Question to all Vandwellers

Bump, for I am a man who is likewise interested in the discussion and answers of such a query

>>1215335
Then you are both fucking retarded. Van life is a meme, and there's already another shit post on here about the exact same topic.

>>1215343

I'm also in the same situation, so there's room for multiple threads about a topic that will become more and more necessary in today's world.

I have an advanced degree in Medieval European Cultures and Religions, but for the time being I work at a fast food establishment so I need to cut corners.

>>1215343
There are two and I second that opinion.
What is with this influx of shiteating memelovers?

>>an advanced degree in Medieval European Cultures and Religions

Get out.

>>1215296
About 1,000 times. Rhino liner the roof and silicone any bad holes and go

>>1215347
Kek join a trade faggot, that degree is worthless, much like people who think vans are sustainable living quarters.

>>1215526
>who think vans are sustainable living quarters
Ive been in a van off and on for years.
I have saved a fucking ton of cash.
Come at me

>>1215533
Could have just got a trailer, but whatever works for you. 90% of idiots wanting to do this can't though, hence the hostility.

>>1215548
>Could have just got a trailer
Some of that was stealth camping in very expensive places.
Saved all the per diem and was grinning ear to ear.
Cant do that in a trailer.

>>1215560
Yeah, there's limitations to both life styles, but you seem like not a faggot and actually willing to do the shit required to van life, so I respect that.

>>1215564
You definitely have to be a minimalist.
Also there is no woman who will date a man in a van.

>>1215565
At least that just opens up the boards for pumping and dumping before they learn the living situation right?

>>1215569
I am a fairly handsome man with some decent pick up skills but I have not really figured out how to crack that deal .
For one thing you just dont have as much confidence when you know you are going to bed in your van after drinks and whatnot.
A younger man who really owned the vanlife thing would probably be able to do it but not me.
I sometimes rent vacation homes for a month if I find a good deal, when I do this I slay. well I get laid some, maybe not "slay''

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>>1215296
You'll be about 15x better just getting a little old class C. The decent conversions you see online took months of work and lots of money. Why bother when old class Cs are dirt cheap?
Unless you get a cabover box van, a class C has a lot more space than a van.

>>1215431
this. you can also just screw some eye hooks into the frame, and hang a nice comfortable hammock to sleep in. get a few milk crates to store all your stuff, and bungee cords to keep them in place. You can knock out a simple van build like that in just a few hours.

dont cars generally have terrible insulation? How do you stop from freezing to death.

and a solution more clever than a sleeping bag. Is this van living or van camping?

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>>1215347
>I have an advanced degree in Medieval European Cultures and Religions

>>1215591
>and a solution more clever than a sleeping bag.
just pack up and drive to a warmer climate. Problem solved. Also, most people insulate the walls and ceiling when they build up up a camper van, and also have fans and heaters to keep comfortable.

>>1215343
>stop liking what I don't like

I just wanna save up 10 grand and travel the USA and Canada for a couple months, man

>>1215637
>10 grand
>us
>couple months
Good luck homie

>>1215564
Could you back-peddle and kiss ass any harder after getting called out on your babby rant?

>>1215591
C classes have heaters/AC.

>>1215581
OP here, that's exactly what I've been thinking. I've seen so many people shilling the van life meme, and I've wondered why nobody ever mentions C classes. I just wondered if there was a reason they were almost never talked about. Are they really dirt cheap? Never thought to look around for an older one, but I assumed that they aren't insanely expensive.

>>1215765
Harder to find places to park un harassed.

>>1215296
Philosopher say.... A man in a van down by the river cannot step into the same river twice

>>1215579
Fuck man I feel like we'd get along in real life, you live a similar lifestyle that I'm working for, although I will be based out of a trailer and more on the motorcycle type traveling/camping side of the life style. I really want my minimally decked out trailer to just be for hobbies/sleep and that's about it.

>>1215764
Nah, it's called I actually think this guy is worthwhile to converse with. Sure I came off hostile, like most others because there's a bunch of idiots who try this. That guy is not an idiot.

>>1215788
Tell me about your vision.
I spent some time in mexico with guys who had trucks, trailers and bikes. They were living pretty fat but were spending WAY more money than I was.

When you are traveling light, you can cover more ground and much cheaper.
They had some pretty intense baja rides but I got to camp closer to the beach and at more remote beaches many times.

In the states a trailer really holds you back in terms of where you can camp, especially stealthing in the city.

>>1215861
I meant like a house trailer like you'd find in those parks, my career is going to need me to be in the general area most of the time. Houses are too expensive and I really don't need a whole lot.

Bike camping in my off time is going to get me by just fine imo for what I like doing. Plan on getting an older Honda cb500 and restoring it up.

>>1215765
>I've wondered why nobody ever mentions C classes
You cant stealth camp in an actual RV. Also any type of fleet vehicle like a cargo van is going to be easier and cheaper to find replacement parts for. you just gotta make sure they aren't too worn out. And I can't speak for everyone, but personally I hate driving oversized vehicles. the extra big blind spots and wider turn radius make it a pain in the ass.

>>1215687
Nigga what gold plated shit are you spending on that you can't make 10 grand last 60 days

>>1215296
It'll be a literal shit box built on some defunct ford or gm chassis with 80% obsolete parts. When it needs anything on the front end (suspension or steering linkage) which is probably right fucking immediately now, you're fucked.

>>1215565
That's why they're called rape vans.

>>1216231
>>1216231
If you get into a windowless van with a stranger, anything that happens after that is consensual

it would be fine if therte was a place to park it, but trailer parks are fucking dead in america, dead, dead dead.

Im not sure why, whether it was profits, regulation, or big real estate that killed them, but they are dead.

250 a month to park it. A shitty 1000 dollar used trailer. My dream home. And apparently impossible. Im so sick of spending all my money on rent. I'm a slave to it.

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I can careless about "VanLife" or mass constant travel. But I been living full-time in an RV for the past 3 yrs in San Francisco. I'm not originally from the area, and I have never looked for an apartment or room to rent. The only reason I moved here was to save money. And as a super expensive area; SF jobs pay more.

It's also more acceptable for regular working families to move to an RV as a last resort. A lot of people can't afford to buy or rent. I've even had professionals living next to me on the street. One of my current "neighbors" works for NASA.

I just play along and tell people who are from the Bay area that I got kicked out of my last place, blah, blah. But I don't really care for this expensive hellhole. My saving account/portfolio is on steroids right now. Only a few more months out here, and I'm gone. Also, my co-workers have no idea that I stay on the streets in an RV.

However, it's gotten a little harder to find places to stay. The people paying a million dollars for a one bedroom shack don't want us around. So, I'm pretty close to calling it quits. I already have enough money to buy a house cash either in Texas or Florida. I'm still researching my next move.

>>1215581
This.

Van conversion works when you already own a van and don't want to spend any money.

If you have the choice between the two, its better to get the actual camper.

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The downside to the Class C:

1. They are terrible for leaks
2. Expensive to repair and usually the engines are beat up on the older ones
3. Hard to be stealthy
4. You can't really use it as a daily driver.

If it was me, I would consider a trailer over a Class C Motorhome. At least then you can set up your camping spot and have a vehicle to explore with. Pic related is what I built for my 4cyl Mazda pickup. It is a utility trailer with an import camper. This way, I can park it, I have room for my toys and I still have a utility trailer.

>>1216231
I prefer the term, "Stabbin Cabin"
Rape is such an offensive term

>>1217017
I'd say Florida. Texas is full and extremely shitty to live in. It's a horrible state.

Also, how do you get mail? Don't jobs require a permanent home address?

I owned a six cyl Chevy cargo van (G2500 1998) bought new and a 1999 D3500 bought w/199k..
the sixer shit the bed in many ways through my ownership

first was at about 45,000 miles the tranny literally blew apart.. I was driving along a highway when I noticed white smoke billowing from behind the van. I pulled over and while standing next to the van suddenly heard fluids splashing on the pavement underneath and then red fluid came rushing out at my feet.

being under warranty I got a new one.

Then at 98,000 miles the engine blew up.. I had an extended warranty to 100k miles and the dealer demanded I show them receipts for oil changes every 3k miles... I had them and got a new engine.

Tranny shit the bed again and I paid $2k for a new one and eventually another $3k over the coming few years to have it rebuilt twice.

tl,dr: Chevy van's are garbage avoid them like the plague if you plan on doing a great deal of driving.. I drove these vans as a courior..

oh yah the 5.7ltr V8 G3500 was a mad gas guzzler and hydro-locked from a blown head gasket around 330,000 after three years and 140,000 additional miles.

>>1215343
>waaaaah, I wanna talk about underground shipping containers

>>1217497
driving jobs are a scam, the van was probably fine for what it was.

If you work for a legit company, they provide the truck, gas, everything.

>>1217682
not for hotshot work

>>1217682
I was an Independent Contractor with a delivery service.. occasionally did hit GVW but mostly just mileage and highway miles at that with required maintenance.. that van was a piece of shit that cost me way more than it was worth in money , stress and aggravation.

>>1218137
Odd, my circle of friends all got express 1500s.
A few transmissions went out and a few fuel pumps. Thats it and we ran them all over 300k.
They get great fuel mileage with the highdd gearing.

>>1215296
Thought the main thing about the vandwelling was it looks like a van.

No one really fucks with a van. Motorhome, you're going to get ticketed by some twat for it.

>>1217017
If you go to Florida, your primary residence cannot be taken from you in the event of a bankruptcy. Also, you can file for "homestead exemption" on your property taxes for your primary residence which prevents the property taxes from going up more than a few percent a year. This will save you from extreme property tax increases if home prices go up. Also there are no state income taxes in Florida.

>>1218069
How can you hotshot with a van?

>>1215296
Ok, I've had it, and I have to ask; is this Van Life shit a rare /diy/ meme like the crabmeat thing? Seriously, don't tell me it's trending on tumblr or some shit.

>>1219330
There are small one or two pallet loads that can work.

>>1219409
just wait till /diy/ discovers, you can get shipping containers on wheels
>mind blown

>>1215765
>I just wondered if there was a reason they were almost never talked about.

On 4chan. Not in real life where people actually fucking use all those Class Cs you see on the fucking road.

>>1216155
Are you retarded?
Anything built on American truck/van chassis is build for heavy duty fleet service. It will be beefier, last longer and you will easily find replacement suspension parts for any common brand name shit built since 1965 or earlier.
Go out west you'll see motherfuckers still using 1950s pickups as farm trucks.

http://www.go-van.com/

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>>1215347

Its bait, but why do people with bachelor meme degrees always end up working at star bucks. Its still a bachelors, you could go to any corporate call center get cushy accounts job starting 60k a year.

>>1217120
Why not just put the camper directly in the bed?

>>1222877
no fan of Starbucks, but, you'd need to pay me a fucklot more than $60k pa to spend large periods of our limited time on earth in a fucking call centre. While Starbucks is admittedly full of cunts, topped only by the cunts the work there, they at least still people. Fuck that call zombie shit, you'd go postal.

>I have an advanced degree in Medieval European Cultures and Religions, but for the time being I work at a fast food establishment so I need to cut corners.
theres no way this isint tongue in cheek

>>1223083
It is almost like you didn't even read his post.

>>1223089

>He thinks working corporate is a zombie job.

You watched office space one too many times. Set hours, overtime when ever you want, 2 weeks paid vacation time, one week paid time off for incidentals, hour lunch break, 30 minute break every two hours. Customers literally just need help with some remedial thing. Can work in a massive amount of job categories ranging from sales to tech support to just literally chatting or answering emails. It's 2017 half of the time they telecommute you to work from home, but keep telling yourself a 60k debt for a degree in meme liberal arts is an excuse to work mindless starbucks jobs so you can virtue signal about your wasted education. Stay salty.

>>1223134
Those guys make like 12 bucks an hour

>>1215296
You can get a c-class for so cheap there's not really a point to doing it yourself unless you have a conversion van laying around and a shitload of time on your hands.

I lived in an E150 for about 6 months. It was alright. If I wasn't at work, I'd spend most of my time at cafes. I eventually bought a new 2016 36footer RV with my girlfriend. I do regret not getting a used one, but whatever.

>>1217017
>I can careless
>can
>careless

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>>1215296
Can i suggest an a-frame camper? Keeps your home separate from your car; can detach and just drive your car when practical to save MPGs, can be found cheaper than modifying a van, etc etc

>>1217017
I work in SF alot, im 90% certain that ive driven past you.
The entire Bay Area is an expensive place, getting sick of commuting so might get a smaller RV or rig something up in my truck.