Rather unique situation.

[whitewolf]

Hello. I'm a 63 yo single father of a 17 yo adopted autistic son. I lost everything a while back to divorce and the Great Recession. I took early SS and work minimum wage part-time jobs. While my son is functional, independent living is beyond him. He needs supervision. He will probably not be able to drive nor hold a regular job. This will be his last year in school and I have some major decisions to make.<br><br>Since he is unable to help out very much in our home environment, I'm finding it very difficult to keep up as I get older. Many are recommending that he be placed in a residential living arrangement, in other words a "home". That's one option. Then I thought "What if I shrunk our lifestyle small enough that we could handle it"? And that's why I'm here.<br><br>We've always done a lot of camping. He doesn't mind it at all. So I'm thinking of permanent camping. I don't have much keeping me here. The parents and most of my bestest friends are all gone. I rent a big house that I can't keep up with. The job would not be missed.<br><br>As I study it, I'm leaning more towards the "Vanabode" style. At first I drooled over the Class C campers that are so prevalent and affordable. After talking to some folks that have them, I came to the conclusion that the older ones sell so cheaply because they are so expensive to maintain.<br><br>So I'm going to start saving up for a used cargo van probably in the $5k range. My main worry is that we are both full sized guys and really need separate beds. I'm thinking of two narrow beds lengthwise with a divider curtain.<br><br>I did a lot of traveling when I was younger. I had a saying, "You can be poor anywhere". Thanks for reading. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.<br><br>

 

[wagoneer]

Howdy and welcome, if you are able to find a early 2000 extended bubbletop ford I would recommend it, if you intend to put a lot of miles per year get a diesel with as low miles as you can afford. If you are mechanically inclined get a mid 70's chevy van with an inline six.

 

[whitewolf]

Thank you. I actually have an 85 Chevy G20 conversion van sitting in the yard. It only has 130k on it but it has been giving me nothing but trouble for awhile now. It seems like something broke every other trip. Put a rebuilt tranny in it and it's not working again after only about 3000 miles. I'm just sick of it, y'know. I've always preferred Fords anyway.

 

[wagoneer]

fuel delivery systems on those 80's chevy have a bad rep. too many electronics.

 

[Zil]

Get as much room as you can. With two, space is very valuable. Many good motorhomes are available.

 

[Stargazer]

Hmmm...maybe a mini-bus?? You know, like the day care centers use? I looked at a few but decided it was overkill for just me. Lots of space, build it out like you want it, maybe even room to do bunk beds. Just a thought.

Best wishes!

 

[Unchained]

Depending on where you will park, a small travel trailer is another option for more room. Sleep in the van and cook/ hang out in the TT or vice versa. Nice thing is that you can drop the TT if you head out to the back country or some such.

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

With a van and tt, you can get away from each other if needed.

 

[whitewolf]

Yeah, a little TT is an option I'll keep for later. First I want to concentrate on the van. Like a lot of people, my dream was always a Roadtrek. Unless I hit the numbers, I don't think that dream is going to happen. I have a friend who lives in a Roadtrek, paid over $50k used.<br><br>There is the cutest little teardrop trailer for sale just down the road. Cheap too. When I saw it, I thought "Yeah, two rooms"! But I don't want to get ahead of myself. Van first.

 

[Unchained]

I actually did it 'bassackwards', trailer first. The reason is that small tts in decent condition are hard to find here. They usually get snapped up before you can say, "Is the trailer still available?' <img src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif" class="emoticon bbc_img">

 

[whitewolf]

There seems to be a plethora of cargo vans on Craigslist lately. I don't know if that's always true or it's because new ones are coming out. I figure if I have to bug out, I can leave in a van but not in a trailer. I actually love my 99 Buick Century but probably not for cross country trailer hauling.

 

[Wild_E]

WhiteWolf<br>this is an observation only!&nbsp;<br><br>My friend has two kids with Autism, she worked had at learning, raw and vegan&nbsp;foods, both are doing great but have lapses whenever they eat the processed foods. Recently I have seen quite a few articles about people, getting much more functional to much better after only a few weeks on the raw-vegan foods.&nbsp;<br>Good luck, looking after ourselves is getting harder after the 50yr mark, so looking after someone with difficulties, must be horrendous though worthwhile as well!&nbsp;

 

[whitewolf]

Oh the things you find on Craigslist!<br><br><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br><br>I don't think I've ever seen one of those before. In my price range but a quarter million miles on it.</span>

 

[Wild_E]

That would be a great truck to fix up into a camper!<br><br>That back is an instant overhead keep he rain and snow out shelter, so easy to work with that one!&nbsp;<br>225k is not that much for a commercial vehicle.

 

[user 423]

That's very unusual. Looks like it was made special to haul some kind of manufacturer demo thing maybe?

 

[blkjak]

<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>welcome from s.w. florida .... blkjak</strong> </span>

 

[Pikachu711]

Welcome to the group whitewolf!

 

[creative_life]

How is he with change? Some autistic people get upset over changes and prefer to have a routine. Would being in an unfamiliar place almost daily and stealth parking be an issue? If this isn't the case with him, or if you're not sure, then maybe try it out for a little while while you still have the house or have a plan B to fall back on. If you'll be staying in the same area, go ahead and find out now what services will be available to him as an autistic adult. Any services he's receiving now as part of the school system will most likely stop when he's 18.