Where do you do work on your van if you dont have a driveway?

[kennchen]

BLM? Walmart parking lots? Rent a garage?

 

[kygreg]

Home Depot or Lowes parking lot, all needed supplies right there. If it's mechanical, the Pep Boys, Autozone, whatever.

 

[maki2]

I know that there are a few people in Salt Lake City working on their builds at a Maker Space. Of course they had to become members of the Maker Space group to do so. Sometimes people rent garage spaces that they find on Craigslist. If you get a generator you can work at boondocking camp sites with power tools. Of course you will find weather can be a limiting factor to where and when you can work. Location also depends on can you make noise there or not. Hand tools vs power tools can solve some of the noise issues.

There is no one best place when you don't  have a dedicated place to do the build. You just do what you can where and when you can. Or you modify your expectations of what your build will be to suit your limits of what can be done in your circumstance. It will do for now is a good attitude when there is little choice in what you can do.

 

[MrNoodly]

I used a friend's place. Good sized lot with a shop in back.

 

[MrNoodly]

Of course you will find weather can be a limiting factor

I did my build in South Carolina, in the summer. There was a stretch when we had thunderstorms at least once a day, often two or three times. I had to wait a couple of weeks before I dared cut the vent hole in the van roof, worried the sky would open up before I could get it closed in and sealed up. I was so glad to get out of there and off to drier climates.

 

[tx2sturgis]

This time of year I'd wait to see when and where the van-builds will be for fall and winter.

 

[Sofisintown]

IF ALL ELSE FAILS:
There is that place in AZ, called Caballo Locco Ranch.
Cheap camping, with a shop, where you can make your upgrades. Better have what you need with you, because it is one hour away from Tuscon, and some of in on a dirt road. Bob had a video about it.

The address is
14475 T R Ranch Rd. Tucson, AZ 520-449-0616

and the website: http://www.caballolocoranch.com/

 

[Cammalu]

For veterans they have, on every base I’ve been on, a DIY auto shop where they lend out tools and will even give you a hand.

Anyone passing thru Kentucky is welcome here. I have the space.

 

[kennchen]

Thanks for the abundance of suggestions all. I'm curious, is it legal to work on your vehicle while it is parked on the street?

 

[crofter]

If you invest in the rechargable battery tools, the world is your workshop. My main build tools were jigsaw and dril, caulking gun. I bought the plywood at Home Depot and was able to get the larger pieces cut there. 

Also important to have the mindset that you can work on your van anywhere, because I guarantee that your van can break anywhere.
~crofter

 

[highdesertranger]

"I guarantee that your van can break anywhere."

wise words right there.

highdesertranger

 

[barleyguy]

Thanks for the abundance of suggestions all. I'm curious, is it legal to work on your vehicle while it is parked on the street?

It depends on the community, but in most cases there is a time limit for roadside work, such as 24 hours or 48 hours. If you go past the time limit you can be ticketed or towed

 

[Lorelei072]

I rent a 10x10 and go there after hours.

 

[barleyguy]

I rent a 10x10 and go there after hours.

I sorta do the same thing. I'm renting a storage parking spot, outdoors 40x15. I can park my fifth wheel there when I'm not traveling, and I also do all of my work on it there. Storage facilities are usually pretty tolerant of doing work on things. My stepfather rented a garage size storage unit and built a car in it (a 54 Thunderbird street rod specifically).

The only caveat to the one I use is that they have a "no admittance" policy from midnight to 5 AM. So no spending the night, and I can't stay past midnight or start before 5 AM. Sometimes that's inconvenient, because I can't start a trip very early in the morning to miss rush hour traffic.

 

[maki2]

Quite a lot of storage spaces do mot permit working at them. You might have to do some hard searching to find a place that will. Look for a locally owned storage yard that is not part of a name brand chain group. Finding one with electrical available is also something to look for. Rules against staying overnight in a vehicle or storage unit are very much typical.

What drives most rulex are the restrictions written into the liability insurance policies at the facility. So don't  think that it has anything to do with you personally or even with the management at the facility. Also there can be local ordinances and EPA concerns that don't allow for working on vehicles.

Good luck with your search for a place to do a build.