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Our Camper Van

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Daily Life and Random Thoughts...

Parking:

When we park somewhere that neither of us will be in the van we pull the day-night shades in all living-area windows, and put the silvered shades in the front 3 windows. If it is hot we will also put the silvered arctic-shades in the living-area windows as well so the van does not get as hot (the difference is significant). This also prevents people from seeing what is in the van, and a LOT of people notice the van and examine it.

To avoid too many prying eyes we usually park in the truck/trailer area of rest-areas as there are fewer people, and the truckers seem more respectful of our rig (though still often quite curious).

Driving Offroad:

A few things that we have found helpful in driving the van off-road, or on rough dirt roads with rocks and washboard:

  • Disconnect anti-sway-bars. This lets the wheels move more independantly, reducing the jarring impact of bumps.
  • Air down the tires. We ususally drop to about 20/22psi (from our highway pressure of 40-45) when we will spend a fair amount of time on rough terrain. This lets the tires absorb many of the smaller bumps, and take the edge off the larger ones. These pressures are for our 37x12.5 tires.
  • Slow down. The van is big, heavy, and full of delecate stuff, so we often drive much slower on the rough stuff than we would in a normal truck, jeep, or car. We are usually not in a rush to get anywhere specific anyway, or we wouldn't be on the dirt road in the van.
  • Lash EVERYTHING down securely, and make sure all cabinets are positively latched FIRST. Nothing is more distracting than having a can of baked beans come hurtling at your head from the back of the van because you forgot to put it away in the pantry. This also helps cut down on extranious clanging and other noise so you can concentrate.
Off-highway driving