How to RV the Earth-Friendly Way | Page 1 of 3 | Energy Education Series | Financial Articles & Investments News | TheStreet.com How to RV the Earth-Friendly Way Kelsey Abbott 12/17/08 - 08:58 AM EST If you love the idea of exploring the country in your own home but can't handle the guilt of a massive carbon footprint -- let alone the expense of a gas-guzzling standard recreational vehicle -- green RVing may be for you. Green RVing isn't an oxymoron. A green RV is built with green building materials, uses renewable energy and is fuel- and energy-efficient. So if the open road beckons, consider choosing a greener RV -- or retrofit your current RV to be as eco-friendly as possible. Here are tips on how to do it. Buying If you're in the market for a new RV, look for a fuel-efficient model. Last summer, Damon Motor Coach introduced the Avanti, a Class-A clean diesel motorhome that promises to get at least 14.5 miles per gallon. That may sound dismal, but it's more than 80% better than the average RV, which gets just 8 mpg. The Avanti -- with an aerodynamic design that the manufacturer calls "the most drivable Class-A motorhome" -- starts at $144,060. Sportsmobile offers Class-B motorhomes, also known as camper vans. The company converts Ford (F Quote - Cramer on F - Stock Picks), Dodge and Chevrolet/GM (GM Quote - Cramer on GM - Stock Picks) vans into custom RVs with fuel-efficiency ratings between 12 and 20 miles per gallon. Base costs vary depending on the van model: A Sportsmobile 2009 Ford RB Van starts around $56,000, while the more fuel-efficient Sportsmobile 2009 Dodge Sprinter RB Van starts around $73,000. If you're willing to wait for your eco-friendly RV, reserve your Verdier. Modeled after the Volkswagen Westfalia camper van, the Verdier has a hybrid engine and solar panels that track the sun -- and an HD home theater, LED lights and an on-board computer with Internet, Bluetooth and green energy software. Models start at $129,000. The only problem? The company has not yet set a delivery date for the "New Pioneers Edition," as it's dubbed the first 250 units it plan to make. <more>
I've ridden through many a campsite shaking my head at the monstrosities euphemistically called 'recreational'. With some, I can honestly say I've lived in smaller apartments. Microwaves, televisions, satellite dishes, gas fireplaces with remote controls...what's the point of leaving home if you take it with you? Deer browsing by the side of the road merely glance up as you ride by, and I've had them eating out of my hand in quiet and remote campsites. (Those would be the ones without those infernal generator-equipped "RVs")
I like the Sportsmobile conversions, thanks for the link. I also like Ursa Minor's Element conversion. For $4300 they will convert your Honda Element into a basic camper.
Usually "RV" refers to a road vehicle equipped to serve as a full-function house. This in spite of the fact that bicycles, sailboats, and airplanes can often be "recreational." Bicycle camping is infinitely more green than RVing, but is a distinctly different category. I've never owned an RV, and never had any serious desire to own one. But if I didn't get seasick I'd want to own about a 10 or 15 meter sailboat with PV sails and a wind charger on each of two masts and an electric compressor (for the scuba tanks) and an all-female crew.
I was being somewhat facetious, though in my defense, I'd say the term 'RV' is somewhat of a misnomer, being less 'recreational' than a bicycle, and more house than vehicle.
I snap'd a couple quick pic's on our latest trip back to our Montana home a couple months back. I'll post the pic's when I get home in 6 hours ... you've got to see it to believe it ... RV'ing Kalispell style. Hold on to your funny bone because the neighbors (a couple miles away thank god) bring new meaning to motorhome 'recycling'. $114K for the avanti? I'm guessing my neighbor's piece of work cost him $114 dollars.
Right now, the hottest thing in the "RV" industry is the conversion of Mercedes Sprinter diesel van chassis into small "Class C" motorhomes getting between 14 to 18MPG for a 24 foot long RV. Wayne
Will the dish fit here ? (took me a while to get my chores done & load the pic) People ... the irony never ceases. Now THIS is cheep RV'ing.
Houseboats are nothing new. Whether it's cheaper to put a travel trailer on pontoons, or build a shack on them, I have no idea. But if I was going to do a houseboat, I think I'd rather have something more like a proper house so as not to be constrained by the width that road lanes impose on a trailer. Incidentally, my father, who was one of the most unsympathetic men I've ever known, insisted that motion sickness was entirely psychological. It was only when he and my mother visited a houseboat at night, unaware that it was a houseboat, and my mother became sick from the slight motion, that she was able to prove that her motion sickness was real. She stepped outside for air, and only then realized that they were on the water. Years later he still insisted that I got carsick and threw up on purpose, in order to spoil the trip for everyone else. I'd rather have a proper schooner than a houseboat. If I didn't I get seasick.
Ahhh! you miss the beauty of that contraption. It's multi purpose! They are also used for ice fishing up there ... with the heavy pontoon/skids, they drag 'em out onto the frozen lakes ... open the hatch in the floor, start up the auger, and viola! All the comforts of home.
