Recent content by VanTrekker

Hi friends!  I have been away for quite some time.  In 2011 I bought a 2007 Chevy Express van, converted it, and traveled around Iowa.  In 2014 I lived in it for a few months following the death of my father.  I bought a trailer home later that year and kept the van for casual camping.  In 2018...

[/URL]  Hello!  I've been away for a bit.  Some of the friends will remember me as Van Trekker.  Back in 2011 I converted a Chevy cargo van.  For several years I resided in it on my dad's property.  After he died, I lived out of it for a summer on a farm.  Now I'm back in a homebase (which I...

Hello and welcome! I like your name! (Huge cat fan here!)

The kids at work (McDonalds) used to joke about my white van and called it "Chester" (as in Chester the Molester) I hated that nickname. I do think white vans get a bad rap. Mine's got fishing stickers on the back windows, fish poles on the roof rack, and I often carry a bike on the hitch...

I'm really enjoying the McDonald's job. Shortly after I got hired, I deliberately let the word slip that at the end of the summer I'm moving several counties away. They are giving me easy shifts, not making me learn all the stations (like most people). The work is brisk but fun. The best...

I am working at the "Golden Arches". Since it is in a small town, people are curious about where I'm living, etc. I'm not good at keeping secrets (nor really care to). The co-workers know I live in a van on a farm. Most of the crew is extremely low paid and worked very hard. They...

It's fun living in the van with the cat. The lowered stress level these days is helping me a LOT. That first version I sent you had some ugly typos... I'm going to email you a new copy. I was soooo tired after working at McDonalds - the editing kind of sucked. Watch for the new email. :)...

Hey friends! I've not been on here much lately but have been busy. At the moment I'm working at the "Golden Arches" and really like it but the income stream is ... well... sort of a dry creek. To help, I decided to try a recipe collection on my blog. Being a semi-obessed trout fisherman, I...

Hello! It's great to have you here. I'm living in a Chevy Express. First it was a hobby... then a way to move nearer while taking care of Dad. Now he's passed and I'm headed out to the country to live in the van on a farm. It's fun, isn't it? Welcome and glad to have you here! Brad aka V.T.

I'm using a little 700 watt microwave. It will run on batteries / inverter (I have a large battery bank) but I have only used it twice on batteries in the last three years. I keep it plugged into the shore power strip instead of the inverter. Then I can either fire up the generator (if in the...

Stude, I ordered one of those kennels. I plan to cover the top with plywood and use a tarp to help keep it cooler in there. I might also add a plastic dog house inside to give the kitties some privacy. Thanks for your suggestion - the protection from predators is a huge load off my mind...

Thanks for the kind thoughts. There's been so much going on that the anxiety was through the roof this morning. I think adapting will be pretty easy - it's going to be harder on the cats than me. We'll get by. At least the van is viable and the finances are okay - two things that would have...

For most of three years, I had been sleeping in a van and traveling around camping and fishing while also looking over Dad's affairs. Dad died at the end of November, the house is now sold, and in two weeks I'll be houseless! A friend is going to rent some space to me on his farm so there...

Welcome! It's okay to feel a little scared. I've lived in my van for close to three years now. After Dad died, we've now sold his house and I'll be without a homebase. It's a little scary. If there is some advice I can give, don't sweat the little things. You won't have all the answers...

I went to a food pantry yesterday. We are only allowed to go once a month but there are a number of them in town (Cedar Rapids). Our small food pantries (usually located at churches) are well organized and get much of the food (government commodities) from a local, giant food bank warehouse...