Brand New to the Lifestyle

[Wayfarer]

Hello all! I had been reading the forums and posts anonymously for a good year before I joined. Its wonderful to see the sense of community here and will enjoy being a part of that.

I have been looking forward to purchasing my van and equipping it from suggestions you have been making between each other. I have been in the planning stage for many months having made electrical schematics, diagrams and layouts of my dream van. Lol.

I'm from San Diego, CA but moved to Tennessee for a few years because of financials. A situation developed that left me living in my car in Tennessee during our current polar vortex shift with weather floating over from Siberia. 4 degrees tomorrow and has been in the 20's for the last week. I have been parking at the truck stops locally to sleep in my car as they are pretty safe in the area. Burrr! I will be moving to Nashville for a new job in the near future. Car-dwelling until I get to start my urban van-dwelling adventure.

Thank you for having me and I look forward to contributing regularly.

 

[VanDwellerMod]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Wayfarer! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you as you find and build out your van.

 

[msbarth]

Hi Wayfarer, I am also in Tennessee (the upper western part near Reelfoot Lake.) Looking forward to keeping up with your progress. I have a 1995 Dodge 15 passenger extended and a 6x10 cargo trailer, what do you think will be your choice of your ideal van?

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Welcome, it is fun to plan and dream isnt it? Good news (well maybe not for your wallet) is that it doesnt ever stop, as youll keep wanting to modify lol

Be very careful of carbon monoxide poisoning at truck stops, not just your own car but those around you. I speak from experience :\ Try to park at an end spot away from others, and park with your seat on the non car side

 

[Theadyn]

Hi and Welcome!! Yeah, this weather we've been having in our neck of the woods keeps me dreaming of going south almost daily. Stay warm!

 

[Wayfarer]

Thank you all for the welcome!

[msbarth] - I have been planning for the standard cargo van even though I would really like a Sprinter (stand up room). If I ever go back to Southern California I feel the cargo van would be more stealth than the Sprinter for the areas I'm familiar with. So I'm planning on using plenty of insulation (with a gap) in the van for staying warm in Tennessee and cool in the summer. I learned my lesson being in a car how important staying warm is.
[DazarGaidin] - That is something I didn't even consider. Oh snap! BTW the extras for the van like solar, electrical, etc will cost more than the van itself $3000+. Crazy right?

I look forward to being more comfortable in a van as you can imagine and this site is a wealth of information.

 

[Patrick46]

Hello and Welcome to the forum!!!

Patrick in Oregon

 

[MollyMarie]

Be very careful of carbon monoxide poisoning at truck stops, not just your own car but those around you.  I speak from experience :\  Try to park at an end spot away from others, and park with your seat on the non car side

I never thought of this... I guess if there's enough running vehicles in a small enough space, poisoning is still a hazard. Thanks so much for the tip!