Goals for My Mobile Living Unit

[corky52]

Knowing what you want is always a good place to start and finding myself in a place in my life to go mobile, I took the time to formulate some goals for the tool I wanted to help achieve what I wanted.

Goal one was to live both cheaply and comfortably where ever and for what ever length of time I chose.

Goal two was to have cheap mobility with me that did NOT limit my life style.

Goal three was to be able to use the cheapest place I could find without the potential of legal hassles.

To these ends I acquired a 1982 26 ft.TransVan powered by a 460 Ford V8 capable of towing a small car or truck and convertible to full unsupported living. I have both a Honda Civic and a Chevy Tracker that can be towed four-down, one of which will be my final choice as a towed.

I gutted the TransVan, sold the genset, Air Conditioner, water heater, furnace and the too small grey,black and potable water tanks. The TransVan I purchased is all fiberglass honey-comb with no framing to deal with, making modifications a matter of building cabinets to suit my needs.

I have since purchased a flash water-heater, a Buddy heater, and started to build and live in the unit as I build it out while being a caregiver.

I have found I need a sitting area, a sleeping area, much smaller kitchen, much more storage, a bigger shower and a bathroom. I hope over the next few months to post pictures as I build and try the fit of things while I finish my time as a caregiver.

One of the first things I decided was that I wouldn't need stealth, which was why I felt the TransVan was near perfect. I have traveled before and the use of parking lots/rest areas and other short-term places doesn't really require being hidden. I plan long-term stays at either cheap places near cities or BLM/NF land. With little trouble you can find cheap places near cities by the month, my current space is about half of the cheapest apartment I could find in the area, yet has more services than I really need. With transportation I can stay in one area and explore the whole area, without spend time and money on gas and finding hiding places, trade-off is near even. Boondocking is much easier with transportation that doesn't require breaking camp and cost an arm and a leg in fuel.

Corky

 

[cyndi]

Welcome to the CRVL forums, Corky! 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.

 

[akrvbob]

Corky that sounds like a great plan!! I think you will love your new life.

Cant wait to see your build. Sounds perfect.
bob

 

[corky52]

Bob,
I'm not much of a craftsman, so I doubt I will have that great looking pictures to post. My goal is comfort and function, I'm not planning on ever selling so the finish will likely be somewhat rough.

As you can see from the water heater picture I build to see if things work and then sometimes go back and clean them up. I don't have an esthetics committee to deal with, so working is first and pretty is a distant second.

Corky

 

[kyonu]

I'm a bit curious, and don't mean to rouse any troubles as I think you have a good setup going on here. But all your reasons for doing this is "cheap", not a single reason is because you wanted to do it to experience it or enjoy life freely (IE living on your own terms), etc.

I only mention this because if you truly don't desire to do this other than being cheap, you're going to get sick of it real quick! I've seen lots of horror stories from folk who did this for all the wrong reasons, and they're worse off.

 

[corky52]

I've lived on the road before, a few years back and I do enjoy it. Now part of the game is to live as comfortably as I can while traveling and spending only what I have to. I emphasize cheap because there is no challenge to just plunking down cash and buying somebody else's work and I enjoy the challenge of designing better ways to do things.

How interested would you be if I described going out and buying an expedition rated vehicle with all the goodies built in. The cheaper I can live the more freedom I have from the variables of life, who knows what tomorrow will bring. I learn here and I try and return the favor when I find things I think people here can use.

Case and point do you know that WalMart has T-8 single tube fluorescent lights that run on 12vdc and cost $6.97? I just found them today while getting a replacement tube for the $50 RV light that came in the rig. I bought two to test, they draw about 200 milliamps and are easy to add wires to connect to your 12vdc system to. I'll post pictures in a thread, yes it's cheap, but beating the system by being cheap is part of the fun I have.

Cheap by design


Corky!

 

[akrvbob]

Corky, you and I are exactly alike in that, there is not a single concession in my home to looks, it's 100% functional. Looks just aren't important to me. I do have a couple of momentos but they are just memories, not looks.

I"m still very interested to see how you do it!! I'm always on the look-out for a new and creative solution to a problem. Everything I know came to me that way!
Bob

 

[RogueRV2]

Hi Corkey,
There are many who have remodeled school buses to their liking and have done a remarkable job of it. If you have the time and money, go for it. I did not have the money, but I did have most of the materials, so it cost next to nothing. Because it appears our goals might be similar, that is, we'd like our rigs to be comfortable in all weather conditions, I highly recommend a wood stove and extra water tanks if it is possible.

The Mr. Buddy is the most efficient propane heater, but there is also the force air unit that is vented. This force air unit that came with the coach will now only heat about half of the area, the main live quarters, so it will have less work to do and do a better job of it. The fan will therefore not consume as much power. Both heaters can be used if need be. The wood stove will be particularly useful and cost effective when in the National Forests, where there are plenty of sticks and dead fall. If I can come up with a low cost and small swamp cooler, then I might have all the expected bases covered.


Hopefully I like the new life style as I have no choice. I lost my income, lost my health (temporarily), and now I'm loosing the home. I'm going with this because it is my least expensive option....cheap! My biggest problem will be the ability to make money. I may be able to adapt, but is it for me? I wonder.... Look forward to watching your build progress. We are all in this together.