Living the van life in South Florda, anyone?

[Myglimk2]

Hi ladies and gentlemen! 
New to the forum and from a quick look around it looks like a nice community! 

I guess I'll start from the beginning to give you all some insight on me and my situation. 

I lived in CT all my life up till recently (I'm 32yo). Over the past few years finding good work in CT, was almost impossible. I was taking odds and end jobs just to make ends meet. Now back early in November of 2015 I saved enough cash up to surprise my father in Florida. I made the 1300 mile road trip alone. It was about a year since we had seen each other. Anywho, while I was here visiting for the week. I visited him a few times at his job. He's a Jaguar tech of 30+ years. While visiting him one day at work (Jaguar dealership), his service manager caught wind I was in town and that I too was a Jaguar tech of 10+ years. His manager saw me in the shop, hanging out with pops, when he came up to me and said "if you ever want a job working on them again, come see me". I kinda laughed and didn't think he was serious. So the next day I go and visit pops again and bring him coffee. His manager sees me again and said "come see me when you get a chance". After about 30mins hanging with dad I decided to go see the manager. Next thing you know I'm filling out an application and get the job! We negotiated and I would be making the same money as I did up north as a Jag tech. 

As the week came to end an end, it was time for me to make that 1300 mile trip back home. After many discussions with my wife and our two children, this was the move and what we needed to stabilize financially. Two weeks later, I was packing up the Jeep with my tools to make the 1300 mile trip yet again! My wife is currently attending college and will finish up in July of 2017, so that is when we are planning for everyone to move down, including our two German Shepherds. 


I've been here in Florida since late November of 2015 and started work the first week of December. I'm currently living with my father and his girlfriend since. I would like to move out but rent is too expensive and would take away too much from paying off other things. My wife and I have been on our own for many years and living with pops just feels like "living at mom and dads" again. Over the past four years I've been following many van dwellers on YouTube and it has always sparked the adventurous side of me and was something I wanted to do but couldn't because we have two small kids (10 and 13). Now that I'm here, by myself and looking for a inexpensive way to live, not at pops, living the van life becomes a more viable option and since the family won't be here permanently until July of 2017. 


Now it's a big, and frankly, an exciting move to potentially live a dream I've had for several years. Regardless, I'm still nervous about it. I love my Jeep, but it's just not big enough to "live" in and I would hate to get rid of it but I would have no other option if I were to get a van. I've been looking at conversion vans, and have personally been in a few of them and know that space would definitely work for me. One of my biggest concerns, being in south Florida is staying cool at night and on the weekends. I've found a few different ways of keeping it cool but I would really like to meet someone local who has been living this way here in Florida for some time. I love seeing people's setups and hearing about what they do to pass time. 

If their is anyone here in south Florida, that wouldn't mind walking me through various  aspects of there daily routine, keeping cool, and just shooting the breeze. Please PM me! 

Sorry for the super long post! Lol

Jeff

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard the CRVL forums Jeff
I'm in Maine but stay tuned for replies from some of the Florida tribe.
For now ,,,3 words
Fantastic Vent Fan

 

[Myglimk2]

Thanks, Popeye!

That is definitely on my list! Lol

 

[cyndi]

Welcome to the CRVL forums, Jeff! Congratulations making it out of New England. I'm from MA, but generally only spend the summers in the northeast, anymore.

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.

 

[VanKitten]

Do a google on DIY a/c units. It is so simple, and takes very little to do. You would have no problem building a quick one like those...and the van provides lots of space for it.

Also, put a vent in the van roof. Keeps it from getting too hot. You can install a solar powered exhaust fan in th e vent...works great

 

[BradKW]

Whereabouts in Florida are ya?

 

[USExplorer]

I would strongly recommend finding someone who has an electrical hookup and using an air conditioner if you will be van dwelling in the summer. With dew points in the high 70s, swamp coolers and many alternative forms of cooling will only create rivers of condensation and no cooling at all. If you will be working in an uncooled environment, you will adapt to the heat and humidity over time, and then sleeping in it won't be as bad.

 

[Myglimk2]

Do a google on DIY a/c units.   It is so simple, and takes very little to do.   You would have no problem building a quick one like those...and the van provides lots of space for it.

Also, put a vent in the van roof.  Keeps it from getting too hot.  You can install a solar powered exhaust fan in th e vent...works great

Thank you for the reply, Kat! The fantastic fan is definitely on my list of stuff to get. I googled the other day and found a DIY AC unit that looks like it should work, in theory. 
Gonna try my luck at uploading a pic. Lol

 

[Myglimk2]

Whereabouts in Florida are ya?

Sent you a PM, Brad! 

 

[Myglimk2]

I would strongly recommend finding someone who has an electrical hookup and using an air conditioner if you will be van dwelling in the summer. With dew points in the high 70s, swamp coolers and many alternative forms of cooling will only create rivers of condensation and no cooling at all. If you will be working in an uncooled environment, you will adapt to the heat and humidity over time, and then sleeping in it won't be as bad.

I was thinking that too. The only place I could think of would be to rent a spot at a campground or the like. I got the showering part covered (membership at a gym), just not the power situated yet. From what I hear summers are brutal here and I have yet to experience one. Traveling north to spend summers would be out of the question too because j have a good job here. 

What about a small generator to power a home AC unit? This would be a last resort for me as I don't think it would be worth it with the extra noise and cost of gas. But, the cost of renting a spot at a campground where I could hook up would be sort of a waste too but, to stay cool either might be worth it so I'm not miserable.

 

[BradKW]

Looks like you're a good ways away...but not far enough that you'll escape the brutal summer heat down here. I think you'll want to plan on having a normal AC unit which means needing access to power...perhaps plugging in at your dad's driveway might be an option. Or perhaps an RV park/campground. I know that in the general area of where you plan to be, there are inexpensive options as you move inland a bit. But the Swamp coolers and little DIY rigs just aren't going to do much down here.

Can you survive Florida summers without AC and in a van? Of course, but not within any reasonable measure of the word "comfort". I know people who do and are OK with it, but they fall under 1 of 2 categories: 1) Hard core lifers that live off equal parts coffee, beer and nicotine, or 2) recently homeless or incarcerated who are so happy to have a roof + doors that not much bothers them.

Generators work fine, but the noise they make really limits the places you can park without attracting unwanted attention. Will Burston lives in south FL and does a vlog channel...his video about AC options in a van is worth watching:

 

[Myglimk2]

Looks like you're a good ways away...but not far enough that you'll escape the brutal summer heat down here. I think you'll want to plan on having a normal AC unit which means needing access to power...perhaps plugging in at your dad's driveway might be an option. Or perhaps an RV park/campground. I know that in the general area of where you plan to be, there are inexpensive options as you move inland a bit. But the Swamp coolers and little DIY rigs just aren't going to do much down here.

Can you survive Florida summers without AC and in a van? Of course, but not within any reasonable measure of the word "comfort". I know people who do and are OK with it, but they fall under 1 of 2 categories: 1) Hard core lifers that live off equal parts coffee, beer and nicotine, or 2) recently homeless or incarcerated who are so happy to have a roof + doors that not much bothers them.

Generators work fine, but the noise they make really limits the places you can park without attracting unwanted attention. Will Burston lives in south FL and does a vlog channel...his video about AC options in a van is worth watching:

Thanks so much, Brad! And thank you for the link! A lot of careful planning and thought, more than I really thought their would be. Lol
i had it all figured out (in my head) when I was up north, but yet our Summer's aren't that bad. I almost thinking a small tow behind would be more cost effective for me? This way I would be able to keep my Jeep and keep the trailer parked at a campground. 
I keep contemplating living in the Jeep but I just spent the past two nights in it. Which went fine because it's been cooler outside but definitely won't work when it gets hotter as I won't have any room for an A/C. Also threw around the idea of building a storage box on the roof to put a unit and miscellaneous other things. Which could work, still  would need a place to plug in, plus it would kill my gas mileage which isn't the greatest now. Would be nice to plug in at pops, only problem is that the property isn't level, at all. 
Sorry for the ramble, just a million different ideas that I'm trying to figure out how to make it cost effective. 

 

[Myglimk2]

This is what I'm trying to make work, as oppose to buying another vehicle.