Hi all, We’re in our mid-50s, looking to phase into retirement by first doing multi-week/remote work trips and then getting more and more into just remote… less work. We were backpackers for years and built out our Santa Fe and CRV for car camping when we decided our bodies needed a little more comfort. Looking for something even more comfortable for long term trips (full time?) that can still access the forest roads and remote places we like to go.
For only 2 people, I’m a big fan of smaller Class C RV’s.
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How durable are they on rough forest roads? We end up in a lot of sand at times as well. I’m also wondering about clearance, not just underneath, but with low branches and such. Are they much bigger than a van with high roof? We’ve also thought about a cabin top on a pickup, but I like being able to go from ‘sleep/living space’ to driving without going outside. (for my solo female trips)
I don’t think class C’s are noticeably taller than a high top van… Ground clearance might be debatable, but I’ve done a lot of logging roads in many class C’s without a problem.
I can tell you that duallies are much better in sand, mud, snow, & ice.
Many of my class C’s had fiberglass campers with the regular van front. They seem to be better for rough use than the ones with siding on them. The mid 1970’s ones with the Dodge drive trains are my favorite. They were built in an era when quality still meant something. I’ve put hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles on those rigs. They were built to last.
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I once considered the sliding truck camper shells that have bathrooms. You need a truck with the weight capacity for them of course, but you can certainly get 4WD, and if you really want it, dualies. I think they can be a fair bit cheaper to buy and service than a class B or C motorhome, and any mechanic can service the truck part - provided they aren’t too high to fit in the shop’s lift.
I get that you don’t want to exit the vehicle to move into the back. Are you nimble enough to slip through sliding windows in the back of the truck and the front of the cap? I used to have a smaller truck cap (for car camping, not vanlife) set up like that. I also had some of the area below the windows cut out by a customization place, so I could pass a kayak through. They installed what I think they called a “boot” (a gasket, so bugs couldn’t get in the lower part.) I’m not sure that was legal though - since it modified the vehicle structure a bit. But it was very convenient to me. Perhaps an established truck customization guy could say.
A truck like that would be a lot easier to park and get serviced than a full length trailer. But - fair warning - many RV places don’t allow vans or that type of camper. They want certified “RVs”. And you certainly can’t do stealth camping in something so obviously set up for camping.
As you must know, some forest roads and park dirt roads have low branches. Even a normal van might be too high for some. Also, some are pretty narrow - a full trailer might not fit.
Also know that the larger vehicles tend to get into more accidents, and need specialty mechanics, who are relatively few and far between, and expensive.
But if I had infinite money, I think one of the 15’ or 17’ motorhomes would be ideal.
FWIIW, I think there are more Ford dealers & mechanics & parts in rural locations than anything else. So maybe they are best for available parts & service…
There are other forums that service the “overland” community. They drive off-road - may be more than you want, but if you like the back country… They have to be rugged. Though not cheap.
We havnt really considered these yet mainly i think because we don’t have a truck. It’s worth a look tho. Currently i could scramble thru a window hatch, but who knows down the road. Also if i were in a hurry. Appreciate the info.
4x4 high clearance truck with slide in top camper.
Preferrably 4 season insulation
Or 4x4 lifted van
Don’t even think about anything else.
You will thank me later
Remember, heavy vehicles get stuck much easier.
It is much harder to recover heavy vehicle and offroad recovery easily 500/hour with 2 hour minimums. That if you got cell signal to call.
(motohomes of any class do NOT go far on the roads you need to go to and in some regions with heavy vegetation its 100% no go. They can not get into most campsites out there. Source: I live on these roads full time. But as backpackers you already know this)
If you are a bit adventurous, need more space and willing to build: box truck with good ground clearance thats not too large, these can take some abuse on nasty roads
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Definitely leaning toward a van currently. We’re hoping to buy used and find something already built under $60,000. Or even find something we can slide a kit into. This is our first van and we fully anticipate learning a ton about how our lifestyle changes and our true wants/needs. Figured down the road when we sell our home we’ll be ready to spend a little more. We like simple. Water jugs with foot pump or other simple system (easier to winterize or manage in cold weather), toilet system using bags, and are considering a Jackery or other supplemental electrical system until we learn more about where our power goes and how much we use. Where are the best places to find decent used vans?
Whether a van or truck camper the priority should be 4x4 high clearance especially if in the US. Boondocking places are getting jampacked more snd more, there is no relief in 2025. Im very glad that this is my last year of travel after many years. Without the edge allowing to go extra miles its less of a nature experience now and more stress from seeing crowds,
There are hordes living in vehicles on public land fulltime now. The rest is unimportant or can be built or changed over time.
It is much easier to buy high clearance 4x4 truck than van but you can lift the van and possibly add 4x4 if you cant find one. Offroad capable van have to hunt for that everywhere online on all resources
cordelisse0: Have you looked at the motorhomes and trailers specifically designed for off-road?
If you visit one of the forums directed at the overland community, you will see that there are several class B motorhomes and trailers specifically designed for off-road capabilities. (The price tags are amazingly high, but that’s a separate issue.) (Though, honestly, I’d hate to drive anything with a trailer on windy twisty roads, such as you often find in the wooded backcountry. Maybe on open terrian, like I’ve seen pictured in The Great Plains or Africa they would work.)
Some pickups have very long front cabs, with an extra row of seats behind the front seats. On some of them you can take out the rear seat and sleep there with a sleeping bag and roll-out pad. Then, if there is a center console between the two front seats you could remove, or if you removed the passenger side seat, I think you could easily move between the front seat and that bed. If you stored a portable toilet in the area in front of the passenger side seat, you could move the sleeping back out of the way and move it there. Of course, you’d want window coverings for privacy.
However, pick-ups with extended cabs are longer, even if they have short (about 6’ rather than 8’) beds, and are harder to park in cities. Possibly harder to drive on windy backcountry roads.
There are pop-up slide in shells that have bathrooms. Not sure if any are light enough for a “light pickup truck”. Pop-ups have a huge advantage in that you can drive them under low branches (and low bridges), but obviously, rapid access to the rear bathroom from the driving seat would be a problem. And some people build their own camper shells on pickup trucks, out of cheap materials like wood - not so light, but a lot of people know how to build with wood. You could learn or hire a carpenter.
I used to have a VW popup camper van, I took on hundreds of weekend trips, and also used as my primary vehicle. I bought it used, but it was white (cool in summer) had a big closet, under-rear-seat-storage, a dual battery isolator circuit with a high capacity deep cycle marine battery under the rear passenger seat, a plug through hole I could put an electrical extension cord through, high road clearance. It had a fold out table and sink. (Note: I would hesitate to cook in any vehicle, if you drive in bear country - especially grizzly or polar bear country. I’ve seen videos of a grizzly bear jumping on a VW van, until the doors popped open.) No toilet or shower, but there was plenty of room to set something. It was perfect for what I needed then, though it didn’t have 4WD - I would certainly have looked for that if I had realized how much easier 4WD makes driving on snow and ice covered roads, and I never bothered to setup a shower. At a diagonal, I could fit a 4m long slalom kayak while driving, partly because there was no center console. (I also had real rain gutters, and I found Thule racks that were high enough to be used above the pop-up - though they once damaged a repair shop ceiling because the mechanic didn’t check the height, and I couldn’t use them in parking garages.) The lack of a center console meant I could easily walk between the front seats and the back. The forward position (rear engine) meant I could see around corners. However, VW vans had a high center of gravity, like many of these vehicles: I once flipped another VW van on an ice covered bridge, totaling it. 
Alas, VWs have moved upscale and are very expensive now, for purchase, parts, and labor. Many rural parts stores and mechanics don’t stock the expensive parts. When I needed a fuel pump in the Laurel Highlands, I had to be towed 100 miles to Pittsburgh - which only had a VW dealer because they used to have a VW factory; even the dealer had to order the fuel pump from the VW East coast parts depot in Lanham, MD. I was stuck there for a few days.) I camped in VWs in summer and in winter down to about 0 degrees F. I needed a good winter sleeping bag or blankets, but eventually realized I didn’t need an electric heater, which meant I could go outside campgrounds - e.g., some cross country ski resorts let you sleep in your vehicle in the parking lot. But I think VW vans may be better insulated than some vans. Less room than bigger vehicles - they might be tough for two people.
I’ve never had dualies. But good quality all-terrain tires (or to some extent, even all-weather tires) with deep treads make a huge difference on snow, ice, and mud. Appropriate tires are actually more important to traction than 4WD, though I would never want a vehicle now without 4WD or AWD - which are sometimes indistinguishable and more a matter of marketing than engineering, though “4WD” is sometimes reserved for the more rugged type with full manual control and full differential lock, and very low forward and backwards gear speeds, that can get you unstuck best, because you have complete control over everything. But an AWD (or nominal 4WD that turns on automatically) that engages automatically, is best for driving at highway speed if your reflexes aren’t all that fast.
Rain can turn a dirt parking lot or road into mud very easily. Learn to drive in snow and mud. Most of the time you are not best off making the wheels spin fast. That digs out an area around the tires or turns snow into ice, and makes getting out harder. Instead you usually want the wheels to move slowly enough they don’t slip (might not work in deep mud), and rock forward and back if needed. Never, ever park on ice covered grass or vegetation - it’s the most slippery surface you will encounter - and it can occur in innocent looking locations like road shoulders. It is almost impossible to get out of without a tow truck (which might be unwilling to come on backcountry roads), though maybe those blocks that strap to the tires, and the winches would work. You need a vehicle with wheel wells with enough clearance to fit chains, or especially those blocks. And I think only certain trucks have strong enough frame attachment points for the winches, though various shops can attach tow hitches to the back - even U-Haul, though I’m told they aren’t the sturdiest. (I use a U-Haul hitch - I cheaped out and didn’t bother with the electrical connection, which I kind of regret - as a rear tie down point, which is less critical, because I bought an SUV that really isn’t an SUV. But maybe that’s not what you need for a winch.)
Make sure you have plenty of road clearance, under the ENTIRE vehicle. Preferably 8-8.5" or more. That in turn means the wheels must be at least about twice that in diameter. (Unfortunately, that makes them heavy. You may have trouble changing tires. I don’t have a good solution.) Also, wide tires - which may require wide wheels - are overwhelmingly better on loose pack snow and mud - but may actually be worse on ice, because the pressure on the ice (pounds of weight per square inch, or kg / cm^2) isn’t enough to break through. Studded tires might help, but are illegal almost everywhere, all the time or most of the time.
I’ve never driven on sand dunes, and can’t say what works there. (I’ve also never driven up or down creek beds - the furthest off road I’ve gone is on driveways and prepared campsites. So I can’t tell you every tool or technique they use.)
There are various devices that can help you get unstuck if that isn’t enough. Traction mats are sometimes enough, and are fast, compact and easy. Chains designed to be used continuously are extremely difficult or impossible to put on while you are stuck, so I don’t use them. Emergency chains, that thread through the holes in the wheel, are more practical for those occasions. But there are also things that resemble blocks that are attached in similar ways, that could probably get you out of just almost any snow or mud. There also winches, that can mount to the front and back of some trucks. Some electrical expensive ones, like the type motorboat users use, and some cheaper ones that you crank by hand. I’ve never used them. I guess you strap the other end of the winch line to a tree, or drive a stake into the ground? You obviously couldn’t have a winch line across a road someone else might drive through, though if it is a very low traffic road perhaps you could set up flares or flashing lights, but I know the Jeep community practices righting flipped Jeeps using winches. So I assume they are practical for serious backcountry situations, especially off-road. Or if you have a long private dirt driveway.
It doesn’t sound like off-road is what you want, but I know some kayak and canoe put in and take outs are pretty close to being off-road.
Some people like the idea of putting a tent on top of your vehicle. I think that is mostly silly, and they are ridiculously overpriced. But maybe, as a lady traveling alone, they would be a little safer than setting up a tent on the ground? I’m not sure.
BTW, maybe if you are traveling alone and don’t have a lot of stuff, a Subaru Outback or Toyota Highlander would do for you? A lot fewer changes to make than what this forum, or the overland forums is directed for - but of course a lot less room. The Outbacks even have good window visibility, unless that has changed recently. On anything else, I would want extra mirror or cameras - I’ve been looking into mounting mirrors under roof racks. A roof rack+carrier and maybe a hitch mounted cargo box could add a bit of space to store stuff.
I can’t even tell you how many people with 4x4’s I had to help rescue… They just get stuck farther out and stuck deeper. Recovery gear and knowing how to use it will get you further than any 4x4.
I think the wilderness is better explored on foot, or with small ATV’s. I had an Argo 6 wheeler for a while, and that thing was awesome for exploring where no rig was going.
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There is no point in would of should off.
4x4 + clearance gets you though that wash and that muddy road to that pristine nature camp where no one bothers you and no one camps near you , esp in heavy vehicle. Let tose hordes of stock, vans buses and RVs huddle together elsewhere.
I live out there on remote roads full time and this is what I know. Backpackers usually arent into parking lots or rv campground situations.
You will want to cry when you see that truck or SUV zipping to where you cant get in your stock van, trust me or having to worry all the time about damage or getting out.
No gonna argue about that. I live off those roads for years know what Im talking about. Every inch of clearance matters now, its not 2015 anymore and wobt be again, when you just pull off and have the place to your self and choice of sites
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That makes sense. 
Having 4WD etc. is only good enough if you have enough common sense not to take it too far. I don’t really go off-road. Though… sometimes a dirt parking lot, which rain turned to mud. I used the traction mats and a lot of patience to get out.
People with 2WD tow trucks have told me they sometime rescue 4WD trucks. They simply know how to drive and they take precautions.
The ATV is something that would be hard for most vanlifers, or the truck equivalent, would have trouble fitting, without a trailer. And trailers can be very difficult to back up in, if they jacknife, in limited space. Also, you don’t want to drive them in some very windy situations, especially on bridges. I used to drive a vehicle with a trailer loaded with many kayaks for a part-time job. I really hated it.
Maybe they could manage in an off-road motorcycle (dirt bike)… But honestly, as a hiker and skier, I hate noisy and dangerous fast moving motorized vehicles in the backcountry. Even crazy fast moving mountain bikers scare me on narrow trails.
Now that brought back memories… I used to take my 1960’s VW campers so far out that even jeeps wouldn’t go. Heavy duty chains for all 4 wheels, a tow strap you could wrap around a tire for a winch, boy those were the days…
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You predate me. My VW bus days were in the 1980s through mid 1990s. All using used 2WD vehicles, but not much older. I once skidded a VW bus into a ditch in the snow, but was able to drive right back out because of the high clearance.But rear engine (weight in the back) 2WD was never optimal for snow and ice. I once arrived at the ski resort with close to a foot of snow caked on the side of my VW bus that I hadn’t realized had accumulated there. I switched to a 4WD truck with big AT tires that was probably overkill for my use - but the difference was overwhelming. I switched from driving from Maryland to West Virginia XC ski resorts (which were of course best for skiing during “snow emergencies”) at 20 mph to close to 55 mph, and stopped arriving in a sweat because I had complete confidence. Most of the time I left the 4WD off on the truck even on snow - having the right tires, and the right wheel base, a bit of extra weight, and a front engine, gave so much better traction.
One last warning: all cars & trucks have 4 wheel braking. 4WD helps steering and getting unstuck, but you still need to leave space to stop in the snow and ice.
I wonder how dualies do on hard ice? Maybe, just like wide tires, they actually do worse?
cordelisse0: when you say every inch of clearance matters, are you saying that 8 - 8.5" isn’t enough if you want to camp away from the maddening crowds where you go now?
How much do you need? I’d be afraid the 10-10.5 inch clearance vehicles might flip too easily.
We need a better answer than homelessness to high housing prices. People shouldn’t be crowding into the wilderness if they don’t love it, and won’t treat it right. And we ought to go back to $5000-$10000 used SUVs, instead of those $50-100K modern vehicles, that are so complicated they probably aren’t reliable.
I want to respond about SUV living
Bob Wells from CheapRVLiving and movie Nomadland, the vehicle dwelling “celebrity” well into his retirement years, he is 70, had moved into big awd SUV recently.
He also got a very small no build trailer specifically for wintering in the deserts.
I dont think I could live out of SUV again, but I used to, out of SUV and tent. This is in my younger years. In my 50s now…now its a no.
Bob owns land, may be 40 acres, he is going to live on it part time so SUV is more of a summer dwelling thing for distance travel.
What a few people do for retirement is they get a mid sized RV trailer for winters in AZ when you spend more time inside and truck toppers for summers.
Trailers got lots of clearance now and not having overhanging branches in AZ you can get them into some rough places to camp with privacy. Then, to storage the trailer goes for summer and off in the slide in truck camper to higher elevations and some tough to get to spots
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Sounds like a good compromise! Are there good cheap places to rent storage for the trailers and caps? Right now I’ve got some stuff at commercial storage businesses like Public Storage. I’m paying more for storage rent than for where I live.
Or - maybe its best if you own land in the middle of nowhere, where you can store stuff, because there are fewer rules. Plus, that means you are staying completely legit, and not lying to insurance companies and the state & local tax agencies, like a lot of vanlifers are. Though I suppose health and vehicle insurance companies might eventually get upset and void coverage for snowbirds like you are talking about - if they go to out-of-state medical stuff too often, or get into an accident.
Are there insurance companies that specifically cater to the nomadic crowd, with no fixed address, and won’t void insurance for that?
I’ve never looked into what land in the middle of nowhere costs. Maybe it isn’t all that high? I’m in retirement, and am looking for better options than renting rooms in houses full of young people near a big city. Sure I’d have to change some of my activities, but it might be worth it.
But we are sort of hijacking this thread. Maybe the o.p. doesn’t care about this stuff.
OP here, there’s some good stuff here, but yes it’s drifting from my current concerns. We’re not full time any time soon, still have at least 6 or 7 years working. Been car camping in remote areas with our built out Santa Fe, and CRV set up. Fine for camping trips, but we want to start working remote for a few weeks at a time. Need the vehicle, and to figure out power and internet.
BTW, I talked about cutting a passage from the cab of a pickup to the back section. I think it’s called a “cut through”.
But there are also pickups with built in mid-gates that are presumably legal, because they are made by the truck manufacturer, so they don’t undermine the intended structure. Not very popular yet, but maybe more so in the future. But current & recent year pickups are all very expensive.
It seems to me that starting with a real van - such as your Sante Fe - makes more sense. (I just mentioned the pickup option because there are a lot of pre-made off-the-shelf slide in campers, some at reasonable prices. And a lot of pickups are made very rugged, have high road clearance, and have 4WD.
Also, if you want to build your own camper, some pickups have a “box delete” option at lower cost - just a flat bed cargo area has no sidewalls or back wall.
With the huge number of people doing the vanlife thing, some of who can’t afford traditional housing, I wonder if the cost of minimal pre-built Class B motorhomes will start coming down over the next few years? Or at least there will be relatively easy to use conversion kits?
Maybe a relatively new manufacturer will start making them.
What can’t your Santa Fe do that you want it to do? Maybe it can be modified more to do what you want? Maybe, until you really retire, you can make do that way. Like I said, good tires, and a few extra gadgets can almost make up for not having 4WD, if you are cautious.
As you can see at places like
there might be ways to do that, that some of the people here could help with.
There are obviously off-the-shelf ways to add the Internet and power that you are looking for. But I bet a lot of people don’t add a full satellite Internet link like Starlink because of cost and antenna size - but make do with a 5G (sometime soon to transition to 6G, then 7G) wireless Internet connection - or they pull up to a place like McDonalds that has WiFi, or they get on one of the WiFi hotspot networks. (For 5G or WiFi hotspot networks, you have to drive to where they are available.) I may be wrong, but in the U.S. I think if you already have Xfinity or Verizon (and maybe Spectrum?) Internet, I think you can already use their WiFi hotspot networks, which are pretty extensive, though they mostly don’t cover the backcountry. There are extra large antennas for 5G or WiFi that may give you a little extra coverage, though I personally can’t give you details.
And what part of the world/country do you want to wander? Climate might make a big difference, as might the availability of nearby satellite, wireless or WiFi Internet.