OKLAHOMA CITY CHECKING IN

[JuanKnucklehead]

Hey Yall, Im The Knucklehead (age 53) Dont let me around your wiring or paint, lololol
 I am no stranger to the streets, But like most have spent my time indoors, Because I am disabled with time on my hands so I bought a 07 Honda van just for me & the kids to go camping and generally kick it around here in Oklahoma.  I landed my van about 6mo ago with the sole intention of that, First thing I did was start watching van dwelling/conversion videos, And of course that led to Bob Wells and that "Rabbit Hole"
Well 3 weeks ago I was informed that the Apt. Complex here was doing away with Sec 8. As leases come up, They are just not renewing them. Well I could go to another place, BUT no, I have seen and heard the horror stories over there, I am not going to do it. So thats it in a nutshell, I have about 6mo to get a van ready to live in and Christmas is done even b4 it started, Thank God (than you lord) I get along with my X very well (we live a mile apart) The kids just will now stay at Moms full time instead of  back n forth/willy-nilly like it is now. 
THats it in a nutshell , Boo-Hoo, its not a uncommon story and i am not crying, it is what it is, On the positive, I have a few months, I have a van & I have a steady income & I can shower & poop at my x wifes house,,,,,Anybody around the okc metro let a SOBER brother pull up & plug in his Jackery, lol

P.S. I used to belong to a group that posted like this format & i really liked it, Too bad the trolls destroyed the site, that said, considering my new found situation & between the info (and hopefully friends made) i can gain from this site & I do like this posting format,,Y'all will prolly see me around here a lot, if you will have me

-Larry B, Okla City

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Larry! Thanks for coming here and introducing yourself!

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.

 

[Cammalu]

Larry the trolls tend to get squashed here eventually. You won’t have any problems here

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRVL Forum 

You're lucky to have a couple places to back you up at this time.   A lot of people get a membership to Gym's like Planet Fitness where they can visit any of their locations as they travel.  There they can clean up, change into fresh clothing, charge their laptop and cell as they use the WIFI there or watch TV or work out.  But with your built out
Van Rig you'll have a bed and place to cook and eat.   Then it is just a matter of what you will want to do with your free time and mobility.

So let me offer you these two websites below to help with  1) your build , and 2)  a portal of information to plan a
trip with side trips, and have handy information sources for your safety & convenience.  There is a huge list of links
that follow common topics Van Nomads can refer to regularly.

All the best !

 

[JuanKnucklehead]

thank you for the info,,the time thing is deff it.  Used to be when homeless, you just go find other homeless people and a bottle,,Well that attitude doesnt work when you are driving & i havent had a drink in years anyway,,,So what to do with time is crucial. And I am as lost as anyone with what i am going to do with my time

 

[JuanKnucklehead]

Can someone tell me if you can be a campground host living in a van??

 

[nature lover]

Knucklehead - campground host requirements vary from park to park. Fancy private parks don’t even want vans camping there most of the time, host or not. Pennsylvania state parks I’ve worked for for years I stayed in my van but I also had a tent several times. They had no problem with my rig. You’re just gonna have to find out who accepts what. You can probably look at their website and tell what they require with some exceptions. Campground hosting is a people thing, you got to really like people and sometimes take a lot of “crap“. It is a nice way to meet people and get some free camping. I think the worst part I had was when people really screwed up the restrooms or left their campsite in bad shape. Some people are just pigs. God bless the nomads even the camp hosts

 

[highdesertranger]

depends, yes and no. at the more remote campgrounds they are just glad to get someone there so it's easier. on the other hand with an RV you can camp host almost anywhere as your easy to get to/popular campgrounds almost always say you need an RV. some are picky what type of RV(year,condition). others with more experience will chime in. I know Bob did it for a few years in his van. highdesertranger

 

[JuanKnucklehead]

I have been a janitor at many truckstops, I understand pigs,,lol  I think I could do it, esp when my back is against the wall & i need a place,,,Understand a year ago, I was just another Joe Knucklehead living in my apt doing what i can to get by, I was told get a hobby, Well ok, I went and bought a minivan for me and the kids,,and before i can even rip the seats out, i am informed come feb i am homeless,,So now, what was a year long "Hobby" just became 6mo real life,,,My head is spinning as reality hits me in the face, thank god i do have some support,,So the plan is, come feb i move into the van and ill kick it around the okc metro and points west to the state line, Get a little system in place,, then next year when my daughter is 15 start heading west, At 15 my daughter is old enough, she can either come with me or stay here, her choice,, But I will always base (well as long as i can, remember, the rulebook just went out the window) out of oklahoma,,,idk my head is spinning, im going to take the next 2mo and save money, come dec/jan, take inventory and put it all together

 

[eDJ_]

Juan,

Free time and nothing to do is the essence of freedom in it's potential form.   But it can have negative effect as you've stated.   The trick is to get it into it's kinetic form where it serves YOU.  Learning to wisely use  that freedom depends on many things.   One what the individual person understands about himself and his/her interest, needs, and willingness to pursue.  Then appraising themselves of what is out there that they would like to investigate.  The rest is basically some techniques (such as short term goal setting) they can use to approach those things.  At this point they will have learned to handle their freedom in a pro-active sense.  Otherwise, those with time on their hands, no idea of what to do, no money to do anything etc,  will likely stay drunk, lay in bed 15 hours a day to piss the time away.

Much of a person's happiness will hinge on understanding him/herself.  Knowing "who they are", "what they could be good at",  "how they could prepare to find work so that they would have some funds to do what they wish with their free time.  Even how they could find a niche to work just enough to afford a minimalist Nomadic Lifestyle.

Recently I started a thread in the "off topic chit chat"  titled "Education & Skills needed to work remotely from your rig".  I will develop it more soon.  But it has the basics of free test to appraise one of their personal qualities and occupations they could be good at.  This is about self awareness until I develop the thread further.

One of the simplest things a person can do to learn to use their time is to make a list of 5 or 6 things to do the next day. Just simple things to scratch off the list when done.  When all are then you reward yourself with
some activity you'd like.  Reward is an important factor.  You may in time make a couple of goals that will take
a few days to complete and parts of reaching that goal may make it on the list until the job is done.  The real benefit is feeling a sense of accomplishment and the self confidence that comes with it.

When I take that Jung Typology Test a couple times a year,  I come up as an ESTJ and ESTP. The test site explains all 16 of the personality types.

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=40960

 

[JuanKnucklehead]

Quote from eDJ_
"Otherwise, those with time on their hands, no idea of what to do, no money to do anything etc, will likely stay drunk, lay in bed 15 hours a day to piss the time away."
.
That is a big one, what to do with no internet to keep boredom away "idleness is the devils playground" It is a good thing I dont drink (and i dont do well around drunks) But without a hobby a person could drive themselves to drink out of sheer boredom OR a person like me that is real leery around strangers, have a beer, loosen up, (next thing i know, i have been robbed of all my stuff, just my luck, lol) I see a lot of disaster when boredom and booze intersect. I like to read & before I leave out, ill have a tablet dedicated to 100 movies ive never seen, That will get me started the first 6mo (i hope) and by then, with my wonderful personality (my daughter just read this and started laughing) I hope to have hooked in with a Non Alcohol group of people,,,,and we shall see from there,,,eyes wide open winter 2021/22

 

[nature lover]

Hello again knucklehead. You just reminded me of what our Amish and Mennonite around here say. Florida is for the newlyweds the nearly dead and the knuckleheads. We have a special place in Sarasota called Pine craft that is our Amish Snowbird get away. I’m nearly dead so I’ll be welcome there this winter and it sounds like you might be welcome there too knucklehead. I’m fortunate enough to have friends who have a farm 18 miles from there where I can park my rig even run an electric cord and be asked to pay nothing. I’ll try to pay them something but I’m pretty sure they won’t except it. Oh it’s a hard life but somebody’s got a live it. The only improvement would be my wife to go with me. God bless the nomads even the knuckleheads like you and me.