Hi Everyone

[Sharona]

Hello Everyone,
   I have been following youtube videos of Bob and Jamie and that's how I ended up finding this site. Up late one night watching a video of the gal(forget him name) who was living in her van with her dog, she was really cool and they were talking about Fear and being a woman and then I watched video after video of women living in their vans and I was so inspired!

  I'm not looking to live in a van full time, but I love to travel and site see. I tend to venture off and get hotels and have been staying in Airbnbs, but that can still add up, And sometimes you just want to go somewhere, pull over and sleep and go onto the next adventure, not pay for someplace. I thought Id need a small RV to do this until I saw the vans, and THEN I found some blogs online of others using Minivans, and realizing, I already have a van to do this with!

  I have a Ford Freestar. It was my Dads who passed away, and my Dad is the reason I love to travel and site see. He always was going someplace, we did camper traveling as a kid, and he always had a truck camper, a trailer to tow, went on to build a cabin in another state for getaways, and lastly a fancy RV. I'm not in that league to spend that kind of money.

  I lived in So Cal for most of my life, and I love Ventura, Santa Barbara, Cambria, San Simeon, Big Sur. I could go to Santa Barbara for the day when I needed a recharge and to leave city life, so I'm an ocean lover. About 5 yrs ago due to job situation my husband and I moved to Az. Which was a good thing financially. We are debt free other then our home, which will be paid off soon. Kids are grown. We have been wise with finances so I don't have to work, I do sell antiques and collectibles, I'm a picker, but I set my own hours, sell in shops and online. So I can travel whenever I want and for how long I want. The only thing I hate about this part of Az is the summer, I go bonkers and its like cabin fever in this heat. So I decided next yr I'm getting out of here for most of the summer. Its the way I keep my sanity.

I have my Freestar, its under 70,000 miles, well maintained, has the rack on top. Seats are out as I use it for picking and I'm not shuttling anyone around.

Now I need to plan my build out inside the van, I need something I can remove for when I am back home and picking and hauling furniture and antiques.

I drive back and forth from Az to California all the time and always pass by Quartzite and see all the RVs along the fwy, I had no idea why they all went there, other then that they were snowbirds there for the weather. Didn't know about BLM land or about vandwellers, etc  So I'm hoping to make it to the RTR.

I travel between California, Az and Utah, haven't driven any farther, but would love to explore some of Texas eventually also. Ive never been!

Right now I'm making a list of items to buy, I can afford to invest, so point me to any good threads(inverters, fridge, heater) everything I will need, the solar panels, etc

Look forward to chatting and meeting with you all!

Sharon

 

[WriterMs]

Welcome, Sharon,
It's great you can put together most everything you'll NEED with what you have.. but also have the resources to add some things to make your trips more comfy.

I highly recommend viewing the "Van Conversions" listed at the second line of type at the very top of this website. And then go on to the VAN section of the forum. Look for van conversion threads for vans similar in size to your own perhaps. It should be fairly easy to make the elements you need that can be pulled out -- simply have a way to secure them well when inside your van (so they con't go flying in case of a quick, hard stop or a fender bender).

You'll get tons of ideas here, and asking specific questions as you encounter them will get you a lot of replies. Looking at conversion pics and reading threads will help you narrow down your specific questions.

Love your enthusiasm!

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRVL Forum  

Sounds like you've found an interesting and different way to travel.  Great thinking out of the box.

That Freestar may be just perfect for your needs. 

You are welcome to look at my sites below for any ideas you could adopt to yours.  The bottom site
may be helpful when you are out on the road.  

I started in an old standard Ford Van just camping on the weekends and taking a few extended outings with cross country traveling.  That's how I got my feet wet.   

All the best !

 

[cyndi]

Welcome to the CRVL forums, Sharona! Lucky you! You've got the van, already. I guarantee you will not be missing those hotels and AirBnBs at all. I'd be willing to bet you do a lot more traveling and you get to TX sooner rather than later!

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.

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard Sharona !
I've played your song many times.............

 

[Sharona]

My My My Owwwwww! haha, I used to play it as a kid on air broom guitar on a tree stump,,, my brother always sang me the chorus on his guitar when I was a kid(I didnt know what the song was about then)

 

[BradKW]

Welcome! Vehicle pics are encouraged

 

[Cammalu]

Sharon's, being a picker already you should be already good at finding just what you need for your van. Just put your picker cap on and do your thing and send pics of what you put together! There are RV graveyards out there too.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk