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Old 06-25-2022, 12:52 AM   #1
Philvoyage
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Smile Phil from Europe

Hello all

Fresh new member not yet a Keystone owner but after tons of research planning to get a Springdale 202RD and a F150. Newly retired we'll move back to the USA before end of this year to start our new full time RV adventure.

In the past we had several type of RV's: VW Camper, VW ext cab pick-up and home made 1500lbs camper shell, Class C Ford Transit, small european travel trailer and rigid wall pop-up as well. I rented only once a Class A for a 2 week trip in between Colorado and California.

Here hopefully I'll find and share experience about topics such solar power, axles upgrades and more...

Sincerely
Phil
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Old 06-25-2022, 03:19 AM   #2
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Welcome to the forum Phil. That combo should work well together. Just do a thorough PDI (pre delivery inspection) as quality has been an issue with stateside RV builds the last couple of years. Enjoy your new adventures.
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Old 06-25-2022, 04:29 AM   #3
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Welcome from Utah!! Hopefully your camping plans will include coming out west again. Don't miss the "Mighty Five".
https://www.visitutah.com/places-to-...s/the-mighty-5
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Old 06-26-2022, 12:43 AM   #4
Philvoyage
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👍 Thanks

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Originally Posted by flybouy View Post
Welcome to the forum Phil. That combo should work well together. Just do a thorough PDI (pre delivery inspection) as quality has been an issue with stateside RV builds the last couple of years. Enjoy your new adventures.
Very good advice👍
Thank you
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Old 06-26-2022, 12:50 AM   #5
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Utah is of course part of our next big journey, we love it, still having a lot of memories from Moab, Canyonlands ��️
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Old 06-26-2022, 03:14 AM   #6
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Utah is of course part of our next big journey, we love it, still having a lot of memories from Moab, Canyonlands ��️
Welcome to the forum. I am curious about the truck camper on the van in your signature picture. Post a full size if you are able. Never saw that combo before. Cheers.
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Old 06-26-2022, 03:59 AM   #7
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Welcome From NH!
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Old 06-26-2022, 06:00 AM   #8
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Phil, might we ask what the price of regular gas and diesel fuel is on average where you live in France?
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Old 06-26-2022, 06:13 AM   #9
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Welcome to the forum. I am curious about the truck camper on the van in your signature picture. Post a full size if you are able. Never saw that combo before. Cheers.
I think that's a truck not a van. Several manufactures in Europ and Asia still build these style trucks. In the US that style truck was sold by Ford (econoline IIRC), Chevy (built on corsair chassis) , Dodge, and VW.
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Old 06-27-2022, 01:10 AM   #10
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VW Doka

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Welcome to the forum. I am curious about the truck camper on the van in your signature picture. Post a full size if you are able. Never saw that combo before. Cheers.
Thank you George

The truck camper was a VW T3 DOKA, FLAT 4 CYL 2.OL with air shocks to help supporting the 1500lbs camper shell I built over 24 months , working on weekends and including french state inspection. I was young, not sure I would redo that job but we enjoyed it 😉
Cheers.
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Old 06-27-2022, 02:12 AM   #11
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Gas price...

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Phil, might we ask what the price of regular gas and diesel fuel is on average where you live in France?
Hi

Right now in France, even though we have a 15 to 18cts discount financed by govt, price per liter is around 2.00€ for gas and diesel that was historically at lower price is now more expensive that gas!!!
Quick conversion makes it a $8.00/gal
I think this is going to get worse at fall with a 2.50€/liter (~$10.00/gal)

FYI: a European diesel class B runs at 28mpg average
Phil
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Old 06-27-2022, 03:29 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Philvoyage View Post
Thank you George

The truck camper was a VW T3 DOKA, FLAT 4 CYL 2.OL with air shocks to help supporting the 1500lbs camper shell I built over 24 months , working on weekends and including french state inspection. I was young, not sure I would redo that job but we enjoyed it 😉
Cheers.
Kinda cool but high center of gravity and narrow wheelbase….did it need a kickstand when parked or do you normally just store it on its side?
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Old 06-27-2022, 04:29 AM   #13
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Thanks for posting the picture. That was a heck of a job building that camper yourself. I had a Lance camper on an F150 and it was way over payload. I didn't know better but I did change from stock P rated tires to LT. I can imagine what it must have been like for you to travel in your self-made camper. Anyway, welcome back home.
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Old 06-27-2022, 04:44 AM   #14
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Kinda cool but high center of gravity and narrow wheelbase….did it need a kickstand when parked or do you normally just store it on its side?
Stored away when not used and when used we did not bother dropping the 2 front legs unless we camped on high winds of the Atlantic coast. The VW base with air shocks was kinda stiff enough to hold the load ; never had any issue on highways either. Only issue we had, my design mistake, was the limited cargo weight when traveling at 5 people in the cab...
I sold it to buy a Class C on dual rear wheel Ford Transit...
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Old 06-27-2022, 04:50 AM   #15
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@wiredgeorge Same I had to switch to Michelin xzl type or equivalent at this time, 1992 ...
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Old 06-27-2022, 09:16 AM   #16
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Stored away when not used and when used we did not bother dropping the 2 front legs unless we camped on high winds of the Atlantic coast. The VW base with air shocks was kinda stiff enough to hold the load ; never had any issue on highways either. Only issue we had, my design mistake, was the limited cargo weight when traveling at 5 people in the cab...
I sold it to buy a Class C on dual rear wheel Ford Transit...
it looks nice…very creative..i’m working on a teardrop trailer for my daughter but it’s been slow going so far…i’ve been busy and i tend to procrastinate
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Old 06-27-2022, 01:14 PM   #17
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projects...

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it looks nice…very creative..i’m working on a teardrop trailer for my daughter but it’s been slow going so far…i’ve been busy and i tend to procrastinate
Thanks and good luck with your daughter's project!
My last one wants to be a digital nomad and she already asked me to help her to convert a van, E250 or similar....
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Old 06-28-2022, 03:44 AM   #18
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Welcome from northern MN.
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Old 06-30-2022, 12:15 PM   #19
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Phil - 1st of all, welcome to the forum. Know you will enjoy it.
Second of all, congradulations on your retirement. Now the real fun starts.
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