Where to park while converting your vehicle?

[emmab]

Any ideas on where you can park while converting your vehicle (e.g. a box truck) if you don't own a garage or land and live in an apartment?

 

[Natgreen]

At my storage unit

Or

In home depot parking lot

 

[maki2]

I am doing it at a friend's place.

 

[Natgreen]

I'm doing my interior at Wal-Mart parking lot. They have all the fabric and materials inside it's super convienent

 

[emmab]

At my storage unit

Or

In home depot parking lot

I wonder how safe it would be to leave it in home depot parking lot unattended.
Also how do you get power?

 

[Natgreen]

I have solar. I built it as I go. I don't leave it unattended. I work on my project then leave.

 

[bullfrog]

In Lake Havasu Arizona there is BLM land almost within walking distance of a Home Depot and a Walmart!

 

[maki2]

Go and find a remote spot. you will need solar and/or a generator. But don't make it so remote that it is a really long drive to a store to get stuff you forgot to buy for the project. To do it successfully you need to have the whole project or sections of the project planned out with a complete list of materials needed including the adhesives, fasteners, wires,paints, sealants, etc.

Of course I am truly glad I don't have to do this in a remote spot because I find myself running to the hardware store quite frequently.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Spent a month and a half doing work on van and trailer on BLM land. We used a three person tent as our "storage and parts garage".
Ted

 

[lauratheexplorer]

If you keep it simple you can do it in a matter of hours. My entire conversion took 6 hours. I put in a platform which was one cut with a saw 6 legs for the platform 6 more cuts. And the interior was entirely purchased. Simplicity is best when you don’t have a location and you can always make modifications on the road.

 

[crofter]

Home depot parking lot then the driveway for the van insulation and floor and bed platform. Then out by the barn for the latest version of the van build where I had electricity and room to fit things up. Also some free wood there. Being near free stuff helps. I did plan it out but you will have unplanned happenings also. I had use of a garage but the van did not fit in it so was lucky the weather held.  I used battery tools except the jigsaw. All the wood was cut with a jigsaw or for the plywood sheets I had home depot cut them and they only messed up on one sheet which I was able to use elsewhere. crofter

 

[Seminole Wind]

while people get away with it, over staying the time limits on public land to complete a project are the type of activities that end up giving van dwellers a bad name and bring down harsher restrictions.

same can be said of working in a store parking lot.

if you do these things, keep a low profile and dont make our lives as nomads harder than they already are

 

[FloridaNomad]

I am doing my conversion little by little in a lowes parking lot under a shade tree. No one has said anything so far.

 

[Extra Terrific]

Home depot, they will do 2 cuts for free on wood and charge a quarter for additional ones.
They do have a safe size cut limit on wood , so do the small pieces yourself.
They also have a bargain wood cart, everything on it is discounted.

 

[MrNoodly]

I am doing it at a friend's place.

I did mine at a friend's place, too. After I was out on the road I did some additional work at my sister's place. Then, a few weeks ago, I did some more modifications at another friend's place.

 

[travelaround]

I'm installing insulation right now in a RV park in the middle of a small town. I'm cutting it in a cargo trailer then taking the small pieces to the van to be glued in place.

 

[crofter]

glued in place.
What are you using for glue? I bought some pink polyiso for the ceiling but have not figured what will make it stick. The walls were layers with plywood covering.   -crofter

 

[travelaround]

I'm using SM 600 L thinsulate with an R value of 5.2 ... pricey but easy to cut and install. The glue is 3M 90.

 

[Gr8ful]

Iso board with foil or fiberglass on both sides is 7.2 R per inch & $16.95. I bought an ambo so it was done except for taking out things & have 40 acres & a 54'x84' hanger & machine shop to work in. We're selling & hitting the road in the spring.

 

[rokguy]

Did two box truck conversions while staying in caravan parks and converted an old fishing trawler into a liveaboard cruiser on a swing mooring outside a boat house I temporarily rented.