The Start

This blog is for my travels in my LTV camper van with my pets, a big dog and 2 elderly cats.  I dubbed my van "The Arleth" because it is a Sprinter van made by the German car company MB and Arleth means Free Spirit.   The van allows me to follow my travel whims and maximize my freedom.  I bought a used (3rd owner) LTV Free Spirit 210B 2006 in July, 2010 with almost 39k miles.


I chose a van camper for the following reasons:

• Safety: I can jump into the drivers seat and drive off without ever exiting the vehicle if I ever feel like I need to.
• Ease of driving and parking
• Fuel economy - the diesel engine gets 24-25 mpg at speeds of 55-58mph.
• Enough but not too much:  Having the basics of a cabin with me - bed, seating, galley, shower, toilet
• Having my own bedding - I react with an ugly rash to a lot of hotel bedding
• Safe temperatures for my pets.
• Being able to bring my pets along with me means I can follow my whims without having to negotiate and pay for pet boarding or sitters.
• Ability to boondock in most places.
• Easy to set up and take down for camping.
• Ability to load things like full sheets of plywood when needed.
• Ability to tow up to 5000 lbs.
• Can use it as a car if I want.