Greetings from California!

[freerangetortoise]

Hello everyone!
I've been a longtime lurker and I'm finally coming out of the woodwork. I've been thinking and thinking about vandwelling for the last 4 years. About 3 years ago I chickened out. I tried to shake off my "crazy" thoughts by wanting the "normal" things. I went and got engaged, found out that I wasn't the crazy one but that in fact she was, broke off the engagement, and now I'm back again to sew those wild oats.
This time around, I've ditched the van idea because I see more and more truck campers on the streets around here. So I just purchased this Starcraft slide-in pop-up camper for my '07 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 5.7L Hemi.



Nothing against vans, I love those things! But the truck runs really good and I already had it... so there's my reasoning for that! I will actually pick it up and strap her down after work this afternoon and I'll try to get up some pictures of the new, happy couple to share with you all.
Anyway, I'm very happy to be back amongst you fine folks and over the moon about starting this new life. The lease for the house I'm renting right now is up in August of this year so I have a few months to get my act together. So in the meanwhile, I'll be picking your brains and hopefully will have something to contribute.

My name's Tony. I'm 33 from Southern California. It's a pleasure to meet and re-meet you all!

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Tony! We love pictures! Include a few of the interior if you can.

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.

 

[Wabbit]

Hi Tony- nice truck camper! Hope you have a great time on the road!

 

[brightbluejim]

Welcome, Tony.

That's an interesting place to mount an air conditioner.

Jim

 

[sisterearth]

Welcome! Nice to meet you, can't wait to see more photos!! Peace!

 

[Almost There]

Welcome, Tony.

That's an interesting place to mount an air conditioner.

Jim

Ha, hadn't noticed that until you pointed that out. Might be getting in the way of putting it on the truck though... :dodgy:

Welcome to the forums Tony. We love answering questions and there's a ton of sound advice to be found here.

 

[Tinman74]

Tony
I have had 3 Truck campers, really liked them all, would still have one but DW wanted a "B" so we now have a 99 Roadtrek. Gotta keep the wife happy and havin a Roadtrek isn't such a bad trade off.
Tinman Bob

 

[gypsychic]

Welcome Tony. Looking forward to hearing about your adventures! Enjoy the new camper.
Cheers.

 

[freerangetortoise]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! Such a nice group of strangers! Hopefully we'll change that real soon... the "strangers" part I mean!

Yeah, that AC unit is in a pretty funky spot. Good news is it's not mounted so taking it out is going to be as easy as simply moving it somewhere else. Bad news I'm pretty sure Ray Charles is the one who cut the hole for it! But it's nothing a little piece of scrap plywood and some paint can't sure though! I'll definitely post some more pictures once I'm in possession of her. Can't wait!!!

 

[Canine]

Good looking camper.Hope everything works out for you.Maybe we'll see you on the road sometime.You know,it might be nice to have a place to post where we are going to be in a few days so we could meet up with different people for a cold drink or cup of coffee.Just a thought.

 

[flailer]

Welcome!!!  Excellent rig ya'all gotz there!!!   Any specific wishes for kitting it up?  

Californtuna?  Never heard of it.  Where's dat place at?   
(joking-joking, i'm in s. barbara county at the moment) 

 

[freerangetortoise]

Well I picked up the popup slide-in this afternoon! She's all mine! Took a little more work than I thought to get all the clamps and brackets and what not hooked up and situated but the old girl ain't going nowhere!



I'll snap some more pictures of the inside when I have daylight, I suppose it'd be best to start my own build thread or something like that. It's a '95 so there's going to be some small projects that I'd like to dive into before moving in. Step 1 is a deep, thorough cleaning!

Thanks for all the moral support out there. It's good to know there's so many people out there who intentionally want to live this lifestyle. If it were just me, I would think I was losing my mind. Since there's all of us, I just feel like we're onto something and the rest of the world is too slow to understand.

Cheers!

 

[akrvbob]

You're not losing your mind, you are losing your "civilized" mind and finding your true self!
Bob

 

[freerangetortoise]

It's the man himself!

Bob,
I just wanted to tell you that you've been a huge inspiration to me. I'm positive the same goes for everyone else on this site. I watch Without Bound over and over when I start losing my focus and you always reel me back in with your comparison of freedom vs. comfort. I could surely never thank you enough, but I'll try anyway.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

-Tony

 

[ttpadilla]

I have serious truck envy right now! I miss my Dodge Ram so much. I had to trade it in for an economy car shortly after I moved to Oregon, when the only work I could find was an hour away from where I lived. Yours is a beauty!

 

[akrvbob]

Me too, serious truck envy! That's a beauty Tony!
Bob

 

[Patrick46]

moar, MOAR!!!

I wanna see pics of this rig of yours!!!

 

[freerangetortoise]

I finally found some time (at work, nonetheless!) to post some pictures I took over the weekend while cleaning out the camper. Please disregard the lack of all foam cushions - I have them all and the covers are in AMAZING shape as you might be able to tell from some of the pictures. I just took them out to clean them up and shake out the cooties from the previous owner(s). I keep reading how we like pictures in here so please enjoy. And if you have any suggestions about anything, fire away!

<a href="http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Fr...Clean up/Outside - Right_zpss7j6v5fh.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/...mper/Clean up/Outside - Right_zpss7j6v5fh.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Outside - Right_zpss7j6v5fh.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Fr.../Clean up/Outside - Rear_zpsqnczy0uz.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/...amper/Clean up/Outside - Rear_zpsqnczy0uz.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Outside - Rear_zpsqnczy0uz.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Fr.../Clean up/Outside - Left_zpsfj37wjhp.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/...amper/Clean up/Outside - Left_zpsfj37wjhp.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Outside - Left_zpsfj37wjhp.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Fr...lean up/Fridge and Stove_zpspa4bry00.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/...per/Clean up/Fridge and Stove_zpspa4bry00.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Fridge and Stove_zpspa4bry00.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Fr...er/Clean up/Sink and Bed_zpsljrnwfze.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/.../Camper/Clean up/Sink and Bed_zpsljrnwfze.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Sink and Bed_zpsljrnwfze.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Fr...r/Clean up/Bed and Bench_zps14rszbpt.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/...Camper/Clean up/Bed and Bench_zps14rszbpt.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Bed and Bench_zps14rszbpt.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Fr...ean up/Bench and Storage_zpsigjrca1c.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/...er/Clean up/Bench and Storage_zpsigjrca1c.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Bench and Storage_zpsigjrca1c.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s300.photobucket.com/user/Fr...lean up/Storage and Door_zpsjg29otah.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/...per/Clean up/Storage and Door_zpsjg29otah.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo Storage and Door_zpsjg29otah.jpg"/></a>

 

[Almost There]

You asked for suggestions so here's one for you!

Set it all up with the windows on the canvas part closed up and then take a garden hose to it. Sprinkle test it first, check it and then hard rain test it.

Better you find out that the canvas needs to be waterproofed NOW than down the road when you are out in the middle of nowhere at midnight and the rain is coming at you sideways.

Or just do the waterproofing on the basis that it's more than likely needing it...

 

[freerangetortoise]

What is this "rain" that you speak of?

Thanks AT! I was planning on spraying the canvas just to clean them off because they're dustier than all heck. Living in Southern California, sometimes I forget about that whole rain thing. And as good of a condition the camper it's in, I also forget she's 20 years old. I'll make it rain this weekend and hopefully I won't come crying to you for help!