To be honest, I didn't think there would be this many decisions to make regarding getting my own van, and these are only the ones I've come up with so far. I'm going to go through them, and hope for input from everybody.
First, for the van itself, either a Sprinter, the longest one made, or the longest, high-roof Ford Transit. I want to maximize my cargo area while simultaneously minimizing occasions on which I have to take down my bed and nap in the driver's seat. Been watching comparison videos. I like the wifi, all wheel drive, and Ford Pass app so I can control the van from anywhere, but I don't like the fact that the longest Ford is shorter than the longest Sprinter. But I do like that Ford parts and maintenance are much easier to come by. My current owner has only one Sprinter mechanic he trusts. A video I saw says good Sprinter mechanics are hard to come by.
Diesel/gas: leaning toward diesel, thinking of how/where to maybe have emissions deleted. My current owner deleted emissions.
Thinking of putting in a full sized recliner for a bed, like Lazy Boy, but I realize that would permanently take up space. But when I'm empty, I'd like to turn it a bit and relax in it like my van is a den. Mount a tablet and pull up a video of a fireplace, my dog in my lap, etc.
Deer bumper! Saw a van with a nice deer bumper. To be honest, I'm afraid of deer. Even if you don't get injured in a deer strike, you might have to get towed away and spend considerable time in the shop. Don't know how hard it would impact my economy.
I'd want to remove the passenger seat, and put the house batteries on the floor, covered with a box of some sort, fridge on the box, maybe some luggage there.
I'm not at all handy in a carpenter or electrical sense, so I'd have to have someone do the work, but I'd want insulation, storage racks along the side over the wheel wells, up to 4 rows of e-track on the floor.
Then the business end... My first thought is to set up the company as a disregarded entity and pay myself as an employee. Anybody do this?
I welcome coments on this or anything I haven't thought of.
First, for the van itself, either a Sprinter, the longest one made, or the longest, high-roof Ford Transit. I want to maximize my cargo area while simultaneously minimizing occasions on which I have to take down my bed and nap in the driver's seat. Been watching comparison videos. I like the wifi, all wheel drive, and Ford Pass app so I can control the van from anywhere, but I don't like the fact that the longest Ford is shorter than the longest Sprinter. But I do like that Ford parts and maintenance are much easier to come by. My current owner has only one Sprinter mechanic he trusts. A video I saw says good Sprinter mechanics are hard to come by.
Diesel/gas: leaning toward diesel, thinking of how/where to maybe have emissions deleted. My current owner deleted emissions.
Thinking of putting in a full sized recliner for a bed, like Lazy Boy, but I realize that would permanently take up space. But when I'm empty, I'd like to turn it a bit and relax in it like my van is a den. Mount a tablet and pull up a video of a fireplace, my dog in my lap, etc.
Deer bumper! Saw a van with a nice deer bumper. To be honest, I'm afraid of deer. Even if you don't get injured in a deer strike, you might have to get towed away and spend considerable time in the shop. Don't know how hard it would impact my economy.
I'd want to remove the passenger seat, and put the house batteries on the floor, covered with a box of some sort, fridge on the box, maybe some luggage there.
I'm not at all handy in a carpenter or electrical sense, so I'd have to have someone do the work, but I'd want insulation, storage racks along the side over the wheel wells, up to 4 rows of e-track on the floor.
Then the business end... My first thought is to set up the company as a disregarded entity and pay myself as an employee. Anybody do this?
I welcome coments on this or anything I haven't thought of.