nOOb saying Hello!

[Bkwithlove]

Hi travel community! I have gotten so much information from this forum over the years, and it's now the right time to get a little more active. I'm so thankful for the resources Bob's site gives us. I became aware of what society has now termed "vanlife" through the documentary Without Bounds some years back (on YouTube). Since then I've watched hundreds of videos on road life and vehicle conversions. The conversions were my focus for a long time- sooo many ingenious solutions we humans cook up! 

One day out of the blue, after all those hours of planning and researching my van build, it became clear I was way overcomplicating something that I value for its simplicity. Simply put, my true desires are satisfied by the ability to shelter in bad weather, get a good night's sleep, and work remotely while looking at beautiful scenery. I yearn for freedom from our society's constant barrage of "you NEED this! you MUST DO THIS this to be happy!" etc. I've since found "minimal" van tour videos that click with me.

At this time, the only thing I want to build into my minivan is a solar fan vent for overnight condensation and rainy weather when the windows can't go far down. For years I operated under this assumption that I would need a power system/battery and several other things before I could "get on the road" in good standing. It's just not true for me. 

I'm very happy with my headlamp, extra blankets, utilitarian clothing, rolled down windows, and eating canned tuna, canned soup, and oatmeal packets with my Coleman on my trunk or a park table. A Toyota Corolla has served me valiantly over thousands of miles of dirt road. The fewer things I have to manage and upkeep and store and clean, the better. I hate "setting up" camp. I just like to drive and hike around and see scenery, then park, get out a chair, and sit on my a$$ looking at nature in quiet solitude.

This September will be my first time working while on the road. For this reason I bought a cellular signal booster (after watching 100 review and demonstration videos of course, LOL). The more populated/popular the area is, the less I like it... Why is Yellowstone on my list then??? : )

Anyways, I have so much more to learn. I am glad to be here in this forum on the journey with you all! Safe travels and warm regards to those who took the time to read this post.

 

[Cammalu]

Sounds like you are going to have a great time. When do you launch? How are you planning to charge your phone?

 

[nature lover]

Welcome to the forum BKwithlove. I can appreciate the minimalism I tend to get a little overboard at what I want in my van compared to some. But compared to how I live there’s a hoarder and collector I am a minimalist now. One thing you might want to look into Depending upon where you’re going is window screens. I’m in Florida now and the skeeters are bad. Lots of places I love to travel and the insect need to be kept out. These can be as simple as cut up to nearly the shape of the window frames with duct tape and put on with magnets then you can roll them up when you’re not in use. This is just my opinion you do what you want but I could not live without some type of screen. I sincerely hope you find what you’re looking for.

 

[Bkwithlove]

Sounds like you are going to have a great time. When do you launch?  How are you planning to charge your phone?

I think I will no matter what happens! I have faith anyway : ) Usually I take weeks off of work, but this time I am going to work partial hours for a month and see how it goes. I think I misrepresented myself in my post, Wow, sorry- I am heavily considering getting a Jackery 240 as I'll be using my phone as a hotspot, and will need at least one laptop recharge per day (aside from when it charges as I drive). The other unsettled aspect is my Verizon data plan- needs to be upped as I go through almost 100Mb just working and browsing the web, and getting throttled at 20 won't work for me, AND I don't want to go into town to use coffeehouse/McDonald's wifi. I never traveled with my laptop before, and my cell phone was fine charging while driving, as I would turn off cellular/wifi and just use satellite for Google Maps GPS. [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]So your questions actually nailed the two biggest "unknowns" I have right now- cellular data and charging for[/font][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] devices![/font]

 

[Bkwithlove]

Welcome to the forum BKwithlove.  I can appreciate the minimalism I tend to get a little overboard at what I want in my van compared to some. But compared to how I live there’s a hoarder and collector I am a minimalist now. One thing you might want to look into Depending upon where you’re going is window screens. I’m in Florida now and the skeeters are bad. Lots of places I love to travel and the insect need to be kept out. These can be as simple as cut up to nearly the shape of the window frames with duct tape and put on with magnets then you can roll them up when you’re not in use. This is just my opinion you do what you want but I could not live without some type of screen. I sincerely hope you find what you’re looking for.

nature lover- I love that your signature starts with "Escaped from a nursing home". Thank you for mentioning screens. What say you about bugs in South Dakota/Colorado/Utah in September?

I was hoping bugs would be light or possibly gone in September. I only have experience camping in Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky in April/May and Sept/Oct- due to temperature and no bugs. I've never been able to totally relax with the June deer flies buzzing around me (mosquitos I can tolerate with bug spray). It is very limiting though! If I go full time, there's no way I'll escape dealing with bugs! 

Safe travels~

 

[landyachtman]

Welcome Bkwithlove 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.

 

[nature lover]

BKwithlove - never been there but there are plenty on here who can answer it. Those of you who have been in South Dakota Colorado And Utah in September please chime in and answer this question for him. By the way are use a natural insect repellent called deter it works better than most chemicals. Contains geranium oil and spearmint smells very good. Serious good stuff. Available at Amazon. Not cheap but then again off etc is not cheap either. Right now in South Florida the skeeters are a pain in the butt.

 

[Bkwithlove]

I will give that a try!

 

[Metalartist]

Welcome to the community. As you know there is a wealth of information here but the thing I like is that there is a caring community here and for any group to be successful it takes people like we have here to make things work.

 

[bullfrog]

Here in southern Utah my neighbor says there is a bug in every rain drop, but it only rains 2 or 3 times a year. In dry years like this one there are lots of lizards that have used me for bait and few if any bugs. You will have clouds of no-seeums after a rain and at higher elevations where there is moisture but few in the lower drier elevations. I’ve had two mosquito bites in 15 years here at Lake Powell even though I have night fished hundreds of nights. Lots of no-seeums so netting or screens are advised if you happen to be around where they hatch out but generally if the wind blows even slightly there are just no flying insects to bother you unless you leave a light on.

 

[Cammalu]

I don’t get the jackery. Looks like it’s a battery you can plug into. Ok. What’s going to charge the jackery? You buy with the solar panels it’s big bucks. Seems like it will cost more than just regular solar. Bought 250 watt panels at Santan solar today for $50

 

[bullfrog]

It does cost more and the only advantage/disadvantage I see is it contains everything ( chargers, inverter, controller, outlets for everything and battery ) in one unit. In other words it is pretty much a complete power system that is basically plug and play. You don’t have to know how to assemble the components you simply plug it in to a ciggy socket, grid power or solar and charge it up. Then you can plug in whatever needs power as long as you have the capacity to run it whether it is USB, 12 volt DC or 120 volt AC. Simple but expensive.

 

[Cammalu]

Thanks Bullfrog!!’