hello

[marigold]

The great info on this site gave me the confidence to go out and get my very own van last summer, and I have been working on it and traveling ever since!

My goal is full time van living- right now I'm at about 50% using a friend's place for shower and kitchen. I really love my little home and all the challenges and freedoms that come with it, just wanted to say hello!

I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions... this is all a big experiment.

 

[Seraphim]

Congratulations and welcome to the tribe.

Looks like you've made a comfortable hone for yourself.

 

[Theadyn]

Welcome! Cool place you got there.

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums marigold! Nice little home! Is it tall enough for you to stand up inside? It looks like it has two windows, a side door and back doors which will be great for brightening up the interior and bringing fresh air in.

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.

 

[gypsychic]

That looks like a great vehicle. Welcome. I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures. Questions?!? Looks like you could count yourself among those who give advice with how much you've accomplished already.

Since you bought it last summer I'm wondering how hot that dark paint made it inside the van? My plan was to get a white cargo van. What I purchased was a dark blue conversion van. Thinking of at least painting the roof white as suggested on this site. Just wondering about your experience.

 

[marigold]

thanks for the welcome everyone!

Yes, the van is tall enough for me to stand up in, the ceiling is about 6' and i'm only 5'3" so it's plenty roomy for me.

it actually has 7 windows in the box, if you count the 4 in the back barn doors and the 1 in the sliding door, but only two windows open. Great for morning light and enjoying views.

I took the van down to california and the blue paint did make it quite unbearably hot during the day. I am thinking of painting at least the roof white, or maybe a pale yellow/golden. The roof needs some work anyways, I've had a few leaky spots and the seams need to be resealed.

I just got some reflectix to put in the windows, so maybe that will help in the hot months. I'm also thinking of experimenting with a little fan powered swamp cooler out of a 5 gallon bucket.

My friend has a little grey toyota van that stayed super cool in the desert, so the light color does make a big difference.

I've done just enough on the conversion to make her cozy, but none of the systems are in place yet (water, battery power, solar etc) so I'll be diving into new territory when I tackle those.