Newest of Newbies

[thislonelyview]

Hi! So I am a young girl of just 23, but I am serious about pursuing Van Living. However, I am at the VERRRYYY beginning stages. I recently became full-time at my job, and I just bought a car (one I cannot see myself living out of, but I guess I could if I had to). I have had this dream for a long time, but as you can see by my recent life choices, I haven't been serious about it until now. Honestly, I don't know what my next step is in pursuing this lifestyle. My biggest concern is money. I have none to my name, and I don't currently have a vehicle that I can actually live out of. How do I go about making money on the road? I feel like my best option would be workamping jobs. If anyone has helpful information on that I would be extremely grateful. Honestly, any information that could help me figure out how to start seriously moving toward this lifestyle would help so much. Thanks in advance!

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums thislonelyview! I suggest that you start saving now so that you will have enough to buy a vehicle that will be comfortable for fulltime living and also to build up an emergency fund. Once you have those two things you'll be ready for the next step. In the meantime read everything on the forums and ask questions. Hope to see you on the road someday soon!

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.

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Welcome thislonelyview! I agree you should work at saving as much money as possible right now! If you do a search for making money on the road here in the forums, on google, or even on youtube, you'll find tons of information on ways to make money!! The waiting is the hardest part!!!!!!!

 

[Lora]

I met a girl the exact same age as you at the winter RTR. She saved up her money and bought a van that her dad helped her fix up along with saving enough money to pay expenses on the road. At the end of the RTR she went to the big RV show that they always have in town to one of the work camping booths they had set up and got a job in Colorado with I believe the forest service and starts June 1. Maybe you could do the same thing. A lot of people work half of the year and travel the other half. I suggest saving up atleast enough money to cover six months of expenses. I don't know what your living situation is but if you can stay with family members that won't charge you rent I would take advantage of that to save up as much money as you can and live frugally, no going out to eat, etc. I am excited for you to begin your new adventure!

 

[Lj Unlimited]

Hello and welcome from the Great Lakes State. You will find a lot of ideas on how to make money on here. If you have a stable and affordable living situation, keep working and saving up for a vehicle that suits your needs. The experiences of others here can be a great reference.

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard !
I have 2 words that should hook you up just fine.
National Parks

The concessionaires the run the parks hire people like you (and me) to staff the various jobs in the parks.
(restaurants , bars , general store , gas station , motel housekeeping , employee cafeteria , maintenance , electricians ,,,,,,+++more)
They have dorm housing available at most places and meals can be included in the deal...there is a small charge to your paycheck for these but it is very reasonable.

Xanterra
Deleware North
Aramark

Or just go to the website of the park you are interested in...

 

[olddude48]

Work,save and buy Bob's book about living in a car, van or RV. Ask questions and do research. There is a wealth of information out there and on this site. Follow your dream. Good luck to you.

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRVL Forums    

I was with my first Van by the time I was your age.   I fixed it up for week end camp outs and day trips where I may sleep a few hours in the back of it while on the road if I got tired.   That's how I got my feet wet.  I had a Rand McNally Road Atlas (pre internet days back then) and a Camp Ground Atlas to find camping places. (very detailed book and helpful)

It will be much easier for you to get started here in 2017.   At your age just a short Van in stock form would be all you would need.  I'd suggest staying with a Ford or Chevy/GMC.  This will likely have a V6 or V8 engine with an automatic transmission (Over Drive would be great if you are going to travel) They get better gas mileage. 

You may find a retired Fleet delivery Van for a reasonable price and a lot of them will be white (like a refrigerator) which is a good color selection.   Be careful of those which have signs painted on them as that may be difficult to
clean up.  

You will likely find one with power steering, maybe power brakes.  Nice things to look for: intermittent windshield wipers,  AM/FM CD players with aux port so you can plug in a Cell for music or Mp3.   A dome light in the back as well as the one overhead beside the driver.  Tilt out rear windows.  So you can open them on a warm day with front windows rolled down and get a breeze through the Van making it a lot more comfortable.

I have a lot more info below in my two websites.  The first for converting a bare Van to a usable platform so it will have a bed in the back with storage room under it, and a kitchenette made from a discarded kitchen floor cabinet.  You only need to put a plywood top on it so you can set up a cook stove and a sink. (the sink doesn't have to be plumbed for a drain...you can lift it out and dispose of the water outside in an appropriate area.

The second site is a Portal of handy information for planning a trip or to use while on one...say at camp planning your next day's journey....or while enroute looking for facilities like laundromats to clean dirty clothing.   There are links to Work Camping sites too.

I highly recommend Bob's book.  I had my local Library to buy a copy of it and it is getting a lot of circulation now.

 

[videomagic]

I can't add much of anything to what has been mentioned thus far ( I'd be repeating everyone) so I'll just say hello and welcome to the forums and just tell you being 23 you have one heck of an exciting adventure ahead of you. Good luck, SC aka: Videomagic