[Calothrix]

Just wondering with the increased number of camper vans for sale lately on this site, have we reached the top of the mountain and are descending the other side? Is it just a fad and next year at this time will there be a glut of used Transits for sale? Just wondering.....

 

[Rolf]

No at least not Promasters or Sprinters, maybe Transits don’t see many of those anymore ,
very strange seems a year or two ago I saw lots Transit conversions

 

[SLOFO]

Moderator edit : Removed completely off topic comment.

Also- how many have actually received new 21, 22, and now 23 Transits to covert? Seems like a very low number.

 

[Van Gogh]

Just wondering with the increased number of camper vans for sale lately on this site, have we reached the top of the mountain and are descending the other side? Is it just a fad and next year at this time will there be a glut of used Transits for sale? Just wondering.....

Yes, but trends like this have slow decline rates. It's a rocket and feather market. Rocket has peaked but feather will take years to fall.

Cheers.

 

[PDX_elel]

Just wondering with the increased number of camper vans for sale lately on this site, have we reached the top of the mountain and are descending the other side? Is it just a fad and next year at this time will there be a glut of used Transits for sale? Just wondering.....

I’ve wondered the same, but the market in Africa and Australia is enormous and it seems to only have begun in earnest in the U.S. I predict lots of consolidation among outfitters but the market will likely continue.

 

[Rolf]

Well maybe? I usually avoid weekends but I made an exception to meet up
with family at very popular coastal campground, beautiful warm sunny weather
and it was maybe only 75 / 80 percent full and only a handful of camper vans
maybe just a fluke??

 

[Victor-17]

For Van living? Possibly, as everyone starts to realize the challenges. It's not all ultra-posed pic instagram fodder. But for weekenders who want something nimble, custom, without the burden of a large RV, I think it will stick for a while.

 

[ksvan]

I think the 'craze' has just about peaked but I don't think the popularity will decline in people using them for RVs now. I think they are gaining popularity over the giant traditional RVs because of how flexible they can be.

There will always be people who jump into it and get a van and then realize they don't even like that lifestyle. But there are plenty of people who have been RVing/camping their whole life and would jump at the chance to buy a full sized van.

I know I'd rather invest in my van than spend 1000s on crappy hotel rooms across the country. I'm sure others will continue to feel the same.

 

[Ob917]

Transits are really becoming popular in Southern California, I saw multiple new transit build outs yesterday alone.

 

[timreg2]

I wonder how many people are giving up their traditional RVs for a camper van. I’m sure some are (we are), but the traditional RV market has exploded over the last 3 years as well. There is a huge crowd for which vans would never work. I don’t see that crowd shrinking much.

Honestly I hope it all cools down. Less people means more available spots and privacy for me. But I’m not a van builder trying to make a career of it either.

 

[timreg2]

Another good, interesting thread hijacked into rubbish. 😔

 

[rustythorn]

back on topicish: i might be living in a fantasy but i'd like to think ford created its own achilles heel, there might be a lot of folk like me waiting for an e-transit [or any EV van] with larger battery. if that hypothesis is correct then it is creating a temporary dip in van conversion projects.

now slightly off topic, my biggest complaint is the use of the phrase 'conspiracy theory'. for something to be elevated from lowly status of an hypothesis to theory, it needs a lot of supporting data and consensus from the majority. we need to start using the phrase 'conspiracy hypothesis'

 

[surly Bill]

back on topicish: i might be living in a fantasy but i'd like to think ford created its own achilles heel, there might be a lot of folk like me waiting for an e-transit [or any EV van] with larger battery. if that hypothesis is correct then it is creating a temporary dip in van conversion projects.

now slightly off topic, my biggest complaint is the use of the phrase 'conspiracy theory'. for something to be elevated from lowly status of an hypothesis to theory, it needs a lot of supporting data and consensus from the majority. we need to start using the phrase 'conspiracy hypothesis'

Yes, laymen use the word "theory" all wrong. It's not as bad a sin as spelling loser "looser", but just as frustrating.

 

[timreg2]

Yes, laymen use the word "theory" all wrong. It's not as bad a sin as spelling loser "looser", but just as frustrating.

Alot of gramatical errors in theze poasts drives me nutz to.

 

[gregoryx]

My take on the van-peak: I think if we assembled a trend of posts on the old Sprinter forums from 10+ years ago (pick your "pre-boom" date), then forward through to where we are now, the DIY mindset has shifted significantly - as have budgets.

The early dirt-baggers shifted to early "how I'd do this better" mindsets - folks like Orton - versus just how to hide in my van without getting caught. The vehicles were the cheapest ex-commercial usage things one could find and the modifications (not sure "build out" was a thing) were simple. The life (not sure "lifestyle" really even fits) was focused differently.

Now, those of us who actually do our own work and those who contract it out are both called, "DIY," and calling these vans with a build-out is really not accurate: these are home-built RVs. And our concepts and standards (and budgets) are not even related to those folks from a decade ago.

So... is it dead? Or is it moving into a really high-budget model with less volume? I think the latter. The big RV brands all have very high-dollar Class-B rigs that are much more expensive than their old class-B-because-you-can't-afford-class-A rigs. And they're sold out. And there are MANY new businesses catering exclusively to these buyers. And they're sold out - of $125K-200K rigs - for the next year or two.

Meanwhile, new potential owners / buyers / builders are mostly seeing these new high-end setups as the old viable / real / "safe" way to have a "van" (or "vanlife" as they call it). Witness our countless discussions here of what the "right" and "safe" way is to do things - every new vanlifer knows the electrical will burn their van to the ground. Versus back when Orton was getting all techy in the Sprinter world, much of the dirt-baggers were just rolling their eyes. Now, it's us luddites that don't understand safety that get the eye-rolls.

I don't think it's dead yet. But I think it has shifted to a high-dollar, lower-volume environment. The dirt-baggers may still be doing what they did (not a volume increase) and the higher-dollar DIY'ers are in full-force but their numbers are limited (much of our members here). And the high-dollar buy-it-don't-to-it folks are the new growing volume. I know a handful of those - the $150K-$200K rig is on order already - and they see it as the same as our rig that we built but that they're too busy to do all that stuff - and it would be dangerous. They're not entirely wrong. 😄

 

[harryn]

If Ford ever catches up with demand, then they could very quickly create new demand by building 159 WB HR vans that don't look like the extra sheet metal was tacked on as an after thought.

EV vans - For a while the main appeal will be in - town contractors and utility use.

 

[ranxerox]

When I bought my Transit I was thinking 1980s Custom Van and that is pretty much what I have built except for instead of shag carpet I have cedar planks. At the time I did not even have a clue that there was a new van fad.

Since 2017 I have been to two Van National's and there have never been more then one or two Transit's there, Forget about promasters and sprinters.

 

[timo3b]

Well maybe? I usually avoid weekends but I made an exception to meet up
with family at very popular coastal campground, beautiful warm sunny weather
and it was maybe only 75 / 80 percent full and only a handful of camper vans
maybe just a fluke??

Don't most vanlifers default to boondocking, off-grid places like the slabs, etc and more off-season times? I'm still waiting for Ford to build me something to daily drive/work/camp in. EcoBoost AWD seems better and cheaper than a 4x4 sprinter and more reliable than the (not even available in 4wd/awd promaster), so I'll stick with Ford. Begrudgingly. For now.

 

[Teddy]

The van craze indirectly brought me here. Friend has a sprinter that I've been borrowing for the past 2 weeks. Back in March I sold my tow rig(GX460) to get peak $$$, I have a Sequoia on order. I had to borrow the sprinter because I need to tow my toy hauler to take my kart to the track, I realized **** this thing is easy to drive, tows well enough for my needs, has the cargo capacity of a truck and passenger handling better than a mini van. The MPG I got was better than both my GX460 and Tundra. So I started shopping and researching Sprinters and Transit, settled on the Transit, have a 2023 on order. The transit will have to be multipurpose for me, it needs to carry passengers if needed, two my toy hauler(small one), and handle weekend trips to home depot and Ikea(seats taken out). It won't be my daily vehicle, I have plenty of other cars for that. After 2 weeks with the sprinter, I learned that it's no longer than my old trunda so finding a parking spot isnt hard.

 

[surly Bill]

I kept gazing into my crystal ball and predicting the end of #vanbums. I was constantly misled by fake news in the crystal ball. Maybe it was broken. I upcycled it.