My first month on the road.

[Overland One]

Well, hard to believe it has been 30 days since I took off. Finally got all the stuff out of my apt. Van is too full still but I have been weeding things out as I go. August is not the best time to head out in Ky due to the heat but, thats when my lease ended. Van running great so far with just a few issues. My hubs/rotors are a bit warped on the front and will need replacing. I decided not to do that while I was replacing the calipers and brake pads as the hub/rotors for this van cost about $160 each, and I will also need to buy new bearings, races and seals once I save up for all the parts. I figure about $600 or so in parts total. I did have a bit of a scare a few days ago when my transmission began slipping when upshifting from 1st to 2nd. It has never done that and I was scared that the trans was going out. This happened about 1/8 mile from my destination for the night so when I pulled in, I checked the dipstick and it was nearly empty! All fluids were full when I left. Fortunately, the bit of fluid showing on the dipstick looked clean and did not smell burned. I called around to various autopart stores and arranged for delivery of 6 quarts of trans fluid from a helpful NAPA store while I tried to figure out where the fluid leaked out. Turns out it was from a rubber hose coming from the factory auxillary trans cooler located between the radiator and ac condenser. I had replaced both of these when I installed the new radiator but evidently did not get one of the clamps tight enough. To service this correctly I really need to pull out the radiator or the ac condenser but I managed to reach a very long screwdriver down between to tighten both bottom clamps. I have made 2 test drives after filling the trans back up and it shifts fine and is not leaking. Later, I will remove the ac condenser which has no gas in it as it has a hole and needs to be replaced and my ac sytem vacuumed and filled. This will let me reach those clamps with a socket wrench to make sure they are good and tight. Thank God for my window ac unit which has been working great so far. (Crossing fingers) My usb rechargeable water pump was working great until I needed to recharge it. When I plugged in the the cable, it would not charge up, when I removed the cable to swap to another one to see if the cable was bad, the usb recepticle came out with the plug so, it was not soldered onto the circuit board very well. That pump ran almost a month in the initial charge so for only $15, I decided to order another one from Amazon and have it shipped to a friends house about 40 miles from my location at that time. The new pump works fine and the usb receptical appears to be soldered much better than the 1st one but, just to be safe, I hotglued my usb cord to the pump body to make a solid conection and just left the cord semi permenently attached so there should be no stress on that receptical. I am enjoying it out here and have been camping at some very beautiful places in Kentucky. I still have a lot to learn about my new life even though I have been reading and watching van videos for a year before deciding to do this. I have a few more mechanical things left to do to the van which I will do as soon as I can. So far, so good. I hope everyone is doing well and staying cool. Safe travels everyone.

 

[Carla618]

Well, hard to believe it has been 30 days since I took off. Finally got all the stuff out of my apt. Van is too full still but I have been weeding things out as I go. August is not the best time to head out in Ky due to the heat but, thats when my lease ended. Van running great so far with just a few issues.

Thanks for sharing. You may want to tell us more over time and share photos under the Captains' Logs Forum. I'd love to read it.

 

[Overland One]

Thank you Carla, I will look up the Captain's Log area and post there when I get a chance.

 

[eDJ_]

Overland One, congratulations !

I'm with Carla618. Yes please consider starting a thread in the "Captain's Log" under the Share Your Story Category. As you are new to this and just getting started your story will be most valuable to others like yourself.

There are many ways to go about Van Life. When people are new to it they tend to do a lot of driving from point to point. But in time they realize they could be seeing and experiencing so much more by taking it slow and researching and planning for what they could be seeing each day that they would otherwise be driving by. (while burning lots of gas, money, and wearing out their rig)

I was doing that when I first started but my immediate goal then was to find placement in my career, being just out of school. My Own Story describes my introduction and what I was trying to accomplish. (and I more than accomplished my goal)

If you haven't had a chance to visit the bottom link in my signature lines below.....let me invite you to do this now. In the Links section there is the "Trip Planning at Home or On The Road". Tripomatic being the first link will let you plan the next leg of your journey and ask how far off the road you are willing to go to visit & see interesting places. There are many other links that offer similar information in that list too.

A lot of Full Time travelers use what is known as the 2 2 2 System of travel It works well with sites like Tripomatic, so you can research & plan your travel plan and then enjoy a more leisurely and richer live on the road. Remember to take plenty of photos too.....as in time they will be priceless to you.

 

[Overland One]

Thank you eDJ, I will check out those links. I appreciate your reply and all of the advice and info, thanks.

 

[quilting22]

Well, hard to believe it has been 30 days since I took off. Finally got all the stuff out of my apt. Van is too full still but I have been weeding things out as I go. August is not the best time to head out in Ky due to the heat but, thats when my lease ended. Van running great so far with just a few issues. My hubs/rotors are a bit warped on the front and will need replacing. I decided not to do that while I was replacing the calipers and brake pads as the hub/rotors for this van cost about $160 each, and I will also need to buy new bearings, races and seals once I save up for all the parts. I figure about $600 or so in parts total. I did have a bit of a scare a few days ago when my transmission began slipping when upshifting from 1st to 2nd. It has never done that and I was scared that the trans was going out. This happened about 1/8 mile from my destination for the night so when I pulled in, I checked the dipstick and it was nearly empty! All fluids were full when I left. Fortunately, the bit of fluid showing on the dipstick looked clean and did not smell burned. I called around to various autopart stores and arranged for delivery of 6 quarts of trans fluid from a helpful NAPA store while I tried to figure out where the fluid leaked out. Turns out it was from a rubber hose coming from the factory auxillary trans cooler located between the radiator and ac condenser. I had replaced both of these when I installed the new radiator but evidently did not get one of the clamps tight enough. To service this correctly I really need to pull out the radiator or the ac condenser but I managed to reach a very long screwdriver down between to tighten both bottom clamps. I have made 2 test drives after filling the trans back up and it shifts fine and is not leaking. Later, I will remove the ac condenser which has no gas in it as it has a hole and needs to be replaced and my ac sytem vacuumed and filled. This will let me reach those clamps with a socket wrench to make sure they are good and tight. Thank God for my window ac unit which has been working great so far. (Crossing fingers) My usb rechargeable water pump was working great until I needed to recharge it. When I plugged in the the cable, it would not charge up, when I removed the cable to swap to another one to see if the cable was bad, the usb recepticle came out with the plug so, it was not soldered onto the circuit board very well. That pump ran almost a month in the initial charge so for only $15, I decided to order another one from Amazon and have it shipped to a friends house about 40 miles from my location at that time. The new pump works fine and the usb receptical appears to be soldered much better than the 1st one but, just to be safe, I hotglued my usb cord to the pump body to make a solid conection and just left the cord semi permenently attached so there should be no stress on that receptical. I am enjoying it out here and have been camping at some very beautiful places in Kentucky. I still have a lot to learn about my new life even though I have been reading and watching van videos for a year before deciding to do this. I have a few more mechanical things left to do to the van which I will do as soon as I can. So far, so good. I hope everyone is doing well and staying cool. Safe travels everyone.

Thx for sharing...you sure are handy and knowledgable (sp) abt you vehicle !

 

[Overland One]

Thank you. Yes, Iam lucky I learned about mechanics at an early age and have done my own work on my vehicles since before I got my drivers license way back in the 1970's. Still, anything can happen out on the road and I just hope when it does that I have the right tools, knowledge and parts to fix it. My van is 25 years old and in decent shape but I still sometime stress about getting stuck somewhere, same as most people do I think.

 

[quilting22]

Well, hard to believe it has been 30 days since I took off. Finally got all the stuff out of my apt. Van is too full still but I have been weeding things out as I go. August is not the best time to head out in Ky due to the heat but, thats when my lease ended. Van running great so far with just a few issues. My hubs/rotors are a bit warped on the front and will need replacing. I decided not to do that while I was replacing the calipers and brake pads as the hub/rotors for this van cost about $160 each, and I will also need to buy new bearings, races and seals once I save up for all the parts. I figure about $600 or so in parts total. I did have a bit of a scare a few days ago when my transmission began slipping when upshifting from 1st to 2nd. It has never done that and I was scared that the trans was going out. This happened about 1/8 mile from my destination for the night so when I pulled in, I checked the dipstick and it was nearly empty! All fluids were full when I left. Fortunately, the bit of fluid showing on the dipstick looked clean and did not smell burned. I called around to various autopart stores and arranged for delivery of 6 quarts of trans fluid from a helpful NAPA store while I tried to figure out where the fluid leaked out. Turns out it was from a rubber hose coming from the factory auxillary trans cooler located between the radiator and ac condenser. I had replaced both of these when I installed the new radiator but evidently did not get one of the clamps tight enough. To service this correctly I really need to pull out the radiator or the ac condenser but I managed to reach a very long screwdriver down between to tighten both bottom clamps. I have made 2 test drives after filling the trans back up and it shifts fine and is not leaking. Later, I will remove the ac condenser which has no gas in it as it has a hole and needs to be replaced and my ac sytem vacuumed and filled. This will let me reach those clamps with a socket wrench to make sure they are good and tight. Thank God for my window ac unit which has been working great so far. (Crossing fingers) My usb rechargeable water pump was working great until I needed to recharge it. When I plugged in the the cable, it would not charge up, when I removed the cable to swap to another one to see if the cable was bad, the usb recepticle came out with the plug so, it was not soldered onto the circuit board very well. That pump ran almost a month in the initial charge so for only $15, I decided to order another one from Amazon and have it shipped to a friends house about 40 miles from my location at that time. The new pump works fine and the usb receptical appears to be soldered much better than the 1st one but, just to be safe, I hotglued my usb cord to the pump body to make a solid conection and just left the cord semi permenently attached so there should be no stress on that receptical. I am enjoying it out here and have been camping at some very beautiful places in Kentucky. I still have a lot to learn about my new life even though I have been reading and watching van videos for a year before deciding to do this. I have a few more mechanical things left to do to the van which I will do as soon as I can. So far, so good. I hope everyone is doing well and staying cool. Safe travels everyone.

I just wanted to add a little experience l had yesterday and today using our intuition or "Spidey Sense". In Kingman AZ and went to the BLM field office yesterday with questions and to find sites for dispersed camping. They were very helpful and l was over joyed to find what l was looking for within 5-10 mi of town.
Driving down a paved road with a very deep dip in it and a sign stating not to use this road if raining etc obviously a deep wash, skies clear all around and not far from there an area with a few camp vehicles parked. After the 1st 20ft or so at a turn off found deep ruts in the dirt left by previous water run off but definitely able to drive over taken slow and careful. I parked in a spot and enjoyed the view while fixing lunch and just relaxing. Stayed abt 2 hrs then decided this definately would not be a place to stay if it rained. It would be all mud and water coming down the ruts would definately be swift and deeper than 6". Besides having to drive out on the pavement to town would be nothing but deadly and stupid ....that lrg dip in the road with the sign is deep emough for water to cover a car/van completely.
With this on my mind l decided to go back to town and not spend the night there, even though the night view would have been spectacular. I check the weather app frequently and no sign of rain. Yep you guessed it, l was awakened several times in the night to rain hitting the roof. I had cell service the whole time l was up there so l know the others camping there are able to get help if needed. When we think a place might not be safe for whatever reason...leave.

 

[quilting22]

I just wanted to add a little experience l had yesterday and today using our intuition or "Spidey Sense". In Kingman AZ and went to the BLM field office yesterday with questions and to find sites for dispersed camping. They were very helpful and l was over joyed to find what l was looking for within 5-10 mi of town.
Driving down a paved road with a very deep dip in it and a sign stating not to use this road if raining etc obviously a deep wash, skies clear all around and not far from there an area with a few camp vehicles parked. After the 1st 20ft or so at a turn off found deep ruts in the dirt left by previous water run off but definitely able to drive over taken slow and careful. I parked in a spot and enjoyed the view while fixing lunch and just relaxing. Stayed abt 2 hrs then decided this definately would not be a place to stay if it rained. It would be all mud and water coming down the ruts would definately be swift and deeper than 6". Besides having to drive out on the pavement to town would be nothing but deadly and stupid ....that lrg dip in the road with the sign is deep emough for water to cover a car/van completely.
With this on my mind l decided to go back to town and not spend the night there, even though the night view would have been spectacular. I check the weather app frequently and no sign of rain. Yep you guessed it, l was awakened several times in the night to rain hitting the roof. I had cell service the whole time l was up there so l know the others camping there are able to get help if needed. When we think a place might not be safe for whatever reason...leave.

Sorry, just reread my post...not well written, disjointed and confusing. Will do better next time.

 

[WanderingRose]

I got it, so say not to worry if you did not execute perfection.

If something feels wrong, it is, and don’t spend time trying to analyze or talk yourself out of action.

This is self-preservation, instinct, guardian angels, whatever you believe, telling you to GO.

Good job.

 

[BelgianPup]

Some really bad things have happened to people who routinely think, "Oh, it will be all right -- just keep going".

I lived in Las Vegas, NV for 5-6 years, driving limo. The number of people who refused to listen to that little voice was incredible. Vegas is in a valley, surrounded by hills or small mountains. When it does rain, all that water flows into and around the town.

Some people will drive into still, muddy water. Some people will drive into fast-moving water. It seemed like one two people die every year because they can't seem to recognize danger when they see it. Many others get out of a bad situation just by luck.

 

[Overland One]

Sorry, just reread my post...not well written, disjointed and confusing. Will do better next time.

I had no problems reading your post and thought it was very well written. I could not agree more. We do have instincts but yes, most people seem to ignore them. In my 1st week out, I went to a nice lake that had free camping with a 2 day limit. When you get there, there are instructions on how to register and get a permit online, and I did so. I was there by myself for about 2 hours and a pick up truck with 4 guys in it drove past where I was parked. They drove slowly and all 4 were looking at my van as they went past. I didn't think much of it until they turned around and went past again, then yet again, this time almost stopping. Well, my instincts were telling me something was up so, even though I am always well armed, I decided that this free site was not worth putting up with whatever was going on there. So, I started the van and departed. That truck followed me for about a mile then turned off and disappeared. I decided to drive about an hour and paid $12.50 and camped in Mammoth Cave National Park. It is a beautiful place and I have camped there many times over the years. Maybe those guys were just fine and not up to anything nefarious, but, my instincts told me to leave so that's what I did. I had a great night's sleep in a beautiful place so it worked out fine.