If you are looking for affordable and reliable, and don't need 4WD, check out a late 90's to early 2000's Ford Ranger. Specifically, the 4 cylinder, 2-wheel drive version. The 6-cylinder engine consistenly craps out around 80,000 miles. These are pretty cheap little trucks, and the 4cyl. is known for being a reliable engine. I own an '02 and love it. Throw a decent canopy on there, and build yourself a sleeping/storage platform in the back. In Utah, I was getting 30-32 mpg. In the NW, that drops to about 26-28.

This Sportsmobile. You seriously can't get much better. And it's for sale if you're interested.
http://picasaweb.google.com/freejeremy/Van?feat=directlink

Bert Submitted By: Jeremy on Mar 5, 2009

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/87028>>>>>

This is das boot

No way to compete with the built in kitchens. Still, I love my ride/tent so much that I always have to jump in on threads like these. The Pontiac Aztek. Uglier than the Pacer, despised more than the Gremlin, but so much more clever...The entire back, from the front seats to the tail gate is completeley flat, sleeps two easily and has room for all gear on the tail gate and the whole thing is encapsulated by a tent. Now you could cook on the tailgate in inclement weather, but you would have to build a shelf that would take the slope out of the tailgate. However, not sure about carbon monoxide. I guess you would want to get the window vent visors so you could vent AMAP...There are stereo controls in the back of the car, intracabin tie downs for hanging clothes lines to dry yer spandex, etc. I've got 77k on mine with no problems after some early warranty work. 22 city/hwy. All wheel drive, seven inches clearance(which is not much).

Black Owl 1 at roost outside Penitente Canyon Submitted By: Stucker on Jun 5, 2008

1992-1994 Ford Aerostar AWD Extended Sports Edition. I picked up one of these for $1900, put $400 worth of work into it and some new studded snows and that sucker took me up and down the mountains, on tons of road trips, to Idaho where I lived and worked for a winter regularly driving up to Grand Targhee from Driggs to work through 1-2 feet of snow at 4am every day, back to CO, all over the damn place, ran spectacularly at 10,000 feet while living in Breckenridge, and after over 30,000 miles (180,000 on the odometer) on it in less than two years the only thing that ever happened to it was a blown oil pressure line, inconsequential. Don't buy a Chevy Astro, the brakes go like gangbusters. The Aerostars drive great because they are the same width as an Explorer, and the AWD is bomber, I did plenty of light duty four-wheeling in that thing. If you take out the back seats, there is tons of room (I had the extended edition), and lots more interior space than other minivans of similar size. It's basically a four-wheel drive box with and engine on the front.

I've never liked the brake system on Astros, because the power steering and brake booster are a linked system, using the same fluid (unlike vacuum brake boosters, which are more common). So, if you have a problem with one system, both are affected.

I lived out of a 91 Astro van for about two years. Bought it with almost 175K miles on it. It made the trip from Squamish, to SoCal, to Bishop, to Ontario Canada, back down to NJ, and then back out west with absolutely no problems. Payed CAN $2000 for it. Had shelves built onto the wall, and a bedding platform built into the back with room for extra storage under neath the bed. It was great for one person, but when a dog and a Canadian girlfriend were thrown into the mix, it got a bit cramped. Pretty decent gas mileage though.

It depends on what you want:

VW's are sweet, but the older ones break down. Not so bad if you break down in moab or boulder or berkely, but big problem elsewhere. New ones you won't have to worry abotu but then they aren't cheap.

American may break down more (or maybe less depending on year and miles), but everyone i know with an old VW is always working on it. When they do break down, parts will be easy to find. Decent clearance if you need to get offroad as well (but not necessarily 4wd)

A tacoma will rock. good gas mileage, 4wd, room for equipment, room to sleep (but not both), and comfy to drive. you will also look in place at any worthy destination or hip outdoor city. A little more expensive but will never break down. The one drawback is sometimes camper tops leak, and there is not a ton of room if you are living in it for an extended time period.

you can live out of a subaru. sleeps one and gear. not comfy, decent gas mileage, hit and miss car problems. not a ton of clearance, but you are rarely going to need it. more of a weekend warrior car.

i personally have a 2000 dodge ram van that i tricked out. runs great, soso gas mileage (about 16 mpg). super cush when the weather is inclement. built in stove, bed, etc. lots of room for gear. giddy up.

Well, every car is different and I'm glad yours is running fine, but I have known numerous people who have had brutal issues with theirs.
I know there is a huge Chevy vs. Ford feud, but everyone I have personally known with GM vehicles has tons of problems, and all my friends, family's, and my own Fords (I have only owned 1994's, seems to be a good year) had very few issues. To be fair though, I have a Toyota now and would not buy American again simply because I can afford not to (barely). And Michael, if you see my uncle Kjell around Glenwood, say hi!
Agreed, every car can be different. Luckily our Safari has run really well (knock on wood). I've never had anything against Ford but I grew up in a serious GM/Chevy family who had a profound disdain for Fords. To my family's credit, we thoroughly beat on our farm trucks and cars and they always just kept on going with just regular oil changes.

I thought it was interesting that when I was looking up Consumer Reports list of best and worst cars, they said the Chevy Silverado had a better reliability rating than a Toyota Tundra. I didn't expect that. I just got rid of my old '79 Toyota pickup that had over 200,000 miles on it and probably has another 200,000 miles left in it. The thing just purred and ran like a champ.

I don't know your uncle but I'll certainly say hi if I run into him.

He's the 6'6" redhead who runs the pool, you can't miss him

Also, a word of warning:

If you want to go the Westfalia route be prepared to spend plenty of time getting to know your toolbox and repair manual (see the first and last pictures in that link; I think we lost the contents of the coolant system 5 separate times that weekend)

Earthroamer's are the shit, I'm trying to convince my parents to buy one so I can borrow it. That's the only way I'll ever come close to one of those things.

Some require more TLC than others. I've known three Safari/Astro owners, and they all had insoluble and seemingly endless difficulties, especially with the front suspension and brakes. Without meaning any offense to AstroFans, my impression of those rigs is that they are badly underengineered. However, they can be had for very little $.

VW's, IF PROPERLY MAINTAINED, are pretty reliable. If not maintained, they're pretty bad. I'm partial to Vee-Dubs, but I enjoy things like adjusting valves, setting spark timing, etc. The classic mid-80s vintage beater Subie is still a good bet, although mechanically sound ones getting harder to find. Fairly roomy, decent mileage, cheap, lots of parts available in junkyards. With either an older VW or Subie, expect to get your hands dirty at least once in a while.

If you can afford the fuel costs, used pickups are a good deal--not too expensive, fairly sturdy, lots of room. Expect to spend a lot on gas, though, 10-15 mpg at best, maybe 17 if you get a small one.

Toyota Previa AWD with A supercharger- Mine is at 210,000 and runs sweet. Pull the seats and you have an 8' bed. 22 mpg and good ground clearance. To bad they stopped making them in '97, i would buy another for sure.

john

I don't understand the VW's.

If you want to be retro and go slow, you've got much better options.

Bigger, cheaper, more reliable (and just as slow) options.

http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/1042097883.html

Only one way to go,

SPRINTER....

Everything else is junk, will break down and won't last as long as a SPRINTER.