camping conversion, renewing my ties to camping

[dragonfiregrill]

good day all,
my name is jim, and i love dragons and cooking so ... hence my username.
last year my wife was diagnosed with cancer and passed away 30 days later which devastated my whole world; incidentally she was diagnosed just before her birthday and passed just before mine , awesome birthday presents, right? anyhow a few months later my father fell ill and eventually could not continue the fight and passed a few months ago; not an auspicious beginning is it? fast forward to June and in the first week i buried my father having to drive 1500 miles round trip in the van i inherited from him. one week later i began a two week and 3200 mile round trip to bury my wife with her mother and father. on the way home i spent two nights camping in the national forests in Kentucky and Georgia, which reminded me how much i have missed being in nature and away from the hustle and bustle of city life. 
soooooooo, here i am researching means and ways to outfit and setup my E150 conversion for me to be able to go away on the weekends, not that i cannot just put the camp stove in and an air mattress and sleep away, heck way back when i slept on my engine box of my 63 econoline. i hope to glean much in the way of hints and tricks here as well as leave a few of my own for others. and i will do a picture progress of my build out as well as video so as not to leave anyone out.

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Jim to the CRVL forums! 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. sorry about your loses and but at least you rediscovered camping so good will come of it. highdesertranger

 

[Moxadox]

Wow, that's hard. I recently buried my own father, but I knew it was coming. Hopefully this gift of a van will be a doorway for you into healing. Take good care!

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[AMGS3]

Hello and welcome to the forum Dragonfiregrill.

I'm sorry to hear of your recent losses. That's really rough. I think that when we experience losses like that it often leads us to look for where our hearts can heal. I hope that camping can be that for you.

Peace,
~angie

Sent from my VS501 using Tapatalk

 

[tx2sturgis]

Hello Jim....welcome. 

What a story...but now you have to move forward. You really must. 

I hope you have a good internet connection, I want to share a video with you. 

This video is a story about a dragon, and...moving forward after a loss. 

For anyone to see this they need a good data connection, it's about 15 minutes long. 

 

[dragonfiregrill]

thank ya'll for the kind words. the losses have been difficult but i am moving forward one day at a time. currently i am working to redo the van i inherited to something i can camp in over the weekends, with an eye for it to be a tow vehicle for a demoed pop up trailer that i want to make into my kitchen and bathroom. kinda thought that would work pretty decent for long term traveling, keeps the moisture and smells out of my sleeping area and i am able to do less overall modification to the van.
living area outside of course lol
jim

 

[tav-2020]

welcome, Jim!
speaking of dragons I used to have this bumper sticker on my camper:

do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup 

camper is long gone, but your intro reminded me of it. thanks  :shy:

 

[dragonfiregrill]

welcome, Jim!
speaking of dragons I used to have this bumper sticker on my camper:

do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup 

camper is long gone, but your intro reminded me of it. thanks  :shy:


i have seen that bumper sticker and i love it 

 

[BrookeD]

Welcome Jim.
Loss is a process and, in my opinion, the traveling and getting back to nature are very soothing ways to help grow through it. Sounds like you are answering your needs. Welcome to the planet that engulfs us all.

 

[glasschick66]

Welcome Jim!
I like the idea of a separate kitchen and bathroom trailer!
Also sorry for your losses but glad you are keeping yourself busy with fresh new ideas/plans.

 

[tx2sturgis]

...something i can camp in over the weekends, with an eye for it to be a tow vehicle for a demoed pop up trailer that i want to make into my kitchen and bathroom. kinda thought that would work pretty decent for long term traveling, keeps the moisture and smells out of my sleeping area and i am able to do less overall modification to the van.

living area outside of course 

This is similar to what works well for me, I sleep in the truck camper shell, and the trailer contains modest cooking facilities and a desk for computer and ham radio activities.