Ultimate Road Trip Machine
Pulling into any parking spot along Lake Michigan
I’ve likely experienced road trips in a wider variety of vehicles than most in a lifetime. In my career music days, it was a GMC motor home, school bus, bread van, Ryder box truck, Prevost bus, Dodge extended passenger van, GMC Pickup, and just about every beat up car imaginable, but all of that was decades ago.
In post college years, it was everything from an old four-door Diesel Rabbit in my starving early entrepreneurial days, to my Rolls Royce Phantom in my not-so-starving days. I’ve road tripped in exotics, sedans, SUVs, motor coaches, (two), both pulling Jeeps, and most recently, and what I consider to be the best of them all, a 2021 Airstream Interstate 24GT Mercedes Sprinter Van.
So, why is the Sprinter the ultimate? There are many reasons.
First, as you know, all road trip cars are a series of compromises. Some are giant compromises that are often overlooked until you’re on the road and suddenly the limitations get very real.
A big RV looks like a lot of fun, until you try to find parking or face the real cost of miles. The big motor coaches for any distance cost about as much per mile as most small planes. You’re going through fuel at today’s prices at a rate of $75.00 per hour. This is based on 4 MPG, $5.00 a gallon, 60 MPH. Yup, big motor coaches get between 3 and 4 MPG. Drive faster and the GPM drop further. Owners even brag about decimal differences. “Hey I got 4.2 MPG this time! Woohoo!” Assume 4 MPG. If fuel prices drop again, down to $3.00 a gallon, you’re still looking at $45.00 an hour.
To put this in perspective, the trip I just took in the Sprinter, 4,300 miles, would cost $5,375.00 in fuel alone in a 45’ diesel motor coach. By comparison, the Sprinter average about 17 MPG and cost $1,265.00. That’s a difference of over $4,000 in fuel alone. Even if you stay in an occasional hotel, it doesn’t make up the difference.
Large motor coaches are wonderful, and if you’re a touring musician, it’s perfect, but if you’re out to see the sights, it’s a terrible way to travel, even with a car in tow. You still pass up places you’d otherwise stop and the experiences outside of the vehicle diminish.
Getting to this remote secluded beach would have been difficult with anything but a car or a van.
When you’re dealing with any large size vehicle, you tend to pare down where you stop, even when you think it won’t happen. This is especially true if you are too wide, tall or long. You can’t go explore the little tourist towns because often there are few places to park. I’ve only had two occasions so far where I couldn’t find adequate parking for the Sprinter and in both cases, cars were also looking for adequate parking.
Cars are cars, and I could write about the comfort and discomfort of SUVs, but people have already done that. The big limitation is you’re stuck inside if you’re in a rainy climate and you can’t leave a dog inside the car under any circumstances. Imagine if your dog is stolen!
It’s not a bad place to be in any weather.
The basic rule I have for cars and roadtrips is go for quiet. I did several road trips in my Lamborghinis and all are highly fatiguing after just two hours behind the wheel. They are fun for about the first hour. After that, they get annoying. Really annoying. Again, good luck parking where someone isn’t standing on the car when you get back. Exotics bring out the worst in people. So do any other very expensive cars.
The Rolls Royce Phantom was a lot of fun on very long trips and it’s not the least bit fatiguing, and very quiet, but it’s got its own challenges, such as keeping it safe, and not annoying people just because it exists. It’s a fun way to travel with friends and you can easily carry on a conversation with the back seat. I’m writing about it because used Phantoms are now in the same price range as converted Sprinters, so they are a consideration and a phenomenal story generator. It will be an adventure, guaranteed!
Another problem to consider with the Phantom is the huge mileage penalty you pay. It’s about the same as a full size coach. For a used Phantom, assume about $2.00 a mile. For a new, it’s closer to $10.00 a mile. Yup, that’s a real number. That’s all in the form of depreciation.
After researching all options, I concluded that the very best way to see the country is with a professionally modified Sprinter van. There are several brands out there, and after doing my homework, I settled on an Airstream Interstate 24GT.
A Sprinter is the ultimate road trip vehicle as long as the suspension is modified in back. Remember, a Sprinter is a cargo van! Cargo! Heavy cargo! It’s therefore hard as a rock in back if you have original cargo suspension. Ideally you want an airbag suspension conversion to make it comfortable in back. This is where Airstream shines.
See something coo? Just pull over!
If you’re driving with two people up front and no plans to sleep in back in route, it’s not a big deal, you may be tossing your poodle around, but they may not mind all that much. However, if you plan to have one or more people in back as you drive, it’s a very big deal. Don’t overlook it.
Sprinter parking is like any other car. It’s no wider. It’s a long overhand behind the wheels on the 24, so just back in and you look like any other car. Sprinters are also nice to move around with full headroom and enough space to not go nuts on a rainy day inside.
Parking is easy on any city street. (Port Washington, WI)
They don’t have a lot of storage, but it’s not the best idea to bring a lot of stuff you won’t use. It was the one lesson I had to learn the hard way. Keep it simple.
The Airstream Interstate Sprinter does not let you use hot water while moving. I think the fear is a soapy fat guy getting squirted out onto the road like a beluga giving birth. You have to be stopped to use the shower. They don’t hold a lot of fresh water or black/grey water because of weight limitations so there is that. You can hook up at parks, so it solves your problems.
Spontaneously pulling into a free corn roast because it was there!
I get so many people who think they are going to save a buck if they build the interior themselves. That sounds all romantic and cute, but the reality is something very different. These things are complicated. Especially if you want air conditioning and the furnace and vents to all work in unison. It’s not fun dragging out a toilet tank just to dump it, and the stinky slinky isn’t so fun either. Get a macerator system instead. Get hot water, make sure you have a shower. It’s embarrassing when the turkey vultures follow you.
One often overlooked point is that if you’re financing your Sprinter build, the banks won’t cover the cost of your custom interior. Good luck with resale too! Banks won’t lend on anything above the chassis unless it comes from an RV builder. Even then, get too custom and it’s a headache trying to sell the thing.
If you have a budget limitation, go with a good used one. There are many out there with very low miles. Talk to people and know what to inspect before you buy.
Airstream Interstate Sprinters, especially the 24s are now what you see at luxury costal resorts. They are what the well-off family uses to transport the kids at soccer games, or a day at the beach. You will typically see a few at the best resorts. It’s nice having your own bathroom too. I also see a lot of older couples using them because they have their own bathroom.
As for communications, I went with a PepWave Max Transit Duo modem with dual SIMs from two different carriers going to a rooftop seven-way Poynting antenna all aggregated together. This antenna has two WiFi antennas, four cellular antennas and one GSP to make up the seven. I never had zero service in my entire four months on the road. Some are now dragging along a Starlink antenna and setting it up when they stop. I had Zoom connectivity everywhere I went, but I wasn’t far off road either. If you’re out in the middle of Moab, Starlink is the only way to go.
I also went with an in-motion satellite receiver and it seems to work well if there is a clear sky. It’s useless under trees. RV parks are now super-saturated with campers and the number one thing you see on the road are pickups pulling trailers. They make up about 70% of what you see on the road today.
They are cheap, can be dropped off at a camp site and off you go with the pickup. They are the best bang for the buck for square footage inside, but you will have your next door neighbor so close you can hear them argue about soup. You’re stuck right where you are until you pack up the whole thing. No, you’re not going to make scenic stops pulling the trailer either.
The Sprinter lets you “stealth” camp just about anywhere, and I did that now and then and never once had someone knock on a window. Many of the Walmarts that once allowed campers kicked them out overnight.
Trailers are popular because they are cheap. It’s what old people do. Young go for 19’ Sprinters and they store everything on the roof with minimal comforts inside. They care far less about being smelly, so some have no bathrooms at all.
If you have an interest in Van life and don’t know what’s best, you can rent! That’s what’s cool! There are camper van rental places out there so you can give it a try. It is addicting! It’s far better than the beat-up RV you get at Camping World that gives you that Cousin Eddie smell that won’t scrub off.
Last week’s 4,300 mile trip in six days was a lot of fun and it would have sucked in a car. Any car.