Introducing myself & why I'm here.

[SilentJim1980]

Soooo, here I am! My names Jim & mostly I don't talk much so a lot of people call me Silent Jim. I'm just a guy that is looking into van life. Honestly being a truck driver has always appealed to me, life on the road, seeing new places, etc., etc. but life circumstances sort of put a damper on that dream. Now I'm old-ish & have a lot of health problems & taking care of and living with an ailing mother, jobless & living on disability with her while we are renting a home.

In a nutshell, our problems started before Covid, my father was a disabled veteran & passed away in 2019. I was helping my mother take care of him beforehand as she was unable to. Basically, I was taking care of both of them, then before the year was out we were sort of forced to sell our house in another state & looked to move here to TN & were ready to begin anew with a grand adventure as we both had lived all our lives in the previous state & were looking to downsize & start fresh.

Well...we all know that life likes to throw a monkey wrench into plans & it did. 3 months after we moved here to TN my mother got gravely ill, required 5 serious surgeries, then Covid happens. My mother being how she is health-wise may not make it through the few more required surgeries she will need once hospitals relax their stance on surgeries due to Covid.

So, me being me I'm trying to plan ahead a little because in all likelihood I'll have little to no income outside of what I get via Disability, be unable to continue to rent, be jobless & only have a van for transportation & possibly live in. This recently was brought to mind after seeing the movie Nomadland, I'm sure it's driven a lot of others here (as well as the epidemic). I don't really want to be tied down anymore in one place. There are things I would like to see & do before I shuffle off, I don't really have any family (certainly none I would live with & would probably end up in prison if I tried. Dysfunctional doesn't even begin to apply to how they are).

So I've been watching a lot of Bob's video's & van life videos trying to soak up as much information as possible & joining the forums here in hopes that there are fellow TN people that participate in the van life that can point me in the right direction or offer insights.

As a side note due to my mother requiring a wheelchair & us needing reliable transportation when we were moving we purchased a used 2017 Chevy Express 3500 LT Extended Passenger Van & had the dealership remove all the rear seats. If it's to become my home in the near future I'll consider removing the interior trim & carpet (albeit I don't really want to for resale/trade-in ability if money truly becomes a dire situation.) Also due to her requiring a (manual) wheelchair & sometimes her electric one, plus hauling things & groceries I'm not able to do many modifications myself at the moment to the van.

Currently, I'm just gathering information, trying to figure out storage options, which to be honest has been a challenge since we bought the thing because there is no way to secure things & it sounds like a demolition derby in the back when things start sliding around.

So there's me, why I'm here, gory details & all.

 

[gizmotron]

Sounds very close to my own story. Life happens just when you have made other plans for it. One thing that will make things work better for you is to stop keeping junk that you can live without. My parents spent $700 per year for 20 years storing garden hoses, shovels, wheel barrows, and a large box of family pictures. I got a Harbor Freight 1800# kit trailer and built a storage box on it out of plywood. Next I drove out 80 miles to their storage unit and loaded it all up and brought it back to sit behind the rig at a long stay RV park with a few tarps over it for weather. That box of junk on wheels sat there for two more years as I took both parents thru hospice. I then got rid of the junk and passed all the pictures off on a brother that wanted them. I then sold the trailer box and ended up saving thousands. They had lived their last 20 years full timing it in a nice 35ft long Holiday Rambler Alumilite trailer. I drove that for them from park to park, north & south, the last three years of their lives and is how I got a full dose of RV'ing it in the membership park systems. If you can pull and back into little spaces with a 35ft trailer being pulled by a 20ft long Ford truck then you can pull anything. I hope your plans will go as expected in your future.

 

[TexasTripper]

I am sorry to hear about your mom’s health. But it sounds like you may have time to figure out the future. Go to thrift shops and look for used camping gear. Then use your van locally to “practice “ heck you could even practice in your driveway. Living full time is truly just a long camping trip. Continue to watch videos for ideas and information. But my past experience taught me what I can and cannot tolerate. And practicing locally will teach you what you would want in a van build. Going camping before you build out will also give you the time to decide where to put things so you don’t waste materials and money. It’s not a Bob Wells video but when I read your post it came to my mind. Look up Vancity Vanlife. Go back to the beginning of his channel and look for how he builds his van to get started. It will show how simple it can be and still be comfortable. And it will also show you how cheap you can get started. Then if you don’t like the Vanlife you won’t have spent money that should of been saved. I look forward to hearing about your progress!

 

[tx2sturgis]

..... there is no way to secure things & it sounds like a demolition derby in the back when things start sliding around.

Welcome to the forum Jim, best of luck in your situation. In the meantime, why not buy a few plastic totes and a package of the long (24-48") bungees from Walmart next time you in there shopping, and use those for temporary storage of items in the van. Spend a little more to buy the sturdy stackable totes, and see if you can keep things in the van from sliding around as much.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Jim! We're here to help so when you have a question post in under the most appropriate heading and someone here will be sure to provide a good answer or solution.

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.

 

[NctryBen]

Life on the road isn’t all a bed of roses. I’d also look into tiny homes and such. But welcome and you’ll get much advice, encouragement and straight talk. To begin you obviously have to have an income you can live with. Living in a vehicle you should have four or five thousand minimum in an emergency fund account. Your income should include a couple bucks to keep building this account and rebuild if you end up using it. Maintenance is key on any vehicle. Mistakes I’ve seen are bringing to much stuff, multiple pets (I’m talking large pets) and not having the means to maintain the lifestyle. Watch videos is an obvious obsession to have and come to forums such as this to ask questions. But really, if you can do some getaways or even sleep in your van now in your driveway some. Experience is the key, whether in Quartzsite Az or your driveway or local Walmart. Just know your limitations and plan accordingly. Sorry your dealing with sad times, losing parents is not fun, especially having to see them struggle. You sound very caring and I pray you’ll have many great moments yet with your mom. And hey, miracles happen!

 

[SilentJim1980]

Thanks for all the responses & ideas. I think what'll I'll try & do is make a youtube video here as soon as time allows about the van as is, what I have, supply wise & possibly what I'd like to do, plan-wise, etc.

It's hard to do dry-runs staying in the van to be honest because of how I have to care for my mother, it's pretty much a 24/7 thing of being "on-call".

One of my disabilities is that I have severe hearing loss & require the use of hearing aids, I'm a heavy sleeper & right now there is no means of her being able to reliably reach me (she's semi bed-ridden & unable to walk distances without assistance) even if I'm outside in the driveway sleeping in the van (roughly 100ft).

The van is larger than most of the rooms in this house (length-wise) we/she has too much stuff for me to attempt to recreate or mock-up the inside of the van here in the house otherwise I would attempt going that route.

It's just a matter of time, finding a workaround & juggling the day-to-day requirements & responsibilities already on my plate.

 

[GoingMobile]

It sounds as though you are quite busy with your current duties but that a van home is a future possibility you want to explore. I think the videos and forums on CRVL should provide a lot of useful information.

You might consider it as a current hobby to explore ideas of what a livable van might look like for you using the existing vehicle, or even a best case scenario from your imagination. Think of it as a creative outlet that may in the future become a practical reality. Its useful for our mental well being to exercise our imaginations and constructive problem solving abilities and you may find it to be a fun and engaging pastime to balance with your immediate responsibilities. Its also useful to have something to look forward to.

You might even want to have 2 or 3 categories of builds; one ideal, one as low cost as practical while still meeting your needs, and one that seems somewhat ideal but reasonably practical. You may never build any of them or end up with something quite different. But it could turn into a good learning experience, a creative outlet, and good new things are more likely to find you if you are engaged in a constructive activity using a constructive process of thinking.

Do some looking and learning, devise a way to record your ideas, draw them out, write them down, bookmark interesting solutions you find, etc. Cardboard, a ruler, utility knife and tape is a low cost way of creating mock-ups of a van layout to try things out. Camping items like a Coleman stove, cooking gear, etc. are things you could get to use before any sort of build. If it becomes necessary and practical at a later point you will be better prepared to move more quickly and successfully having thought through solutions while you had time to do so. Best of luck with navigating your situation.

 

[frenchie]

so sad to hear your story... That's the kind of stories too many peole have to go through when aging. if I may tell you my feelings about your situation, is that van life would not be a good option, especially because of your mother's situation. Unfortunately I guess it not something you may like to hear, but that's just my oinion. wish you good luck !

 

[CosmickGold]

Soooo, here I am! My names Jim & mostly I don't talk much so a lot of people call me Silent Jim. I'm just a guy that is looking into van life. Honestly being a truck driver has always appealed to me, life on the road, seeing new places, etc., etc. but life circumstances sort of put a damper on that dream. Now I'm old-ish & have a lot of health problems & taking care of and living with an ailing mother, jobless & living on disability with her while we are renting a home.

In a nutshell, our problems started before Covid, my father was a disabled veteran & passed away in 2019. I was helping my mother take care of him beforehand as she was unable to. Basically, I was taking care of both of them, then before the year was out we were sort of forced to sell our house in another state & looked to move here to TN & were ready to begin anew with a grand adventure as we both had lived all our lives in the previous state & were looking to downsize & start fresh.

Well...we all know that life likes to throw a monkey wrench into plans & it did. 3 months after we moved here to TN my mother got gravely ill, required 5 serious surgeries, then Covid happens. My mother being how she is health-wise may not make it through the few more required surgeries she will need once hospitals relax their stance on surgeries due to Covid.

So, me being me I'm trying to plan ahead a little because in all likelihood I'll have little to no income outside of what I get via Disability, be unable to continue to rent, be jobless & only have a van for transportation & possibly live in. This recently was brought to mind after seeing the movie Nomadland, I'm sure it's driven a lot of others here (as well as the epidemic). I don't really want to be tied down anymore in one place. There are things I would like to see & do before I shuffle off, I don't really have any family (certainly none I would live with & would probably end up in prison if I tried. Dysfunctional doesn't even begin to apply to how they are).

So I've been watching a lot of Bob's video's & van life videos trying to soak up as much information as possible & joining the forums here in hopes that there are fellow TN people that participate in the van life that can point me in the right direction or offer insights.

As a side note due to my mother requiring a wheelchair & us needing reliable transportation when we were moving we purchased a used 2017 Chevy Express 3500 LT Extended Passenger Van & had the dealership remove all the rear seats. If it's to become my home in the near future I'll consider removing the interior trim & carpet (albeit I don't really want to for resale/trade-in ability if money truly becomes a dire situation.) Also due to her requiring a (manual) wheelchair & sometimes her electric one, plus hauling things & groceries I'm not able to do many modifications myself at the moment to the van.

Currently, I'm just gathering information, trying to figure out storage options, which to be honest has been a challenge since we bought the thing because there is no way to secure things & it sounds like a demolition derby in the back when things start sliding around.

So there's me, why I'm here, gory details & all.

My belief is that you can STILL do VanLife if it's your heart's dream. Here are my thoughts about why:

1) Check out the "Adventure Time Loui" channel. Loui is an amazing girl who built out her own van, traveled a while. Then when visiting home, realized her mother was just plain "stuck" in her life, sad without purpose or direction. So Loui bought a smaller van (all she could still afford), built it out for herself, and gave her bigger better van to her mother! ...the only stipulation being that "You have to come with me, Mom!" So her mother did, and the two have had marvelous travels together in their two vans, creating a YouTube channel that's been really successful.

2) A minute ago I bumped into a YouTube video named "You're never too old for van life!" You might check that one out too, as he points out that a huge percentage of vanlifers are white-haired elderly. Bob Wells (a different channel) has talked about a friend of his who can't get out of his wheelchair, but didn't let that stop him. Instead of giving up, he bought a utility trailer with help building out, and now gets into it by pulling on a rope that lets the back down as a wheelchair ramp. Works for him! That's his home now he takes with him around the country.

3) This is likely your mom's last chance to get out there and really enjoy life. Don't stand in her way, clear a path for her! As with Loui's mom, when your life has a direction and purpose with someone who cares, your health is affected big-time, in a very positive direction.

4) And for you, if this really is your mom's "Last Stand", now's the time to think of your own future, and get excited about taking off on your own in a van you can be building out right now as you care for her. In fact, that's what I'm doing. I live with a girl in a wheel chare about whom I've heard two different doctors say at two different clinics, "It's amazing she's still alive!" (Boy does she have health problems, requiring my daily care." But my real home is the van parked outside her apartment, while I'm mostly in here with her. It has helped me a lot to escape depression over the whole thing. Building out my van, I know that when she "kicks the bucket", I'll still have a life, taking off in my wonderful van home for the mountains and forests, and all the things I want to go see and be a part of! Life won't be over for me.

5) Say! Since your watching Bob Wells' videos, take a look at the one I made with him titled, Get Ready For Van Life! How You Can Set Up a "Van” in Your Bedroom!! You may get a number of good ideas from it you can start working on right now.

6) Wow! We are kinda matching. My van is also a Chevy Express 3500 LT Extended Passenger Van, but mine's older than yours, a 1998 version with a six-foot ceiling put on it. And the previous owner removed the remaining rear seat for me at sale's time, ready for me to begin building it out. If you want more details on how I did it, let me know what you'd like to hear about.

I did tear out all the interior trim, so that I could stuff Havelock sheep's wool everywhere for insulation, then covered the bare metal from rolls of insulation made of soft foam that is white vinal on the room side and silver (to reflect heat) on the hidden side. I stuck it on everywhere with double-sided Gorilla tape, which for two years now has held my foam walls on perfectly. Nothing has even started to come loose. But I did my build a lot differently from most others, like deciding against having any kitchen at all and instead, washing my own clothes inside the van with a small washer/spin-dryier. I love my van. And if you don't already, you'll grow to love yours too!

 

[Morgana]

Sounds like some huge challenges, + you have the right kind of attitude to rise to them, + you've come to the right place.

People here have already offered way more valuable advice than I can. I just want to add one more general note, which I learned from Twyla Tharp's book The Creative Habit, where she says something like "Limitations can be a secret blessing." She has a great story to illustrate this point, wish I could remember the details, about a project where she had everything -- generous funding, great dancers, great venue, everthing you could ask for -- and the project still ended up a disaster. She compared this with other projects where she had a lot more problems but they turned out a great success. Another of her sayings was "Don't wait for the perfect setup."

So, based on this, I'd say your project has many blessings, and (based mostly on your "let's see how I can do this" attitude) is very likely to succeed! Thanks for sharing and best of luck.

 

[CosmickGold]

. . . . It’s not a Bob Wells video but when I read your post it came to my mind. Look up Vancity Vanlife. Go back to the beginning of his channel and look for how he builds his van to get started. It will show how simple it can be and still be comfortable. And it will also show you how cheap you can get started. Then if you don’t like the Vanlife you won’t have spent money that should of been saved. . . .

I save that video to share with others from time to time. It's a great one and located at:

HOW TO BUILD A STEALTH VAN IN ONE DAY​

 

[afblangley]

You have a nice size van, so you can make a very comfortable space for very little money. I would suggest not pulling out any wall or ceiling panels. If they are functional, why create an unnecessary project at this point. You can do that later when you have more time and experience under your belt. I suggest leaving the carpet also, at the very least it provides insulation and noise deadening. If you want a hard floor, just lay plywood on top of it.

I consider the basics of a camper van to include: bed, galley, toilet, power supply and storage. Here’s what I did.

My first bed was a Coleman Ridgeline camping cot (Walmart $75). I liked it because it was already assembled and portable- could be easily removed if I wanted to use the space for something else. But its Achilles heel was that it was uncomfortable. In an effort to improve this I bought a sheet of plywood from HD ($80 but cheaper now) and had them cut it in half. I laid the plywood over the cot and put the mattress on top of that. That was better but still not good enough. So I removed the cot and made a bed by screwing 6 twelve inch metal pipes and flanges (Farmhouse $30 on Amazon but available at HD) into the plywood and then mounting it to the van floor. I bought a real mattress (Modway Mila $125 on Amazon). The total cost of my current setup was under $300, but it could be replicated for less.

My galley is a Hampton Bay sink base cabinet (HD $200) with a sink (HD $110) and a countertop I already owned. I have no carpentry skills so I went something that was already assembled. Ikea sells complete mini kitchens for under $200. My fresh and grey water tanks are 7 gal Aqua-tainer (two for $40 from ****’s). They live in the cabinet underneath the sink. My faucet is a USB rechargeable water bottle pump (similar to Cozy BlueWater $15 on Amazon). It sits on top of the designated cutout in the sink and a plastic supply hose runs down to the tank. My setup required zero plumbing or electrical skill. This setup cost about the same as my bed setup. It could certainly be done for less, especially if you have construction skills, or go simpler (ie. just use a table).

I hate using public bathrooms. My first toilet was a Luggable Loo ($22 from Dicks) placed in a milk crate mounted to the van floor. This worked fine, but I wanted concealment, an additional sitting area and a more comfortable toilet experience. So I hired a guy off Task Rabbit to build a box with a lid that hides a residential toilet seat, underneath sits a 5 gallon bucket. Labor cost was about $300, materials $100.

My power needs were dictated by my desire to have a fancy microwave (Impecca 3 in 1 $270 on Amazon). This required a large inverter, I bought the EcoFlow Delta on sale for $1000. I would not recommend this brand. There are cheaper and less powerful power stations available. There are power stations with better battery chemistry that have many more life cycles. My power station has a year or two of life left and I will probably upgrade to a Bluetti model.

I do not live full time in my van, what I carry varies but my permanent storage needs are minimal. I have an area 75” x 30” under the bed and 75” x 25” under the (similarly built) sofa. I keep a dozen milks underneath them and there is space left over.

As a passenger van, you probably have windows all around. You will need window coverings. You can make it yourself or buy them. You can spend a lot of money or very little. If you do not want to be able to see out of the windows, you can black them out with tint. This is inexpensive.

I strongly suggest not investing a lot of time and money in a layout until you’ve put some miles under your belt and better know what features are important to you. As my daily driver, I wanted a nice, reliable vehicle but I had no idea what I wanted in a camper van. So I wanted flexibility. I can uninstall everything in my van in less than an hour. I don’t know if I will keep my layout, but I’ve definitely learned a lot over the 6 months I’ve had it.

Good luck, I’m praying for you.

 

[crofter]

Soooo, here I am! My names Jim & mostly I don't talk much so a lot of people call me Silent Jim. I'm just a guy that is looking into van life. Honestly being a truck driver has always appealed to me, life on the road, seeing new places, etc., etc. but life circumstances sort of put a damper on that dream. Now I'm old-ish & have a lot of health problems & taking care of and living with an ailing mother, jobless & living on disability with her while we are renting a home.

In a nutshell, our problems started before Covid, my father was a disabled veteran & passed away in 2019. I was helping my mother take care of him beforehand as she was unable to. Basically, I was taking care of both of them, then before the year was out we were sort of forced to sell our house in another state & looked to move here to TN & were ready to begin anew with a grand adventure as we both had lived all our lives in the previous state & were looking to downsize & start fresh.

Well...we all know that life likes to throw a monkey wrench into plans & it did. 3 months after we moved here to TN my mother got gravely ill, required 5 serious surgeries, then Covid happens. My mother being how she is health-wise may not make it through the few more required surgeries she will need once hospitals relax their stance on surgeries due to Covid.

So, me being me I'm trying to plan ahead a little because in all likelihood I'll have little to no income outside of what I get via Disability, be unable to continue to rent, be jobless & only have a van for transportation & possibly live in. This recently was brought to mind after seeing the movie Nomadland, I'm sure it's driven a lot of others here (as well as the epidemic). I don't really want to be tied down anymore in one place. There are things I would like to see & do before I shuffle off, I don't really have any family (certainly none I would live with & would probably end up in prison if I tried. Dysfunctional doesn't even begin to apply to how they are).

So I've been watching a lot of Bob's video's & van life videos trying to soak up as much information as possible & joining the forums here in hopes that there are fellow TN people that participate in the van life that can point me in the right direction or offer insights.

As a side note due to my mother requiring a wheelchair & us needing reliable transportation when we were moving we purchased a used 2017 Chevy Express 3500 LT Extended Passenger Van & had the dealership remove all the rear seats. If it's to become my home in the near future I'll consider removing the interior trim & carpet (albeit I don't really want to for resale/trade-in ability if money truly becomes a dire situation.) Also due to her requiring a (manual) wheelchair & sometimes her electric one, plus hauling things & groceries I'm not able to do many modifications myself at the moment to the van.

Currently, I'm just gathering information, trying to figure out storage options, which to be honest has been a challenge since we bought the thing because there is no way to secure things & it sounds like a demolition derby in the back when things start sliding around.

So there's me, why I'm here, gory details & all.

RE sliding cargo-
You can get either a cargo net -like a spider web of bungee cord- and secure it at the cargo rings, or you could use a cargo bar which goes across the cargo area and keeps everything from sliding past the cargo bar.

Another option would be to use rubberized flooring material that keeps things from sliding.
-crofter

 

[SilentJim1980]

You have a nice size van, so you can make a very comfortable space for very little money. I would suggest not pulling out any wall or ceiling panels. If they are functional, why create an unnecessary project at this point. You can do that later when you have more time and experience under your belt. I suggest leaving the carpet also, at the very least it provides insulation and noise deadening. If you want a hard floor, just lay plywood on top of it.

I consider the basics of a camper van to include: bed, galley, toilet, power supply and storage. Here’s what I did.

My first bed was a Coleman Ridgeline camping cot (Walmart $75). I liked it because it was already assembled and portable- could be easily removed if I wanted to use the space for something else. But its Achilles heel was that it was uncomfortable. In an effort to improve this I bought a sheet of plywood from HD ($80 but cheaper now) and had them cut it in half. I laid the plywood over the cot and put the mattress on top of that. That was better but still not good enough. So I removed the cot and made a bed by screwing 6 twelve inch metal pipes and flanges (Farmhouse $30 on Amazon but available at HD) into the plywood and then mounting it to the van floor. I bought a real mattress (Modway Mila $125 on Amazon). The total cost of my current setup was under $300, but it could be replicated for less.

My galley is a Hampton Bay sink base cabinet (HD $200) with a sink (HD $110) and a countertop I already owned. I have no carpentry skills so I went something that was already assembled. Ikea sells complete mini kitchens for under $200. My fresh and grey water tanks are 7 gal Aqua-tainer (two for $40 from ****’s). They live in the cabinet underneath the sink. My faucet is a USB rechargeable water bottle pump (similar to Cozy BlueWater $15 on Amazon). It sits on top of the designated cutout in the sink and a plastic supply hose runs down to the tank. My setup required zero plumbing or electrical skill. This setup cost about the same as my bed setup. It could certainly be done for less, especially if you have construction skills, or go simpler (ie. just use a table).

I hate using public bathrooms. My first toilet was a Luggable Loo ($22 from Dicks) placed in a milk crate mounted to the van floor. This worked fine, but I wanted concealment, an additional sitting area and a more comfortable toilet experience. So I hired a guy off Task Rabbit to build a box with a lid that hides a residential toilet seat, underneath sits a 5 gallon bucket. Labor cost was about $300, materials $100.

My power needs were dictated by my desire to have a fancy microwave (Impecca 3 in 1 $270 on Amazon). This required a large inverter, I bought the EcoFlow Delta on sale for $1000. I would not recommend this brand. There are cheaper and less powerful power stations available. There are power stations with better battery chemistry that have many more life cycles. My power station has a year or two of life left and I will probably upgrade to a Bluetti model.

I do not live full time in my van, what I carry varies but my permanent storage needs are minimal. I have an area 75” x 30” under the bed and 75” x 25” under the (similarly built) sofa. I keep a dozen milks underneath them and there is space left over.

As a passenger van, you probably have windows all around. You will need window coverings. You can make it yourself or buy them. You can spend a lot of money or very little. If you do not want to be able to see out of the windows, you can black them out with tint. This is inexpensive.

I strongly suggest not investing a lot of time and money in a layout until you’ve put some miles under your belt and better know what features are important to you. As my daily driver, I wanted a nice, reliable vehicle but I had no idea what I wanted in a camper van. So I wanted flexibility. I can uninstall everything in my van in less than an hour. I don’t know if I will keep my layout, but I’ve definitely learned a lot over the 6 months I’ve had it.

Good luck, I’m praying for you.

Yes choosing a bed is high on my priority list, I've slept on & in camp cots, futons, floors, air mattresses, beds, recliners, van seats, my office/gaming chair. Routinely I sometimes fall asleep in my office/gaming chair (at least it's that comfortable). I've been on the lookout for inexpensive bed options although I realize this will probably be a semi expensive requirement. I'm trying to find a balance of inexpensive, small (narrow but over 72 inch.) mobile (non-permanent) yet a stable & comfortable bed while allowing storage underneath.

As for the interior, yes I don't really want to remove anything. As you say that would take time, also if I ever need to sell it I would hopefully get a little more money from it vs a stripped version.

The basics are good enough for me to start with. Privacy & storage is a high priority (I'll sell/pawn, barter/trade away as I go), bed, bathroom, kitchen, or bare minimum cooking place. Power is not something I foresee that I can afford unless it runs off of the cigarette lighter or the outlet that the van has I'll have to do without. Aside from being hearing disabled I, unfortunately, have a learning disability with math & numbers, something you kind of have to have when dealing with watts, amps, volts, power draw & all that.

It's all going to be a learn (the hard way) as I go experience I suspect, I learn better hands-on anyway & I'm book smart but not street-smart.

RE sliding cargo-
You can get either a cargo net -like a spider web of bungee cord- and secure it at the cargo rings, or you could use a cargo bar which goes across the cargo area and keeps everything from sliding past the cargo bar.

Another option would be to use rubberized flooring material that keeps things from sliding.
-crofter

I've done something similar to this actually as a test within the past few weeks with a small cargo net I purchased. Unfortunately what I have stored within the netted area is a bit heavier than your typical netting I guess is supposed to handle so it sags & things kind of still flop around. I actually have had 2 cargo crossbar's for a long time now but have not been using them. They tend to slide off the interior or compress it if I extend them, I need some time to play around with their configuration & placement.

I do hope to have some time here in a few weeks to actually do a video of how the van actually is right now-ish (very very messy) & after I've found some organization solutions, either DIY or bought & cleaned it up.

Trying to do what I can with what I have & little to no money & time constraints. Currently, I'm going through a lifetime of personal effects, household accumulations to take to auction to sell. This will hopefully bring in some money to put toward the van, un-clutter the house & save me time later.

I've yet had the time to start planning any kind of layout because I don't really see everything having a permanant place within the van, except for the toilet (probably a bucket), definitely don't want that flying around anywhere.

As is the "plan" is throw storage containers in the van, a bed (probably a mat, moving blankets, sleeping bag if i have to sleep on the floor), something to hold water for drinking/washing (myself & a camp cookset) & some toilet solution. If I have to I'll sleep on the floor or on top of the storage containers themselves.

Trying to work with what I have with the time I have, just really slow going.

 

[WayOutWest]

I'll offer a suggestion someone made to me on another forum when I was getting started.
I don't live full time in my van, just use it for road trips, but I believe my setup is one that would be do-able for full time living as well.
The advice I got was to take one or more trips in the van before doing any van conversion, so I would have a sense of what worked and what I needed. So I put a bed in the van and built a sink cabinet, with a very simple sink made out of a bar sink and a 4-gallon container installed above the sink, which worked as a simple faucet: open the valve on the container to let water out, close it to turn water off. Bucket under the sink to collect grey water.
I took a few trips and experimented with some different things and realized that having a lot of open floor space in the van was important to me. This helped me design my setup. Also I didn't want a counter sticking out in the doorway of the sliding side door as I wanted that whole space open to nature when the door was open. Those two things helped me plan well.
If you want behind the walls electrical you have to do more planning, but if you don't need it all behind the walls, but can run wires on the surface, you have more flexibility.

 

[eDJ_]

Since you are looking for information & insights, consider what state you would be better off living in. A southern (warm & dry) state may be better for your health in the future. Some states have better benefits for seniors with disabilities too. You could find an area where you could travel a few hundred miles to a higher elevation in the hot months of the year so you don't have so much need of air conditioning. Then return to the lower area during the cooler months so you don't have so much heating cost. A simple built Van may enable you to do this.

The main thing is to find the State where you could do this. The link below reviews the best and worst of the states.

The best & worst States for Seniors

 

[Anon]

Hey I hope you and your mother take care of yourselves.

I currently reside in TN so if you want you can PM me. I can't be of much help right now since I don't have a welding machine, but I do know how to weld and a little bit of carpentry.

 

[SilentJim1980]

So, here is the video, of the van currently....for at least the next day (maybe week) it should stay clean until hauling time. Still researching, gathering info & window shopping @ amazon, local retailers, facebook & other places for deals & things that could be used.

 

[Debrajoy54]

I am sorry to hear about your mom’s health. But it sounds like you may have time to figure out the future. Go to thrift shops and look for used camping gear. Then use your van locally to “practice “ heck you could even practice in your driveway. Living full time is truly just a long camping trip. Continue to watch videos for ideas and information. But my past experience taught me what I can and cannot tolerate. And practicing locally will teach you what you would want in a van build. Going camping before you build out will also give you the time to decide where to put things so you don’t waste materials and money. It’s not a Bob Wells video but when I read your post it came to my mind. Look up Vancity Vanlife. Go back to the beginning of his channel and look for how he builds his van to get started. It will show how simple it can be and still be comfortable. And it will also show you how cheap you can get started. Then if you don’t like the Vanlife you won’t have spent money that should of been saved. I look forward to hearing about your progress!

Van City van life is awesome! One of the biggest mistakes that people make is gathering a bunch of stuff that they think they are going to need. Then they just end up getting rid of it later at maybe an RTR. Yeah, that person was me! Much better to start out with minimal basics. You can always go to thrift stores and find what you really need.
Good luck!