Hey Everyone!

[Guest]

Hey guys!<br>So, my name is Nick, and I am a camper-to-be. <br>You see, I'm 16, and getting kicked out of my house.<br>I have been dying to live in a van for years! Not even kidding!<br>Quick question, in fact. I realized that for $350 a year, you <br>get access to any 24 hour fitness location for a year. That means parking,<br>showers, and bathrooms! I was wondering if anyone else does this,<br>and if any of the experienced dwellers out there could give me <br>some tips.<br>Thanks, and looking forward to leaving!<br>Nick<br><br>

 

[Tao Seeker]

It's good to know there's some other younger people here. I am new as well, and 20 years old. I will be charged rent soon here with my parents, and my worst nightmare is working full time to support an apartment and getting stuck in the same place for the rest of my life.<br><br>Good luck to you, let me know if you finish a budget on your setup, I am working out mine right now and it's starting to break $10,000 with a solar power setup and barely used van.<br><br>Also, are you going to live backwoods, or urban stealth? I live in suburbia, so it's stealth for me, I hope the police don't ever bug me.<br><br>

 

[akrvbob]

Hi Nick, one of the first things I did when I moved into my van was get a gym membership for all the reasons you mentioned. Very, very good idea!! Many gyms are in strip malls so the parking lot is not under their control. As a general rule, you want to park at different places, the more the better, otherwise you draw attention to yourself. But there are exceptions to that. I parked at a Fred Meyer store (strictly in the Northwest, but they were bought out by kroegers) every day for a couple years and they never minded. 24 hour grocery stores are one of the best places to park. <br><br>Welcome to you too Tao Seeker, love your name, I also am a big fan of the Tao Te Ching. $10,000 seems awfully high. If you have the time why don't you post your proposed budget in the Money Maters section of the forum and maybe we can help you with it. The price of solar has really dropped and you can get a realy nice system for about $750 including 135 watt panel, controller and pair of golf cart batteries. If you are interested,, ask me for details in the electrical section of the forum. Bob<br><br><br><br>

 

[Tao Seeker]

I am currently living with the parents, and I actually have a part time job at a local gym. Free membership, so free showers. It's a great deal, and some gyms (*cough! cardinal fitness *cough!) higher people REALLY part time, meaning 10 hours or less a week (this can easily be fitted with a larger part time job to make a full-time job with shower benefits)<br><br>I also train and practice parkour: a completely free, very beneficial, and extremely fun sport (art, if you will). I practice it with my friends, and living in a vehicle wouldn't stop me from doing it in the least. Just make sure you have medical insurance if you plan to do half the stuff they show on youtube!<br><br>I'll post that budget as well. I have the natural instinct to buy for best quality and over protect my investment by spilling some extra cash into it. Most of the cost is just the van for $7000, but that's part of the budget, so it will be in that thread.<br>

 

[akrvbob]

Buying quality makes perfect sense to me, the newer and better the van the less problems you will have with it. My one really great fear is my truck breaking down. It is such a huge hassle when it is your home as well. It has always worked out okay, but it is a pain-in-the-but. Have you already found the van?<br><br>How about you Nick, do you have a van yet? Bob<br>

 

[Tao Seeker]

I have not found the van yet. Because I plan to buy with cash in pocket and I have lots of experienced mechanics and auto body men in the family, I find it both convenient and safe to buy off of craigslist or a similar source. For this reason, I won't begin looking for a van until I have 5-7 thousand saved up, because the private market changes so fast and won't hold on to a vehicle for me very long.<br><br>Craigslist is a wonderful place. If you haven't become familiar with it, Nick, I strongly suggest you browse it now and then. I check the free listings every day because you can find printers, TVs, furniture, firewood, project scrap, landscaping leftovers, and things people will let you take if you take them down. Some friends and I make it an event to occasionally take free electronics like TVs, printers, and speaker, and certain other things to smash them up with a variety of weapons (mattocks, shovels, sledge hammers, etc.) as a fun way to pay back our materialism and the media.<br><br>Today on craiglist there's 5 trailer wheels (tires and rims) for free within 50 miles of me; I love that site!<br><br>