Class B as additional vehicle?

[tb919]

A couple of questions for you B owners. Do you use your van as an additional vehicle at home? Or is it strictly for travel? We like the Coachmen vans but the frig/freezer in the Nova is super small. Does that create much of a problem or is there a work around for that? Like a dometic freezer/frig. We like the Beyond but there aren't many available right now and there is a Nova RB available, although I like the rear lounge better. Just doing some research at this point.

[Rocinante440]

In our case it's strictly for travel because our HOA doesn't permit anything configured as a camper, even if it's a Class B van, to be parked in the driveway. If you live in an HOA check those rules before you think you'll have a 2nd daily driver. That's what we thought we'd have, but noooooo. We're making it work with one car at home and the camper van in storage, though it's not what we'd hoped for in terms of daily convenience. OTOH, where we live the sun bakes down super hot and we store our camper in the shade under a roof, so that's actually a net positive for extending the life of the van.

Regarding the tiny fridge in our unit, yep it's a constant pain in the neck, but again, we've learned how to make it work for us. It does require more frequent trips to the grocery store and fewer items per trip in terms of chilled items, but seriously we make it work and it was fine once we got the hang of it.

[Boxster1971]

I use my Airstream Interstate Sprinter as a second vehicle year-round. In winter it is winterized, and I use RV anti-freeze to flush toilet when needed. It is however mainly a travel vehicle but for local travel it is always nice to bring my own toilet.

The refrigerator in my van is also small and the freezer compartment is a joke. I recently got a Dometic CFX powered cooler. It was very useful during my 65 days in Canada this summer.

[magicbus]

We use ours to travel but then as our primary vehicle when we get to our winter rental cottage. As for fridge size, my wife is a celiac so we need to cook most all of our meals. A larger fridge is a requirement for us and the Era A model was one of the few with a larger fridge that fit our needs.

[RV_Lee]

A friends mom daily drove a Dodge camper van back in the 90's, but probably because it was just a cheap used vehicle at the time. I dont think I would today, I'd want to keep the mileage to travels only for better resale.

[JonMN]

Hi! The Nova is a nice choice. I test drove the Rear Bath model and liked it. The only downside is that I have long legs and the RB configuration limited the driver seat extension. So we ended up with the Coachmen Beyond RB.

Refrig is small but I don't see that as a problem as we are using this mainly for travel. It's plenty big enough for the two of us. And it's a really nice small refrigerator; 12V and very low draw on the battery.

We do plan on using this mainly for driving long distances. In between trips we are having fun just driving to local parks, finding a site with a view, and having lunch, walk the dog, etc. Yesterday was warm here, and we had lunch and watched Christmas Vacation. All on battery!