Pre-vanning anxiety

[Gaunt Dusk]

About 6 months ago I heard about van dwelling, then I decided to do it and now I'm almost set up with the basics and I have the money to buy a van, probably not enough to repair it but I plan to move out before the end of the month,when I get my paycheck I'd usually spend on rent. So that will be nice. I've picked out a couple vans on craigslist and have a stove, a roll out mattress I'll use to sleep on and even a bean bag and a floor desk that I made out of a closet organizer, I live in a tiny space already and have been selling my things. Also plastic containers.... I have those.
All the same, now that I'm on the precipice of moving into a van I'm just kinda freaking out, thinking about all the problems I know can happen, and the biggest problem of course is that the van could crap out on me. Although I'm almost done putting a motor on a bicycle to save on gas and also go to peoples places to check out their vans. Either way, I'm terrified. I'm still doing it, but I'm kinda scared shitless since I can only buy a van that's about a thousand dollars since I'm pretty poor. Well what sorts of fears did you guys have? I actually sleep like a rock through thunderstorms so I'm not worried about noise. My new mattress is pretty comfy too. Plus I can roll it up and put it out of the way, although I'm considering getting a cot for it so I can store stuff under it.

Either way, fear... probably reasonable fear.

 

[Donedirtcheap]

Act with thought, not emotion. I find it best to form a sort of flow chart or trouble shooting chart to help decide things. You have already decided that this is a good way to approach how you want to cut costs and live. Going over and over in your mind about if it's right or not is just stressing you out and wasting time.
I see that you have identified a key issue and that is if the van breaks down. So you have identified an issue and you need to concentrate on that. What does that issue take to resolve or lessen it? MONEY.
So you need to concentrate on keeping every penny that you can. I dont want to offend anyone because this is logic not emotion and op its not meant to harp on you.
If you smoke, STOP. if you drink, STOP, if you have mega gigga ultra data on your phone change it, if you love potato chips, STOP. STOP and think about every penny you spend and if it benefits the PLAN. The point is that you have identified the problem as MONEY now do everything you can to KEEP as much as you can. Spending money is often an emotional issue. It does not mean dont eat healthy or dont go to the doctor.
Emotion and fear will hold you back, thought and determination will move you forward.

You mentioned buying a van on CL?
Are you male or female?
Do you know how to buy a used van without being screwed royal?
How much money do you have for the van?
Do you have a plan B in case the van dies?
Can you or friends work on the van?
Can you obtain the ability to know more and possibly work on the van yourself?
Can you stay with someone while its being repaired?

 

[Sameer]

Donedirtcheap is right! Think about every penny. Have a plan B! Think of yourself of innovative and creative and don't think negative thoughts about the way your have chosen to live. The first month is hard. My first month was hard on my brain. I did that to myself. Don't do that! ! ! Be positive!

 

[Lucky mike]

Dirt Cheap hit it right on the head!!!!
Try to cut back where you can.....just your rent is new found money!!....Save it!!

in your first 90 days concentrate on your investment....do what you can to make the Van reliable or at least resell-able maybe with a profit if it is not up to your exspectations

once your in it you will find ways to improve on it.....just justify the cost before you do it.
life on the road or vandwelling within the city has its plus and minus....but overall simplifying your life will go along way in how much you need to spend!!

 

[caseyc]

$1,000 won't go far for buying any van that's in decent condition for either driving and/or van dwelling. I would keep saving if I were you. You need at least $2,500 to $3,500 for something in decent shape, at least from my experience.

 

[user 423]

Finding a reliable van for $1000 is not impossible but you would be lucky if you did. Even experienced car buyers get burnt. Old vans can nickle and dime you to death. If you scrimp on maintenance and repairs, they can be dangerous. If you can, stay where you are and save some more. Unless there is some unavoidable rush, do what DDC listed first, while you still have a place and build a cushion.

 

[PastTense]

Give us more details about your financial and situation. Are you living in an apartment now? I am thinking a better solution would be to rent a room from someone. Do I understand that you have no vehicle at all now except a bike?

 

[Lucky mike]

you also might want to say what region your in........a thousand dollar van in real good shape and newer can be found in Maine and N.H.......A thousand dollar van in TX or CA. could be scrap yard material!!!

 

[Gaunt Dusk]

Believe it or not I live about as cheaply as I can. I am in Indiana though and I've found a couple vehicles.

I'm not kidding when I say I live pretty damn cheap. It comes with the territory of living minimum wage, I've been trying to get a full time job but if you honestly thing the first step is getting more money... that's actually a good point. I pretty much live off of about 550 a month. Internet, gas, electricity aren't going away and my phone bill's a mere 35 bucks and that's as cheap as I think it can get. No credit card or debt. Main problem is I'm lucky to make 600-700 a month.
However, your words have convinced me to delay moving out and into a van at this moment in time. Perhaps a couple more months, after I get a second job, which I desperately need.

For your questions:

You mentioned buying a van on CL?
I see better potential deals on there, but I'm not against going to a dealer.

Are you male or female?
Female

Do you know how to buy a used van without being screwed royal?
Maybe.... <_< I was planning on bringing a shrewd individual with me who knows who to keep a choke hold on every last penny they own with me to check out the vehicles.

How much money do you have for the van?
RIght now only 1080

Do you have a plan B in case the van dies?
No, that's the big problem, although right now the goal is to get a van I can use to move to texas and then I can stay with an older relative. So it needs to last at least long enough to move there. However I was hoping I could stay at least a month here so I can save up more, more quickly.

Can you or friends work on the van?
I know minor maintenance such as changing the oil, but nothing complicated and the only maintenance savvy relative I have is not here.

Can you obtain the ability to know more and possibly work on the van yourself?
I bought a book for that! *holds up book* I plan to also get a maintenance manual for the exact model I get.

Can you stay with someone while its being repaired?
If I'm in texas, yes, but not here.

 

[Patrick46]

get rid of the internet. you can do all your interweb stuff for FREE at the public library.

do you own a car right now?? If so, what is it??


Steer clear of dealers. They're out to make a buck, so if they've got a van that's worth $500, then they HAFTA sell it for $700, otherwise, they do NOT make their wages.....get it??


actually, you might be better off moving down to Texas FIRST, and getting a job & a van down there. This way, you won't hafta worry about your rust encrusted Indiana van breaking down along the way, and Texas will have mostly rust free ones.
You've already got a place waiting for you, and if you DO get a job in the meantime, then you're just gonna quit as soon as you're ready to leave anyways. So why bother??

Buy, sell, and give away anything you won't be keeping, box up the rest and ship it down, buy a bus ticklet...... and GO!!

Why stick around waiting for the future to arrive?? Go out and get it!!


All the best!!

 

[caseyc]

I second everything Patrick46 said. If you have very limited funds, buying from a dealer is NOT the way to go.

Also, avoid buying vehicles from the snowbelt cities. You don't need rust as an additional bonus problem.

 

[Gaunt Dusk]

No, I own a bicycle I'm installing an engine on. Almost done, should be done in the next couple days since I sent the bike to the shop to fix some problems I couldn't fix. Most of the time fixing bikes is easy but this time some things are just plain stuck and I tried but failed to get them UNstuck. Thankfully the guy works cheap.

I guess I could ditch the net, but not till the bike gets running again and I can travel to the library.
Is rust really a problem with Indiana vans? I saw several that didn't have rust. Still though.... need to still save. I didn't think of using a bus ticket I admit.

 

[user 423]

Is rust really a problem with Indiana vans? I saw several that didn't have rust.

It will vary. Larger cities tend to salt the roads more and create a lot of rust buckets. Vehicles driven mostly 'out in the country' can be pretty rust free.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Is rust really a problem with Indiana vans? I saw several that didn't have rust.

Do they put salt on the roads in Indiana in the winter?

If they do, then rust is a problem.

A lot of times, there's little or no rust showing on the body. The problem is rust underneath, the frame and floorboards. Salt can eat them away to the point they are unsafe and the vehicle needs to be scrapped.

The older the vehicle, the worse the rust.

Vehicles from the deep south or southwest don't have this issue.

Regards
John

 

[Kadi63]

I have an Indiana van - a 1995 Ford F150 conversion - I bought last May and, yes, it has rust underneath. While I was still in Indiana working on getting her rigged up for travel I decided to take the bench seat out and a custom bed frame put in. When we went to take out the brackets holding down the bench seat 1 foot sections of the floor came out with each of them!! We determined that those sections of the floor, being right next to the rear wheel wells, tended to get water and sand pushed up there more than other areas. The rest of the floor appeared sturdy enough so my friend welded in new flooring patches at the holes. I then had to have new springs put in the rear. I asked the mechanic doing that about the rust. He said it was "normal", didn't seem overly concerned.

I am now in Calif and had to get new ball joints in the front. The mechanic here about croaked from the "massive rusting" he saw underneath. He did admit he wasn't used to seeing heavy rust. He was particularly concerned about the oil pan being so badly rusted and has cautioned me about getting replaced ASAP.

I can't afford that right now (and especially here in Calif) but I am heading back to Indiana to be there in May and will have it replaced there - and get the rest of the rust taken care of I hope!! Still, I am happy with my van. So far we have traveled almost 4000 miles since Nov. 2013. She was inexpensive, a good starter van while I decide if this is what I want to do for the next few years. Which I most certainly want to do!! I am having a blast!!!

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Gaunt Dusk
I am a single female, 63 yrs old, living on my social security. Last May, after years of dreaming, I bought a '95 Ford conversion van for sale by owner on Craigslist. Because I wasn't sure if I would really enjoy this lifestyle I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money until I had "tested the waters". I took a trusty friend with me who spotted some needs (new brake lines and brakes, new radiator, battery, a couple of hoses) and negotiated the $2000 asking price down to $1400. Because of the brake lines I had to have it towed to my house - couldn't even test drive it!!! Crazy old lady that I am I was ecstatic!!! I have now put in about $1600 additional into repairs.

I have also since traveled from Indiana to Illinois, to Florida, then through TX, NM and AZ to Calif. where I have been for the past couple of months. I am now planning a return trip to IN, leaving CA in a couple of weeks. I will be traveling through NV, AZ, NM, OK, AR, and back to FL before heading up to IN. Was I, am I, worried about breaking down? Of course. But, I also know I have my "little house" to live in while waiting for my next social security check to get whatever repairs are needed done.

Now that I am back on the forum I hope to post pics of me and my van, Sabrina, on the Captain's Log thread line.

 

[steamjam1]

Luckily older Ford vans from the 80's and 90's have full frames so bad sheet rust isn't an instant death sentence like it would be on a Dodge or a Chevy. And each make has certain areas that like to rot out. On dodges its the drip rails and windshield pillars down to the bulkhead.

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I had virtually no fears. I just went for it.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I have noticed that whenever I have made drastic changes in my life over the years, I go through a period of doubt and anxiety. I think that is pretty normal, if you really want to try something new I think the best thing is to keep it in your sights and if you can keep walking however slow or scary towards it. Feel the fear and do it anyways.
I have also noticed that once I jump, it gets exciting, rewarding and I feel I grow from new experiences. Good luck enjoy the journey

 

[akrvbob]

I disagree, I'd go for it, buy the best van you can and start saving your rent! Be sure to get it checked out by a mechanic before you buy it. Generally the big problems can be spotted by a good mechanic.

I bought a beat up POS box van for $1500 and drove it for 3 years trouble free, then blew an engine. By then it had saved me over $20,000 dollars so I thanked it for it's hard and reliable work and dropped a new engine it with a grateful heart.

No guts no glory!
Bob

 

[Stargazer]

Gaunt Dusk,

Any vehicle can break down at any time. In my lifetime, the one that left me dead on the road was brand new, under warranty. Three times in two months. Bleh! My old van? Never has. Could it? Yep. But if it does, I'll deal with it, just like one deals with all of life's little challenges, then move on to the next one. Anxiety is normal, we all feel it. It will be your companion with anything new you try. You can choose to hand it the keys or tell it to sit in the back or best of all, open the door and give it a swift kick out! Without the extra weight, maybe your gas mileage will improve

Whatever you decide, you will make it work, one way or another! There is no such thing as a wrong way, just maybe a different way and the only way to find out is to go for it. It's all a learning experience. Worst case scenario..."Hmm, that didn't work...Next?" I say this pretty often. It always makes me laugh!

Best wishes!

 

[caseyc]

This van costs $1,000 on CL. It's an example (in my opinion) why it's better to save more for something better.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/4335519209.html