Wanna be

[Girlpostal]

Hello all, 
I have a Jucy van I bought and would like to start out with short trips and work my way up to being a snowbird. We have taken it to a couple of music festivals that were pretty close to our home and wound up going home to sleep. Not real comfortable yet. We didn’t have any levelers. Working on that. Making the bed is a bit cumbersome. I’d like to make some improvements there. Not sure if I should sell the Jucy or modify. After doing tons of research I see more and more things I’d like to change. I want to stick with a van because I want to be super mobile. It’s a bit cramped but I think it could work for short stints and maybe we can perfect our storage etc. I guess I’d just like to hear from those of you who started in a minivan. Was it a good or bad experience for you. I am retired and while I really want to see this beautiful country I’m not sure how easily I could adjust. Are the pros greater than the cons? The more research I do the more confused I become. I want a van but Sprinter vans are expensive and I’m not capable of doing my own builds. I don’t want this post to get too long so I’ll cut it off but I have millions of questions. Thanks for being willing to listen. God bless! Girlpostal

 

[nature lover]

hello Girlpostal. I know what a wannabe is but what is a Jucy van, New one to me although I am lossing my mind so maybe I did know years ago.

 

[maki2]

Jucy ....a company that rents micro sized camper vans... painted lime green.

 

[jacqueg]

If you're not comfortable camping in your vehicle, you may not be cut out for this life. It really isn't for everyone. 

But if you are determined to try, then don't get ahead of yourself by looking at vehicles, IT ISN'T THE VEHICLE THAT MAKES IT FUN. Work on getting comfortable and having fun in the vehicle you have for weekend trips. There are approximately eleventy-billion YouTube videos about camping/living in vehicles of all sizes, find ones that address your concerns.

It may just be that you haven't done enough camping. I grew up camping, and always loved it. You could start by camping in in a tent in your backyard and/or in your van in your driveway. Graduate to friends' backyards and driveways. Once you know how to enjoy yourself in the vehicle you have, you'll have a much better idea of what your next vehicle should be.

DON'T spend a lot of money on gear when you are starting out. You can find just about everything you need in thrift stores. DON'T invest a lot of effort into a build before you are sure you really want to live this way. 

Good luck!

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Girlpostal! Most people living in minivans have a bed along one side and bins or shelves along the other side but because Juicy Vans have a full-sized bed you are losing a lot of easy to access storage space and also have the task of assembling your bed every night. Unless you can easily cut the bed down in size you may want to start over with a standard minivan and build your own. Very simple builds using a cot or small bed frame and plastic bins do not require any skills.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.