Hi Everyone!
I don't have a van yet but am in the research phase. Stumbled across several of Bob's youtube videos and then this website. Incredibly helpful!!!
I have 4 children. In about 6-12 months I'll have only one still at home. I homeschool and as I was looking ahead to the year DS studies American History, I thought it would be fun to take a 1,2,or 3 month sabbatical and do a "living history" tour. The plan is to visit all the places he is learning about...see the battlegrounds, historical sites, Washington DC, etc. Since we live in Oregon, we'd end the trip by following the Oregon trail home and study our state's history.
So this brainchild started to form. We love to tent camp so I'm not opposed to camping along the way, but for this, it would be highly impractical. So, I started thinking it would be fun to build our own camper "something" (van, rv, box truck). I'm pretty handy with a hammer so I'd love to do all the work myself. Initially, I thought I could take my time and make this a week-end project for my son and I. I have about 5 years to play with.
I drove school bus for several years and then long shuttle busses (48 passenger) after that. So I'm not afraid to drive a long rig. However, its harder to find places to park. I wanted to keep it small enough that I could park at each destination/tourist attraction without much trouble. I started looking into short busses, liking the idea of the larger living space, but after watching Bob's videos, I decided that stealth was the way to go.
Then I started to think, this would be a GREAT week-end getaway rig. For a living, I manage an apartment community and live on site. There is no such thing as a day off!! If people know I'm onsite, I'm working. When I start to get burned out, we go camping. During the PNW rainy winter, we rent a cabin in a KOA. Its a pipe dream to be able to go somewhere on all my days off, but I simply can't afford it. After watching Bob's videos about stealth and free camping, I realized I CAN do it.
So now I'm in the process of looking for a van. Again, Bob comes to the rescue. My head was swimming with all the choices. Thanks to this forum, I have narrowed down my search to a Chevy Express (extended), at least 2500, V8, with at least 4.8L.
As an aside...a distant fantasy had been to live out in the middle of nowhere, off grid, raising farm animals, growing a garden, self sustaining. I'm currently not the mom I should be and often my kids have to take a back seat to the job. (I HATE that!) After all the research I've done looking for a camper van and hearing stories of the nomadic lifestyle, the seed has been planted. To live in the van, just me and my son, raising him in a stress-free environment and devoting all of my time and attention to just being a mom...heaven.
Thanks for reading!
I don't have a van yet but am in the research phase. Stumbled across several of Bob's youtube videos and then this website. Incredibly helpful!!!
I have 4 children. In about 6-12 months I'll have only one still at home. I homeschool and as I was looking ahead to the year DS studies American History, I thought it would be fun to take a 1,2,or 3 month sabbatical and do a "living history" tour. The plan is to visit all the places he is learning about...see the battlegrounds, historical sites, Washington DC, etc. Since we live in Oregon, we'd end the trip by following the Oregon trail home and study our state's history.
So this brainchild started to form. We love to tent camp so I'm not opposed to camping along the way, but for this, it would be highly impractical. So, I started thinking it would be fun to build our own camper "something" (van, rv, box truck). I'm pretty handy with a hammer so I'd love to do all the work myself. Initially, I thought I could take my time and make this a week-end project for my son and I. I have about 5 years to play with.
I drove school bus for several years and then long shuttle busses (48 passenger) after that. So I'm not afraid to drive a long rig. However, its harder to find places to park. I wanted to keep it small enough that I could park at each destination/tourist attraction without much trouble. I started looking into short busses, liking the idea of the larger living space, but after watching Bob's videos, I decided that stealth was the way to go.
Then I started to think, this would be a GREAT week-end getaway rig. For a living, I manage an apartment community and live on site. There is no such thing as a day off!! If people know I'm onsite, I'm working. When I start to get burned out, we go camping. During the PNW rainy winter, we rent a cabin in a KOA. Its a pipe dream to be able to go somewhere on all my days off, but I simply can't afford it. After watching Bob's videos about stealth and free camping, I realized I CAN do it.
So now I'm in the process of looking for a van. Again, Bob comes to the rescue. My head was swimming with all the choices. Thanks to this forum, I have narrowed down my search to a Chevy Express (extended), at least 2500, V8, with at least 4.8L.
As an aside...a distant fantasy had been to live out in the middle of nowhere, off grid, raising farm animals, growing a garden, self sustaining. I'm currently not the mom I should be and often my kids have to take a back seat to the job. (I HATE that!) After all the research I've done looking for a camper van and hearing stories of the nomadic lifestyle, the seed has been planted. To live in the van, just me and my son, raising him in a stress-free environment and devoting all of my time and attention to just being a mom...heaven.
Thanks for reading!
And I spent more time on the road than I did in museums!
