My One Month Report

[Khyron]

I've been successfully living out of my van now for over 4 weeks and love it! &nbsp;It's a 2001 Dodge Ram conversion van I've modded to my likes that some of you may have read about in the conversion section. &nbsp;<br /><br />I'm still kinda on easy mode. &nbsp; I've spent about half this time parked in the driveway of my old house that my friends still inhabit. &nbsp;I've been slowly transitioning/moving out and other then needing to sell a few more things I'm about done. &nbsp;I already sold my car, tv, and a number other things. &nbsp;I've also thrown a lot of crap away or given it to Goodwill. &nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />&nbsp;I now have almost everything I need in my van. &nbsp; I have ample storage, water, cooking stuff, and power. &nbsp;For power I'm not solar yet but have an expandable setup. &nbsp;I bought a 12v 110 Ah Lifeline battery with Black&amp;Decker smart charger and 400watt inverter&nbsp; recommended by Bob. &nbsp;I've only been using it to run a 12v ventilation fan so it will last about 6 nights at 8 hours use before I get down to around 50% and need to recharge. &nbsp;My lighting is currently small led lights that run off their own batteries and my phone and computer I charge at work or coffee shops. &nbsp; Les hooked my up with a nice little single burner butane stove that works great. &nbsp;I have to admit though I've been eating out WAY too much as I'm a terrible cook. &nbsp;I will have to work on that. &nbsp;I read in Bob's blog he did the same thing when he was new at this. &nbsp;<br /><br />I'm still working so I've just been stealth camping around town. &nbsp;I discovered I can park on the street next to my work and get wifi easily. &nbsp;Also, thanks to advice here, I've spent several nights parking in hotel parking lots with no problems and free wifi. &nbsp;Seems the trick is to pull in late, don't get out, button up and close the blinds, and relax for the night. &nbsp;I then leave early. &nbsp;My conversion van, especially with my bike on the rear bike rack, probably looks like it belongs there so I don't get hassled. &nbsp;I've also spent a few nights at Walmarts and campgrounds. &nbsp;<br /><br />I have to admit took some getting used to sleeping in the van but I now find it more comfortable then my old indoor bed. &nbsp; Camping in the woods by myself still freaks me out a bit, city boy here, but I'm adapting. &nbsp;Seems the more people around me, like a walmart or hotel parking lot, the safer I feel for some reason and have no trouble sleeping.<br /><br />I'm currently on a week long trial run. &nbsp;My work has me doing IT work in London, KY so I figured instead of driving back and forth every day I'd just camp here till the end of the week. &nbsp;So far stayed at a hotel lot, work lot, and walmart lot with no problems. &nbsp;I haven't showered since Sunday but there are a number of truck stops with showers and one nearby here has private shower rooms for $5. &nbsp;Will probably check one out tonight. &nbsp;The big challenge though has been staying warm. &nbsp;When it got down to 35 the other night it was 47 in my van. &nbsp;I busted one of my 2 old Army wool blankets and a cap though and it wasnt too bad. &nbsp;I did use my backup propane single burner stove to take the edge off in the morning though. &nbsp;Tonight is supposed to drop to 31 and since I have no heater will just have to use both wool blankets I guess. &nbsp;<br /><br />Won't have to deal with this much longer though. &nbsp;I plan to quit my job by the end of the month and hit the road for the south west before things get to cold here in Kentucky. &nbsp;Looking forward to meeting some of you guys in person. &nbsp;Will DEFINITELY be at the RTR in January. &nbsp;Would like to thank everyone here for all the great info. &nbsp;Has really helped me get set up and take a lot of the fear out of this endeavor. &nbsp; Seeing the ideas in my head concerning modding my van actually manifest in reality, through my own labors, has been awesome. &nbsp;It's good to have a mission.&nbsp;<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" />

 

[Khyron]

And here she is at campground in Daniel Boone National Forest a few weeks back. &nbsp;It's a little dark but you can see my bike on the hitch mount bike rack on the back. &nbsp;By the way I've named her Athena. &nbsp;<img src="/images/boards/smilies/cool.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br /><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img840/3843/imag0170ey.jpg" alt="" />

 

[Ricekila]

Photos - man - we need photos <img src="/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" alt="" align="absMiddle" border="0" />

 

[SirJoey]

<br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>Enjoyed reading about your adventure so far.<br />Athena is one beautiful little lady!&nbsp;<img src="/images/boards/smilies/thumb.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br /></strong></span>

 

[Pikachu711]

<p>Congrat's on your first month Khyron of van dwelling! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying your new life of living in a van.<br /><br />I'm glad that you've taken advantage of parking in hotel parking lots.&nbsp;The&nbsp;vast majority of motels &amp; hotels don't really keep track&nbsp;of vehicle information when a guest&nbsp;is checking in.&nbsp;There are exceptions to&nbsp;that rule but not getting vehicle information isn't that big an issue.<br /><br />For almost 13 years I was a motel desk clerk/night auditor. Our big thing when&nbsp;a guest entered the lobby was to&nbsp;get them checked in &amp;&nbsp;into their room as quickly as possible. Getting vehicle information is a very secondary issue.<br /><br />That's another&nbsp;reason why I recommend people spend&nbsp;an occasional night in&nbsp;a motel/hotel parking lot. But don't stay in the same motel/hotel&nbsp;too often. The same rule applies as with&nbsp;any place you spend&nbsp;time each evening.&nbsp;As long as your van appears empty, no one knows your in there! Enjoy the stealth.<br /><br />Again,&nbsp;I'm glad to read that your first month of van dwelling is going well. I&nbsp;envy you!&nbsp;</p>

 

[She]

Sounds dreamy. LOL I am enjoying your adventure too. I too envy you!

 

[Khyron]

Ok more pictures for Ricekilla then<br />&nbsp;<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br /><br /><br />Heres me parked in the fog behind where I'm working Tuesday morning:<br /><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img694/959/imag0189e.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br />Heres some I took today after I got off. &nbsp;First I drove to the London airport to eat at the restaurant there. &nbsp;It was on the way to Levi Jackson State Park I was heading to.<br /><br /><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img207/1426/imag0190t.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br />Next I drove to Levi Jackson State Park to do some bike riding. &nbsp;I've been sitting on my ass too much since I got here.<br /><br /><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img37/1804/imag0191w.jpg" alt="" /><br />Looks like I missed the anniversary of this massacre by just a week&nbsp;<img src="/images/boards/smilies/eek.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br /><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img267/8101/imag0195q.jpg" alt="" /><br />And a mill.<br /><br />After leaving there I took my first shower at a truck stop. &nbsp;I gotta say I've had better facilities in the Army, but I've also had worse. &nbsp;Plus it was only $5. &nbsp;That will hold me over until I drive back to Lexington friday. &nbsp;Now I'm chillin at Starbucks.&nbsp;<br /><br />Tonight I'm staying in a hotel lot right next to this Starbucks. &nbsp;Thanks Pikachu for the heads up on hotel procedures. &nbsp;So far I've stayed in a different hotel lot every night.

 

[yesican]

Anxious to see those pics!!!

 

[Les H]

Hey Khyron, glad to see you post and that things are going well. the coldest ive skept in the van with no heat is 26, not so much fun.Enjoy the van, she is a nice one! i doubt ill make the rtr ( google says its over 4000 miles round trip) but mabye we'll have a chance to camp again one day.

 

[Khyron]

Hey Khyron, glad to see you post and that things are going well. the coldest ive skept in the van with no heat is 26, not so much fun.Enjoy the van, she is a nice one! i doubt ill make the rtr ( google says its over 4000 miles round trip) but mabye we'll have a chance to camp again one day.

<br /><br />Yessir! &nbsp;That stove you gave me works great by the way and doesn't take up any space. &nbsp;I've heard butane doesn't work well below freezing but I haven't tested that yet and actually I don't plan on staying in places that get that cold anyway. &nbsp;<br /><br />A few comments seem to indicate my pics aren't visible? &nbsp;I usually host with Flickr but my quota was about full for the month so I put these pics on ImageShack. &nbsp;ImageShack is probably the first pic hosting site I've used and probably doesn't have the most robust servers. &nbsp;I really need to upgrade my Flickr account to premium..

 

[Khyron]

It was officially 32 in London this morning but no frost on the car, probably a degree or 2 higher in the city. &nbsp;It was 50 in my van. &nbsp;It's a conversion so probably has some insulation in the walls. &nbsp;I also use my old poncho liner to separate the driving area from the rear and have curtains over the windows. &nbsp;I used 2 heavy surplus army blankets last night on top of my normal fleece blankets with a winter hat and I slept awesome. &nbsp;Now getting out of it when my alarm went off was another matter. &nbsp;First thing I did was start the car and crank the heat while I get dressed and ready for work. &nbsp;Travelfriend I bet you won't need to worry about cold too much if you stick to a southerly route. &nbsp;These temps lately in Kentucky have been way below normal. &nbsp;Looks like by Saturday will be back in upper 50's at night. &nbsp;

 

[yesican]

I could see me living in that rig.&nbsp; Congradulations...you picked a good one.<br />Rae

 

[Khyron]

For my last night in London I decided to get out of town so I drove west about 20 miles to Bee Rock Campground in Daniel Boone National Forest. &nbsp;It's right on the banks of Rockcastle River and features huge boulders. &nbsp;Apparently its the best white water river in the state, especially up river. &nbsp;Was only $8 too. &nbsp;Took a bunch of pics scrambling on the boulders. &nbsp;Here's a few:<br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img440/1611/imag0216g.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br /><img src="http://imageshack.us/a/img195/7655/imag0214nj.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br />I cooked too! &nbsp;Ramen noodles! &nbsp;Tonight I'm heading back to Lexington to refuel, recharge, do Laundry, and probably hit up a bar.&nbsp;<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" />

 

[SirJoey]

<br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>Kool stuff! Can't wait for the day I can get out myself!&nbsp;<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br /></strong></span>

 

[Seraphim]

Sounds good. Glad it's working out for you.