Which is Better? Van Life vs RV Life | Ultimate Off Grid Sprinter Van Tour
Which is Better? Van Life vs RV Life | Ultimate Off Grid Sprinter Van Tour
As we say goodbye to our caravan friends Greg and Karen, we give you a full van tour showing you their awesome custom Mercedes sprinter van from ARV. See how their off-grid set up on their Class B RV and floor plan compares to our stock class C RV and tell us, which do you think is better rv life or van life?
🎥 Greg and Karen’s van tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI1gJOIJfyM
0:00 Intro to video
1:06 Class B van tour
1:43 Bed
2:34 Storage
3:18 Bathroom
4:00 Outdoor living and interior space
4:28 Exterior
4:51 Garage/bay storage
5:14 van specs
6:46 off-grid set up
9:07 price of custom van vs stock rv
10:59 outtakes
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Van you can get in and out of places easier
I like them both. Just fact there is bathroom is plus for me.
Your comparing apples to oranges. If you had used a comparable model year Class C I think you’d find that a well built Class C will offer much more useful space and up to date technology. I just finished doing this comparison from the manufacturer we chose. While the Van will fit many peoples lifestyle the Class C is far superior in space and flexibility to a van. Your comparing an OLD Class C for what at that time was a New Van. Brand matters as well. I just negotiated 50k off MSRP with EVERY possible factory option included. Do your research folks and beware of those that do not compare apples to apples.
RVLife 👨👩👧🐶🐶🐱🐱🐱
I think living in any type of van or RV is awesome. I also think that it’s OK for people to know that you are in there sleeping or whatever. Stealth is worse because it’s not as safe people will think that no one is in there and may attempt to break in. I think you get my point.
stealth camping is ridiculous. If you dont think anyone knows people are living in a van you need your head examined. People absolutely know you are living in a van. It will have solar. It will have windows. The front cab will generally have window coverings its also going to be fairly obvious to everyone that its moving. There is no such thing as stealth camping its not possible. If you think your fooling anyone you need some serious mental health help.
Thank you so much. We have been calling around every dealer around us to get a van to custom kit out and finally found a sprinter 4×4 today! Karen and Gregs looks luxe!
The quality of the van looks familiar. I looked in the description and was right to think ARV.
Beautiful cabinets and beautiful camper van.
Box van is a better compromise in size. DIY and/or pay someone to help build. Fraction of ARV pricing.
We just bought a Jayco 4×4 Terrain 🤩
I purchased a new Trovato 59K in 2017.
It has doubled in value.
Note: 59K floor plan is the ONLY all weather floor plan in existence.
(any weather condition, you enter through the rear onto a shower pan)
Change my mind
Unless you have money to burn you would never ever get a custom van build like that. We are talking 100s of thousands of dollars here. I have a sprinter that does everything that does, only difference is I have to do it instead of a button and it cost me around 50k including the van.
A word on "Stealth". Thats an ideal your head, Crack Heads dont care if it "just looks like a van". Crack heads know 2 things #1 It’s a van #2 theres something valuable inside. As far as Cops/EMS go we know your in there but we dont care. Rv’s are rarely problematic. You are not stealth at all, ever. Just own it.
Really professional looking battery setup
Hola, me gustaría si son tan amables, activar sudtitulos en español, solo me los de inglés. Gracias 😁
Nope need more elbow room than a van. A class C is a decent replacement for an apartment. Vans would be good for living in parking lots. If you want to go small you can always go for a truck camper top then you can drop the house and drive the truck around without having to pull a car.
New word "Glamp Van"
This was not truly a comparison of Apples to Apples. You compared Apples to Apricots.
A truly, realistic comparison would NOT have a Van that had been a Mercedes, for one.
Another…..be realistic…..you compared factory, from the dealership to a high end, luxury company that is extremely expensive to begin with. And the Mercedes had a majority of luxury, custom upgrades over the entire Van.
So….WHY would you compare your RV to a foreign car company’s luxury, high end Van?
If this has been a College assignment, you’d have failed as your experiment had not one common denominator. The comparison was ALL variables. That’s not good, nor fair to the viewer. As the Mercedes custom Van price is way out of most people’s reach. One of the common denominators should be an average price paid for each RV type, meaning, you should select a Van whose cost was about the price you paid for your RV, then evaluate the differences in what the consumer would get in each. That comparison would have been more accurate and fair.
So…..the title of this video is misleading, on your part.
You should have compared a factory bought Van and a factory bought RV. Where both are made with the same level of comfort and luxury, same type engine, etc.
Variables would be the hot water heater capacity, solar power included or, lighting package, sound package, kitchen amenities, storage space, bathroom wet or dry, ease of use, etc…and then the cost comparison and actual living space.
As an ER/ICU/Flight-trauma Nurse, I have owned a 5th wheel, travel trailer, and rented a Class C and Class B RV.
For the money, I bought a custom built Travel Trailer with exterior and interior soundproofing, Mobile Direct TV Satellite system, fireplace, 40 gallon hot water heater, full kitchen with lots of counter/prep space, a large bedroom custom done with TV & Blu-Ray Player, custom stereo surround sound with a stereo system/CD Player and canned ceiling speakers throughout and outside with separate turnoffs for each room/area, a huge custom bathroom my Ford Expedition could park in, with a custom walk-in shower with multi-heads, instant hot water in the bathroom, and a 200 gallon holding tank, Outdoor Shower, 15,000 BTU ducted A/C and ducted furnace heat. Power hitch and power leveling jacks, power awining, power slide-out awning, 4 burner gas stove, electric or gas wall oven, microwave, dishwasher, and a 21′ long x 37" deep living room/dining room automatic slide-out, which made my living room area hugely spacious. And I even had a regular, deep cushioned couch and a swivel rocker/recliner, Smart TV, and more storage than I’d ever need or use. I travel nursed all over this country and lived full time in my awesome RV for several years, and even lived hooked up to my sister’s house in the mountains of Tennessee, to help her while her husband was beginning chemotherapy and needed emotional support.
People offered me so much money for that RV…..I wouldn’t sell. I finally broke down and sold that RV for 3 times more than I paid for it. No lie. Niw, a few years later, I regret having sold my RV, as I cannot find anything comparable. So, now I am seriously looking for a Class C RV. But I will NEVER settle. I have never settled…..for if a person does settle, they have regrets later, then they have resentments. I know what I want and will not settle for less. And I’ll know my new RV when I see her. Lol.
Rv life
Love the van life. We currently own a 2013 170 sprinter and love the mobility it offers.
Arv is d most luxurious
Awesome van somewhat overpriced you could build a cottage for the same price.
I will stick with my RV. I met a couple from Germany in Mexico last winter. They had the Custom Mercedes Sprinter with all the extras and they told me they couldn’t imagine needing all the room I had in my 34 foot Class A. To me it looked like they would have been better off with a tent. They were always outside. If you are planning on narrow streets and small camping areas, sure go with a van. I live full time in mine so I like the room.
For me is more better my American clipper rv…. Only 21fts it’s like a small apartment..I love my RV
Yeah, but what was the cost in dollars comparison. That would be good to know, if they don’t want to give out actual dollars, then the delta cost between the two options would have been good enough.
Great information valuable video
Very helpfully informative and enlightening video. Thank you!
I like your comparison but for two people living full time a class C is definitely the way to go because of the space. That sprinter is more of a weekend getaway than a full-time living
Loved it
We sold our Airstream Atlas in favor of a Midwest Passage MD2 170..the parking and fuel savings made the decision the correct one. We didn’t compromise on hight,storage or refrigeration..definitely for us the best rv decision we’ve ever made.
The sprinter vans are great for traveling but I have a 34 foot Tiffen class A. Motor home that is great for full time plus I can into state parks. Also custom remodeling can be more expensive.
My biggest complaint would be making the bed every night and putting away all the bedding each morning and bedding takes up a lot of space. I’ll go with your RV over a custom van.
I’m looking at Super-C RV’s to pull a cargo trailer that will double as a garage, a workshop & a retail space!
That van is 200k plus definitely not worth it Rv all the way!!
When you have money. No expense will be sacrificed
Definitely a vanlife person. Loved the video, thanks for doing it.
I could never live in a van or even a 5 window school the smallest I could go is an Axis 25.2 and the reason I choose this is the bathroom and a walk-around bed at 26.5 feet. There is no such thing as stealth everyone knows now. I am also not an off-grid person I want full hookups every were I go I book way in advance for all my trips and so if going across the country and something goes wrong I don’t care about the cancelation fee doesn’t even phase me. I run this RV no car 2 E-bikes works perfectly is all I can say. Then I have 2500 Chevy 3/4 ton and a Keystone Vantage 32QBS that I will keep forever my whole family gets to use this setup sleeps 10 but I say 8 but as a family of 5-6, it works unbelievably well.
Love Advanced RV! What a great company in The Land… Loving my Leisure Travel Van Unity right now though. For us it’s RV over Van Life.
I love the the Van were is the link to their van and what did it cost them to make and who did it?
Nice review. Advanced RV so busy they are over 2 years out on a build but well worth the wait
It looks nice and I am sure it’s $100k+ I wouldn’t pay that much. I would get a spacious bus or an RV and pull my jeep behind to go shopping or daily trips.
Thanks for the comparison video. We started full timing a year and a half ago in a class C Winnebago Fuse (similar size to View/Navion but shorter height) and our MUST requirement for full timing was a full bathroom with separate shower. Now than we have been on the road for awhile I’m used to living in a small space and actually would prefer to NOT have a bathroom. I find they take up too much real estate for the small amount of square footage you already get. I’ve started watching full timer RV channels in truck campers, vans and 13ft trailers, all without bathrooms and I realize that you don’t actually need one. If they can do it, so can I! I never could have started out full timing without a bathroom. But now I’m ready to downsize to something smaller and I wanna give it a go!
I honestly think this is one of the best videos there is! Thank you!
Hi. Thank you for the video. you didn’t mention anything about gas usage in comparing the two vehicles. Could you tell me what the difference is?
Tell me more about the automatic levelling system, thats what interests me 🙂
I’d say sprinter van over RV if money isn’t a problem and traveling a lot. RV if you want more bang for the Buck and if you stay in one place a bit longer.
We’ve lived in both a 22′ Pleasure Way Class B and a 25′ 5" Winnebago Class A built on the same "van" Mercedes-Benz 3500 Sprinter dually chassis. The non-starters for us were the non-permanent/convertible sofa/bed similar to this Class B and the wet bath. Certainly, a single person could easily live in a Class B but as a couple we couldn’t. The merits of a Class B in general are its relative invisibility in how it blends into its surroundings and how it can even be used as a daily driver if necessary. Nice power system tho’!
I love B class~
What companies do you recommend that do customer vans besides Advanced RV? Any other ideas? Great video.
Great video. Your RV almost looks like a class B not C. Problem I have with vans is the cost. A Diesel sprinter is around $100k where a 28-30′ class C can be had for $30,000. And while thats sprinter is nice there is absolutely no storage for bigger stuff like bicycles. Which can be done by raising bed but then you play climb over each other to get out of bed. Just a few downsides to van life.