My friends, my people.

[LosAngelesVandweller]

Hey hey! Hello at long last. Been cruising this site for a long time. I love it! Found so much great stuff, helpful stuff on here. So a big thanks is in order...I've learned ALOT from y'all.

I moved into my 1989 Ford Cargo van on November 1st. Bought it 2 days before moving into it (couldn't be avoided but I like jumping into things anyway) so I've been doing the "work on it while I live in it" thing. I live in an extreme urban setting. I'll admit it hasn't been easy. The first 3 weeks or so was especially difficult. Finding the right places to park, learning the nuances of the undetected entrance/exit. It really can take some time to transition into the lifestyle/mindset of 'dwelling. That being said, I've had sooo much fun, too. I kind of feel like an outlaw. Different from everyone else around me. I like it.

I'm getting more and more comfortable each and every day now. I was finally able to build and install my fold up bed last week. HUUGE difference. Just in terms being able to move around better, reduction of clutter, etc. there is also just something psychologically comforting to me about sleeping above ground(or Van floor haha). I read it here awhile back and it's true...some great advice to someone moving into a van is to tackle the bed issue immediately.

The more work I put into Van-Nessa (that's what I call her?) the more proud of her I get and the more it feels like my home. I'm going to be living this way for a long time. I can feel it. Like it's been waiting for me. Just feel more and more like I absolutely have made the right decision and that I'm supposed to be here. And that's pretty damn special. Some people never get to feel like that, ever.

Nice to finally meet everybody.

Again, thank you sooooo much for all the information here. Truly awesome. You all rock!!!

Yours truly, LosAngelesVandweller

 

[Theadyn]

Van-Nessa.... love it!!!

 

[cyndi]

Welcome to the CRVL forums, LosAngelesVandweller! We're glad your here!

If you've been lurking you probably know this but 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.

Glad you're enjoying the life! I hope you'll continue to post, update and share what you learn.

 

[CrazySister]

Bravo for you. When you find your place in the world it feels great. Much happiness in your new home.

 

[sassypickins]

Welcome to you and Van-Nessa. I hope you will share your experiences as a new urban vandweller.

 

[akrvbob]

That being said, I've had sooo much fun, too. I kind of feel like an outlaw. Different from everyone else around me. I like it.

I'm going to be living this way for a long time. I can feel it. Like it's been waiting for me. Just feel more and more like I absolutely have made the right decision and that I'm supposed to be here. And that's pretty damn special. Some people never get to feel like that, ever.

Very, very well-said LAvandweller! After I got over the initial shock of living in a van I felt exactly like you describe here.

I think that once you make this one huge leap from societies norms it becomes much easier to question everything society tells you:

"If they were wrong when they told me I had to live in a house, what else have they been wrong about?" :huh:

So I started questioning everything they told me.

And I've concluded that nearly everything they told me was wrong!!


And for the first time, I'm truly, deeply content with my life. :heart:

Thanks for bringing that moment of clarity to me with you're well-chosen words!
Bob

 

[Luisafernandes]

Welcome[emoji779]️[emoji604][emoji106]
I started my mission about six months ago, to boldly go where no vandweller has gone before, to seek out new frontiers, to...well, you get the idea[emoji41]
It does take time to acclimatize to the new settings, not just for you, or me, but I thing everyone goes through this in one way or another. I was fortunate enough to still have a place where I could work on the van build, not having one must be pretty hard.
If you can, maybe you can rent a storage place to work on the van, or rent somebody's garage. It'll make things go much faster. [emoji604][emoji106]

 

[LosAngelesVandweller]

Thanks for the love everybody!

Luis, yeah it's been somewhat difficult finding places to work on the van. The van was a MESS when I got it. It was a work van, just covered in oil and grease and god knows what. For the first week and a half, I just had to suck it up and live with it. The smell was....uggg. I just lugged my queen sized mattress straight from my apartment, threw it in the van, drove off into the night and that was that. HA!! I will NEVER in all my days forget that. What a scary, awesome, just plain weird experience....

It took me a solid day and a half just to degrease it. And I'm still not completely satisfied enough to start with primer or paint yet. Thankfully I have some friends who rent a house and I've been able to do some of the larger projects there(replacing/cutting the floorboards, for example). I'm slowly but surely building up a small arsenal of tools. Keeping it minimal of course, as per what I've learned here. I was able to borrow a power saw and a drill, until earlier this month I was able to buy my own. YES!!

I've absolutely completely fallen in love with home depot. OMG. I can spent hours in that place just wandering around, looking at stuff and getting ideas. So great. And when I installed my bed the other week, I just parked my van way in the back parking lot and did the work there. If I needed another 2x4 or a certain sized screw, it was all right there. Nobody bothered me, not at all.

I'll try to post some pictures soon. Van-Nessa is still in a very primitive stage. But I still love her! My goals for now are getting everything tip top mechanically, insulation, a water system, a clean and easily disposable pee-pee system(I don't like the idea of a pee tube that drains into the street. I'm a Burner!). Oh yeah, and I'm DEFINITELY going solar. Off the grid, that's where I belong. Solarsolarsolar. I can't friggin' wait!

Ciao for now,

LAVan

 

[Luisafernandes]

Thanks for the love everybody!

Luis, yeah it's been somewhat difficult finding places to work on the van. The van was a MESS when I got it. It was a work van, just covered in oil and grease and god knows what. For the first week and a half, I just had to suck it up and live with it. The smell was....uggg. I just lugged my queen sized mattress straight from my apartment, threw it in the van, drove off into the night and that was that. HA!! I will NEVER in all my days forget that. What a scary, awesome, just plain weird experience....

It took me a solid day and a half just to degrease it. And I'm still not completely satisfied enough to start with primer or paint yet. Thankfully I have some friends who rent a house and I've been able to do some of the larger projects there(replacing/cutting the floorboards, for example). I'm slowly but surely building up a small arsenal of tools. Keeping it minimal of course, as per what I've learned here. I was able to borrow a power saw and a drill, until earlier this month I was able to buy my own. YES!!

I've absolutely completely fallen in love with home depot. OMG. I can spent hours in that place just wandering around, looking at stuff and getting ideas. So great. And when I installed my bed the other week, I just parked my van way in the back parking lot and did the work there. If I needed another 2x4 or a certain sized screw, it was all right there. Nobody bothered me, not at all.

I'll try to post some pictures soon. Van-Nessa is still in a very primitive stage. But I still love her! My goals for now are getting everything tip top mechanically, insulation, a water system, a clean and easily disposable pee-pee system(I don't like the idea of a pee tube that drains into the street. I'm a Burner!). Oh yeah, and I'm DEFINITELY going solar. Off the grid, that's where I belong. Solarsolarsolar. I can't friggin' wait!

Ciao for now,

LAVan

Va Bene! Tuti qui somo tui amici!
I guess you didn't have a choice, but sleeping with those oils isn't the healthiest thing. Sorry you had to go through that.
Personally, I never had a problem falling asleep in the rolling earth-ship right from the beginning.
Ask lots of questions. There's many van builds posted on here, mine included if you like to take a look, maybe get some ideas.

Ps, no pictures and it never happened [emoji56][emoji328][emoji328][emoji328][emoji106]