Decisions, decisions

[user 38090]

Sorry if this has been asked before. I did try searching but didn't find anything.

I'm at the point to buy a new vehicle to live in. Don't want an RV or big van/truck. Not planning on doing any major off-roading, just muddy roads. So a small pickup with just a shell, small car/suv or minivan would work. And nothing newer than say 2005 (due to cost). Would like to know what you have (year, make, model), about how long you been living in it and why you chose it. Also any other info you may like to share.

Thanks.

 

[eDJ_]

Since you're in AK, you may consider buying a Van in a larger Canadian city. One that doesn't have that much mileage provided you can find one. A 3/4 to one ton series.

I used to work with some guys from Detroit and they would go over to Windsor Canada to buy vehicles and find good deals there. They explained that American vehicles built there had to conform to Canadian laws regarding the metal used in building them. One of the guys father's worked at a GM stamping plant explained this to him.

I have a 90 E 350 Ford Econoline extended high top. Low miles and have traveled in it but am not full time yet. Presently building it for that future. Photo in my Van Conversion site below. I've had other Vans and traveled and lived in them in my work back then.

 

[user 38090]

Since you're in AK, you may consider buying a Van in a larger Canadian city. One that doesn't have that much mileage provided you can find one. A 3/4 to one ton series.

I used to work with some guys from Detroit and they would go over to Windsor Canada to buy vehicles and find good deals there. They explained that American vehicles built there had to conform to Canadian laws regarding the metal used in building them. One of the guys father's worked at a GM stamping plant explained this to him.

I have a 90 E 350 Ford Econoline extended high top. Low miles and have traveled in it but am not full time yet. Presently building it for that future. Photo in my Van Conversion site below. I've had other Vans and traveled and lived in them in my work back then.

Thanks, but there isn't a larger (or even a small), Canadian city that close by. Plus I'm not interested in a large vehicle as mentioned in my post.

 

[bullfrog !]

A Prius provides built in climate control when parked even. There are several forums and groups of people using them. You can gat an aftermarket 2” lift which I would highly recommend if traveling over even well maintained dirt roads as one of their cons is low ground clearance.

 

[Tony's Dream]

I started with a 2016 Ford Transit Connect but recently sold it to my son. I bought a 2019 Ford Transit hightop last August. I paid $18,000 for the first van and it served me well. It was a lemon law van, so it was cheap and only had 25,000 miles. It took me nearly 3 years to find a well priced, low mileage, van.

 

[user 38090]

I'm just looking to hear what make, model and year vehicle you are living in. Please no big trucks, big vans, tow-behinds or RVs, just small trucks with a shell, cars and minivans. Why you chose that vehicle, how long you have been living in it and maybe the pros and cons of it. And nothing newer than 2005. Thanks.

 

[bullfrog !]

Keep in mind with something that small you will be living “out” of it not in it so location will have a lot to do with how you do it as well as your physical size. You can sleep in almost anything if you remove most of the extra seating. Getting a good nights sleep is important. I have slept well in old VW vans, 1986 Honda Civic and home built truck toppers over the last 72 years but when it comes time to shower, use the bathroom, cook and even stay warm in the winter or cool in the summer I have always had to resort to if in an urban setting a gym or health club, if in a rural area a tent. Space is precious and the items needed to stay comfortable take up a lot of space which is why I recommend a Prius as those things are pretty much built in. There is no one size fits all solution!

 

[maki2]

Start by going to the cheap rv living YouTube channel. There are lots of videos showing people living in small older vehicles there. How they handle things such as cooking, htgenie and sleeping are discussed in detail. That is going to be your best basic education. Once you watch those you will be able to look st different vehicles and see the possibilities with your newly educated eyes. Those videos were created just for people such as yourself who have no experience at all living in a small vehicle.

 

[user 38090]

I'm going to be very blunt here: Can't anyone read and comprehend anymore? While some of your replies are informative, they don't answer my post. And that seems to happen in other post I have made too.

I'm just looking to hear what make, model and year vehicle you are living in. Please no big trucks, big vans, tow-behinds or RVs, just small trucks with a shell, cars and minivans. Why you chose that vehicle, how long you have been living in it and maybe the pros and cons of it. And nothing newer than 2005. Thanks.

I'm not interested in something you did 20 years ago, looking for people that are doing so now or within the last few years. I don't care what you recommend, what are YOU using and why. Don't care how the layout was done. Don't care how you cook, shower, etc. I have lived in small vehicles before, I know what to do. I would just like to hear from folks why they use what they do.

 

[user 38090]

Start by going to the cheap rv living YouTube channel. There are lots of videos showing people living in small older vehicles there. How they handle things such as cooking, htgenie and sleeping are discussed in detail. That is going to be your best basic education. Once you watch those you will be able to look st different vehicles and see the possibilities with your newly educated eyes. Those videos were created just for people such as yourself who have no experience at all living in a small vehicle.

Who said I don't have any experience?

 

[abnorm]

I'm going to be very blunt here: Can't anyone read and comprehend anymore?

""Don't **** where you Eat !""

Just because YOU want the information presented in a certain manner is NOT our problem.........

 

[rruff]

I'm going to be very blunt here: Can't anyone read and comprehend anymore? While some of your replies are informative, they don't answer my post. And that seems to happen in other post I have made too.

I'm just looking to hear what make, model and year vehicle you are living in. Please no big trucks, big vans, tow-behinds or RVs, just small trucks with a shell, cars and minivans. Why you chose that vehicle, how long you have been living in it and maybe the pros and cons of it. And nothing newer than 2005. Thanks.

I'm not interested in something you did 20 years ago, looking for people that are doing so now or within the last few years. I don't care what you recommend, what are YOU using and why. Don't care how the layout was done. Don't care how you cook, shower, etc. I have lived in small vehicles before, I know what to do. I would just like to hear from folks why they use what they do.

Best to not be too picky when asking for favors. And you are new here, so it's hard to tell what you care about. Some back and forth is necessary to flesh that out.

My current vehicle is far to new and large to be relevant. But I lived in a '84 Toyota truck for 13 years, and I think that info and experience would be relevant, but you don't want to know about that because it's in the past. Fair enough.

 

[user 38090]

Best to not be too picky when asking for favors. And you are new here, so it's hard to tell what you care about. Some back and forth is necessary to flesh that out.

My current vehicle is far to new and large to be relevant. But I lived in a '84 Toyota truck for 13 years, and I think that info and experience would be relevant, but you don't want to know about that because it's in the past. Fair enough.

Not that it wouldn't be relevant, but how long ago did you do it? While a 1984 vehicle doesn't change, the environment it is used in has. Some 20 years ago living in a vehicle wasn't as common as today. Or maybe just not as well talked about.

As for being to picky, all I'm asking for is simple information. Don't need someone telling be about buying a $25000 vehicle they 'think' would be perfect for me. Some replies are like being in the visitor's center in Oregon and they are telling you about Maine. Yes I'm new here, but I believe I asked a very simple question.

 

[user 38090]

""Don't **** where you Eat !""

Just because YOU want the information presented in a certain manner is NOT our problem.........

Well! I asked for simple information, make, model, year of vehicle and why you chose it and what vehicles I'm NOT interested in hearing about. That's ALL the information I asked. I don't care how you present the information, just that the information answers my questions.

I don't need suggestions like going to Canada to buy a 3/4 ton van or how to cook/shower/**** in what I do buy. I posted in another forum here about another matter and some of the replies were way out in left field, like they didn't even read my post. I don't think I'm asking for much.

 

[user 22017]

Hi Chad,

Just hit the "Like" button and move to the next reply. Sooner or later the answers you seek will show up, but not if you attack those who took the time to reply.

Others could have relevant info for you, but hesitate to reply because they aren't as brave as Ruff and Norm.

 

[user 38090]

Others could have relevant info for you, but hesitate to reply because they aren't as brave as Ruff and Norm.

And what type of "relevant" info would that be? The best place to park in Texas? I have stated what info I'm looking for here. Maybe I should have this all deleted and move on and leave the group. There are many helpful people in all the forums and I thank all of them. But I get pissed off when replies have little or nothing to do with the post. It's like they don't really read it but just post to post.

 

[user 22017]

Others could have relevant info for you, but hesitate to reply because they aren't as brave as Ruff and Norm.

And what type of "relevant" info would that be?

This: Would like to know what you have (year, make, model), about how long you been living in it and why you chose it. Also any other info you may like to share.

Maybe just delete where you wrote: "Also any other info you may like to share."

Just stay. And lighten up, dude

 

[rruff]

Some 20 years ago living in a vehicle wasn't as common as today. Or maybe just not as well talked about.

I lived in that truck from 1990 til 2003. Oh, it was absolutely less common! I think it still would be if people couldn't get cell service. I had no trouble finding nice camp spots where I could hike all around and see no one. I paid no attention to the 2 week limits... and I never ever saw a BLM ranger. It's a little harder to avoid the "crowds" now, but not that hard.

You say "no major offroading, but mud". For the offroading I like to do (getting to camp spots), overall ruggedness and ground clearance are most important. 4wd is nice but not necessary. I stay in dry environments though and am able to avoid mud pretty well. I'd like to know more about where you want to be able to go without much drama, and how you want to live. Minivans tend to have very poor ground clearance. A small SUV would be better in that respect and may have AWD which is nice. The nice thing about a pickup is that they tend to be more rugged and you can set up a nice living space in the bed, but they seem to cost more than used SUVs.

Small pickups that I'd consider viable would be Toyota and Nissan. Actually if you can find a T100 Toyota in good shape, that would be pretty ideal. They are bigger than Tacomas from the 90s, and tend to be cheaper used. Maybe an SUV would be better for you though, depending on how you want to live.

This a T100 with the 8' bed. They also made one with an extended cab and 6' bed. 2.7l or 3.4l engines are preferred, and the 5spd manual. I wish I could have bought one new in 2016.

Just did a search and T100s are rare! There are lots of basic Tacomas in the US with a 4cyl and 5speed manual with less than 120k miles for <$10k. I don't know if that is outside your budget, though.

 

[user 38090]

This: Would like to know what you have (year, make, model), about how long you been living in it and why you chose it. Also any other info you may like to share.

Maybe just delete where you wrote: "Also any other info you may like to share."

Just stay. And lighten up, dude

Sorry, I just assume people would understand "also any other info you may like to share" to be info about the vehicle. My bad.

 

[user 22017]

Sorry, I just assume people would understand "also any other info you may like to share" to be info about the vehicle. My bad.

Yeah, I was being snarky. My bad

Have you visited TacomaWorld's Forum? There are lots of ppl living in small pickups with shells there. I've found much useful info there (I have a shell, but a big truck). Here is the link, if interested:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/