Climbing roadtrip: buying a van

Hi there!

Next year (starting in March) I'm planning a climbing roadtrip in the States and Canada, flying in from Europe. I'm hoping to stay for 6 months or, if possible, even longer. For this purpose, I'm planning to buy a van, and I have some questions!

1. What pricerange should I look for, is it possible to buy a reasonable van (with which I can climb/ski yearround) for less than $20000.
2. Where should I look? Any advice on climber communities of other vanlife communities?
3. In which city is it likely to find a big number of vans for sale?
4. In which state is it the most easy to buy a van for a european?
5. Anyone who would like to sell his van? =D
6. Other tips or advice is very welcome!

Thanks!
Jan-Thijs

If you're planing to be in the USA for more than 90 days you will need a B2 visa. For such an adventure I'd suggest having all your ducks in a row, just in case.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html

One of your best bets for a van in a city to fly into is Los Angeles (from my experience, others may know better cities). There are quite a few vans for sale around here at the moment. Denver Colorado may also be a pretty good bet.

Craigslist is the main website most people use to buy and sell used vehicles, most sellers can usually be talked down a little on their prices. ( losangeles.craigslist.org )

For 20k or less you should be able to find a pretty equipped van. Don't be afraid to try to talk a seller down (over the phone/internet before you meet them) if the van is slightly out of your price range, if you offer cash they are more likely to work with you on a reasonable price.

Hi Jan-Thijs! I would recommend searching on Craigslist ( craigslist.org/about/sites).  I don't think it would be too difficult to find something in the $20,000 range but I'd also consider a pickup truck with a camper or shell attached (might be a bit more reliable and affordable for a long trip like yours).  As for where to look, I guess that just depends on where you plan on entering the states.... Hope your trip goes smoothly :)  

Thanks all for your replies!

All states will require you to register the vehicle after the purchase.  To do this, you will need to visit a local office of the Department of Motor Vehicles (or whatever the equivalent agency is in each state).  You will be required to show evidence of driver's insurance.  I do not know how this works for travelers from other countries, but you should be able to get the insurance.  You will need to have a permanent address in the United States.  Note that you do not need to live at that address, but it is rather an address where someone can forward mail to you from.

Certain states have more stringent pollution or safety inspection requirements, but nearly all states now require the seller to provide these rather than the purchaser.  If you know that the state where you are purchasing has pollution inspections and/or safety inspections, but the seller cannot provide evidence of the vehicle passing these within a fairly recent time, do not consider buying that vehicle.

While buying from a car dealer can be more expensive than buying from a private party (an individual), I have found buying from a car dealer much less hassle.  A car dealer is not likely to have issues of cars not passing pollution or safety inspections.  They will also help you with the paperwork needed for the registration.  Buying from a private individual can get you a better price, but may cause more problems than it is worth.  It may also be easier for you to sell your vehicle to a dealer rather than a private individual at the end of the trip.

It is expected that the price will be negotiated when buying a used vehicle.  If you really like a vehicle, make a good offer.

The American Automobile Association (AAA), which is fairly inexpensive to join, may be able to help you.  AAA also offers automobile insurance.  Your country may have a corresponding association that can also provide you with help, especially with the insurance requirement.

This sounds like fun - I hope it all works for you.

I'd guess that there are more built out camper vans for sale on the west coast, which will of course be a bit more money.  Vans on the east coast would probably be a little cheaper, but less of them already set up for living out of.  I hear that one thing to consider for cars on the east coast is that they will probably have more rust underneath due to salting of the roads.  Not as much of an issue on newer cars, and maybe not an issue for you at all as this is only a temporary home.  

Also look up which states do or don't have sales tax, you could save a good bit of money by getting a car in Oregon or Delaware.  Well actually, based off of what Mark says above, the person whose address you are using to register the car would need to live in one of those states.  So for example, you buy the van in california(tell them you are taking it to oregon if buying from dealer, if not go to dmv and get a vehicle transfer permit), drive it back to oregon, and register the van there.  Obviously a lot easier if you can get the car in the state you are registering it in to avoid the pain in the ass I'm still dealing with from when my car got stolen in CA and I had to buy a new one to drive back to/register in CO.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but why do you feel a van is the best option?

I bought a used cargo van for $5000. Took 3 days  to trick  it out.  Very  worth while.  Beware of older sprinters, if they are cheap its  because they need $5000  in repairs. 

At $20k, you could stay in any number of hotel rooms or Airbnb rentals, and buy a cheap beater car for far less money.

Yeah, but I don't think that you could sell the airbnbs back at the end of the trip.

van life is it's own gig. once you are hooked.....   facebook marketplace is good for vans as is car gurus and cars.com. for 20k you have massive options. 

• Thanks again for all your advice and suggestions. I did some climbing roadtrips in the States (and got addicted...) in the past with a rental car and a tent, but for a longer period I just like to have my own place without having to bother with packing up every morning. Hotels are just not for me ;)

Dodge sold the Caravans for 20k brand new just a few years back

Consider purchasing a van in Europe and getting across the Atlantic via container ship.

Here you go...these are older vans, but taken care of the 7.3L diesel. The 7.3 is the most sought after engine in Ford vans. Do not get Ford van with 6.0L diesel, too many horror stories. I own the gas V-10, because I do not know much about diesels and not interested in learning.
https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/vehicles-for-sale-by-expo-members.123/  
and
https://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/forums/vehicles-found-on-ebay-cl-other-forums-etc.122/

My family is from Huizen.
Terry

MikeSLC wrote: Consider purchasing a van in Europe and getting across the Atlantic via container ship.

I think his idea was to get rid of the van at the end of his trip and recoup most of the cost. Shipping from the EU adds another $2500 USD to the equation.

Marc801 C wrote:

I think his idea was to get rid of the van at the end of his trip and recoup most of the cost. Shipping from the EU adds another $2500 USD to the equation.

Ok, now consider the other side of the equation.

• not having purchasing a vehicle on short notice
• more options in Europe (depending on preferences)
• time to hunt for a good deal and build to your specs
• no need to purchase airline tickets
• boat ride across the Atlantic 

You might consider hitting up

www.basecampervans.com 

They might have a long term rental or be ready to retire a van from their fleet that is ready to go to live in.

SLC, UT is ok for climbing and skiing. 
The local classifieds are www.ksl.com/cars

You might wanna check for international driver's license (really just a "wrapper" around your national licence). Or at least check what's the status about buying/insuring vehicules if you're from out of the country. I've not idea how that works here, but I got kinda screwed in eastern Europe a number of years ago because it wasn't straightforward at all to insure a vehicule if you're a non-resident....

MikeSLC wrote:

Ok, now consider the other side of the equation.

• not having purchasing a vehicle on short notice
• more options in Europe (depending on preferences)
• time to hunt for a good deal and build to your specs
• no need to purchase airline tickets
• boat ride across the Atlantic 

You can now import anything over 25 years old I think. If you Bring over a  VW Synchro Westfalia you’d probably make a profit on the deal. If it didn’t dry out and die while you’re here.   Also folks like some of the little  Mitsubishi campers that were never available here. 

Jan-Thijs, ik heb weinig advies over het kopen van een van (behalve dat verzekeren misschien moeilijker zou kunnen zijn dan hierboven wordt weergegeven). Maar mocht je in SLC zijn, kom dan eens langs. De koffie staat klaar!