In 3 Years I'm Looking To Caravan All Year Only In Nevada With Some New Friends

[Jim D]

First of all, I have to stay in Nevada because of my Medicaid. If I go out of state the only thing the emergency room will do is keep you alive and make your health stable. Then they will ship you back to your home state leaving your camping rig wherever you left it. I've had emergency room medical problems and if I need to be rushed away in an ambulance I'd rather have my van parked on Nevada BLM land until I can get to it. I can call the BLM land ranger to maybe leave it alone unless it's been vandalized and robbed.

I've found some BLM land spots in southern Nevada where you can camp all year long and the temps are always 80 degrees and under even though the summer. I'm sure Quartzite is a social wonderland and maybe someday I can get permission to go there for a week or so from Medicaid but I'm finding some great spots in Southern Nevada where you can camp free without the 103 an above temps.

Sometimes these desert cool spots do go up to 90 degree during a southern Nevada heat wave but it's only for 2 or 3 days.

I know 3 years is a long way out but I just thought I'd put out feelers now for people that don't want to camp solo in Nevada. I thought about camping solo but decided I'd rather make a few friends that want to camp together. I'm well into my 60's now and am looking basically for the same age group.

I'm in North Las Vegas Nevada right now in a comfortable home but will have to sell it in 3 years so I have time to overhaul my van and find out what to do with myself and I've made these decisions already about where I want to be but I know I may not get there depending on circumstances and where others want to be if I hook up with a caravan type of deal.

I'm getting ready to dump about $10,000 into this van. I can do most of the work myself but I decided to let a shop do the front end, rear axle and transmission. I used it as a work van back in the 1990's and it's been sitting for about 10 years now. It has a rebuilt engine that I did about 15 years ago. The engine only has about 35 thousand on it so it has 150 thousand or so to go. I've never had anybody mess with it because it's crappy looking so I may just do the interior and drive train. Criminals like nice looking vans to rob.

 

[bullfrog]

Nice! Since you are staying in one state I would consider looking at options other than BLM as well. Possibly a small home base property or a park, ranch or farm that will let you cheaply rent somewhere where you could leave you van year round if need be possibly with utilities as you will find getting fuel and doing maintenance on a generator isn’t always cheap in remote BLM areas. Having neighbors or friends around to check on you isn’t a bad idea if you have health issues.

 

[Jim D]

Nice! Since you are staying in one state I would consider looking at options other than BLM as well. Possibly a small home base property or a park, ranch or farm that will let you cheaply rent somewhere where you could leave you van year round if need be possibly with utilities as you will find getting fuel and doing maintenance on a generator isn’t always cheap in remote BLM areas. Having neighbors or friends around to check on you isn’t a bad idea if you have health issues.

I really like what you stated about a home base but Nevada is mostly rural and rents are going through the roof here in Vegas and even in rural small towns. You can't get a decent room to rent for under $600 a month now.

I've been doing all the work on my van for 30 years so I don't think a generator will be much of a problem for me. The only reason why I stated I would let a shop do my front end, transmission and rear axle is because I have medical problems and those jobs are strenuous to me now.

My health issues are stabilized now, I just can't do the heavy work anymore without a lot of breaks. I'm just as good as all them old fogies running around with Bob Wells. Yes, I'm getting to be an old fogie too. I've read posts on this forum made by elderly people living in vans and R.V.'s.

It's not good to go out of state if your medical insurance won't cover you. Most private insurance won't cover you out of the state you live in. There are national insurance plans but they are expensive and hard to come by. I think most elderly travelers are on Medicare and can go anywhere. Young people don't have that many health care problems so you see them running around all over the country.

I will try one of these days to see if I can get permission from Nevada Medicaid to travel outside of Nevada for a week or two. Maybe longer if they agree. I've lived in Nevada for 22 years so it's clear I'm a resident of the state.

 

[bullfrog]

Just so you know Escapees has a Co-Op in Pahrump NV that is full hookup for $330 a month plus electric. Membership is less than $100 a year and has a lot of extras that come with it. First time visitors get a full week stay for $75. You might want to check it out.

 

[Jim D]

Just so you know Escapees has a Co-Op in Pahrump NV that is full hookup for $330 a month plus electric. Membership is less than $100 a year and has a lot of extras that come with it. First time visitors get a full week stay for $75. You might want to check it out.

I could afford that and will check it out but! I really hate the summer heat. Living in a van and having to stay in it 24/7 during the summer isn't in my plans. I was planning on going north in the Virgina City area because it's at a higher elevation and the temps stay in the high 70's while were baking in Las Vegas. I have a couple of other low temp areas I'm checking out for the summer months on BLM land in Nevada that would suit me.

I will check that Escapees thing out for sure. I wouldn't mind staying in Pahrump at a RV park or camp ground during the winter. But during the summer it's goodbye.

I wouldn't mind getting involved with a caravan with HOWA but the simple fact of it is they are very restrictive because of the caravan sizes. 20 to 30 rigs takes up a lot of space and they don't want to do that. Parker Az has BLM land on a river HOWA goes to but as I stated my Medicaid wouldn't allow that at least for very long.

 

[justanothermaroon]

The escapees co-op requires a $10,000 buy-in once you get through the waiting list, plus $100 a month for 'maintenance'. I guess you can rent a space from a lot owner, but not long term.

 

[bullfrog]

^^^If you look at Escapees magazine you will see that they do monthly stays and rates. Each park has it’s own rules so it pays to check. Their magazine has a listing of all their parks and rates as well as contact information. You can also buy in to the co-op but there is no requirement to do that. We have stayed several months at a time at Escapees parks of all kinds. We actually lived a year in one once paying monthly. Some do have first in first out rules that require you to move to another site or dry camping till something opens up but we never had that happen.

 

[Jim D]

I've read that many new residents of Nevada stay at an RV park in Pahrump for $300 a month to get their residency. Of course I'm just reading the posts of others and have no personal knowledge.

I plan to get out to Pahrump some day to see how I mesh with HOWA but right now my van life plan is being formed and is appealing in thought. The summer months may be OK. If I could team up with a small road family all would be good.

 

[maki2]

Check back in 32 months to get up to date information.

 

[maki2]

When you get older long range planning is deciding at breakfast what you are going to have for dinner that evening.

 

[dreamrunnerjt]

If you are in a caravan and get sick maybe someone could drive your van to NV for safekeeping. Possibly park it in the lot of the hospital. I would suggest paying a fee and expenses tho.