Third Time's a Charm

[freerangetortoise]

Hi there folks,
I just wanted to reintroduce myself to you fine people. I've been around, mostly hiding in the shadows and sucking up all your information like a sponge. Thank you very much!

My first attempt at living simply was in the back of a camper shell on my pickup truck. After realizing I needed more than 40-ish sf. of living space, I moved into a popup truck camper. Well, the popping up and down of the top proved to be more trouble than I thought it would be - not to mention the un-stealthiness. I took a little bit of a break, saved a little bit of money, and now I'm all in.

I picked up a new-to-me 2015 Ram Promaster 1500 cargo van. It's a pretty hefty monthly payment but definitely worth it to me. I've spent the last 3 months under construction. After several weekend trips testing things out in the Southern California Desert, I'm excited to say that she's almost ready for the road. Things are definitely getting interesting and the nerves are starting to kick in. But that's the beauty of the whole situation - I have too much invested to chicken out now!

I'll save the pictures for another post but I wanted to say hi. My plans are to attend the RTR this year (tentatively Jan. 8-10) so I didn't want to be a complete stranger. I hope to see you all out there! 

-Tony

 

[TMG51]

I'm interested in hearing from people fulltiming it in a Promaster. How long have you been in 'er? Any trouble so far?

See you at the RTR.

 

[BradKW]

I really like the square cargo area of the PMs...looking forward to seeing some pictures!

 

[freerangetortoise]

TMG,
To be fair, I'm not full-timing yet so good news is I haven't run into any problems! The place I work at recently acquired a new fleet of trucks that park in our lot overnight. Although they're not exactly vans, I'm hoping to blend in with them. Hiding in plain sight has been my #1 priority since I'll be in urban areas most of the time. I'm thinking I need to spend a few nights there testing the waters before jumping in with both feet.

Brad,
I'll try to get some pictures posted as soon as I dig them up. The space is actually really big and there were a lot of options as to what can go where. In fact, it took me a while to decide what I wanted to do before I started building because I was over-thinking it. Eventually, I had to stop scratching my head, pick up a drill, and just go for it. I'm sure it will be an ever evolving process but at least the main components are in there. I'd still be standing there in my driveway looking at and empty van had I opted for the hightop, extended wheelbase model!

 

[Roadtramp]

Welcome, and congrats....

Hope to meet you at rtr 2016...tho it's my sixth year as a Fulltimer, it'll be my first rtr....I just started hanging around this group, and I have to say, they're a good bunch...

 

[wagoneer]

Yo free wassup Welcome and I think a great choice in vans with a large canvas.

 

[highdesertranger]

congrats, like your first pic let's see more. see you at RTR. highdesertranger

 

[freerangetortoise]

Roadtramp,
Careful what you ask for. If we happen to cross paths at the RTR, your brain is going to be picked my friend.

Wagoneer,
Wassapennin'? Bigger isn't always better but this case, it really is. My lady will be coming with on the trips and I'll be full timing on my own so we shall soon see if its big enough!

HDR,
I've picked your brain a bit on here on my last few stints so... Theres plenty more where that came from!

Hope to see you all at the RTR. I can't wait!

 

[cyndi]

Welcome to the CRVL,Tony! Since you've been lurking you know how much we appreciate pictures. Can't wait to see what you've done to your van's interior.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

See you at the RTR!

 

[freerangetortoise]

I will definitely dig up some pictures as soon as I can find a spare moment. It's not much to look at but I'm proud of how it turned out nonetheless! Thanks for your help, Cyndi!