Hi all!
I just bought an old Ford Transit Leisure Drive and I'm pretty stoked!
It's small and cute and takes up 5-6 people (theoretically, although I think I would go nuts if I had 5 other people in it for much more than a couple of days!!). And it came with some very rusty spots inside --it's a 1994 and the underneath and the main stuff outside has been taken care of as it's necessary to keep it on the road legally.
I have to move out of my current place soon and there doesn't seem to be very many apartments available in my area (rural Irish West Coast), so I'm considering living in the van.
My main concerns are:
1. Cold
2. Lack of shower
3. Price of portable toilet liquids (I don't have a proper bathroom but I ordered a Porta Potty Qbe 145 today so I can store it away)
For (1) I'm planning to buy insulating material to fit it in every window at night. I used to have something like that in my old van and made a huge difference. I also need a heater as it's Winter in Ireland and it never really gets warm here anyway (even in the Summer I used to be cold in my old van, when not in bed!). I've been looking at gas heaters (can't depend on electricity because I want to be mobile *and* staying in campgrounds /caravan parks in Ireland is ridiculously expensive). The nice ones are too expensive for my current budget. Any thoughts on this one?
http://www.campingworld.co.uk/en/Kampa-Double-Parabolic-Heater/m-19293.aspx
PROS: Cheaper than Mr Heater products and available in Ireland (Mr Heater doesn't have a provider in IE)
CONS: Burns to touch; Might not produce enough warmth
For (2) I'm considering becoming a member of a gym / pool. I also get in the ocean regularly (I surf) and if I rinse off with water afterwards I feel quite clean
I'm not sure how to solve (3) other than using public toilets everywhere I go.. and possibly buying cheaper liquids. The thing is, as soon as I use the portable toilet, I'll have to empty the tank and refresh it with liquids after 4-5 days, so even if I don't use the toilet much, liquids go to waste (pun not intended). Any recommendation for cheap liquids?
Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any tips!
(I'm used to small spaces as I had a VW T4 (1999) for a few years. I LOVED it, but I sold it in 2015 when I moved out of the country to travel around the world by other means (planes, public transportation, hitchhiking).)
I just bought an old Ford Transit Leisure Drive and I'm pretty stoked!
It's small and cute and takes up 5-6 people (theoretically, although I think I would go nuts if I had 5 other people in it for much more than a couple of days!!). And it came with some very rusty spots inside --it's a 1994 and the underneath and the main stuff outside has been taken care of as it's necessary to keep it on the road legally.
I have to move out of my current place soon and there doesn't seem to be very many apartments available in my area (rural Irish West Coast), so I'm considering living in the van.
My main concerns are:
1. Cold
2. Lack of shower
3. Price of portable toilet liquids (I don't have a proper bathroom but I ordered a Porta Potty Qbe 145 today so I can store it away)
For (1) I'm planning to buy insulating material to fit it in every window at night. I used to have something like that in my old van and made a huge difference. I also need a heater as it's Winter in Ireland and it never really gets warm here anyway (even in the Summer I used to be cold in my old van, when not in bed!). I've been looking at gas heaters (can't depend on electricity because I want to be mobile *and* staying in campgrounds /caravan parks in Ireland is ridiculously expensive). The nice ones are too expensive for my current budget. Any thoughts on this one?
http://www.campingworld.co.uk/en/Kampa-Double-Parabolic-Heater/m-19293.aspx
PROS: Cheaper than Mr Heater products and available in Ireland (Mr Heater doesn't have a provider in IE)
CONS: Burns to touch; Might not produce enough warmth
For (2) I'm considering becoming a member of a gym / pool. I also get in the ocean regularly (I surf) and if I rinse off with water afterwards I feel quite clean
I'm not sure how to solve (3) other than using public toilets everywhere I go.. and possibly buying cheaper liquids. The thing is, as soon as I use the portable toilet, I'll have to empty the tank and refresh it with liquids after 4-5 days, so even if I don't use the toilet much, liquids go to waste (pun not intended). Any recommendation for cheap liquids?
Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for any tips!
(I'm used to small spaces as I had a VW T4 (1999) for a few years. I LOVED it, but I sold it in 2015 when I moved out of the country to travel around the world by other means (planes, public transportation, hitchhiking).)