stranded/not enough cash for repairs

[VanLifeCrisis]

I traded work for repairs, specifically i made a business sign to get my van fixed, but it took nearly a year for that to happen. Basically written off traveling as doable until i can guarantee mobile income.

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[TrainChaser]

IGBT: "How many other cities set up free secure RV parking for homeless? Seattle is expensive if you have money, but if you are broke it is pretty cheap."

There's more conflict going on about that every day. And there's the crime rate. Murder, anyone?

Going on the road with a piece of junk sounds kind of crazy to me. If you can't find any solutions were you are, you probably won't be finding any in Seattle, Boston, Tallahassee or Boise, either.

 

[GotSmart]

So~Cal has much friendlier weather in the winter.

 

[gcal]

So~Cal has much friendlier weather in the winter.

This is true. But So-Cal is not necessarily a friendly place for broke, unemployed transients.

 

[GotSmart]

Provo is the only friendly place I have read about.

Better the devil you know, than the one you dont.

 

[mockturtle]

Provo is damned cold in winter!

 

[Cammalu]

Ggwoman? Can you come over and give me a pep talk everyday please?


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[USExplorer]

There are many places where broke-ass vandwellers are rare enough that they elicit sympathy from locals. Often you will get a hand up, not a handout, as the saying goes.

When I was too short of money to travel, I volunteered on organic farms with the WWOOF program. Room and board in exchange for some work, much like an internship. Some will offer paid positions to enthusiastic volunteers. A much slower pace of life, if you get along well with nature it is a great choice. Hard work though, may be difficult for you. Also craigslist odd jobs, one landscaping gig netted a hundred bucks a day for me. Other live-in jobs, get to know friendly locals and tell them you are willing to work in exchange for housing until you can get on your feet again. Some have enough work around the house that you will be able to make money.

Also seasonal jobs in national parks and other remote places. Housing and food provided, and you can make enough money to get your rig up and going again. Probably a better option for you, cashier or receptionist or similar position. If your van can't drive across the country, find someone who will store your van in their back yard for a couple months for a small fee while you rideshare/ride the bus to your seasonal job and make money. Take a week off, bus back, get your van fixed up, then drive it back to your job and continue working.

 

[TrainChaser]

Traveling costs money. It's almost 1,400 miles from L.A. to Seattle, 650 to Provo, 840 to Boise. You're likely to run into the same problems everywhere.

 

[Headache]

How many other cities set up free secure RV parking for homeless?  Seattle is expensive if you have money, but if you are broke it is pretty cheap.

If that were true I wouldn't be trying to escape from here.  I'm broke alright but aside from the weather it's not the homeless haven it's made out to be.  That is a very popularly perpetuated untruth.

Everybody needs some money to live and keep their vehicle rolling. The OP indicated that he was already disabled. Good health and an accident free life are guaranteed to nobody.

But if you know how to do medical billing or 3-d Autocadd, you can go into a temp agency and get a temporary paycheck, even in a wheelchair.

You are right, they are guaranteed to no one but neither is being successful after going deep into debt for an education.


Medical billing/transcription and CAD are specialized skills that take years of training and/or work experience after getting out of school in order to be portable as well as being saddled with big debt.  Many people are fooled into thinking they can do the correspondence courses for medical billing only to find out after being thousands of dollars in debt that many states require you be certified through courses in their state so those online courses mean nothing.  Also, in order to work in another state as a medical biller they would have to take a state exam for it in that state to become certified OR get nationally certified which costs even more.  These are not going to help the OP nor be easily portable for years.  Not only that at least in the Seattle metro area area there have been some pretty painful layoffs in that sector.

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I want to thank those who responded with some care rather than immediately throwing "get a job" at them.  It's as if common courtesy and sympathy have been replaced with being judgemental.  Maybe the OP was having a bad day/week/month and needs to vent and maybe after venting they will see their situation with more clarity.  Maybe they won't.  It's not up to anyone else but the OP to decide.  People make a choice when they prematurely judge someone without knowing anything/very little about their situation.

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Enginewitty my first suggestion at this time is to NOT road trip anyway.  Your vehicle becomes your lifeline of sorts when you choose to live this way.  Your very first concern is to stabilize yourself and your health issues both physically and emotionally(self esteem).  Without either a job will mean nothing because you won't be able to perform it let alone keep it.  I've had to live in my car a few times and you can bet, I may not have been altogether but my cars most certainly were.

SSI is federal welfare.  If you have worked you may get it but the end goal if you are looking at permanent, long term disability is SSDI which is what I am on.  I know people where it took them 9 years to get it, myself was a year and 9 months(which is considered "fast) but only because I had decades of documented issues that someone knowledgeable was able to put together in a timeline proving mental and cognitive issues.  About the only things I didn't have were delusions and anything that made me dangerous which made me harder to diagnose but once it was put together my case went quickly.

You also need housing if your van isn't in good shape and has to be worked on and you have nowhere else to live.  It sucks but I spent almost 10 months in a homeless shelter.  Being there can teach one some valuable lessons in humility and forces you to confront what is most important in your life.  They are also a wealth of information to help you get back on your feet.  Some have free medical clinics, daily work labor and food.  They are no place to stay long term and my depression began to get worse but in many places you won't get help until you prove are destitute.  Preventing these things isn't allowed.

I can't really be of help without knowing what limits you have and what area you are in but also because I'm sweating getting my van prepared for moving into so I may not be very objective.  It means my survival if I don't and I take it very seriously, maybe too seriously but it keeps me calm to know the important things are functioning properly.  Sorry for the novel.  Good luck to you and remember; others are going to judge you based on their own experiences and project that onto you.  Only you are able to decide and control for yourself how you live your life.

 

[vsession]

This is more specific to the mechanic situation of the van and the OP who don’t know to do the repair. My best advice is to google it.

My process is to go through google first with my basic problem/question, if a solution is there good, usually there is, sometimes you have to go to page 2! If I can’t find an answer because it’s too specific, I will search through specialize forum/club, usually they're people who know the truck better than most mechanic that was last working on one 10 years ago.

 

[cyndi]

This thread has gone off track. If you'd like to discuss the pros and cons of working for a living vs. not working for a living or any numberof other subjects beyond the subject, please feel free to open a new thread elsewhere.

 

[Suanne]

... what non-financial strategies are you using to keep yourself safe and out ahead ... [of being stranded/not enough cash for repairs]? ...

Here's a compiled list of ideas, several have already been mentioned --

1. If you are in a year-around temperate climate like San Diego, don't move to a place that will require you to insulate your van to survive,
2. Don't drive until your van is safe to do so,
3. Park within walking distance of as many amenities as possible (water, trash, groceries, bathrooms, showers, hospital, etc.),
4. Park in a well lit populated place away from illicit activities (drugs, prostitution, etc.),
5. Since you can't work, seek assistance from government and private agencies (foodbanks, food stamps, Social Security, etc.),
6. Avoid attracting unwanted attention from the law, be friendly and keep yourself, your van, and the area around your van clean, 
7. If you are physically able, learn to do as much maintenance on your own van as possible,
8. Ask specific questions in this forum for the cheapest ways to live the vandwelling lifestyle (cooking, bedding, lighting, etc.), and
9. Explore paths to bring in a steady income that would be enough to live in a vehicle and keep it maintained.

Hopefully that's helpful should your situation become such that you are without funds and in a van that needs a lot of work to be safe to drive.

Suanne

 

[VanDwellerMod]

For those of you that want to make posts about "funds before vandwelling, or vandwelling before funds," I've split off those posts to form a new thread. You can find it here -- https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Funds-Before-Vandwelling-or-Vandwelling-Before-Funds-split. Thanks, VDM

 

[cyndi]

I'm really sorry, Mockturtle and anyone else whose post I deleted. I was going down the thread, deleting everything that I felt was not adviceor helpful. That had nothing to do with my personal feelings.

Then I saw Bob had posted with a quote. Bob is my boss. I am not comfortable deleting his post or any other moderator/admin post. I immediately went back to restore the posts thinking that if it's ok with Bob then who am I to say. I was unable to restore a couple of the post. One of which was yours, Mockturtle.

I am sorry if I made you feel singled out. I really try hard to walk the line here and be objective. I'm human and I feel miserable frequently.

I'm sending this in an email and PM also.

And hereI am. Derailing the thread. This post will self destruct when everyone's read it

 

[GotSmart]

Above all, keep a sense of humor when posting here.  We are a sort of family, (tribe) which argues with passion and love.  Just about everyone will share their last meal with you.  

IMHO, Suanne is most concise with her suggestions.  

If I will be down there soon, I will PM you to see if I can help.  

I do have family in that area I would like to see sometime soon.   Heres hoping.~~~

 

[enginewitty]

I guess I see what you're getting at. With a 20+ yr old van that sounds to be in need of everything from basic maintenance to wear components reaching end of life, no ability to DIY repairs, no funds to pay for repairs, and limited if any prospects for even subsistence income...it sounds like you're looking for what could possibly be a final resting place for the vehicle. One that will allow you to continue living in it for as long as possible.

I don't mean this to sound negative, as I certainly don't know all the details of your situation, but perhaps one of the top criteria in destination selection could be the availability and quality of social services should you find yourself in need of them. As someone said, heading north and having to survive winter in a van without resources, and potentially without a van that even is operational, just doesn't sound like a good plan.

When there doesn't appear to be any good answers to a problem, try changing the question and see if things fit a bit differently. Best of luck  

you wanna give an example of that last sentence of your's? not quite sure I understand applicably...

thank you by the way

 

[enginewitty]

You might try Seattle.  They have a pretty big safety net for people in your situation and the weather is milder than Montana.

thank you
when you say "safety net", specifically what are you referring to?

 

[enginewitty]

stay in so cal for the winter and fix van or i would upgrade to a full sized van,get everything in order and set off next spring

as much as I hate SoCal, this might be a good idea.  thanks for putting it out here

I have been trying to get a full-sized van, even since before buying this one. unfortunately my health, credit and available finances play too large of a role in this at the moment so that I can't. The best idea I can come up with currently is to find a seller that will finance me the vehicle, but finding said owner is just too much of an ordeal for me right now. let alone, whether I can actually save enough money to make monthly payments is another story completely.
taking time out and just trying to save as much money as possible sounds like a good idea, but so far, has led to my vehicle breaking down regardless and has me wondering what to do at this point. by the way, it did unfortunately break down and i am out of money at this point. Thankfully, I have someone here who genuinely cares about my well-being and although in a similar situation to me, is willing to lend me money until the next time my financial help arrives. but then, that eats out of my budget for next month and if anything, literally anything goes wrong, I'm in the same situation again. LIke I said, I was aware from the beginning that back ups/safety nets in as many areas as possible are necessary for this lifestyle as things do go wrong and can be very wrong if you're not on top of things. but given my circumstances I was forced to take a leap of faith.

Are you in SoCal or familiar with the rural territory at all? The biggest problem I have with it is being stuck in the city. I wanna get out in the open both for health and enjoyment but with all the problems with it and my budget, its kept me here so far...

 

[enginewitty]

Can you ride a bike? If so I'd get to Flagstaff AZ and buy  bike and tent, You can camp within 5 miles of town and they have a good safety  net. Set up camp in the woods so the Rangers don't find you, ride into town for supplies. When it starts to get too cold, take a train or bus to Quatzsite, where they also have a very good safety net. Spend the winter there. Set up camp off road in the desert so Rangers don't see you. When it gets too hot, take the train or bus back to Flagstaff. Repeat

I have a friend who does exactly this.
Bob

thank you very much m(_ _)m

This is a place I have long been considering the possibility of living as well so I'm happy to read this post.

3 questions for you about flagstaff

1) when you say "good safety net", specifically, what are you referring to?
2) what is the atmosphere of the townspeople like and how are they with people like us, transients, etc. doing what you're suggesting?
3) what happens if the rangers find you?
4) can you introduce me to your friend?

Thanks so much
Andy