Hi, I'm Bob, owner of cheaprvliving.com.

[KatieinKansas]

<font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Oh Ghost Dancer! &nbsp;Hi! &nbsp;So glad you're here. &nbsp;I enjoyed walking with you at RTR.. A big hug to you.. Katie</span></font>

 

[swankiewheels]

<p>Bob, thank you for all your hard work at the RTR 2012.&nbsp; Hope you form a committee to share the load for you next time.&nbsp; There was too much on your shoulders alone.&nbsp; Wish I could have helped more.&nbsp; Sure enjoyed catching up with old friends, meeting new friends i.e. Dancer and Katiein Kansas, etc.&nbsp; Thanks to Sam also for helping a couple people get beds made in their vans.&nbsp; It's important out here to be able to sleep well.&nbsp; I continue to enjoy Quartzsite and the Rock Club and am learning so much.&nbsp; Also I am grateful to Bob and to members of the Rock Club who are Campground Hosts for pointing me in the right direction to get a job this coming season... in the Colorado Rocky Mountains high... 9,000 ft.&nbsp; That should be clean air.&nbsp;&nbsp; A few of us are thinking of having a satelite "smoke free" camp in the future.&nbsp; If you are interested in the concept, let me know.</p>

 

[swankiewheels]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Oh, by the way, for me the best part of RTR 2012 was meeting up with Peg.&nbsp; Last summer when I came up with the idea of sketching portraits of people for gas money, Peg was my first client and hired me to do five portraits.&nbsp; At the next to the last day of RTR, I went up the hill to say goodbye to folks, and saw this woman approaching the campfire ring... and I couldn't stop looking at her as it seemed I knew her.&nbsp; As she sat down, I kept starring.&nbsp; Finally, I said...&nbsp; "Do I know you?"&nbsp; (seemed everyone knew me?)&nbsp; She wasn't sure but said "I'm Peg."&nbsp; Then she looked at me and said "Charlene?"&nbsp; Wow!&nbsp; I was as excited as a kid at Christmas time to meet her in person.&nbsp; I ran back to town to get my sketch book (copies) to show her and others.&nbsp; We got a chance to visit a few minutes... she showed us her van.&nbsp; Gee I wish I had taken photos.&nbsp; Peg, do you have photos online somewhere?&nbsp; I was so happy... and joyeous... words fail me.&nbsp; A very special day.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;<img border="0" hspace="0" alt="Peg and Charlene meet at RTR 2012." align="baseline" src="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?....58411.100001843375288&amp;type=3&amp;theater"></p>

 

[yesican]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Hi All, I am Rae from the Kenai of Alaska.&nbsp; My soul has been stirring the past&nbsp;several years&nbsp; I've boxed my life into conformity of the "norms of society" and am currently building a cabin on 2 acres that came with covenants.&nbsp; My job as a&nbsp;nurse for the last 30 years is&nbsp;draining me (even though I enjoy what I do).&nbsp; I have always dreamt of life as a nomad.&nbsp; While my girls were growing up, I had a Dodge 250 Ram Van that held so many memories with&nbsp;the trips we took&nbsp;"roughing it" as we travelled the upper midwest.&nbsp; For the past&nbsp;3 years my dream has been about an RV and got the opportunity to experience life for brief periods in a rebuilt city bus.&nbsp; However,&nbsp;my mechanical knowledge and ability fits a van.&nbsp; &nbsp;I never thought of living in a van full time but thanks to this website, my dream will become a reality sooner than I think.&nbsp; My eyes are set for this life changing event for 2013; the cabin and debt are both anchors than can be lifted by then.&nbsp; This site is the antifog on my lens to the future....Thank you so much for this blog.<img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif"></p>

 

[Doug & Connie]

Hi, I am Doug from KC. I`ve been snooping on this website for several years now. Lived in my DIYS cargo/rv van for 3 yrs. while doing mobile srv wrk in 200 mile circle. I`ve flirted with FT but have too much conventional life going on. ie parents,kids,grandkids. I also got back with my ex wife hoping to get her on board. She`s agreed to a couple months this summer. I`ve wanted this lifestyle since HS after hitchiking for 2 yrs. Anyways, Hope to find some kindred spirits. Thanks.

 

[rattlesnake joe]

<p>Howdy Bob,&nbsp; My wife and I have been Snowbirds for 4 years.&nbsp; We live in a Casita travel trailer that is 17 feet long and 6'8" wide.&nbsp; It is just a little bigger than a van.&nbsp; We have lived in RV parks mostly but now want to Boondock with our Honda 2000 generator, portable 90 watt solar kit and brand new battery.&nbsp; Our little trailer has an outside shower set up and we bought a shower tent.&nbsp; Also have an Add-A-Room that is 8x10 feet that attaches to the awning.&nbsp; I have a 2004 Toyota Tundra Access Cab 4x4 with camper shell full of camping gear.&nbsp; We love the desert and freedom to roam.&nbsp; </p>

 

[stude53]

<table class="nested_invisible_table" border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="0" width="100%" height="100%"><tbody><tr><td height="100%" vAlign="top" colSpan="4"><span id="post_message_1272594375"><span id="post_message_1272512862"><p style="margin: 0px;">Welcome, Joe... <img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/wave.gif"> </p><p style="margin: 0px;"> </p><p style="margin: 0px;">Suggestion: Start a new Introduction topic here, so everyone can find and welcome you to the forum.</p><p style="margin: 0px;"> </p><p style="margin: 0px;"> </p><p style="margin: 0px;">Bob (aka stude53)</p></span></span> </td></tr><tr><td vAlign="bottom" colSpan="4" align="center"><span style="display: none;" id="loading_1272594375"><b>Loading...</b></span><span style="float: right;"><a onclick="return display_editor(1272594375);" href="https://vanlivingforum.com/post/printadd?edit=1&amp;pid=1272594375" target="_blank" target=_blank></a></span></td></tr></tbody></table>

 

[vtwinkicker]

Hi All, Greg here. I've been reading Bob's CheapRVLiving on and off for a few years now. Counting the days till I free myself from the treadmill we were all on at one time or another getting trapped in consumerism. See you on the road!<br>

 

[travelingchic]

Thanks to Bob for the wonderful site with plenty of great information and then adding this forum which helps for reaching out to others who are van dwelling. &nbsp;<div><br></div><div><br></div>

 

[WinterSmith]

Hi Bob!<br><br>What you've done is great, and I want to thank you very much. The ignorance one has about living in a van (which for me is a totally new experience) creates a lot of fear and anxiety. The information and friendly people you meet in the forums really helps a lot!<br>Oh, and I learned some new today: what "BLM" land is. May come in handy someday.<br><br>Wintersmith<br><br>

 

[tinythetrucker]

<p>Hi Bob and friends I&nbsp;live in a converted stealth Cargo trailer 6x12 single axle&nbsp;never ending project&nbsp;great improvement over tent living,&nbsp;Around North Central Iowa. I am a 47 yr old single male&nbsp;ag equipment relocation specialist. AKA trucker. I boone dock and camp when&nbsp;at the terminal usually&nbsp;on the weekends. Thanks for providing this wonderful&nbsp;forum! (MAC)</p>

 

[kycat1]

</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Welcome aboard Tiny. </p><p style="margin: 0px;">Lots of good folks on this site, lots of info also.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">I drove truck also, retired now. And once lived and drove in &amp; out of Iowa.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Have been in Oregon for many years now. Camping in my Ford van, in and on, B.L.M. land, county and state parks. There are several of us van dwellers here in Oregon, even a couple of drivers. Good luck, let us know if ya head out to the Northwest. Roy</p><p></p>

 

[txanne]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Living in SE TX to live in an un-a/ced rv/van/tent is a</p><p style="margin: 0px;">very physically taxing ordeal.&nbsp; Heat/humidity</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">I love the north country--but wonder how you maintain</p><p style="margin: 0px;">in the long winters.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Visited Carnation WA at a friends last yr and it (rained) misted all the time--</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Theres no perfect place of course--So I look-forward to visiting here for ideas.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">This is the most unusal site I have encountered.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Now those living a nomadic live can keep in touch.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Of course my family thinks I am nuts--at my age.LOL</p><p style="margin: 0px;">But that makes the surviior I am.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Nice to meet you and best wishes</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">annie</p>

 

[kevinr]

Hi Bob,<br /><br />Thanks to all the great information you've provided, I've started living in my van. I was laid off back in November and when the unemployment checks stopped I didn't know what I was going to do. After finding your site, a spark of hope and even excitement started to grow and after many hours of planning and research, I finally moved out of my house last week. I'm now sporting a converted astrovan and loving my life so far. I still have power and employment concerns, but I firmly believe I can survive and overcome. <br /><br />I'm still a little embarassed about "living in a van down by the river," at 41 years old, but my family seems to be taking it well so far, and the more I do it, the more I realize it's what I've always wanted.. Well, my new home could be a little bigger, but I believe I will get there.<br /><br />Let the adventure begin.<br /><br />It's really nice to see so many posts in here. It's good to know I'm not alone.<br /><br /><br />Kevin

 

[kevinr]

Thanks Bob and kstanzy.<br /><br />I'd like to get into work-camping but until that opportunity becomes more tangible, I'm up for just about anything that doesn't conflict with the commitments I've already made.<br /><br />Currently, I'm fortunate(?) enough to be house/dog-sitting for vacationing friends, so I'm staying in a nice house this week and again in a couple weeks for another friend. In between those, I'll be staying at Oregon Country Fair for a weekend to get my Spirit on... Anyway, it's strangely sort of depressing staying in a house this week.. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and not getting anything done.&nbsp; I can't wait to be back on the road, but I need to save up some cash before I can really go do what I want, which is wander to wherever the work is. I'm hoping I can start that part of my journey in August, but I have to spend a week with my little sister and her kids before I move away or she will hunt me down and string me up.

 

[sidat202]

Hi BOB, Im new, just registered today. I wanted to ask a question about work camping. Im living in a pickup with canopy/camper. In other words it has no appliances. Its basically a shell with insulation and paneling.<br />How did you get hired without having a self contained RV? Thanks.

 

[Ian]

Hi, its Ian. &nbsp;I'm a full time skydiver and I've just downsized from an apartment to a trailer. &nbsp;The next move is from the trailer to a van. &nbsp;This site is exactly what I've been looking for. &nbsp;I have a couple months to plan out and build a van for full time living. &nbsp;Can't wait to get started but need to do a ton more research...

 

[jacksmom60]

Hi Bob,<br />I am so happy that I found this webpage and appreciate the time you must put into it. &nbsp;I have been kind of dreaming of doing something like this for a while now but when I crossed this page, it was like a light went off in my head. &nbsp;I had always looked at traveling as a thing I might be able to do when I was retired. &nbsp;Now I see it totally different and feel that I can hurry up and get started. My husband isn't as thrilled at the idea as I am but I am still working on him <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br /><br />Donna

 

[randysvan]

Hi Bob &amp; everyone!<br />My name is Randy. I have been following and enjoying your website(s) for a couple of years. Also bought your new book and enjoyed it very much. My van is 99% finished and I hope to attend the Rubber Tramp get together. Hoping to make like minded friends on this forum and learn from all of your experiences!

 

[wildmountainhoney]

Hi Bob and to all!<br /><br />I'm new here and just reading some of these awesome, inspiring posts. I am losing my home soon and trying to figure out my options. It's a scary world out here sometimes but you all make it seem much more exciting and fulfilling than daunting and am appreciative to have found this site. <br /><br />Due to illness, I have not been working and my insurance has run out. It may be picked up again and I am waiting for approval but in the mean time I have to vacate my residence. I have been downsizing since I have been home and gotten rid of a lot. I am now down to the things that are much harder to say good bye to. My insurance won't last but a few more months if approved so I definitely have to figure out a way of support without it. I am applying for disability, having already been declined once. But, it can take a year or two even...<br /><br />Anyway, I don't mean to write a novel. LOL! Am looking forward to reading everything on here in between my tasks at hand! <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> Thank you!<br /><br />