Hi Everybody!

[EucaChris]

Glad to find this forum and not sure where to post this thread. 

I'm not a van dweller and don't know yet if that life is for me but I am a nomad at heart.  I finally have remote employment and want to start hitting the road for longer periods of time, mostly outside the U.S.. 

I'm hoping to find an RV dweller who'd be interested in housing swap a few months a year, most likely in the winter months.  

Maybe you're a nomad who wants a break from the road once in a while, or someone wanting a slow transition into full time RV life.  Ideally you could stay in my home while I'm traveling.  It would not be free but expenses would be minimal since costs are low here to begin with.   

Not sure what would make a situation like this attractive to a van dweller so I'm open to questions and suggestions.  If you or someone you know might be interested please message me.  

Thanks for reading

 

[nature lover]

Welcome to the forum, that’s an interesting offer but I like being on the road full-time. I hope you find someone and it benefits both of you.

 

[Mod1234]

Welcome to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[jacqueg]

As a van dweller, what might make it attractive to me is its location!

 

[kklowell]

I expect location is an important consideration to a lot of van dwellers.

 

[EucaChris]

Thanks for the welcome and the replies.  

Location is rural IL.  Small quiet town in the middle of farm land.  You'd have to go out of town for certain things but there is a grocery store, dollar store, hardware store, library and post office in town.  

The main feature of this location is that it's very cheap, which is why I don't want to give up my apartment.  It really is a place to come if you want or need to cocoon for a while.  There is not much else of interest here TBH although I suppose that depends on your personal taste.

Happy to answer more questions for anyone who might be interested.  Just exploring the idea for now and figuring out how this could work.

 

[abnorm]

Home............now Apartment ?

 

[NctryBen]

Haha! I thought similar. Sounded like come spend the winter in the apartment while I take your van and go south into a warm climate. No Thanks...but you might find the perfect person. So good luck! 
I’d work on getting a van, your already in just an apartment. So pear down your stuff a little more and hit the road. I’d say an either or situation. Personally I’d not want to take someone’s home on wheels. If something happens to the all they have it would likely put bad blood between you and whoever. No offense, but that seems a little lopsided... never hurts to ask I suppose.

 

[travelaround]

Welcome to the site. I hope you can get a good travel vehicle.

I would never loan out my rig to a stranger. I would not even loan it out to a close family member.

Years ago my grandmother gave me a truck and told me never to let anyone else drive it. Well, one night I was at a friend's parents' home and when it was time to go he wanted to back the truck out for me because it was so close to other vehicles. So I let him - and guess what happened? I ended up with a dent in the side of my truck. Lesson learned.

 

[jacqueg]

Thanks for the welcome and the replies.  

Location is rural IL.  Small quiet town in the middle of farm land.  You'd have to go out of town for certain things but there is a grocery store, dollar store, hardware store, library and post office in town.  

The main feature of this location is that it's very cheap, which is why I don't want to give up my apartment.  It really is a place to come if you want or need to cocoon for a while.  There is not much else of interest here TBH although I suppose that depends on your personal taste.

Happy to answer more questions for anyone who might be interested.  Just exploring the idea for now and figuring out how this could work.

I might be willing to come for a winter, just to experience it, and also I do have family in the area. So that part might be OK.

But I agree that swapping my van is an absolute non-starter. I might be willing to sell it, for a good price, but lending it, nope.

Also, I'd want to make make double-damn sure it's OK with your landlord. In my neck of the woods, leases almost always  include a clause about long-term guests, as in - they are not allowed. Neither is sub-letting.

 

[EucaChris]

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I don't want to swap anyone's vehicle, it's just an inquiry to see if someone might be interested in staying in my place while I'm gone. It is an apartment (2B/1BA), calling it a home was because it's where I live, I wasn't trying to be misleading.

I considered getting a van/RV but since I want to travel outside the U.S. it doesn't makes sense for me right now. I'm not ready to deal with the logistics of RVing all the way to Colombia or Peru.

Where I live is too sleepy for tourists so AirBnb isn't a realistic option. My landlord is pretty great and I've been a good tenant, neighbors are all really nice and everyone is quiet. It's safe here and I've never had any problems. I don't know what dollar amount would make it worth someone's while but costs would be less than 500/month.

I would definitely clear it with the landlord before moving ahead with anything, for now I'm just putting out feelers to see if the idea is even of interest to an RVer. Obviously all parties have to be fully comfortable with each other and the details of the arrangement. I'm not planning to go anywhere before December so there's time to work it all out.