I’ve been bouncing on a bunch of ideas on how I could live my life as I am increasingly growing tired of living in my parents house (I’m currently working minimum wage at autozone delivering car parts to different stores while I am in school for welding.) but the idea of van life seems genuinely interesting to me. I’ve also heard of people working from their vans and I am willing to do just that. I am thinking of driving out west from the mid-Atlantic with a dirt bike/adv bike in the van. How do you even get started? What vans should I look into? What are the legal steps I need to take (if any)?
>>2729958All the early adopters really drove up the price of vans across the board, so that sucks to be you. If you're willing to put in some elbow grease and have some fabrication/wood working ability you can make some really awesome concepts yourself in a van you buy for $5k ish. If you don't have that ability, be prepared to drop $15k and up for something that isn't going to break down immediately or hasn't been collecting mold in a field for god knows how long. So first step is money. How much do you have and what is your skill set?
>>2729991I only have about $10K into my savings account. It really is not much I can spare. I *COULD* use my first gen CR-V as an alternative since the seats fold into a bed, and since my car is a 5MT, I can tow more than 1,500 pounds if I’m not beating the fuck out of my car. I have *some* carpentry experience, but I am proficient in MiG/stick welding with novice experience in tig welding Stainless, mild steel, and aluminum. I also have some automotive experience replacing chassis components, and very little engine building experience (rebuilt my locked up kx100) but some is better than never. I was thinking of a Chevy express van since I liked the space and the responsiveness of the throttle, and those fuckers are built like tanks. I can also build a trailer with my skillsets that doubles as a bike carrier and sleeping quarters.
>>2729958No. Find a work exchange on a farm or ranch. Sleep in a real bed. Shit on your own toilet.
>>2729997That actually sounds good, because large cities in Appalachia fucking suck.
>>2729997>>2729997I'll just put a toilet in my van
>>2729997imagine having to work with stinky, disgusting, shitting-and-pissing farm animals
>>2730000checked
>>2730007Literally our purpose on Earth.
>>2730007OMG Stacy your so right. These guys are like, so Ick
>>2730006disgusting
>>2730007Cool it with the racism bro, you're supposed to say African-American now.
>>2730020No they like being called Black now since they found out real Africans hate them lol
>>2729991that's why you buy a lightweight travel trailer. vanfags usually sell the shit they build anyways, and it's built with zero real knowledge on how to do it, just youtube retards regurgitating fudd engineering. they've ruined those vehicles with jerry rigging and shit that won't last or not grow mold. car prices in general are fucked, have been since covid.
How about you just do it with whatever vehicle you already have? SUVs are great for it. If you have a truck throw on a camper shell. I did 2 years in a fucking sedan and once I dialed in the system it was quite cozy. You could car camp as well.You'll get a feel for the lifestyle and see if its a good fit for you before dunping money into it. If you must work look for seasonal outdoor jobs in places close to public lands, preferably USFS and BLM. If you don't have public land to sleep on its pretty miserable and you are basically no different then the rest of the homeless. I got a higher paying, more conventional job and left the life mostly because it drastically reduces your dating options and winters/heat waves are hard. I still go back to my old spots sometimes fircthe nostalgia though.
>>2729996I'd start step by step.the first Gen crv is a sick ride.I used to have one and camped out of it a ton with a super simple bed platform in the back.I feel like wether u need a van or not really depends on where you want to be and for how long at a time you want to do it.I lived & wokred out of my S10 blazer together with my wife and dog for a bit more than a month last year and we didn't have a ton to complain about.but we were in the woods of Finland with plenty of fresh water and mostly no people around.if I were you I'd put my shit in the crv and go on a camping trip next weekend, see what bothers you and then improve on it.maybe that will shed some light on what you need /don't need.generally I think spending 3k building a trailer for the crv sounds better than jumping into 15k for a van without ever figuring out your needs.also people talk about rtts as if they were memes but I love this thing.my wife built it and it ever so slightly to short but I do very much love it.
how to do that in Europe where old offroads are or will be banned bc muh pollution? I see commercial vans as the main way
>>2729958tips>buy your van in autumn. when the weather gets cold all the backpackers and tourists are trying to offload their vehicles for cheap>be short, if you're over 5ft10 dont expect to be able to stand up in most vans>know how to fix your own vehicle and maintain it>cut down your belongings to the absolute minimum>keep some sort of self defense weapon in your van. no-one suspects the self defense cactus sitting on the shelf next to your door. >be prepared for cops, security or home owners societies to move you on. try not to park in the same spot 2 nights in a row. locals notice regular vans. >adjust your diet to accommodate living in a van. lots of stuff you can make without a fridge or a microwave is a must. >you can get camp stove gas canisters for free from hostels and hotels. travelers leave them behind all the time and hotels cant dispose of them, so they have cupboards fucking full of 100s of them. >gym membership for showering and shitting. have a backup chemical toilet (like $50 from home depot) in your van in case. for emergency showering a bag hanging from a tree works too. >make sure you can keep your van dry. if you get a week of solid rain you'll fucking hate life if you cant keep the inside dry and warm. dont let condensation build up!!>get in touch with friends in the areas where you'll be and ask if its OK for you to park in their driveway once in a while. this'll save your ass a lot on nights you cant find a park or when you're sick of getting harassed by cops/drunks>dont be that guy brushing his teeth in his underpants in a suburban street at 6am. >if you can customize it, put decals and decorate your van's exterior to disguise it as a work van. high vis vest and trade manual on the driver's seat, fake plumbing business logo and phone number on the side etc. people will think its a parked work vehicle a lot of the time and leave you alone, just as long as you dont make it obvious you're living in it.
Van lifing is a fad, get a property you delusional idiot
>just fork out $600k for a property with no utilities, no road access and 6 hour's drive from the nearest job
>>2729958It costs money. More than you think.>>2729996Just use your CRV, it's better in essentially every way except living inside of. The CRV (especially first gens) are great cars, better than anything made today.I say this with the exception of you finding your dream van for $1000 being sold by some grandma who doesn't know what she has.Ride around your town and see if there are any sitting in a back alley, knock on some doors, ect.Camper trailer + CRV would be good too>>2729997Live-in work is usually a better alternative yeah.>>2730020I laffed>>2732250Fucken saved. That's an awesome looking rig.
>>2729958Van life "people" are insufferable retards, you'll fit right in
>>2733150agreed. you're not a sexy instagram model doing the 'vanlife' with hundreds of thousands in the bank, you are homeless in a car, shitting in public toilets and going days or weeks without a bathing. it's not glamorous.
>>2733150She used plaster for the walls. One bad pothole or bump and her shit is going to crack and crumble everywhere. Worst is she put this garbage up for sale instead of using it herself.>>2733188This. I can see how someone who literally cannot afford a house or apartment could have a better life living out of a mini van than on the street, but it's not going to be as luxurious/comfortable as the kids who have permission to spend Daddy's money freely on a van conversion that has a full kitchen and bathroom. You also can't travel for site seeing the way those people can because you need to factor in gas money and repairs. OP isn't rich, he's going to spend most of his nights parked at his parents' house anyway.
>>2729958>How do you even get started?buy a cheap cargo van>What vans should I look into?ford/chevy 2500/3500 cargo vans>What are the legal steps I need to take (if any)?none. just get insuranceI bought my van for $5500. I spent about $1500 on the electrical system (400w of solar, 2000w inverter, charge controller, 4x 100ah lifep04 batteries)I built a cheap bed from 2x4 and put down some vinyl sheeting for the floor.So all-in-all, I spent about $7k on everything. I've been all over the country, basically just chasing good weather. I work remotely, but most people work seasonal jobs which is a great way to meet people.By living out of the van I was able to save enough money to buy some land, and most recently bought a 12x32 cabin. Now I got 5 acres and a cabin in SE AZ that I live at part-time when im not traveling.Its the best feeling in the world having your own place. Its comforting to know that if everything falls apart on me, at-least I have a home and some land I can go back to.Its been an adventure for sure. I love being on the move, meeting new people and just exploring. I'll never go back to living in an apartment.My advise is, do it. Take a risk, hit the road and see where life takes you.
>>2733315forgot pic
>>2733316pic of my cabinnot paying rent is the only way I was able to save enough to buy itheres the breakdown:5 acres cost me $450012x32 cabin cost me $16k
>>2733318Wtf can you do on this land? Can you produce any food or hunt anything? If not it's there large public land nearby you can hunt on? If all you can do is live on it and there is no source of water that's a shit deal.
>>2733316>>2733318Hey that's pretty nice.Did the cabin come insulated and stuff for $16k?What's the plumbing situation?>>2733378He can relax and pretend to be that one guy from Kill Bill
>>2733378>Can you produce any food or hunt anything?I'm surrounded by orchards, crop circles and vineyards. But you do need water of course, you need a well to farm. We got deer, javalina, lots of quail and turkey around here. I see quail literally every morning at my bird feeder. There's plenty of hunting near by. I saw three or four deer earlier today.I don't have any intention of growing crops or being self sufficient or anything. This is just my home base when I'm not traveling or whatever. I want to have off grid properties in various states and just bounce around depending on the season.I don't have a well. Instead I have a 2650 gallon water tank. I pay $200 to have someone come out and fill it. Lasts me about 6-8 months.>>2733414>Did the cabin come insulated and stuff for $16k?It came with R19 insulation under the floor. I had it custom built so its about $3k more than it would of been without all the custom shit I requested. Here are the upgrades I requested: 2x6 studs instead of 2x4, metal roof, six windows, radiant barrier, tyvek house wrap and R19 insulation under the floor.I'm really glad I had them build it with 2x6. The whole thing just feels sturdy as fuck with 2x6 spaced 16 inches on center. Gives me more room for insulation too.>What's the plumbing situation?I haven't plumbed it yet or ran electricity. Those are projects for another day. I have an outhouse and I run an extension cord into the cabin from my van. Thats how I power my starlink, lights, laptop and air conditioner.Its not the ideal environment by any means, but it has its pros. Particularly the abundance of solar and low population. My nearest neighbor is about 3/4 of a mile away. I live in an unincorporated community of about 200 people total. All my neighbors live out here in unpermitted cabins or trailers. None of us have utilities or addresses. No HOA, no city goverment fags, no bullshit codes to jump through. Its nice. $82 a year in property taxes is all.
>>2729958Legal steps:>get a permanent physical mailing addressThere’s a place in Texas that has always done this, you just have to sign a letter saying that you promise to “uphold the Texas way of life” and mail it in, then you become a citizen of Texas and can pay monthly for a “real” address (that doesn’t actually exist) so that you are technically legal and can get a Texas Driver’s License (and register to vote and never pay any state income taxes)…although you could just use your parents house too, you just need an address>establish an LLCThen rent a room in the name of the LLC to stay at a hotel in South Dakota for 1 night…you are now legally entitled to do business in SD, including making tax free capital improvements on your business, such as the purchase of a van or RV to live in and run your business out of…you can buy the car in any state just have the dealer do the paperwork for SD so that it remains tax freeI guess those arent really specific to van life, more so for telling the govt to fuck off and find some other source of funding, but they do still apply to van life and working from your van
>>2733441Damn, nice job.>I'm really glad I had them build it with 2x6.Yeah I've heard from some builders that if they were to build their own house, that's how they'd do it too. Especially up north where they value the extra insulation space or anywhere with strong winds.>outhouseOuthouse is superior to an inside shitter anyways. Really nice job.
>>2733459What the fuck is that picture?
>>2733150>rich white instagram sluts who've never had a real job are insufferableftfy>>2733315>What vans should I look into?>ford/chevy 2500/3500 cargo vanspersonally i recommend a Mitsubishi Dicklicker or just getting a Toyota Landcruiser with a canopy on the back. Fords are kind of shit.
>>2733479I dunno, some random internet art I thought was neat.
