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[Overland One]

Hello everyone, my name is Bill. I retired a few years ago and I began watching Bob Well's videos about 10 months ago. I bought a 1998 Dodge conversion van last Dec. and have been working on it getting it ready for the road. I plan on heading out full time in July. Not the best time to be heading out in Kentucky because it gets hot here, but that's when my lease its up. I think I completed most of the mechanical repairs/maintenance on the van and will start on the inside very soon. I have 720 watts of solar panels I am installing above the high top roof using a gutter mount ladder rack. The conversion folks insulated the van pretty well so I left the walls and ceiling as it was made but all the rear seats are gone and I am turning the passenger seat backwards. I have a compressor fridge/freezer (small unit) and am building my bed, sink, and storage areas. I spent a lot of money on parts for the van (like new radiator, timing chain, belt, hoses, water pump, thermostat, etc.) in an effort to make it as dependable as possible. It has 108,000 miles on it which is not bad for this year van. I looked all over the country for a decent, affordable van for 6 months and found this one in Va. and had it shipped here. I plan on staying around the Kentucky area for the first month or so and then I will begin traveling, probably heading west. I am doing this because I want to. As Bob says, I want to live my best life. The cost of everything has gone up so much that if I stayed here, I would need to go back to work. I have nothing against working but I have been working since I was 12 and, since none of us know how much time we have left, I am selling/giving away everything I have (except my camping gear and things for the van) and I am heading out. I used to hike and camp a lot when I was in college and just have not had much time to do so since and I miss it. I am looking forward to getting to know some of you and I wish all of you safe travels.

 

[bullfrog !]

Welcome! My wife and I started out almost 20 years ago in our old motorhome from Eastern Kentucky. Once we hit the west and spent time in Utah, Colorado and Arizona even getting paid to boat, hike and help people in National Parks decided life couldn’t be much better! Hope you find it is a great experience for you as well!

 

[Overland One]

Welcome! My wife and I started out almost 20 years ago in our old motorhome from Eastern Kentucky. Once we hit the west and spent time in Utah, Colorado and Arizona even getting paid to boat, hike and help people in National Parks decided life couldn’t be much better! Hope you find it is a great experience for you as well!

Thank you very much. That is wonderful that you and your wife have been doing this so long. I am really looking forward to heading out but, I have so much to do between now and then it is mind boggling, ha ha.
Safe travels.

 

[user 22017]

Welcome Overland Looks like you have a nice rig. Best of luck getting everything done before July.

 

[Overland One]

Welcome Overland Looks like you have a nice rig. Best of luck getting everything done before July.

Thank you very much.

 

[LoupGarou]

Welcome to the group.

Living the lifestyle boils down to just one thing and that's having somewhere to park up for the night, night after night. Its a bonus if the site is safe, secure, affordable and legal. Once you get that sorted out everything else is manageable.

 

[Overland One]

Welcome to the group.

Living the lifestyle boils down to just one thing and that's having somewhere to park up for the night, night after night. Its a bonus if the site is safe, secure, affordable and legal. Once you get that sorted out everything else is manageable.

Thanks, I agree and I see that as the most challenging task ahead of me. I have found, so far, 35 free camping sites in Kentucky and some are on National Forest land so I can stay 14 days but, as Bob has pointed out, all of the BLM land is out west and I am sure I will end up out that way eventually. I especially like NM $225 pass that allows dispersed camping in state parks, I wish we had something like that here. I also located some dispersed camping sites in the Smoky Mountains National Park area and I may end up heading down there to gain some altitude for cooler temperatures in August. Not really sure yet but I am looking forward to it.

 

[Perridox]

Welcome! We started in our converted van (a low top Ford e350) about 6 month ago. Better to do it now than wish you had, right? Hope your transition to van living is a smooth one.

 

[jacqueg]

Hello everyone, my name is Bill. I retired a few years ago and I began watching Bob Well's videos about 10 months ago. I bought a 1998 Dodge conversion van last Dec. and have been working on it getting it ready for the road. I plan on heading out full time in July. Not the best time to be heading out in Kentucky because it gets hot here, but that's when my lease its up. I think I completed most of the mechanical repairs/maintenance on the van and will start on the inside very soon.

Just remember - it doesn't have to be DONE in order to be useable! In fact, IME, no van is ever really done... What would we do without projects, eh?

Welcome to a life of adventure.

 

[Overland One]

Welcome! We started in our converted van (a low top Ford e350) about 6 month ago. Better to do it now than wish you had, right? Hope your transition to van living is a smooth one.

Thank you for the nice welcome and yes, better to do it now while I still can. Safe travels.

 

[Overland One]

Just remember - it doesn't have to be DONE in order to be useable! In fact, IME, no van is ever really done... What would we do without projects, eh?

Welcome to a life of adventure.

You are exactly right. I have put off a few things I want to do to the van figuring I can do them down the road sometime in the future. I will need my solar system installed along with my window ac unit as I will have my cat along with me and I do not want it to get too hot for him. I am using the Bluetti AC200P so the inside solar install should be pretty easy. Safe travels.

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the Van Living Forum I think your preparation of the Van with timing chain, water pump, belts etc is the best money you could have spent. Having to have that repaired on the road could
be more costly and when the Van's in the shop for repairs you'd have to find lodging elsewhere. So driveing around local for a break-in period before going on the road may be a good idea.

Meanwhile, let me invite you to visit either of the links below in the signature line. The "autoservices" link is a portal of handy links & other info to make your travels more safe, convenient, and comfortable.

All the best

 

[Overland One]

Thank you for the welcome, I appreciate it. I am fortunate enough to still be able to do all my own work on my vehicles, and have done so since my first car back in the mid 1970's. One of my problems is, I have so many tools I am still not sure how I will be able to fit all of them into the van, ha ha. Wait, I take that back, I do not do my own tire mounting/balancing or ac fills/discharges. My ac condenser has a hole in it and I will install a new one but I will take it to an ac shop to get it vacuumed out and filled. Thank you for those links, it looks like there is a lot of very good information there. Safe travels.

 

[DRAGNSHIP]

Hello Bill!

Fellow Kentuckian. Not sure what part you are at but up north just across the river from Cincinnati there is a place called Devou Park. It may be a good spot for your trial expeditions.

It's large for a public park and has a variety of shelters/picnic areas with grills and a few shelters have live electrical outlets (big bonus for me as I have no solar, just a propane generator which I try to avoid running and a small 300w 40v battery powered inverter), seasonal restrooms (one pull off area had a porta-potty last week the restrooms still weren't open yet), hiking trails, ponds, and relatively close by to a park-n-ride, planet fitness, wal-mart/home depots etc that you can attempt stealth overnights at (park is only open daylight hours).

I have found it to be a nice place to charge batteries and relax/explore/exercise sometimes in my ventures up that way. Make your way to the "overlook" area for a view of Cincinnati to ponder over and eat a lunch. There is a big board next to a playground/shelter near by there with a map showing where the trails and stuff are.

Have fun maybe I'll see you around I'm between that Kenton County area and Robertson County Kentucky area all the time!

 

[GypsyJan]

Welcome, Bill: Research temps out west...you may want to start far north and work your way south as the weather cools or at least aim for the elevated places to stay cool for summer.

Has your cat been leash trained yet? Beware of coyotes and rattlers.

 

[Overland One]

Hello Bill!

Fellow Kentuckian. Not sure what part you are at but up north just across the river from Cincinnati there is a place called Devou Park. It may be a good spot for your trial expeditions.

It's large for a public park and has a variety of shelters/picnic areas with grills and a few shelters have live electrical outlets (big bonus for me as I have no solar, just a propane generator which I try to avoid running and a small 300w 40v battery powered inverter), seasonal restrooms (one pull off area had a porta-potty last week the restrooms still weren't open yet), hiking trails, ponds, and relatively close by to a park-n-ride, planet fitness, wal-mart/home depots etc that you can attempt stealth overnights at (park is only open daylight hours).

I have found it to be a nice place to charge batteries and relax/explore/exercise sometimes in my ventures up that way. Make your way to the "overlook" area for a view of Cincinnati to ponder over and eat a lunch. There is a big board next to a playground/shelter near by there with a map showing where the trails and stuff are.

Have fun maybe I'll see you around I'm between that Kenton County area and Robertson County Kentucky area all the time!

Thank you for the suggestion. Free shore power plugs? That's awesome. I had not heard of any places doing that around these parts. I will make a note of this place. too bad they do not allow camping too but, I get why, with the free electric some people would probably be living there full time, ha ha.

 

[user 22017]

Thank you for the suggestion. Free shore power plugs? That's awesome. I had not heard of any places doing that around these parts. I will make a note of this place. too bad they do not allow camping too but, I get why, with the free electric some people would probably be living there full time, ha ha.

So far I found a county park in far southern Texas and a casino in northern Michigan (or Minnesota) that provide free electric and water. I don't think there are very many places that do that.

 

[Overland One]

Welcome, Bill: Research temps out west...you may want to start far north and work your way south as the weather cools or at least aim for the elevated places to stay cool for summer.

Has your cat been leash trained yet? Beware of coyotes and rattlers.

No, he has not. I rescued him 12 years ago from a building I was guarding, he was 10 weeks old or so. Sadly, the construction crew offered a reward for anyone that would catch or kill the cats (mother and kittens) living in the newly closed in construction. His mother and brothers and sisters were all killed and I had to borrow a live trap to catch him to rescue him. I named him Feral because, that's what he is. I let him loose in my apt. and he disappeared for about 2 months hiding from me but, he would eat and drink water while I was working. Like most cats, he took to the litter box very quickly. (Than God) After a while he started hanging around me but stayed 3 feet away. A year later he was sleeping in the bed next to me but, he still only trusts me about 80% of the time and, I am not really sure how the heck I am going to get him into the van just yet. He is very smart and gets scared easily and when he is scared, he goes to 100% instinct. I have walked out of a room, then back in 20 minutes later and he will still hiss and growl at me for a second or two just in case I might be someone else. He is very wary when it comes to food. He is a very loving cat though and most of the time, I wake up and he is laying with his head on my arm. Thanks for the warnings, I often worry about seeing Bob Well's dog Cody running around the desert while Bob is filming videos and get concerned about rattle snakes but, I guess Cody knows what to mess with, and what to avoid as he has been doing that a long time. Feral has never been outside since I got him. I was going to take him to a vet for shots, etc. but the vets I called all said they would depend on me to control him during the exam and I tried to explain that when he gets scared, and he would be terrified, he would bite me or anyone within reach if he could not escape. He can't help it but, had I not adopted him he would have been dead a long time ago so, I figure not being able to take him to a vet's is ok. I thought they would give me knock out drugs to give him to bring him in but, they said they do not do that. Yes, great advice about altitude and I am planning on seeking the highest elevations wherever I can find them until the fall. Thank you and safe travels.

 

[Overland One]

So far I found a county park in far southern Texas and a casino in northern Michigan (or Minnesota) that provide free electric and water. I don't think there are very many places that do that.

Of all the van life videos I have watched over the past year, I only saw one filmed in some extremely cold area of the US, or maybe even Canada where that was shown. The fellow with the van said he needed to go to a parking lot to charge up his batteries because it was already like 15 degrees F with the sun still out and it would get much colder that night. He explained that due to the very cold weather there, almost all of the parking lots had free receptacles so people could plug in their engine block heaters while they were working, or going into shops, or whatever. I guess otherwise, those lot would be full of frozen vehicles that would not start when folks got off work? Not a campground or a park, just a huge parking lot in some city that had these poles in each parking space with plugs on them and he said plugging in was free. So now with the place DRAGNSHIP mentioned, and the 2 places you just told me about, I have heard of 4 places that have this. I agree with you that this is pretty rare indeed.

 

[bullfrog !]

Some fish cleaning stations at boat ramps have outlets for electric filet knives as well as lodges near bodies of water where bass fishing is popular have outlets for charging trolling motors batteries in the parking areas. We have both here in the Bullfrog area of Lake Powell. Plugging in to charge up batteries is no problem as most restrooms have outlets as well.