Ski RV's, who's sleeping in parking lots?

[SnowMachine]

My take is every rig is going to be a compromise, there's no such thing as the perfect setup and depends so much on partners/dependents/life situations/activities.

That being said I'd imagine I'd be happy with a minimalist van if I was single.

Absolutely. I have a beautiful Sprinter in my shop right now. I sat in it yesterday and thought to myself "I could do this", then I thought about my boys and wife. It would be tight.

Right now we have a 21' 4 season trailer. It works for the whole family, but isn't a ski mobile. Too hard to park outside of a RV park.

What I really want is a Lance 865 cab-over, but to really make it work I would need a new long bed 1-ton. It's almost time for a new truck, anyway....

If money were no object, there's a really beautiful 4X4 Class C that's a regular at our ski hill. I'm envious every time I see it.

Alas, here we are. Hotel bound for the time being. I think that Lance and a new long bed are in my eventual future. I want to adventure with my boys before they get to old to hang with me.

[subtle plague]

Engadina was a success.

It was really interesting to see how much propane and battery you save with 30cm snow on the roof because you add insulation [emoji3]

[Name Redacted]

Jackson is a tough place to “sleep in a parking lot”. I don’t want you to give away any secrets but that town always sees me end up in an RV park that is open in winter. Used to be wide open…spent a lot of nights out at Taggart for dawn patrol Teton laps but I think even that option is quite limited.

Not Jackson, but Targhee offers camping and pool/ fitness center access. $98 total for both. Been parked in a friends driveway for a few days so might check out the Targhee thing for a change.

[byates1]

Pm for a couple spot locations in Jackson if needed.

Yes re snow insulation. I don't block off the front/windshield at night. I can feel the difference from under the covers of a couple inches

[Iowagriz]

Van newby and total convert. As others have said, I didn't believe it would be as good as it is. Ours has wet bath in the back with holding tanks (not a cassette toilet). Twin beds that convert to a king. Full kitchen, generator underneath, propane heat and hot water, solar actually handles a good portion of the needs.

So nice to wake up in warmth, cook and then leave without even getting out of the camper. My wife is not very outdoorsy, but this has converted her, and she enjoys it. This trip was chasing the sun in the Southwest. It was still cold, majority of the mornings were below 32. Still comfy inside. Pic is from Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. Worth the stop between Vegas and St. George.


Edit to add: petroglyphs 150 yards away and Bighorns in the campground. Also, to say, just my wife and I perfect size for two people.

[Trackhead]

^^^nice!

[fleaches]

Van newby and total convert. As others have said, I didn't believe it would be as good as it is. Ours has wet bath in the back with holding tanks (not a cassette toilet). Twin beds that convert to a king. Full kitchen, generator underneath, propane heat and hot water, solar actually handles a good portion of the needs.

Would love to see some pics of the inside, sounds like a neat setup



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[Iowagriz]

I can't find photos now, but it's the Jayco Swift 20T model. Thor Tellaro, Entegra Ethos, and Winnebago Travato 59k all have the same Floorplan. My wife was vetoing anything with the bath right next to the kitchen, so this was a big win.

For those with kids, I think they also make a poptop version. Prices are typically 33% off msrp, but I think dealers are now overstocked and used prices are coming down.

[SchralphMacchio]

Right now we have a 21' 4 season trailer. It works for the whole family, but isn't a ski mobile. Too hard to park outside of a RV park.

What I really want is a Lance 865 cab-over, but to really make it work I would need a new long bed 1-ton. It's almost time for a new truck, anyway....

If money were no object, there's a really beautiful 4X4 Class C that's a regular at our ski hill. I'm envious every time I see it.

That 865 has a sweet layout, I don’t get this movement of every manufacturer except for Escape doing away with factory installed single bunks over the dinette, sofa, or main bed - seems like it could be a great solution for older kids or small adults that don’t want to share a bed? We have a fold down single bunk over our main bed but we don’t use it (yet); I sleep with the 5 year old on the jackknife sofa, my wife sleeps with the 2 year old in the main bed, and we leave the dinette as is (usually for me to sip whiskey and catch up on email/news/TGR late at night when everyone else is passed out).
One thing that is starting to get interesting space-wise as our kids get older is that both kids and both adults each have downhill boots, XC/tele boots, and walking around in the snow boots (well the 2 year old uses his snow boots as XC boots but in 1-2 years he’ll have his big sister’s NNN boots when she outgrows them and gets another pair). It’s a lot of fucking wet bulky snow and mud tracking objects to deal with! We have enough room in our 19’ cabin trailer, between an entry cubby, space in front of the jackknife sofa, and the bathtub, but it seems like it will get messier once the kids feet start getting closer to adult size.
I originally wanted a Northern Lite 10-2 but with the dog we knew it would get cramped real fast and I wasn’t excited about getting a long bed dually that would be solely dedicated to the camper. Now that I see all these boots for both lift served and XC I can’t see how we could have done both in a truck camper (let alone not having anywhere to put the Thule Chariot) … and it’s been really awesome to have the XC option because (a) both kids really love XC, (b) it’s something we can all do together as a family right now, (c) really nice to have that option when lift lines go to shit during busy Saturdays.
The PNW is pretty good in that almost every resort has onsite RV parking for 30 up to 60 feet (at Bachelor), even if it’s expensive at least it’s an option that opens up using TTs and 5ers as ski lodging.

[apex dave]

How many consecutive days do you camp? Sounds like you need a class C.
These are used units for winter and Canadian $
https://www.canadream.com/rv-sales/c...-winter-ready/

[WizardOfRoz]

Not Jackson, but Targhee offers camping and pool/ fitness center access. $98 total for both. Been parked in a friends driveway for a few days so might check out the Targhee thing for a change.

We used this while we were there and it was good. Little $$$ but nice to be able to shower as well.

Jackson we stayed at Fireside resort. Good spot, 10 mins down the road or so. Needed a plug in anyway for that evening as well.

[Name Redacted]

We used this while we were there and it was good. Little $$$ but nice to be able to shower as well.

Jackson we stayed at Fireside resort. Good spot, 10 mins down the road or so. Needed a plug in anyway for that evening as well.

Yeah, only $35ish if ya want just the camping. But the hot tub and shower is nice for sure. Been camping all week, so switch it up.

[Hopeless Sinner]

At Valley of Fire the Bighorns have learned to activate the spring loaded water faucets at the campsites taking turns so each animal gets to drink and have been known to drink out of campers buckets seemingly begging for refills.

[Iowagriz]

I really don't want to support Elon, but who is using Starlink? Can you buy the rv/mobile version and service and use it at home? I wouldn't pay the $120 a month for just camping service - but if I could use at home and eliminate that bill, I might consider it. Thoughts?

[SchralphMacchio]

How many consecutive days do you camp? Sounds like you need a class C.
These are used units for winter and Canadian $
https://www.canadream.com/rv-sales/c...-winter-ready/

Usually just 3 days but sometimes 6.
Class C was on my list at first but quickly ruled out due to not being able to properly mount car seats in most models (kids were 2+ and newborn when we started looking). I think a Class C with a bunkhouse layout is still possible for the future as it’s something my wife could drive if I get hurt (I literally just tweaked my back yesterday and we postponed a trip departure) … though the departure angle and turning radius of longer models may not work for our funky driveway and S turn that I have to do when parking or pulling out the trailer.
All compromises, right?!?!
I wonder why Canadream is unloading so many units …

[jackattack]

I really don't want to support Elon, but who is using Starlink? Can you buy the rv/mobile version and service and use it at home? I wouldn't pay the $120 a month for just camping service - but if I could use at home and eliminate that bill, I might consider it. Thoughts?

I don't use the RV version but I manage 5 dishys for work that serve as backup to our main service. Starlink is a great service and could feasibly replace your primary if you don't use VOIP or services that require low latency. The cost/benefit is up to you.

[Snow Dog]

I wonder why Canadream is unloading so many units …

Everything is for sale in the off season. Actually I suspect that anything not rented is for sale.

[ma79f8]

I really don't want to support Elon, but who is using Starlink? Can you buy the rv/mobile version and service and use it at home? I wouldn't pay the $120 a month for just camping service - but if I could use at home and eliminate that bill, I might consider it. Thoughts?

You can use the mobile plan at home but the residential plan gets priority data and the mobile can be fairly slow at times and if you live in a high use area.

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[Iowagriz]

Thanks for the Starlink info.

[garyfromterrace]

Thanks a ton jackattack, toastybroski, cat in january, crashidy, SchralphMacchio for replying to my survey re camping in parking lots. Be great if anyone else that camps at their hill would chime in, I'm going to throw a report together in the next few days as we're trying to figure out the on-hill camping thing at Shames going forward. Here's the survey questions if you've a few minutes to spare:

- how much do you pay per night (if anything)?

- what do you get for your money? What amenities/benefits (other than camping at the ski hill)?

- how is it regulated (do you tell the main office you're camping, is there a camping attendant who monitors camping and collects money?

- is there many folks at your hill that take advantage of the opportunity to overnight?

- anything on your wish list with regards to your ski hill overnight parking sitch?

What I really want is a Lance 865 cab-over, but to really make it work I would need a new long bed 1-ton. It's almost time for a new truck, anyway....

I've got an 845 cab-over and haul it with a 2020 Diesel 2500, seems to work. The weights of the 865 vs the 845 don't seem much different, I'm wondering why you figured you'd need a 1 ton long bed for the 865.

[pfluffenmeister]

I just started my pretirement and am a van newb so not much data other than it rocks.

But I am also interested in how offen you get hassled when poaching paeking lots.
/why/where/what are you driving?

[Perlhammered]

Thinking of trading out my 4x4 Tacoma for a van and having a hard time swallowing the prices of 4x4 vans. Being in CA, I encounter chain controls with some frequency, but with 4x4 and M+S tires, I never have to chain up. Is it worthwhile to find a 4x4 van or will I be fine with something like a RWD Econoline with snow tires + chains? Or would something FWD + chains be better? I guess the other alternative, which is honestly a bit more appealing, is to find a pop up camper and keep the Taco.

[Name Redacted]

Thinking of trading out my 4x4 Tacoma for a van and having a hard time swallowing the prices of 4x4 vans. Being in CA, I encounter chain controls with some frequency, but with 4x4 and M+S tires, I never have to chain up. Is it worthwhile to find a 4x4 van or will I be fine with something like a RWD Econoline with snow tires + chains? Or would something FWD + chains be better? I guess the other alternative, which is honestly a bit more appealing, is to find a pop up camper and keep the Taco.

I think Awd transit is the move. And i hate ford. Promasters are fwd but junk. Sprinters are nice till they break down. Which happens frequently. I have a awd econoline for work. It is a tank. But they stopped making them.

[singlecross]

- how much do you pay per night (if anything)?

- what do you get for your money? What amenities/benefits (other than camping at the ski hill)?

- how is it regulated (do you tell the main office you're camping, is there a camping attendant who monitors camping and collects money?

- is there many folks at your hill that take advantage of the opportunity to overnight?

- anything on your wish list with regards to your ski hill overnight parking sitch?

Saddleback Mountain in Maine

1. Zero, zilch, nada

2. A parking spot in the lot furthest from the lodge

3. Tell guest services desk your Make/Model/Color/License plate and cell phone # for if the plow guy needs to contact you to move your rig.

4. 2-3 campers midweek and 8-10 on weekends

5. A porta-potty in the corner of the parking lot would be nice.

[pfluffenmeister]

I just started my pretirement and am a van newb so not much data other than it rocks.

But I am also interested in how offen you get hassled when poaching parking lots.
/why/where/what are you driving?

Well, I just got rousted at the Stilson lot in Jackson Hole; guy was pretty polite.
I had two previous nights in the Stilson lot, although not in a row, w/o incident.

As I count it that makes 1 in 8 nights when poaching.
Plus 12 legal spots, either KOA or kind hearted individuals with a driveway spot.

I'm in a pretty generic white RAM2500; but it does have a nice roof rack.

I think it looks about 90% work van, but my inlaws were less sure about that when asked.

Whelp, repositioned in the Super8 parking lot with blackout protocols in place ... Night!