Getting ready to become one of the few.....or many?

[OneManWolfpack]

<p>Hello everyone!<br><br>I'm 29 and currently new to this lifestyle. I&nbsp;just heard about it less than a month ago.&nbsp;I recently got out of a two year relationship and had to stay with a friend until I&nbsp;could move&nbsp;into a new place. We ended up talking one night and he said since I'm now single and in between places why not check out vandwelling. At first I thought he was joking but after about a month of talking about it, checking out this website and other resources, crunching numbers, etc. I decided to embark on this journey.<br><br>I don't have a van yet but am looking into getting one as we speak. I was just approved for a newer used&nbsp;2012 E250&nbsp;extended van and am thinking about taking that route. <br><br>I just wanted to say hi and I hope to obtain lots of resourceful information and hopefully can adapt to the vandwelling lifestyle. I currently plan on spending most of my time at the gym, library, or at work.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

 

[Ziggy Moon]

Welcome, OneManWolfpack!<br><br>Good luck with the E250, I'll be looking forward to pictures of the conversion, and hearing of your experiences.

 

[ice_maiden]

Welcome to the forum... lots of great people here ... willing to help with wonderful knowledge.

 

[OneManWolfpack]

<p>Thanks a bunch!<br><br></p>

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Welcome to the tribe Wolfpack

 

[wagoneer]

Welcome and great vehicle choice.

 

[TxGypsy]

Welcome! &nbsp;My bit of advice is to not go into debt if you don't have to. &nbsp;Not having debt gives you an amazing amount of freedom. &nbsp;I was able to retire when I was 35 because I was debt free. &nbsp;Good luck.

 

[OneManWolfpack]

Thanks for the advice and welcomes everyone!<br><br>Yeah I would love to go into this without any debt. I was recently a victim of the Oklahoma Tornado's/Flood waters and my car was totaled which I probably should have mentioned. I either am going to have to get a loan for a car and move into an apartment, or take the leap and get the van. I have support from my family and friends and I plan on having the van paid off by the end of this year and then next year I plan on saving a bulk amount of money to be able to travel.

 

[TxGypsy]

<p>Sorry to hear about your misfortune, but I sure am glad you are ok. &nbsp;At least you are looking at short term debt rather than long term....and, you have a plan! &nbsp;Excellent!</p>

 

[Seraphim]

Welcome to the group. Might want to consider a bare bones cargo van; cheaper without all the options, and a bare canvas, without a lot of unnecessary items you may have to tear out. Look forward to seeing pics. As stated above, the less debt the better, and the lower beneath your means you live, the more you can save.

 

[offroad]

You can also do car camping, until you afford something better.&nbsp; many are doing that also.

 

[blkjak]

<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>welcome from s.w. florida .... blkjak</strong> </span>

 

[OneManWolfpack]

<p>Yeah I actually attempted to sleep in my car for a week to test the waters before this happened.<br><br>The E250 is a cargo van with no shelving or anything. The only thing it has is the mesh metal divider with a door in the middle which I think is perfect for it.<br><br>I'm trying to decide what I want to do for the bedding. I originally just planned on throwing a twin sized mattress in the back and leave it like that but I'm noticing everyone has their mattresses raised and think I even read one post about moisture so trying to figure out if I have to have my mattress raised off the van or not.</p>

 

[James AKA Lynx]

Start slow and ideas will develop. James AKA Lynx

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I think the primary reason people raise the bed is storage underneath (think of the usable space above bed you wont be using) and the ability to sit normally on the bed for daily activities.&nbsp; Unless you are japanese or indian, sitting on the floor could get tiresome <img rel="lightbox" src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif" class="bbc_img">

 

[Pikachu711]

Welcome to the group OneManWolfpack!