs were unhappy there wasn't room on the bed for them :frown:. The storage areas stored all that I needed - extra water & dog food, ex pens & other dog related gear as well as my clothing, a propane heater & cook stove. Some magnetic hooks on the exposed side walls proved useful for hanging misc items. The fold up table worked well for cooking inside when it was rainy. Eventually I will have an awing but didn't get time to rig it for this trip. I was able to sit in my folding chair and cook, reach fridge, water and cabinet quite easily. Aux battery easily handled the fridge, fan and lights. Max I was parked without moving on this trip was three days; looked like battery could easily have handled five.
Van handled nicely over the mountains and on windy hilly roads on the coast - a pleasure to drive. On the push home I drove 11 hours pretty much straight with no back ache. Mileage was a pleasant surprise - best was a 400+ mile stretch that averaged 30-31 mpg. On the drive home first section from Salem, OR to Post Falls, ID it was very windy in the Columbia gorge and across eastern WA and I got 27-28 mpg; second leg from Post Falls home over 3 mountain passes and then 80 mph for 250 miles on MT interstate it dropped to 25-26 mpg.
Overall a very successful trip. :smile:
Van handled nicely over the mountains and on windy hilly roads on the coast - a pleasure to drive. On the push home I drove 11 hours pretty much straight with no back ache. Mileage was a pleasant surprise - best was a 400+ mile stretch that averaged 30-31 mpg. On the drive home first section from Salem, OR to Post Falls, ID it was very windy in the Columbia gorge and across eastern WA and I got 27-28 mpg; second leg from Post Falls home over 3 mountain passes and then 80 mph for 250 miles on MT interstate it dropped to 25-26 mpg.
Overall a very successful trip. :smile:
