to van build or not to van build, that is the question.

[wagoneer]

I had the perfect candidate for a build, extended one ton 2001 diesel van with a high top, did a modular build bed platform chest frdge folding furniture I just could not ask anyone to help me for free that is not my nature. Soon realized it was not my bag. Sold the Van and moved into a truck camper DONE...

 

[Blanch]

I bought a travel trailer. I’m happy in it. I can stand up. I have a bathroom and a kitchen and a bedroom. It is comfy.

When deciding on what to live in I looked for comfort. I am disabled with an autoimmune disease and I require a special diet (when I actually follow it) and a good chair to sit up in. I bought for comfort.

I also enjoy photography and having a travel trailer allows me to set up a base camp. I have a 4X4 truck to go explore and take photographs.

This is Cheap RV Living, it annoys me when I get dissed for living in a TT.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rm.w/aview]

Yeah Blanch, annoying for sure. But this character is so ingrained within the human that the sooner the folly of expecting something better from it is accepted the sooner the realization that this annoyance has the impact of one more mosquito on the planet. We've chosen our vehicles to suit our own needs & desires.

 

[travelaround]

I've thought about getting a TT to live in while I'm building a living space in my van - then selling it (the TT) ... it sure would be comfortable while I'm just getting started.

 

[QinReno]

I've thought about getting a TT to live in while I'm building a living space in my van - then selling it (the TT) ... it sure would be comfortable while I'm just getting started.

I have standard GMC van but have also had the idea of "eventually" getting a smallish TT like a Casita or Scamp. Then, I would have the 3 major things missing from my van: room to stand up, a real toilet, and a shower. That is what RV-Sue did, and I think it's a good way to go for the long-term.

- http://rvsueandcrew.net/

 

[rm.w/aview]

^ Essentially a two room roving condo

 

[lenny flank]

I'm in a GMC Savana. (It has the extra-long bed but I really didn't need it.)

My "build" is pretty simple: I have a folding cot/sleeping bags, a set of plastic shelves and bins for storage, a hand-cranked laundry machine, a fish-cleaning sink, an emergency bucket toilet which I hardly ever use, a DIY alcohol stove left over from my backpacking days, and a 100w solar panel system to charge my laptop and camera batteries. And that's about it. No insulation, no paneled walls, no cabinets, no marble countertop. I don't need any of that.

With it I've traveled coast to coast and border to border. And since I'm an old backpacker and am pretty accustomed to carrying everything on my back for weeks at a time, a van is palatial to me and I consider it a luxurious home. "Ziggy" has done me good and I'm entirely happy with her. When she eventually goes to that big garage in the sky, I'll replace her with something similar.

 

[QinReno]

^ Essentially a two room roving condo 

Yeah.

And of course, Lenny didn't mention that he showers only once a week, is grizzled from rarely shaving, has a permanent stoop from not being able to stand up properly, and poops mainly inside Walmart stores. He'll probably be going to the great garage in the sky before the van does, LOL. That's why I am thinking about the small TT.

 

[lenny flank]

I also enjoy photography and having a travel trailer allows me to set up a base camp. I have a 4X4 truck to go explore and take photographs.

According to Flickr I have uploaded around 83,000 photographs from my travels. 



> This is Cheap RV Living, it annoys me when I get dissed for living in a TT. 


As the folks on the Appalachian Trail like to say, "Hike your own hike." 

 

[lenny flank]

Yeah.

And of course, Lenny didn't mention that he showers only once a week, is grizzled from rarely shaving, has a permanent stoop from not being able to stand up properly, and poops mainly inside Walmart stores, LOL. That's why I am thinking about the small TT.

What is this "shower" thing of which you speak......?



Yes, because I am mostly an urban camper, I can use existing infrastructure most of the time. So there is a list of things that I simply don't need to have in the van.

PS--I didn't shave very often even when I lived in an apartment. 

(The low roof never bothered me because I'm hardly ever in the van anyway except to sleep at night. I spend all my days outside doing stuff.)

 

[QinReno]

Of course, I was joking. Lenny is a peach. My very "minimalist" van build is very similar to Lenny's. I have a temporary bed arrangement across the back, which is 74-76" wide above the wheel well once you remove the lashing boards, plus an 8" foam mattress due to back and hip problems. Plus a nice folding computer desk, and a small cabinet with 2 batteries, inverter, and 100W of solar which I put outside in the daytime. All the storage is under the bed. Wash in a wash basin (stainless steel doggy dish), and cook outside 99% of the time using a 1-burner Coleman stove. That's it.

- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006L9QN4G
- https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sampson-Folding-Mission-Computer-Desk-Natural/263981338834

 

[lenny flank]

^^ My first "sink" was a stainless steel mixing bowl. I drilled a hole through the bottom, put in a drain pipe, and sat it on top of a five-gallon bucket.

I replaced it with the fish-cleaning sink because it gave me some countertop space for cooking.

 

[QinReno]

As I don't have actual cabinets and counter top space, I just use the doggy dish for washing. All the storage is under the bed, so don't have cabinets. I prefer the computer desk over any other sort of other work surface. Having a sink with drain, and a cute little electric water pump, is way too bourgeois for this puppy - at least for the van and until I get the TT. Then it's full bourgeois after that.

I never cook inside the van, because I don't want it smelling like food for when I go to grizzly country. No fish and no bacon smells inside this van.

 

[travelaround]

What have you two done about the floor?

 

[lenny flank]

^^ I just have a cheap carpet section from Walmart.

 

[QinReno]

Like Lenny I have no insulation. He always stays where it's warm, I just use good sleeping bags, and spent many nights when it was down on the low-20s last winter in AZ and NM. I just tough it out.

My floor is just the heavy vinyl sheet that came in the GMC van, with a 3'x5' polypropylene carpet onto top in the open area. It comes out for cleaning, can be hosed down, and helps cushion the knees when you're crawling around in there - since you can't stand up. It's actually a 3'x5' commercial doormat, looks good too.

- https://www.lowes.com/pd/Mohawk-Hom...n-3-ft-X-5-ft-Actual-60-in-x-36-in/1000427755

EDIT: It just occurred to me ... the floor in the Savana van is ribbed and those are hard on the knees, even with the vinyl sheet and door mat on top. Some people put in complete floors with insulation and plywood surface. But all that bites into the head space which is already only about 54". I think what I'll do is get some wooden slats that will fit between the floor ribs, and just lay them down under the vinyl sheet in just the open floor space.

 

[QinReno]

Ummm, you will notice that, as minimalist and inexpensive as my van setup is, I am not really missing many of the usual conveniences that other van dwellers have who have spent a lot of time and money installing fancy cabinets, sinks, kitchens and beds. My bed is more comfortable than my one at home, and I have solar power AC-inverter so I can run lights and computer. Plus I personally don't want to cook inside my van in any case.

Also, unless they have a complete van conversion, most of the other van dwellers do NOT have shower, real toilet, or head room to stand up in. Plus, after they put in all the cabinets and what not, the open space is really small. Floor space disappears fast in a van. I have 3'x6' of open space.

About the only real convenience most dwellers with "basic" van builds have that I don't have is a frig, whereas I don't have enough solar for that so I just use a cooler. I have 100W of solar, and it would take probably 300W minimum to run a frig.

 

[travelaround]

I'll do is get some wooden slats that will fit between the floor ribs, and just lay them down under the vinyl sheet in just the open floor space.

I like that idea. It would help to have something solid so you're not walking on the metal ribs. Why do they make vans that way, anyhow?

I've thought about getting wood planks to put over them from one side of the van to the other... then maybe carpet on top... something like that. But would I rather vacuum or sweep. I confess, vacuuming is my least favorite household chore.

 

[lenny flank]

Ummm, you will notice that, as minimalist and inexpensive as my van setup is, I am not really missing many of the usual conveniences that other van dwellers have who have spent a lot of time and money installing fancy cabinets, sinks, kitchens and beds. 

Yes to this. I have all the stuff I need--and the stuff I don't need, I don't miss.
Some of it may be a bit more primitive or crude than "standard", but it all does what I need it to do--and that's all I need it to do.
I consider myself perfectly comfortable, and have no need to change a thing.
:heart:

 

[travelaround]

Right, whatever works for you. I've also been thinking of a fold-up bed or cot so I could put it aside during daytime hours and have more office space as most of my activities at home involve using a desk of some kind. I have a computer desk, writing desk, and art desk. I'm thinking I'll probably take my sewing machine table and use it for what it is intended, and also as a desk. I'll also take my current office chair as it works well for me. I think, for me, a multi-use big desk is much more important than a built-in kitchen. I still have months to make these decisions, but once I get to the point where I'm moving into a van, I'll be more aware of what I want in there... what's missing, and what I really need.