New well sort of.

[The Man]

I have finally subscribed to the forum after many years of reading this site and watching YouTube videos. It all started when the Second Great Depression started to have its effect on me. Thought I would lose my home so I started looking for options to provide shelter for my family. That is when I found Cheep RV Living and began my study of the nomad lifestyle. I didn't lose my house but at times I think it would have been better if I did. I had already started making my living online at that time. My first business online provided for our needs for 7 years. I also began my search for ongoing income from the internet. I have had several online businesses the did fairly good, but nothing stays the same for very long on the internet. I was really trying to make enough so I could keep my wife provided for here in WI and enough so I could spend my winters in AZ and CA. My youngest child turned 18 last year so I figured I was free to roam. Well I am still working for that goal, but have not quite made it yet.

I started RV delivery for extra income three months ago thanks to Bobs interview with Miss J on YouTube. I tow a small car which I made into a mini mini RV. Not quite my dream come true, but at least I have been to the south several times this winter, even if it is on the short term.

Dan

 

[The Man]

Thought I would add a little more background. I am not new to nomadic living. I ran away from home when I was 15 not because I didn't like my parents but because I wanted to go try out my wilderness survival skill by immersion. I am from Wisconsin and near the end of my Freshmen high school year I took a bus and hitchhiked to get to the mountains of western Montana. I was not gone long but I figured I would wait until I finished school to do it again. After graduation I left to travel the western states again, by backpack and hitchhiking. I did this three summers coming back to Wisconsin to work for the winter months and save up for my next stint in the mountains. It I would have had access to the internet back then I would never had come back. I had know idea of how wonderful the southwest was or what I could do to make money.

After I got married we lived in northern Canada in several very remote places for about 3 or 4 years.

Dan

 

[user 423]

Welcome to the forum Dan. I like the job you did on the poptop minivan! Very nice.

Have you encountered any high winds with it yet?

 

[landyachtman]

Welcome to the CRVL forums! 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.

 

[crofter]

Welcome to the forum!   -crofter

 

[The Man]

Welcome to the forum Dan.  I like the job you did on the poptop minivan!  Very nice.

Have you encountered any high winds with it yet?

I am in Quartzite now and it is windy for me. It is rock solid. In one of my videos it shows me grabbing hold and trying to shake it, all that moves is the van.

 

[treesprite]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Sofisintown]

Welcome Dan, nice set up you have there with the pop-top.

 

[bullfrog]

Since most have a solar panel mounted really pretty smart to use it as a roof especially in winter. Might need some vents in summer though as they do get warm and if they get hot don’t always function as efficiently.

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRVL Forum  

Since you enjoy the Nomadic lifestyle,  let me mention the two links below.  The first is for setting up a rig whether it be a Van, Trailer, Bug Out Car, or motorized bike.  The second a Portal of useful info that will help make your journeys more Safe, Convenient, and Comfortable.

When I first got out of school, decades ago, I used my rig to go hunting for employment.  I combined my business with the pleasure of camping and sight seeing on the cheap.  I once met a couple of German guys who were traveling on their BMW motorcycles and has some time to talk with them.  Showed them my rig and they were favorably impressed by the simplicity but realized they got twice or more the gas mileage than I did....but conceded I had a better environment to live in.  They slept in tents and lamented the scarcity of  "hostels" here in the USA. (like they had in Europe). But this was long ago and there was no internet back then.  I showed them my Rand McNally Campground Atlas and they eagerly looked thru it and took some notes.

It was experiences like that which led me to consider organizing a detailed listing of helpful info for those who are traveling on the cheap.  When I first started I used Travelers Checks as I didn't have a credit card.  I carried tools so I could make my own repairs and fortunately my rid was from the pre computerized times,  so that I could work on it. (it had a carburetor and a 3 speed standard no power anything) Yeah, lo tech. 

Looking at your converted car,  you may find the BugOut Car in the Van Conversion site interesting.
I chose that Chevy Malibu Maxx as the platform I would use today.   I don't know if you could get by with moving something like that around in a Hospital parking garage thru the days and nights or not. Shifting from parking lot to parking lot to get thru the end of your contract.

So good luck :thumbsup:

 

[The Man]

Since most have a solar panel mounted really pretty smart to use it as a roof especially in winter. Might need some vents in summer though as they do get warm and if they get hot don’t always function as efficiently.

I have two fans for venting on the side of the pop-top, just above the cooking area. The panel does get hot in the summer sun for sure. I live in Wisconsin most of the time, we do get some hot days but I didn't find it too bad this last summer. -Dan