Wanna b with a plan!!!

[lonerglide]

<P>Ok im new here so bear with me!, Im a disabled 49yo male whos dreaming of hitting the road, seeing America and meeting other adventures and am trying to figure out what direction to go as far as building a rig to travel in<BR>I have a 1979&nbsp; 24ft&nbsp;coachman MH ,350 chevy,350 auto,gen, etc that i have lived in while i worked doing disaster relief after kantrina an others,, a total of 5 1/2 yrs on the road,, MH&nbsp; has only 40.000 miles on it but we all know that living in them fulltime is hard on them even more so in those conditions but is still worthy of travel,,,,my problem is i have issues with it,,i almost died in it from blood clots in my lungs (part of disibility) and was one thing i ended up with after a nasty divorce,,,getting the picture,,,anyway ive decided to down size abit an go with a van setup,,it will get better milage,,can go more places, etc<BR>I thought about converting a cargo trailer into stealth camper an pulling it with my ranger pu but will b limited to size of trailer i can pull, then i thought of building a van but hard to find something i can afford as hitops are very expensive&nbsp;and i dont see being able to hunch over an get around in it for long,,seems like my plans change by the hour,,lol!,<BR>I have found a 97 ford fontana conversion van,, (e150) that was a siezed drug van but price is right,,can get it for $500.00 or the trade of my 94 ranger,, the van has new tires,,drives out great,,dual air,power locks&amp;windows,factory tow pack, mechanicly its great!,,, i also have 2 26ft bumper pull campers,, one i have set up on private property that at last resort i can move back into again and the other has bad roof leak but is newer an has all appliances except fridge,,,my plan is to fix up van as sleepin area/living area an sell or trade MH for 7x14 cargo trailer and use all equipment from roof damaged camper to install into cargo trailer an van,,putting kitchen,shower etc in cargo and b able to haul my Harley in cargo<BR>Im wondering if the ele system from camper will work???,,im not sure&nbsp;if i need to use this system or just buy inverter an batteries???,,&nbsp;im planning on buyin large inverter an setting up solar down the rd with a battery bank so i can boondock as much as i can,,,will b the key to bein able to stay out fulltime!<BR>I think other than some materials that i'll have to buy to build shower, kitchen cabinets etc that i can trade my way into a great travel rig<BR>I know this very long winded but ive put alot of thought into this an look forward to doing the conversions myself and cutting loose the binds of my boring everyday life!!,,with the blood clot issue i have im not sure how many days/years i have left but i would rather die out on the rd rather than sitting in my apartment doing nothing with my life!!!&nbsp; its now or never!<BR>So if anybody has any questions,comments,ideas, whatever it is im open to any further education on this matter,, again i am sorry this is so long!! and thank you for this wonderful site!!!&nbsp; WISH ME LUCK!!!</P><P>ps, Im going to keep a log on this adventure from start of build to getting out on the rd and my adventures,people i meet etc an hopefully a blog<BR></P>

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

<P><b><FONT size=3>Welcome from dragonfly.&nbsp; If you haven't started a blog, go to mine (link is at bottom of this post) and off of it you can go to eblogger, its free and easy.&nbsp; Also, I follow a very uplifting blog, listed on my blog following links called something like "rvinginawheelchair"&nbsp; Sounds like that isn't your issue but they have a wonderful blog</FONT></b>.<IMG border=0 align=absMiddle src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/comp.gif"></P>

 

[lonerglide]

<P>thx so much for the welcome! i will most certainly check out the link an look forward to starting a blog of my own!</P>

 

[cyndi]

<P><FONT size=3>Hey Lonerglide!&nbsp; Welcome! I'm looking forward to following your progress (with lots of pictures of course!)</FONT></P>

 

[Butternut]

Hi!! I'm with Cyndi on this one: We Want Pictures!! Sounds like you have a good plan and I can't wait to see how it goes for you<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br><br><a target="_blank" href="http://thetuckerbag.blogspot.com">The Tuckerbag</a><br><br>

 

[lonerglide]

<P>Well as soon as i can figure out how to post pics on here i have afew!,,lol!</P>

 

[lonerglide]

ok i hope these pics post,,lol<BR>this is how i found it,,in an impound yard,,,drug seizure an has been sitting for over two years but hooked jumper box to it an fired up an ran smooth<BR>not the best or worse either,,but for $500.00 dont think i can beat it!<BR>i named my old Harley gypsy breeze so maybe,,,gypsy wanderer?,, have to think on that one,,lol!! but its a start toward my new life!!

 

[sl1966]

Nice! Can't wait to see the renovations you do to it. Everyone does something a little different to theirs. Something about watching the progress different people make is oddly like an adult version of story time with milk and cookies for me.

 

[stude53]

Welcome, lonerglide<br><br>I can't see your pics yet, so how about posting a link to them. Thanks!<br><br>Depending on what limitations you have, I hope you can get some friend(s) to help with working your plan. I'm lucky to have a very capable, mechanically gifted son to help me.<br><br>There is lots of valuable information on this site, and plenty of folks to lend their knowledge to any problems you encounter.<br><br>Bob (aka stude53)<br>

 

[lonerglide]

<FONT size=3>yes an update already!</FONT><FONT size=2>,,forgot to mention its gonna b 30 days before i get paperwork,title back on van due to the seizure thing but in the mean time am gonna start on stripping hardware out of 26ft camper to use in van and cargo trailer (havent found trailer yet) posting couple pics of outside an will show disaster on inside in the next few days,,but its a give me and can save so much using air cond,vents,lights,micro etc so am really getting excited bout the days ahead!!!</FONT><br>And just for the heck of it i thought id post a pic of gypsy breeze my 1951 thru 1969 basket case harley i built an is gonna ride in the cargo trailer an b my main transportation when im camped.<br>I might take a 3-4 week trip up north in search of cooler weather just to get outta town for afew weeks and to road test van but the main goal that started this whole thing was to spend the winter down on the gulf coast and ride between corpus cristy,tx and the florida keys an as weather changes,, depending on progress of van &amp; trailer head out for points unknown,,fulltime!,,,lmao!,, i have a map as a dart board annd one good dart!!<br>

 

[lonerglide]

<P>Bob! im new to this an not sure how to post a link to the pics that r on my laptop but will do so as i figure it out,,thx for ur intrest and patience</P>

 

[stude53]

Thanks!<br>I can see the pics you posted of your Harley and the donor trailer. Please repost the pics of the van just like you did these, please.<br><br>While you are stripping the trailer, I suggest you save the trailer door and screen, plus all the windows and anything else you can strip out. <br><br>You may not need them, but put anything you don't need on Craigs List to help fund your project. Someone will want them for their project.<br><br><br>

 

[lonerglide]

Well its funny!,, or sometimes NOT how things change from one min to the next!,, as things are progressing on this build i made a call to my buddy who works at a large local rv park where my donor camper was stored and it seems with the new owners (a large corp that owns many membership rv camps) did some spring cleaning&nbsp; while my buddy was on vacation my donor camper was scraped !!!<IMG border=0 align=absMiddle src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/bawl.gif">&nbsp; which is a shame cause it was a newer model that had great windows,new awning an so many other quality parts i needed for this build,,so now i either have to find another donor (never find one this new) or strip the one i had lived in an had setup for plan B (worse case scenario i had to move back into) well i guess im back on the prowl for parts!<BR>What a drag!,,makes me sick to my stomach for sure!!<BR>Heres the re-post of van pics if u didn't get them!!<BR>

 

[stude53]

Bummer about your intended donor!<BR><BR>For some reason I still can't see any pictures attached to your last message.<BR>

 

[lonerglide]

<P>My how things change!!!,, After having lost the donor camper and not sure if i want to strip the MH,, i was looking on craigslist more out of boredom i found a 88 chevy mini MH for $2700.00 just four hrs from my home,,after contacting the owners i found they had dropped the price to $1500.00 because it needed $900.00 in front end work,,and finding out they were on vacation in Alaska and would not b home for 2weeks i thought maybe i could come up with the money so after selling an old camper i had sitting around and a Harley trike rear end,,(love ebay) and half my ssdi check i had the cash an now a happy owner of a factory built camper van,,it has shower,sink,2burner stove,all holding tanks etc!&nbsp; it has 80.000 miles and motor,trans are in great shape,,figure i can replace front end parts an an alignment and it'll b ready along with afew other little things,,,, the problem is it doesn't have any inside power unless u plug into shore power,,,bummer!!! so now i need to figure out how to hook up extra batteries that charge with the system an power the 12v lights, fridge and water pump,,,the thing I'm not sure about is how to wire in new power to old system so i can have afew lights if i need to pull over somewhere without pluggin in,,,,,any ideas or help with this matter will help,,i can do the work just not sure where to start???</P>

 

[Stillwater]

Hey?! I like that B a lot! It sounds like you're on the right track.&nbsp; Good luck with the front end work. <br><br>(Very cool old bike too.)<br><br>

 

[lonerglide]

<P>Thx padding man! i cant believe i own it!!&nbsp; i really wanted a hitop but got lucky and for $1500 i just couldnt pass it up,,i still plan on putting the harley in cargo trailer being that im going to the gulf coast this winter and enjoying the weather instead of freezing in oklahoma,,lol!!</P>

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

<B>Great ride Glide! Think you might paint the top of the van white? I have noticed some of the people here do that.&nbsp; I used a product called kool seal on my trailer, it reflects sunlight and works very well.&nbsp; I don't know if you would want to use it on a nice van though.</B><BR><B>Diane</B><BR>

 

[Guest]

Excellent rig gliderider....you made a real score (not to mention how busy you must have been for a couple weeks, scrambling to get it together to buy the rig)....the front end should be a piece of cake and as long as it is done right, you will know you have a nice, tight steering gear with a good wear pattern on you tires....<br><br>The rig looks like a winner to me...the interior is sweet!<br><br>It looks like a nice compromise for interior height without the added wind resistance of another few inches outside.<br><br>Seems like the universe is unfolding nicely for you.<br><br>Have fun....<br>Bri<br><br><br><br>

 

[lonerglide]

<B>Great ride Glide! Think you might paint the top of the van white? I have noticed some of the people here do that.&nbsp; I used a product called kool seal on my trailer, it reflects sunlight and works very well.&nbsp; I don't know if you would want to use it on a nice van though.</B><BR><B>Diane</B><BR>

<FONT size=4>Yes ive heard about the kool-seal its sounds like an excellent product an am thinking about it cause the paint on the outside isnt very good an can just paint the top of it before i start with solar panels.</FONT>