Moving into a van 30 years younger.

[Feed]

Hello world.

I've just decided that van life is my best life, and it is time to jump in.  I'm currently in the CA east bay with an empty van, a cot, a sleeping bag, and a solar kit.  There's a camp stove and composting toilet on the way.  I'll be learning and building as I go.  I don't even know where I'll try my first trip yet.

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome Feed to the CRVL forums! You are starting good by finding out what you need as you go which IMO is the way to go.

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.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRVL Forum 

I'd say you're off to a good start.  Do you have a privacy curtain set up just behind the front seats yet ?

For your cot you could get a foam rubber egg crate mattress cover (twin size) at a store like Dollar General and fold it in half to have a foam mat for your cot. I've done this and taken cheap beach towels and laid one end across the top of the foam rubber, then under the cot and back across the top.  Your weight on this when in the sleeping bag will keep everything in place.  (I've used 3 of them cutting holes in the middle towel for the legs to fit thru)  My cot is aluminum and has straight vertical legs. The foam is comfortable and a good insulator if it gets real cold some night.

For my curtain I got an expanding shower curtain rod with rubber feet at both ends.  Set it up to grip at the roof line, and had wire shower curtain pins on it.  I hung a beach towel sideways across the Van. (using the wire pins to poke holes in the beach towel)

This way you'll have some privacy and a comfortable cot to sleep on.

Once you're ready to start building, make a paper template of your floor from the front seats back.
You can use this to cut plywood to fit over the floor and screw into the metal floor in enough places to hold it steady.  Then you can carpet that or paint it or put whatever floor covering you like on it.

Building recycle places and cabinet shops often have older bathroom cabinets without the lavatory top
with it.  You can get one of these cheap and make a plywood top and set up a simple kitchen with that.  This time of year you should be able to find ice chest in yard sales for cheap.  36 to 48 quart size work nicely.  I've found a couple of those plastic 5 gallon Jerry jugs to carry water in so I have a water supply.

Below are a couple of links you may want to look thru.  They can make your life on the road safer, more comfortable, and convenient  It's all free.

 

[gslanm]

I think after all the reading I've done, get the basics down that you need, then work over time on doing the rest little by little based on how your life feels. I'm not sure how I'll do a stove to be honest. I don't expect to cook a ton but I was researching convection ovens that run on lower settings/electric that I'd just bum off a Yeti 2000 or something.

 

[Feed]

I haven't got anything set up yet. I pulled a metal partition with a door, and someone else had done an insulation job. I'm still hauling excess life to the dump and working out the puzzle of roof vent vs vehicle structural integrity vs solar array. I figure my first outing is sometime next year. I mean why tempt 2020 further, right?

I appreciate the greetings and the resources! I'm retired military, so the sleeping and gear just aren't going to be a problem. How much electrical, water and foodstuffs I can manage between trips is where I anticipate the most learning.