Three nights in a station wagon and looking forward to many more.
After contemplating a nomadic life for a couple of years and looking at many options for a vehicle I chose a station wagon as my starter home.
It is not my goal to persuade anyone of anything here. I simply want to share my positive experiences to help those looking at station wagons as an option to know that they can be a good choice for some of us sometimes.
The primary motivations for my choice were:
1) My income is limited so I wanted a low investment at this point in time.
2) I knew I needed enough space to lay down flat at night so a sedan would not be big enough for me to be comfortable. (I am 5' 11"/250 lbs.)
3) Something with fairly good gas mileage would help me live within my means. (To me that meant above 20 mpg)
4) I'll be living within city limits so something that would blend in easily was important.
5) Although I do think a van will be my long term choice for mobile living, months of searching proved that finding a clean van in fairly good condition is simply out of my price range right now.
I considered several station wagon models such as Ford, Volvo, Volkswagon, Buick, Mercedes, BMW, and Audi. Currently sites like AutoTrader also list the following as a "wagon": Kia Soul, Mini Cooper, Scion xB, Chevrolet HHR. I don't see any need to debate on what qualifies as a station wagon. In my view, if you decide what you drive is a station wagon then that's all that's needed.
I ended up buying a 1999 Volvo V70 base model station wagon with 150,000 miles. I paid $700.00. I knew at purchase I would need to invest in a new timing belt and drive belt and that cost me $400.00. An alignment with a 3 year warranty cost another $100.00. So for $1,200.00 I had my new mobile home. Using Craig's List I was able to buy cross rails and a cargo box for another $100.00 and the Camel Wagon was ready for the road and habitation.
I spent my first night in my station wagon on September 1, 2017. I've slept in it three nights and I like it more every time. Did I meet my five primary motivations? Let's find out:
1) Low investment? In my view $1,300.00 total to get started is a low investment.
2) Can I lay down flat? Yes indeed. Volvos are designed so when the rear seats fold down the cargo space is totally flat.
3) Gas mileage? I made 28 mpg driving from Florida to Texas. Around town I am averaging between 20 and 24 mpg. Pretty good in my mind.
4) Blending in? The cargo box is the only thing that makes the station wagon stand out. But even with that I park anywhere and it's just another car in the lot.
5) Do I wish I had gotten a van? Not at all. I suppose for many of us our starter mobile home is an experiment. I'm finding that I'm relieved that I didn't spend a large sum of money on a bigger vehicle or significant time on a build out. The stakes just don't strike me as nearly as high by starting as I did.
In conclusion, with my station wagon I am crossing some lines that were sources of trepidation for me at first. I've slept my first night in a vehicle. Yahoo! I can do it. I've urinated in a cup instead of a toilet. I've used public restrooms for bowel movements. I've made my first modifications to my vehicle (cardboard cutouts for privacy at night). And I've started sharing my experiences here on the Forums. I almost feel like a veteran nomad. LOL!
Drive and Thrive!
Les Moore
