The dilettantes are starting to throw in the #vanlife towel

[gizmotron]

I also really wonder about some of the builds I see on those influencer channels. They put a lot of money and real estate into kitchen stuff. Then their sleeping arrangement is a few foam things that they have to re-arrange every night before bed. Can't be comfortable long term as the foam starts to sag on the edges!

I noticed that too. I was never going to say anything because they mostly try to make it look like a custom built home. Why not ******* Provincial? It's a camping vehicle. I like Bob Wells' backdrops for his videos. He's not trying to hide anything. It's a guy thing.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

Can't remember where I saw it or who said it. But I like the approach of building it like they do with small boats that people live on. Use every available space. Put shelves and cubbyholes everywhere.
Build it so you can get into the plumbing and wiring and maintain it. Waterproof the daylights out of it. I think the old VW Westphalia is a good example.

 

[MrNoodly]

...those influencer channels. They put a lot of money and real estate into kitchen stuff. Then their sleeping arrangement is a few foam things...

Because there are more sponsors for the various kitchen appliances and gadgets than for a bed. Gadgets are better eye candy and provide more fodder for content.

 

[gizmotron]

I've got a different approach. My build is in a van with major uneven walls. So I used three points to bridge right over all that with 5/8" plywood. There's the top near the roof line, the middle where it took some work to fir out from curving to straight, and the bottom that was almost straight.

When I started adding room components I found the air duct spaces. My plan is only one cabinet in the living room space. Everything will be stored under the bed in tubs, out of sight. All you see is the bathroom shower door, the closet for coats on the way in there, the bed / couch, and the RV door. Up where the passenger seat once was you have a storage trunk and the fridge. The table fits in a space between the curved wall bridging and the shower wall. It's accessible from the outside in the space between the false wall and the actual cargo doors. This makes the entire living room a living space without clutter.

There is room for four people to sit around the table if I want maybe five, two on the couch and two in chairs. The adjustable table is 4ft by 2ft. The open floor space is 7 ft by 2.5 ft.

 

[gizmotron]

Because there are more sponsors for the various kitchen appliances and gadgets than for a bed. Gadgets are better eye candy and provide more fodder for content.

That's not cynicism or jaded humor.  That's reality. These people are invested on making money from video.

 

[splizzrinkle]

I always separated folks into two categories, those that have lived the status quo home lifestyle from the start, and those that departed high school and went straight to the road for extended periods. For the first category it is 10 times harder to transition. The second, it almost comes natural. When I was 17 years old I left for the West Coast and the Yukon. It never mattered if I had $10 or $5000. I made it work without any thought or planning. As we all know, it get's into your blood. I easily recognized the benefits within the first year, and when attempting to go back to renting and buying it actually became so painful and uncomfortable I jumped right back to the road. What's your thoughts on this?

 

[gizmotron]

I have one thought and it might be pointless. It has to do with old age and Social Security. If you don't work and pay taxes then you don't build up SSI for when you retire. But many people today say it will be bankrupt by then so why chase that banana.

I can't think of a single reason to think that investment in a brick & mortar house with a mortgage will keep you in your old age. You will spend so much on it after taxes that the same money invested in gold & silver would make your retirement years incredible.

There needs to be a wide spread acceptance for people wanting to live in their vehicles that would be happy to pay a small fee to boondock, have a dump station, a dumpster for trash, and a supply of palatable water. The traditional rent for an RV park is even too much. It all comes down to zoning, even if it's outside the city limits. This new world needs to be represented, and at the county and state levels most of all. It would be a viable business too. Just use dispersed camping rules. Don't bother to develop the land.

 

[BelgianPup]

I've camped over a good bit of this country (off and on) for 40 years, and lived in a van for most of a year. I have a good idea of what does and doesn't work.

I've also watched quite a few videos of vehicles converted for van living, and I divided them into two groups: the real vandwellers, and the LookWhatIDid pseudo vanners. Most of the second group seemed to be just for show -- while they looked nice, they didn't really seem livable in the long term. Some didn't even have a toilet. Those people said they always parked where there were toilets. ALWAYS????. I'm really doubtful about that.

The next issue was appearances versus useful storage. You Real-Deal people know what I mean. When the van looks like a model home, it's probably 'fake', used just occasionally for weekends and vacations. The real vanners have all kinds of useful stuff tucked in every nook and cranny.

Like they say: If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

Because there are more sponsors for the various kitchen appliances and gadgets than for a bed. Gadgets are better eye candy and provide more fodder for content.

That's a very good point.
Especially since Youtube changed the way monetization works.
In case any of y'all missed that. Folks with large channels used to get bigger checks. People with smaller channels used to get okay checks.
Now the folks with big channels are looking elsewhere, and the ones with small channels have given up on any revenue and are doing 'sponsored by' partnerships, referral income and yeah, I guess product placement. Don't know why that didnt occur to me right away.

Ever since I moved into my van my extended family keeps sending me links to anything tangentially related to van camping or van life.
Most of the time I reply with a 'yeah but did you notice?'

 

[LoupGarou]

It’s now the Great Resignation. NPR reported 20 million people have resigned from their jobs since April.

The word on the net is that public lands is the place you want to be, so load up whatever vehicle you have and live on public lands rent free.

 

[splizzrinkle]

Good points... I believe a Roth, 401, or just a good old savings might be a safe bet. Even better, hard assets that are difficult to do much with without sitting for several decades.  I like to acquire small rural lots that I sit on for 10 years or so. Just got rid of one I paid $9500 for back in 2009. Sold for $36,000. You're certainly correct, a 15 - 20 year mortgage makes no since to me at all. Yes you can make a buck or three after many years, but I do not believe being tied down that tightly with so much overhead is a good plan today.

 

[sreesekelley]

I don't think Bob moves much, he's always sitting in front of those mountains. It's pretty until it gets cold

 

[Tony's Dream]

I think the secret of happy camping as a dweller is to appreciate all the beauty in nature, all the freebies like warm sun on your face, cool water & shade, a breeze in the evening and birdsong.


I totally get it.  Nature is the reason I am out there.....seeing places I have never seen before.  I like standing some place and thinking....how many other people have stood in this same place.   Could a native American stood on this same sight as he continplated his future?  Maybe an explorer thinking about ways to forge the river or go around th mountain.  In my job I am constantly chasing the clock, when I am out on the road....it's all about taking the time to stop the clock and enjoy what I am seeing.  I love the minimal living....the 5 gallon water bottle, no TV, no emails, no phone calls.

 

[Tony's Dream]

I see it as a genuine option...and a bargain! To keep it from"getting too old" I plan to alternate between campgrounds using the SUV tent, free camping nights in just the SUV (National Forests, water management sites, Walmarts, truck stops, Cracker Barrels) and occasionally a motel room. Retirement on a fixed income requires some clever work- arounds and making do and doing without. As a nomad, I can have adventures and see new sights, etc.

 

[gizmotron]

@ Crofter wrote: "Nature is the reason I am out there.....seeing places I have never seen before. I like standing some place and thinking....how many other people have stood in this same place. Could a native American stood on this same sight as he contemplated his future? Maybe an explorer thinking about ways to forge the river or go around the mountain."

I really liked what you said.

That really brings me back. I loved climbing a mountain all day just to be standing there. Knowing that I was just about to jump off and ski down the face and route that I had been scoping out for that purpose. The number of people that did that before me are next to none or maybe one or two. But to be standing there all alone, way off where nobody had any idea where I was that day. It was me, planet earth, and the knowledge that I was not just skiing down it but I was going to do it with so much grace and style that the ski tracks looked like it was nothing but a piece of cake. I loved doing that for nobody to ever see. It was back in the 80's. They didn't even call it "extreme skiing" yet. No cameras, no money to be made by sponsors. It was pure. It was not wrecked yet. Now it's all for show and money.

 

[Tony's Dream]

I understand and agree....for me it's a total option. My wife will live at home and I will travel. I have 20 trips planned that will wiggle accross the lower 48 and hit every national park, national mounument, national historic site, and refuge. I will travel for 10-14 days at a time and then return home to clean up, restock, and get ready for my next trip. I have spent 15 years saving up funds in a spcial account that will be used to fund my travel. I spent a week traveling all over Wyoming last June and only spent $230.

 

[Tony's Dream]

I'm sorry, but when I see someone in a $200,000 RV traveling the US....I can't help but think...what are they doing? When you are traveling and you have a full size frig, a king size bed, a couple of TV's, recliner, couch, full stove, AC, heating, ect.......you basically swapped out your apartment for an apartment on wheels. I am sitting in a parking lot at a national park and in rolls this RV that takes up 5 parking spots.

These people have a choice and probably still own their large house and will return to it when they get bored.

 

[abnorm]

^ Tonys Dream......So What?.....You are passing judgement on a whole segment of the Forum.....What is it to you what others drive/have

Tell Me......How much can I spend on the rig and still honor the Nomadic movement ?

If I'm a couple of Full-Time Old Farts that need adjustable beds...........Can I please have a Class A........

It can't be much of a "dream" if it excludes so many.

 

[gizmotron]

Tell Me......How much can I spend on the rig and still honor the Nomadic movement ?

If I'm a couple of Full-Time Old Farts that need adjustable beds...........Can I please have a Class A........

It can't be much of a "dream" if it excludes so many.

LOL

Well you could yank the toilette and crap in a 5 gallon bucket. Some things just have to be inclusionary if a future for a cancel culture is to survive.

 

[gizmotron]

@ - Toney's Dream : "These people have a choice and probably still own their large house and will return to it when they get bored."

Yes, they may have lived most of their lives chasing the self imposed expectations of "keeping up with the Joneses." They might have already purchased their rig long before they claimed the impression of freedom in Nomad-hood. I'm claiming it all the way back to the 70's. Every weekend I would escape from the apartment and work to go on a hair raising adventure. I had an apartment so I would not have to do all the stuff that you must do to maintain your own house. I was never tied down and had a career that allowed me to travel all over the country and find work almost instantly. I lived already escaping the expectations of a successful individual. For me it was to windsurf in the Sacramento Delta all season long, every evening. In the winter and spring it was ski mountaineering. Some times in spring and early summer it was rock climbing in Yosemite or ice climbing in Lee Vining California. I did a lot of SCUBA diving in winter too. Most of those activities included car camping. It was not until later in my life that car camping became the goal. ...and because of circumstances I too was forced out to live in my car.  I discovered that I could go without an apartment for a long stretch if I wanted to. That was back in 1995.

There are two reasons to be in your vehicle. One is that is what you like to do and the other is what you have to do.