Serenity

[JoshKidding]

I posted a pic or two of my conversion in a different thread but I wanted to repost the thread with a link to a video. I made the video for friends that couldn't understand how I was living but it does a good job of showing off the van as well.
I had to learn how to do everything I did to the van from scratch for the most part. I don't think I could have done it without this website so thank you guys!!!

 

[sushidog]

Sweet. Good job. It looks well organized. I like the hammock but be careful to read the park rules as many parks don't allow anything attached to the trees, like clothes lines or hammocks, and you don't want to draw attention to yourself from park rangers, many of whom already are a little bigoted against van dwellers, eyeing them with a little more scrutiny than others. I find this especially true in national forests. Some can be a real piece of work for dispersed campers in anything other than a late model big rig.

I guess you've got a helper to drive the car while you dive the van to move. You could also use a tow dolly or flat tow the car with the van (if it's flat towable).

I didn't see a porta potty or anything to shield you from prying eyes when showering, unless you put a piece of plastic down (or an inflatable kiddy pool as some Aliner folk use) and shower inside the van? How do you heat your water for the shower? A cold shower in the winter would be pretty rough. Even in warm weather, cold showers can be tough. I had to take ice cold showers for a couple months after Hurricane Katrina and got sick as a result. Too much shock to the system going from hot and sweaty to ice cold, I guess.

Chip

 

[compassrose]

So you named your van after a fictional vehicle that loses a part fairly often?

 

[JoshKidding]

Sushi-Most of the places I stay allow it. The advantage to jumping around a small area so far has been getting to know the managers and owners which has let me be up front about what I'm doing and let me have a little more freedom. The car is unfortunately not flat towable so I've had to use a helper for the car because tow dollys are a little bit out of my price range at the current time. As for the shower, I just heat it up in the sun right now and then hang up sheets between the car and the van to create a pretty good amount of privacy. Then I just pop swimming trunks on and go to town. This really only applies at the places without showers. During the winter I used friends and a gym membership.


Compassrose- "I'm a leaf on the wind" That and the fact that its what I've been experiencing ever since I moved in.

 

[compassrose]

For a used tow dolly or used tow equipment, keep an eye on www.hitchtrader.com or www.searchtempest.com and know what you want and the models you can live with. U-Haul type places sometimes sells off their older tow dollies. You might want to contact a few local ones to see if they have any they may be ready to sell or getting ready to sell or might know of one that is ready to be sold at a different dealer.

I bought my Stowmaster 5000 tow bar (watch the weights as they changed at some point from 6000lbs to  5000 lbs... I have 6K since my Jeep is 5500lbs) and the hidden brackets on hitchtrader. I think it was under $300 for all. It's been awhile and I was on a fairly tight budget. I bought them months apart from two different people. The hidden brackets were the hardest to locate since they are vehicle specific. So I got those first as they dictated what tow bar I would use.

My daughter's Jeep can be towed 4 down (flat towed) ONLY with a tranny disconnect. Something that hasn't been bought yet. That will have to wait until after we make the long trip back east. She will be towing my Jeep when we leave here.

 

[ZoNiE]

So you named your van after a fictional vehicle that loses a part fairly often?

Klang! What was that?

 

[JoshKidding]

The ship from the show firefly ^^^

 

[ZoNiE]

^ ^ ^
It's a quote. Read it again, then watch the end of Serenity...

 

[JoshKidding]

Lol, I'm an idiot

 

[compassrose]

^ ^ ^
It's a quote. Read it again, then watch the end of Serenity...

Even better.. watch the entire series AND THEN watch the movie. I love DVDs.

 

[LeeRevell]

I love the old Firefly series, and discovered it just as Fox was cancelling it!  Got the full DVD set, and Serenity too. 
I sometimes imagine a world as a post-apocalyptic state where the entire population is reduced to Van Dwelling, with the only settlements being similar to Q and The Slabs.  Van folks bring stuff to trade, things from 'the before times'.  Kind of like Mad Max meets Water World, set in the southwestern USA.  Imagine our own Bob as a local warlord......   

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Sure seems to be a lot of Browncoats here . . .

Regards
John

 

[ZoNiE]

Yep, there are!

 

[bwallenjr]

Gorram right there is ! We called our van serenity for awhile never felt qiite right settled on soliloquy after a bit. Love the srries and movie. Really love the idea behind it freedom and independence. Go with it !

 

[ZoNiE]

Careful now, too much future verse talk'n will get 'em all muddled up round these'n parts.

 

[compassrose]

I knew folks in NC mountains that talked an awful lot like they did on Firefly. Without the Chinese of course.

 

[LeeRevell]

I knew folks in NC mountains that talked an awful lot like they did on Firefly. Without the Chinese of course.

As long as we don't end up having to learn Blade Runner's "Cityspeak".......    sheesh.   :-/

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I don't know how many of you watch Nathan Fillion's new show, CASTLE, but since we've already done a total thread hijack, some of you may enjoy this compilation of subtle, and not-so-subtle FIREFLY references on CASTLE.

[video=youtube]

 

[compassrose]

I liked the "space cowboy" one Halloween episode and the way he learned Chinese (TV show I used to love). Love the little giggles like that (I still giggle every time I see catch a reference in the reruns). And my kids & I still say "shiny". I really like Castle mostly because I like murder mysteries (fav was the Ellery Queen with Jim Hutton --- liked it when his son dressed up as Ellery Queen on Leverage for a Halloween episode). And we still use words from Farscape too.  Just can't seem to turn some things loose.

 

[ZoNiE]

^^^
Awesome.