New Vandweller Saying Hello!

[jakehuddleston]

Hello, I have officially been living in a van now for about 3 weeks. The idea struck me about 6 months ago when I read an article about Ken Ilgunas, who lived in a van to pay off his college debts. I have no school debt starting out, which is great, and the only debt I have now is my van payment, which I'm paying for with the money that previously went towards rent. Once that's paid off, I'm home free to save and travel!

I currently live in Santa Monica, CA after moving to Los Angeles in the fall of 2012 to pursue filmmaking. Living in a van is my way to save money to fund my films and do some traveling. Despite the ridiculing from coworkers, I bought a plain white 2006 Chevy Express cargo van from a dealer in Burbank and converted it into a living space. I have been stealth camping in Santa Monica (a notoriously difficult place to sleep in your vehicle) while maintaining a full time job there at a camera rental shop.

Below are some photos of my conversion and current setup. I have a full twin-sized mattress mounted on a plywood board, which is supported by two metal wheel well cabinets. I fit most of my belongings in plastic bins beneath my bed. Clothes and food are in easy reach in plastic shelving and a cooler on the wall behind the driver's seat.

Let me know what you think!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Welcome to the forum and van life. Nice van.

Do you plan on insulating or building more inside? How about solar power?

 

[jakehuddleston]

I don't think I will put in any insulation, at least not right now. Currently just dressing warmly when in the van, and I sleep in sweatpants/sweatshirt as well to hit the gym in morning before work.

Right now the only power usage I have is just charging my cell phone and laptop at night using the van battery via an inverter, and that's it. No power used for food storage, plumbing, television, etc. Toilet is a portable camping toilet. Food is mostly raw foods and things that keep in my cooler, as well as some non-perishables. Not big on actual cooking. No solar panels yet, I am still doing research on those. Still undecided on that aspect.

 

[Bdog1]

Looks like a great basic set-up! Just "tweak" as you go

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Don't let yourself wake up to a dead battery. At least consider a second (house) battery with a solenoid and switch.

 

[Patrick46]

Hello there and welcome to the forum!

Great to have new folks joining on here who've already got their 'show on the road'. (so to speak)

yeah, a back-up battery might not be such a bad idea...and you can always add solar in the future as needed.


How-d from up in the Oregon Coastline!!!

 

[jakehuddleston]

Thanks for the battery advice everyone! I am definitely considering a second battery as a backup. Fortunately my inverter will shut off if it senses the battery is getting too drained to start the engine. That's definitely a nice feature while still only using the one battery.

 

[sparky1]

Welcome jake;
I wish you the very best.
sparky1 from the other coast.

 

[blkjak]

welcome .... blkjak

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Thanks for the battery advice everyone! I am definitely considering a second battery as a backup. Fortunately my inverter will shut off if it senses the battery is getting too drained to start the engine. That's definitely a nice feature while still only using the one battery.

Engine starting batteries are designed around a 10% discharge cycle.

That is, they are designed to start your engine, then be fully recharged by your alternator, which also provides all the power for your ignition, lights, radio, etc.

They will handle thousands of discharge - recharge cycles when treated like that.

The deeper you drain them, the fewer cycles they can handle.

Even if you don't drain them to the point your van won't start, you are still shortening their lifespan, possibly by quite a lot.

Give serious thought to adding that second (deep-cycle) battery along with a battery switch or isolator.

Regards
John

 

[sassypickins]

Hi Jake, welcome.

I am a newbie, too -- not on the road quite yet.

You can't shake more than a couple of grains of knowledge out of me about electricity, but since battery operated devices like cell phones and laptops are already DC, would it make sense to get a dc power adaptor/charger for your laptop? Wouldn't that be apples to apples instead of apples to oranges and back to apples?

But I haven't found the right post or website yet to tell me if I can do that from dc house battery to dc device or else I don't understand what I'm reading (which is pretty likely LOL).

If you get a house battery have you figured out how long you will be able to use your two devices before the house battery runs down to where it will need to be recharged? (50% - is that right?)

If you will have it hooked up to your van's starter battery, will you drive enough the next day to fully charge it or will you be able to charge it using a/c?

Thanks, Sassy

 

[Pikachu711]

Welcome to the group jakehuddleston!