Quick Introduction ...Hello !

[Vancave]

Hello Everyone !
I am new here , but not new to living in a Van. Been doing it for about 6+ years and can say its now a way of life I cant seem to escape.
I am on SSI disability and had a choice to make. Live in an apartment and sit and rot everyday with little money left after paying bills......or......Live in my van and be able to have a little bit of Life !
I chose the Van. Im real self conscious about it and try and go stealth as much as possible.
My name is Ron.

 

[Vancave]

Welcome Ron.
No need to be self conscious here, you're in the club.

Guy

Thanks ! I guess I should have also said Im from Arizona and Dwell in a 2003 Ford E250 Cargo Van. Its set up pretty good but getting older and I cant pass it off as a work truck any more. I have 350K miles on it and more than a few dinks and dents.....It just keeps going and going....lol.
I would like to make friends for Fishing , photography , hunting , and such. Im getting very isolated and lonely living like this and need to find others with a common ground that understand.

 

[RollinWOT]

You should post some pics of the van and your sleeping setup. Where are you in AZ?

 

[Vancave]

You should post some pics of the van and your sleeping setup. Where are you in AZ?

Right now Im as Stealth as I can be in Tucson , but going to be headed north to cooler weather soon.
I will post a few pics in a couple days of the inside. I have a clean basic setup , but its been a work in process over the years.
Kinda have it down to a science , but it didn't happen overnight.

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Vancave! We're a pretty friendly bunch around here. Hopefully someone is in the Tucson area and you can arrange a meetup once you move north. If not please come to the RTR next January. We'd love to meet you and you're guaranteed to have a good time!

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.

 

[cyndi]

Glad you found us, Ron! Networking, here,is a great way to feel less isolated.

Where do you go when you head north? It's got to be REALLY hot in Tucson already. Although I did hear you got a break in temps earlier this week.

 

[Vancave]

Glad you found us, Ron! Networking, here,is a great way to feel less isolated.
Where do you go when you head north? It's got to be REALLY hot in Tucson already. Although I did hear you got a break in temps earlier this week.

Yup ! Tucson is getting warm but the nights are still ok. I head to any points north like Showlow , Lakeside , Grand Canyon North Rim and South Rim , Flagstaff , Big Lake.....anyplace higher than 7000 feet.
My Van is easily identified with the "VANCAVE" personalized plate and Email addy on the back. Plus the front bumper is noticeable. Will post some smaller pics today as my files were to big.

 

[Vancave]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Vancave! We're a pretty friendly bunch around here. Hopefully someone is in the Tucson area and you can arrange a meetup .We look forward to hearing more from you.

Thanks ! I appreciate that. One thing for sure is I need to get another newer Van in the next year or so. I used to fit in real good anywhere from campgrounds (Looked like a Traveller) to going stealth in the city. But as it aged , got dents , wrecked and fixed......I started looking a bit bum-ish and Im self conscious about that as I think I get judges as such often now.
I certainly have been able to live and explore and have acquired ALOT of Toys like Camera Gear , Guns , Fishing and such , yet I yearn for a bit more companionship and a Job under the table with flexible hours when I can work. Its better than being isolated in a city with no money and not much hope because Im stuck in some cheap expensive apartment I cant afford.
I do thriftstores and Yardsales and sell on Ebay. Been doing it for 11 years to make ends meet. Picked up a German Pocket knife last week for 10 Cents and sold it for $39 , also an Axe head for $2 and sold it for $27 , and an old $1 beaded Native American Rosette and sold it for $150......That's a whopping $3.10 expense and a profit of over $200 after shipping. That's one way I survive but it doesn't happen all the time....Like they say......."Every Dog Has His Day" !
I notice there is a lot of Noobs and Inexperienced people here and maybe I could help shed some light on "Things" as I enjoy helping other sincere people .

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Hi. Welcome!

Stealth with a personalized plate like that? Sounds like you made a good choice to have a life in the van instead of an existence in an apartment. I'm biased though since I'm hoping to do the same thing while I can. I've been to some of the places you mention so I have a bit of envy right now. I'm not looking forward to being stuck in the hot humid midwestern summer again this year.

Look forward to hearing more of your story since you've been out there doing it already.

 

[Vancave]

Hi. Welcome!

Stealth with a personalized plate like that? Sounds like you made a good choice to have a life in the van instead of an existence in an apartment.  I'm biased though since I'm hoping to do the same thing while I can.  I've been to some of the places you mention so I have a bit of envy right now.  I'm not looking forward to being stuck in the hot humid midwestern summer again this year.Look forward to hearing more of your story since you've been out there doing it already.

I didn't get the personalized Plates until almost Two years ago. Went from a Service looking Van , to a Van with a TV antenna and rack.....same van , just set-up differently outside. I spent one summer in Missouri down in the Ozarks within reach of the Current River.....the Humidity about killed me , but the views were worth it. Made friends on the river , but when they saw the van were like ....."You live in a Van" ? ......"Creepy"......lol. Most of the older people were more accepting and understanding than the younger crowd.

 

[Vancave]

Can anyone advise me of the correct easy posting of images ? Basically what size Jpeg's should I try posting ? All my images are too big and I cannot easily resize. I dropped it down to 12MP straight out of the camera and still to big. Any suggestions ? Getting frustrated.....lol. Im sure I could keep reducing my in Camera settings and figure it out , but maybe someone here could just cut right to the chase and tell me what JPG resolution to use for posting here ? Thanks.

 

[Almost There]

Can anyone advise me of the correct easy posting of images ? Basically what size Jpeg's should I try posting ? All my images are too big and I cannot easily resize. I dropped it down to 12MP straight out of the camera and still to big. Any suggestions ?

I usually drop mine to 800 x 600 pixels.

I save my images out of the camera full size and then any I want to post here, I go into Paint and resize, label and save.

The image that appears in the thread is small enough not to interfere with the width of the thread and when clicked on gives a large enough pic that detail is good but not so big that one has to scroll all over the place to see what's there.

 

[Vancave]

I usually drop mine to 800 x 600 pixels.
I save my images out of the camera full size and then any I want to post here, I go into Paint and resize, label and save.

Im going to go down to my minimum settings and see if that is even small enough. I have three Pentax DSLR cameras and haven't downsized an image for a couple years. Im a regular on Pentax Forums and must have got spoiled downloading full 16MP-20MP images. If that doesn't work will have to go into Paint and do as you suggested....Thanks !

 

[Vancave]

Here is my "VANCAVE"....plain and simple. Well.....now to figure out why they are rotating back....lol. Ohhh My...?

 

[Almost There]

Ok, curiousity has me!!

What's the round thingies on the rear door in the last pic??

 

[Vancave]

Ok, curiousity has me!!What's the round thingies on the rear door in the last pic??

That would be my Digital TV Antenna ! WalMart...Antena's Direct ...$49....works !

 

[SoulRaven]

Can anyone advise me of the correct easy posting of images ? Basically what size Jpeg's should I try posting ? All my images are too big and I cannot easily resize. I dropped it down to 12MP straight out of the camera and still to big. Any suggestions ? Getting frustrated.....lol. Im sure I could keep reducing my in Camera settings and figure it out , but maybe someone here could just cut right to the chase and tell me what JPG resolution to use for posting here ? Thanks.

I have a free program called FastStone Image Viewer, that allows you to quickly and easily resize pics.

You can Google it, it's free.
87

 

[Rugster]

That van looks nice and clean. Work trucks get dings, they are work vehicles Nice set up, looks good to me.

 

[Theadyn]

Hi and Welcom!! Love the name!