Finally bit the bullet

sfyosick · Jun 22, 2019

Finally disenfranchised with the rising housing costs and stagnating pay rates, My wife and I jumped into the Cargo-Van process.

We just picked up a 2002 Chevy Express 1500 that has about 150k miles on it. The body isn't perfect, but the engine is clean and well maintained which is the bigger requirement.

Just starting to do the full clean out of the cargo area to remove the nicotine and dirt from the previous owner before moving on to filling holes and such.

I've been enjoying reading and watching the various videos on budget friendly options.

autumnt · Jun 22, 2019

It looks good.. Congratulations. I hope things work out for you.

highdesertranger · Jun 22, 2019

Welcome sfyosick to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

highdesertranger

eDJ_ · Jun 22, 2019

Welcome to the CRVL Forums

You can now travel with your home with you. In this way you can find a better life, new opportunities to take advantage of, and leave the worker bee wage-slavery life style behind you. You know property taxes, Utility bills, Insurance (for the Homeowner) annoying aspects of the old neighborhood, home maintenance, lawn care....etc.

After you have finished up your clean up and detailing, going over the Van's systems to assure it is solid as new, and are ready to start your build the first step is usually a plywood floor and carpet. It dampens road noise and provides some insulation. Then you can go from there. Usually a few weeks or months will be enough of a shakedown tour to determine what you really need and want. Since it is the beginning of the summer season, you could build basic and begin to go on the road to a warmer winter area. Then if you winter over in that area, you could begin to build out to your objectives there thru the winter.

I would invite you to view my two links below. One is for Van conversion, and the other for Travel once you hit the road. (and I found that was harder than building my Van, thus why I built the site)

I would also mention to you the easy travel system we speak of here from time to time called the 2-2-2.

You get up in the morning, fix breakfast, clean up everything and yourself, break camp, and begin to hit the road after 9 am once all the worker bees are at work, thus avoiding all the rush hour traffic. So you should have a list of places to see and visit before hitting the road and this is the first........2. You try to limit your travel between these events to two hours of travel time.

The second 2 is to be at the camping place you are going to check into by 2 pm. This way you could get a prime camping spot close to the campground features of your choice. The third 2 is staying there in camp for two days. One day to enjoy features of the campground and one to plan an itinerary for your next venture on the next morning. This may include sight seeing, job interviews/visits to Job Service etc, visiting museums, and taking in tours and looking for opportunity.

So all the best with your rig and travels !

sfyosick · Jun 23, 2019

Thanks all for the warm welcomes.

That's some great advise eDJ_. So far the only thing I can see mechanically is the Brakes and O2 sensors needing to be replaced. But still going to give it a full once over within the next week or so since most of the services are recommended at the 150k mark and I doubt the person I got it from did them.