Half a queen is 25% smaller than a twin. It's 30" wide. Your shoulders are probably around 15" wide, wider if you are muscular/fit. Workable, sure, but with a companion it's hard to imagine describing that as spacious.
I shared a 20" wide camping mattress in a pinch. We are both very slender. Spooning was mandatory.
Oh. Well. Yeah, I can see how that's a real problem.
(Actually, I spent almost a decade married, so, gentle sarcasm aside, I can see how that might be a problem. On the other hand, I get the impression the cases aren't really parallel. I mean, if it were me and I had someone moving in, it'd be a good occasion for a rebuild to meet current needs, I think.)
I don't think he plans on company, because really how much creepier can you get than: "Do you wanna check out my van?" or "Come back to my van with me"
Even though I know his whole backstory, I still wouldn't come right away and I'm a 25 year old dude...
My school loans are paid off in less than a year, and the thought of this has certainly crossed my mind. I've got the house, and I'm sick of all the shit in it.
I wanted a vehicle I could explore the world with, so I turned my Jeep into a house on wheels with fridge, drinking water and filtration, solar and dual batteries, interior cabinets and a custom modified pop-up roof so I can stand up and walk around in the Jeep.
EDIT: I'm a Software Engineer too, and I decided there is more to life than sitting at a desk - a few years back I drove Alaska->Argentina, now it's around Africa for 2 years.
EDIT2: I've hit my posting limit.
Yes, I'm still alive!
Follow along if you want to see if I stay that way!
I read your story on reddit a little while ago. Its a really interesting choice and I applaud your sense of adventure. What I don't get was the swap to a Mercedes diesel. Your argument for it made sense, but why not a toyota diesel, for example? :)
At the time I thought it made sense... of course hindsight is great.
If I wanted a Toyota diesel, I would have just bought a Toyota, but I didn't want that.
The reason for the merc is that the engine I chose (the OM606) is the most sophisticated non-computer controlled diesel possible - actually it came from the factory with a computer, but by using the injection pump from the earlier OM603 it can be made fully mechanical. This is a boon for repairs, simplicity, and the ability to burn basically anything like kerosene. It also means it's powerful and efficient, and mileage was my number 1 goal.
Also, that Merc engine happens to come from the factory in many cars with exactly the same gearbox as in my Jeep (the NSG370), so things made sense there. Jeep have also used Merc diesels in the past (not in the Wrangler), so that made sense too.
It was an ambitious plan, and I'm glad that I tried, even though it didn't work out in the end.
That aside, I'm in west Africa now, having the time of my life :)
> I've never met anyone that has traveled in Africa that would say otherwise.
I have. Many.
And not just "travelled" to Africa—actually lived there.
Africa can be safe, at times, but it can also turn brutal seemingly overnight depending on where you are.
Saying that it's safe (without any caveats) is basically irresponsible IMO—especially if you are white/foreign. Very different customs/culture. It's not for everyone.
That has to be one of the simplest, reliable, and over-engineered motors MB ever made. I spent 5 years running mine on vegetable oil! I figure that would have been a good Africa motor.
Why not just swap in a new motor at that point instead of getting a whole new vehicle? The long block should be pretty plug-and-play since all the adaptations had been done already?
As an aside: where did you get the idea to use the injection pump from the earlier OM603 from? Was it obvious from looking at the engine manuals or something else?
Iirc he said he was going to drive through places like Syria, Ivory Coast and so on up the east side of the continent. He hasn't gotten that far yet, so there is still a good chance for him to stick to his original plan and die. I hope he doesn't.
Maybe it should have been in quotation marks, I'm repeating what was said on the reddit thread from memory. I don't really care about the guy or his trip. The only thing I really care about is why he put a MB diesel in a Jeep (twice).
Curious as to whether you went with the 3.8 because it was what would have been OE, or if there was an advantage to it over the 3.6.
Unlike most others in here, I'm not trying to second-guess you -- everybody's choices are personal choices, and I'm sure you had reasons for every choice you made that we weren't necessarily privy to -- I'm just curious, as I don't hear of a lot of 3.8s getting swapped INto JKs
Oh man, I remember reading your reddit post, and pooh-poohing your idea as stupid and irresponsible.
I reckoned a Jeep was about the worst possible vehicle for the job, that you would break down and be stuck because nobody drives Jeeps in Africa. I still believe a Landcruiser, Land Rover Defender, or a G-Wagen would've been a better choice in terms of parts and repairs, but it seems the Jeep has held up fine.
I'm actually quite happy to have been proven wrong. Congratulations on a safe and fun trip!
> I still believe a Landcruiser, Land Rover Defender, or a G-Wagen would've been a better choice in terms of parts and repairs
Of course the landcruiser would have been. It also would have cost twice as much, and I couldn't get a diesel one in Canada.
Registering and insuring a vehicle in a country you don't live in is near impossible, and then renewing it while on the road is even closer to impossible. It's not something I wanted to deal with.
I find it strange the conventional wisdom is to drive a 25+ year old vehicle with 300,000+ miles instead of a near-near vehicle with <80,000 miles.
My last Jeep didn't have a single mechanical issue in 40k miles from Alaska to Argentina, and of all the overlanders I have ever heard of (a lot) I have never heard of a single landcruiser or defender doing that.
It's all about choice, and variety. If we all did the same thing, life would be pretty boring, wouldn't it!
A new landcruiser would probably cost twice as much, but a 10 to 20 year old won't break the bank. It actually makes sense buying an older vehicle because they're much simpler, mechanically.
Will the old landcruiser break down? Maybe, probably even. But the good thing is that any mechanic in even the remotest African village can fix it. Good luck finding a bush mechanic who can sort out a CANBUS-error in your Jeep...
Having said that, I have to admit I'm just an armchair warrior. I read your story on Reddit and I massively enjoyed your undertakings. Hats off to you for actually persuing your crazy plans!
> A new landcruiser would probably cost twice as much, but a 10 to 20 year old won't break the bank. It actually makes sense buying an older vehicle because they're much simpler, mechanically.
Of course, you are right.
Remember though I can't get a diesel.
> But the good thing is that any mechanic in even the remotest African village can fix it. Good luck finding a bush mechanic who can sort out a CANBUS-error in your Jeep...
Of course it adds to the complications if and when something breaks down, but that's all part of the journey. I have friends in the USA that can send me any part I need, and I'll kick back for a few weeks while it arrives and I install it, or have a mechanic do it for me. That's perfectly fine, I don't have a timeline. Waiting a month somewhere is not in any way a problem, it will just allow me to learn the language better and get involved with the community.
> Having said that, I have to admit I'm just an armchair warrior
It's interesting you acknowledge that.
I spent 2 years driving 40k miles through 16 countries. I created and moderate wikioverland.org, and have attended and presented at Overland Expo. I'm a moderator on multiple overlanding forums and fb groups, and I've personally met hundreds of overlanders, and "met" thousands more online. I've spent years of my life researching and planning and talking to people. I've watched and learned from literally hundreds of people that have made the same journey I'm making. Even one in a Wrangler!
I did do a tiny bit a research here, you don't need to "convince" me of your opinion that a Toyota is "better"
Yeah, true story: I make 250K per year and live in a minivan. Wellll, ok, I actually have a mortgage and a house but that's somewhere else :)
Pro tip: xfinity is your friend.
The reality is that everyone can do this. And why not? The big problem with this model, though, is lack of property taxes. And parking spots.
I would happily pay for X per month for a nice parking spot though and my fair share of property taxes. Ok, maybe not happily, I have to admit I do enjoy free.
What will be really interesting for this model is when we get self driving cars.
I basically founded my entire new startup and team while homeless. It sucked sometimes, but it was an experience. Would I recommend it to everyone? Probably not hahah, but if you're brave enough you should try it at least once. :)
I know of someone who does this and he uses Google's (his employer's) facilities. Given the forum we are posting on, I'd wager it's a safe bet for anyone making that much to have similar facilities accessible to them. Enough employers have "apartment" amenities now that it's starting to become a cool social experiment about urban living in some ways.
I see you're on your way down from the Western Sahara into Mauretania. I was there in 2006 and the border is fascinating: it's a no mans land stretching for several kilometres, basically a minefield, with tons of burnt down car wrecks left and right, and many small potholed roads leading in all directions. Also there are some weird dudes driving around, trying to lure you in other directions than you were driving. We didn't have navigation systems back then, just paper maps, so it was an adventure.
You will probably encounter much more police checks in Mauretania and beyond than in Morocco.
At some border crossings, you can negotiate a visum on the spot. I had a 'visum' written with ballpoint in my passport. No stamps or official stickers, just a signature :)
It was reluctantly accepted on my way out of the country.
I drove a sedan from the Netherlands to Burkino Faso, it was an awesome trip.
The fact that one (in a lot of countries) has to do this in a van, because of regulations, is kind of tyranny: Either you get in-prisoned in debt/rent, or you get to live in a van or on the streets.
I don't think you really have to do it in a van. If you're going to work remote and don't mind being lonely, you can buy a house just about anywhere in the country, which means you can find a house for $50k instead of $500k.
If you check out his list of things he likes about van living, most have more to do with working for himself rather than all the traveling. He doesn't come across as one of the wanderlust folks.
All of the work to make this van livable could have just as easily been done to a shack in the woods. The biggest hurdle these days is reliable internet if you want that. You would need a better bathroom situation than "the nearest McDonalds" too, but well water is often an option.
The one question he didn't answer is how he bathed. It's very easy when you're living as a lonely bachelor to slowly morph into Grizzly Adams because there's nobody in a thousand miles who cares about you or how you smell.
He mentions showering at the gym a few times through the piece. Also that he exercises daily - so I'd assume a membership at a nation-wide gym? It'd be a bit much for me personally but I can fighting said Grizzly-ness with his method.
He specifically wanted to travel around. If you want to hunker down and spend time being a hermit and working on personal projects, a shack would be great. But if you want to travel to see places & friends, projecting that into a van makes sense.
The cabin comment was specifically in response to the talk of buying a cheap house out in the middle of nowhere.
The problem is the same as the cabin, it's more difficult to be a developer when your Internet is slow and shitty. It would be really hard to go back to dial-up.
This but slightly more organized is pretty much the standard answer for anti-hoarding: put all your stuff away, keep track of what you actually use over the next week/month/year, and get rid of anything that hasn't been touched.
I think it deserves to be slightly more nuanced than that. There is a category of things that are small, used rarely, but very necessary. Medicine & tools always come to mind. For me, if I don't use my screwdrivers for a year that doesn't mean I should get rid of my screwdrivers.
Arguably, it means just that. If you only use a tool once a year, you should just borrow/rent them when you actually do need them. Our lives are cluttered with occasionally used 'just in case' items that we really don't need.
That's minimalism taken to an extreme, which is just as thoughtless as hoarding.
A screwdriver costs less than $5 and takes a minimal amount of space to store. Yes, the slippery slope is when you have a thousand tools falling out of your closet, but again, thought and moderation.
The "if I haven't used it in the past year" rule is a great idea overall, but it's not appropriate for this example. Now if we're talking about a ball-bearing extractor, yeah rent/borrow that unless your livelihood depends on it.
Yup, I think we're all in agreement that there's a cost to storing possessions. The issue folks were debating is that the once-per-x rule isn't appropriate for certain items because:
- the item takes up a negligible amount of space (fractions of pennies), and its usefulness is huge when you need it. Also, factor in the value of immediate access (e.g. fire extinguisher).
- some things you don't use, but are required to have (birth certificates)
Again, my main point was thoughtfulness with ownership. And it doesn't always require breaking out an Excel spreadsheet and amortizing costs and calculating expected values.
The problem is it might cost 5$ to buy, but buying it also takes effort. IMO, the way around this is to keep a good multi tool which is a so so version of a lot of things and then only the real tool if you are going to do a real project.
Cellphone camera good enough? Ditch your actual camera.
Your cell phone camera can act as a camera but not as well. A multi-tool usually has one Phillips and on slotted screwdriver. Of course those are never the sizes you need.
There's a point where it becomes very hard to reduce item count without greatly increasing the frequency that the task at hand can't be performed with the existing set of items.
A Philips screwdriver may or may not be used for a year, a multi bit screwdriver has much better odds. But the trade off is all about frequency. If you need to swap license plates not having the correct tool is not a major time sink. Rebuilding an engine and you need the right tools.
Think of it hierarchically. Instead of a screwdriver let's talk about a box of tools. You may not use the 4-40 tap very often, if ever, but you probably use something from the toolbox at least once a week.
There are inarguably items that should be held"just in case", like an epipen. The interesting discussion is how to identify those items - factors like cost of acquisition, immediacy of need when it occurs, cost of storage, etc.
I keep a small toolbag (heh-heh) that I stuff the essentials into: hammer, measuring tapes, screwdrivers, etc. My entire collection of useful tools (that aren't in the bag) would easily fit into a small UHaul box. Even though I rarely use them, knowing I have them helps keep me from panic buying.
A few years ago, on the bus home from work, I had a conversation with a mechanic who owned a shop in an economically disadvantaged area. He said that everyone on the block borrows tools from him, and he did it as a way of building a good rapport with his customers.
A while back I rented a nice hammer drill for $30 instead of buying a shit one from the same store for $50. For a more niche tool like that, it works out great not to have a bunch of money invested in nicer tools or a bunch of crap lying around.
This is where an [idealised] conception of communism wins, there's a local workshop with all the tools kept in common between people in the area. If you're away from home, you just go to the local workshop.
Strikes me as an idiotic waste of resources that a street of a hundred houses would have 50, say, power drills. Most likely they're inferior for costs purposes, they break because they're designed to (capitalism FTW), they're unnecessary duplication and so waste resources.
We've seriously missed the mark with design of our communities/society.
I use my drill almost every day. I can't have it down the road at the tool library. Presumably I also can't check it out indefinitely or demand it if I feel like my project is more important than someone else's.
If you take an object that I use less frequently, say a small tack hammer, I still need it when I need it. I need it for maybe 1 minute or less. I'm supposed to do what? Take my project down to the library, hit it with the hammer, haul it back home? Go borrow the hammer and take it back? Now I've cost myself more in time & effort than it would have cost to just own & store the hammer.
Does your solution only apply to more expensive items? More specialized? How does it account for discrepancies of usage patterns?
What if I need the work-light but I'll interrupt someone's project?
No, I think I'll just have my own set of tools, thanks.
I would be okay with a "library for [tools, whatever]" for people who don't often need a screwdriver or corkscrew or something, I guess--but I'm not going to use it. We have an approximation, with maker spaces, companies that loan tools (auto zone etc), neighbors, and tool rentals. (I don't use those either.)
Sometimes it's actually completely all above-board. You buy the tool- but it's well-worn and has no packaging, because a hundred other people have bought & returned the same tool before you.
Autozone is one example, offering this service for things like bearing presses and radiator pressurizers and so forth. They don't make any money on the tool in this case; the play is, if you have access to <expensive special tool> you'll do the work yourself and buy parts & consumables from them.
BUT, you're totally right about the time & gas, and there's also the issue where you always discover you need tool X right after removing the engine.
Autozone rents tools. You pay for it in case you don't return or break it though. Those aren't the same tools they have on the shelf. They're more specialized stuff needed less frequently and they have specific ones that get loaned out over and over.
> The Oakland Tool Lending Library currently offers over 5,000 tools available for loan, as well as books and how-to videos and DVDs. The tools can be used for a variety of purposes, including home improvement, remodeling and repairs, gardening and landscaping and seismic retrofit. This is a free service to Oakland, Emeryville, and Piedmont residents and property owners.
You have to watch out for Thanksgiving. I own at least 4 potato mashers, cheese graters, and corkscrews. Each is a once-a-year item (for me) that gets stored during spring cleaning and is easier to replace than find again.
At my house, we've used all of those items in the last ~2 weeks.
Cheese on salad and tacos, corkscrew when friends came over (it's part of a multi-use tool, anyhow), and potato masher all the time, lately on potatoes from my own garden!
Conveniently this has helped me every time I've moved. It's happened more out of engineer's laziness than anything else. Eventually you don't unpack a thing enough times that you accept owning it won't change your life.
Did you notice any patterns about what you wear / don't wear from doing this?
I do a similar approach, except it's insert freshly washed shirts into middle of closets, so anything that hits an outer edge I don't wear much, and is the best candidate for pruning.
Do you find that this is because you like them but they don't fit well? This became a very apparent category of clothing once I started consistently working out.
This works until one notices the backwards hanging clothes more than the forwards hanging ones, and then one's OCD or something begins to care about reversing all the hangers more than choosing what to wear, like a game...
This is also the best way to buy (or not buy) stuff.
See thing. Want thing. Add thing to wishlist. Forget about thing. See thing again, bump it up on wishlist. If I still want it 30 days later, consider buying it. I end up not buying 90–95% of things I instantaneously wanted this way.
This would have appealed to me about two years ago, but not that much anymore, and I'm still close to a decade away from paying off my student debt.
I'm more interested in 'settling down' and 'getting to work' these days, realizing that my sense of personal success is mostly dependent on quality relationships, productivity, and a sense of community belonging. Now, I've done my fair share of living life on the road, and I always enjoyed the experience, but just like the comedown from a psychedelic drug high I was always grateful at the end to be back home squared away in my "real world."
My issue is not with the self-determinism or the low-impact tiny house living, just with the transience of it. Is he certain that he'll be able to be productive working out of the back of a van or in random cafes around the country? What about stimulating interactions with colleagues? Girlfriend??
Girlfriend? I don't know--maybe it gives off the right advertising. Meaning, if you don't want all the trappings of a conventional lifestyle; I'm that guy. A great opening line, "Do you want to avoid hiring a lawyer in the future to fight over assets? Do you want to avoid sitting in a cubicle the rest of your life? Do you want to never have this thought, "Would I be with him if we didn't have that house, and kids?" If you don't want to have a gaggle of kids because you were kinda pressed into having them by family, friends, coworker, societal pressures, etc., I'm your guy. (Yes, I know having kids is a wonderful experience. If I was this guy in this article, I would get a vasectomy, and freeze sperm. I don't know if you could live like this with a child, especially in an overprotective, fear for the worse, jump to the wrong conclusions, country like the USA.)
My parents fought over the house seemingly continually. The only time they didn't fight was when they left it on weekends.
My father wanted to do what this guy is doing now, but died before completing his van.
I think this is an untapped way of living, but society/cops seem to discourage it by ticketing excessively. That is my main concern. Towns, and cities have much made it illegial to park pretty much anywhere overnight, unless you pay a fee.
I think this is an untapped way of living, but society/cops seem to discourage it by ticketing excessively.
It gets to be a mess when too many people try it.
Sometimes it's totally unrelated to vandwellers- in college, the town was only twice the population of the school, so there was a massive shortage of parking.
Yeah; I'm hearing this as a reason more and more often. People's paranoia is overwhelming and CPS/CAS is often duty-bound to investigate. I was abused as a child, and no CAS tip could have saved me. Meanwhile, they are surely making it very difficult for normal people to raise children. It's basically illegal to let children play in the back yard.
I still want to have kids though; I don't get how even these tangible concerns can turn anyone off the idea. The chemical and emotional wonder of the idea is overwhelming to me.
I started out in the van with a girlfriend, then our relationship came to an end (the van probably helped it last a bit longer) and so I got back into dating.
I'd say dating with the van was easier than before I had it.
You must lead with it. You have to make sure it's upfront with everyone - you don't bring it up last - it said it all over my OKC profile - and you know - nothing starts conversations like something unusual. It's not for everyone - but the people who opt out - it would't have worked with anyway. The ones that opt in, it's good. Probably the most dangerous people who fetishise your vanlifestyle above the reality. Reality is that there are ups and downs, good things and tradeoffs.
Anyway, I'm now happily in an awesome relationship - and yeah - the van isn't a big deal. It kind of helps - cos she lives a good distance away from many of my friends. :)
I'd disagree with your statement that "the van isn't a big deal" in your last sentence.
If you feel that you have to be upfront with everyone about living in a van, it sort of becomes an enormous part of your identity, which I would call a big deal.
I think he means that it isn't interfering with his romantic life.
Some people (especially programmers) use the expression "it's not a big deal" to indicate something is straightforward (when you're thinking about it correctly), not to quantify its importance.
The analogy I've seen used on other sites is its like a food allergy, which is extremely important when selecting a restaurant or buying picnic food, but it doesn't significantly impair or impact social activity, or it only impacts it as much as you permit it to make you feel bad.
As it happens I also live in a van (a VW T25 camper) because it's economically-efficient and convenient, and I don't have any urge to buy a million dollar house with a bunch of shiny crap to keep up with the Jones' (my grandparents devoted their lives to this empty pursuit in Los Gatos ahead of learning about the world, themselves or other people). But because marketeers have convinced enough people [0] that homelessness and poverty are such "fatal" pejoratives in the petty, judgmental, status-climbing West, people with alternative lifestyles learn to whom they can share this information...
It's nice to be able to go to the beach, or up the coast or inland whenever one wants and cut down to the real, minimal necessities. Plus, it's not much that much of a stretch to go to Burning Man.
[0] just as many Americans have been radicalized by the perverted mind of Roger Ailes' Faux News.
My officemate is a cyclist and photographer and built out a Sprinter van as a mobile production/adventure mobile. It's got a couch that converts to a bed, fold-out tables, water tank, sink, electric chest fridge, PV panel and battery, inverter, and roof platform. Super functional. All hand built and I can't imagine he spent more than a couple grand outfitting it.
Something in the Coachmen Prism range is not that much more expensive and has a shower. You can find some interesting deals on them because people tended to buy and realize RVs aren't for them.
I guess you could also buy an RV chassis as one heck of a do-it-yourself project.
>You can find some interesting deals on them because people tended to buy and realize RVs aren't for them.
Which is highly likely this this case too. I'd suggest renting for a month and living in it the whole time before buying. It can be a great life but it can have its hardships too.
On BLM land in the United States, if you are willing to hunt for a while for good dispersed campsites, you can often score the combination of good cell signal + nobody else around.
Subscribe to www.rvmobileinternet.com. That site will answer every single question you could ever possibly have about how to make it happen. I work full time with a grandfathered Unlimited Verizon plan and a Cricket Wireless cell phone (on AT&T's towers) and I use a cell booster when needed (http://amzn.to/2c52cSG). In the past 4 months I've only needed to move twice for lack of coverage.
Did you consider buying a camper van? They are quite common as a lifestyle traveling around Australia, in the US people use giant RVs but these are not practical at all and not a conscientious selection.
#vanlife was on the fringe about 5 years ago, but it's starting to gain wider acceptance in the US. I would hope that within five years Volkswagen will finally bring the California T6 to the States.
Sprinters, Ducatos, Transits, and NVs (not to mention old school Expresses/Savannas) are already available here, so I'm not sure what a VW California T6 would offer that the others wouldn't.
- OEM. You'd need to go aftermarker for a pop-top. And as as awesome as it is to DIY, not everyone has the time/skills for a conversion.
- Volkswagen cult appeal. You can't deny there's a demand for older T2/T3s and Westies. They released the Beetle for nostalgia, they can do the same for the T6.
At least here in the Pacific Northwest, old VW Westfalias seem to be the hot item right now (I know of at least two Westy-specific repair shops in just Seattle). But I have no idea what it would take for VW to import them. Getting rid of the "chicken tax" would be a start, as that's going to add 25% to the price right off the bat.
In 'Software Engineering' there is this thing called 'code reuse'. The idea being that you don't reinvent the wheel. We were all taught it (and moved on to realise there is a lot of code out there that is best not 're-used').
These Ducato vans are the popular 'platform' for camper vans in Europe, due to the low floor. Most of the conversions have worked out the hard problems and been 'debugged' with customer feedback. The swivel seats come already done properly with no hammer needed. The various tanks for various fluids are worked out. Spares can be bought, plus you get something better than really heavy plywood carpentry - actual cabinet-making.
We all have our own dreams, however, from my experience of living with a camper-van mad family, second hand is good. I would not go for brand new van that depreciates and custom prototype carpentry when people vastly more experienced than me have done it all before hundreds of times over.
It looks like the Ducato is not available in the U.S. Presumably the author could fly to Europe, purchase one, and ship it back for less expense and labor. But I think part of his venture was to have some measure of self-reliance / DIY. "How I bought a great van from Europe and now I live in it" doesn't have the same novelty and escape-from-society appeal.
So why didn't he just buy an RV? Not to take away from his accomplishment, but isn't this just the most engineery thing to do? Instead of leaning on another industry that has spent decades perfecting exactly what he is trying to build, he spent all the time he could have used actually exploring the world building what is certainly an inferior solution in every regard.
He can park this van on virtually any street in the world and sleep for free, and nobody will be the wiser. Try that in an RV and many places the police will be called on you in 30 minutes.
I would think parking a commercial van on any old street might get some reactions. Plus, he's pretty much in the US, so there are many box stores that allow RVs along with quite a lot of rest areas.
Absolutely this. And, it can't be emphasized enough if you want to keep your expenses down.
As a preference, I think that this guy being able to make van living work is awesome. That being said, it's not necessarily cheaper than regular living unless you're willing to adhere to a certain kind of lifestyle. Awhile back, I looked at van living and there's an amazing community on YouTube of all places that chronicle the practicalities of van living and they talk about everything like expenses, sex life, etc. As one example on the expenses:
Anyway, as much as everyone thinks that you can just park at Walmart every night, that's not necessarily the case or desirable. Not every Walmart allows it. After awhile, you don't want to live there. That leads people to guerrilla camp, which there's an art to. Industrial areas aren't always safe as there's no one around in case something happens. If you park in front of someone's house, they probably will call the police because it's weird. As such, the best guerrilla camping spots are in mixed commercial/residential areas where you can park on the commercial side of the street and still be near people for safety. As long as you move the van before the business opens, no one really cares. However, that moving around increases living costs. Loaded vans get terrible gas mileage. Gas isn't always cheap.
Alright, so we can just park in National Parks, right? Not always. Many, if not most, National Parks require camping fees per night, but it depends. Also, with budget cuts in Congress and not everything being fixed since sequestration, many parks have shut down their camping spots between Labor Day and Memorial Day, so there are fewer places to go. BLM land can be a bit more forgiving, but, really, because BLM doesn't have the money to patrol the amount of land they have and this only works in areas of the country with huge BLM controlled areas.
Alright, so say you do want to do it legally. What's the cost? If you ever want to shower, the cheapest place is a Planet Fitness membership at $10/month and there are many around the country. As far as rent, trailer parks vary in price, but in smallish cities I see them going for $300-$350/month. As far as food, since there's little storage place and refrigeration, expect to eat out quite a bit more or buy in smaller quantities, so more money.
As an aside, cooking is sort of a pain in the ass because cooking in the van will vaporize the fats in the food. That will, in turn, get it all over your stuff, which sucks and is a pain to clean. I wish I could find a link to it, but there was a video from one guy who did a beautiful build out of a van where he created an isolated kitchen in the side door of the van. In that way, all of the cooking problems were isolated from the living area with the consequence of having to go outside the van to cook, which made it more difficult to guerrilla camp.
As another aside, if you're unwilling to guerrilla camp, I came to the conclusion that it's better to just have a trailer that's towed. It tends to be more comfortable. When your vehicle breaks down, and it will break down, you still have a place to live while doing repairs unlike a van or RV. Also, the startup cost is much cheaper. I was at a maker fair this last weekend and this guy was there showing off a trailer:
$4500 for a full build out and all he started with was an axle. The result seemed pretty good, but I'm not an expert. I believe he sells plans for it as well. Certainly, trailers require a vehicle to pull them, but a small trailer like this can get away with something like a Tacoma and a used one can be had for a few thousand dollars.
The cost alone would be a major motivator to go the van route. Class B motorhomes are the least expensive and even they are about $50k new from what I can tell. Sure you can save money buying used but I figure for an apples to apples comparison you'd want to limit it to new-only.
That said, I'd probably agree that a better solution would be had for spending the additional money. But this project is pretty darn cool.
Because RVs suck for a lot of things. First, you're restricted where you can drive. You won't be touring the finer dispersed camping sites down some bumpy, rock-strewn forest road in an RV. Or even (for example) Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier NP if your RV is outlandishly large. Second, anything bigger than a camper van and your choices of paid campsites is reduced. For instance, over the U. S. Labor Day holiday I'm camping in a state park spot restricted to vehicles 16 feet or shorter. Our VW Westfalia is fifteen feet long. Lastly, for me personally, I just don't want to drive something that big.
So buy a camper van? Meh, you could. Good luck, because there's a reason we ended up with a 35 year old VW instead of new. Despite having the money for new, we were at a loss to find something that wasn't outlandishly expensive or outlandishly large. Sure, there are the Sprinter conversions...for north of $100K. I'm not throwing dogs in a vehicle that costs more than my first house. There are other options, Campmobile and the like, and when the Westy dies we'll probably go with something like that. But plan ahead, because it's not like they keep those on the showroom floor, and though fairly-priced IMO, still spendy. So in the end, we just got a turn-key Westfalia. But it's 35 years old, so you better be ready to turn a wrench, which the author said he wasn't. That leaves building his own.
What I really want is a brand new VW pop-top van, as are still sold in Europe. But those don't go to the U. S. :-( I imagine that since one can buy a bigger Class C (or a lightly used baby Class A, even) for around $60K, $60K for a small pop-top VW isn't going to be a big hit in the "bigger is better" U. S. Me, I'd pay the $60K because it's smaller, but I'm obviously in the minority.
> What I really want is a brand new VW pop-top van, as are still sold in Europe. But those don't go to the U. S.
You could probably get a Ram Promaster SWB with pop-up roof for about what an equivalent VW van would sell for, were they sold here. If that's too spend, there are always 10-20 year old Roadtreks that are in good shape for under 30K, and if you get a Ford or Dodge based one it's even quite good off road with a locking differential.
Meh, the quality of Roadtreks hasn't impressed me much; but I get your point.
The Promaster looks to be the sweet spot between size and expense. But holy cow, Sportsmobile wants $9K for the pop-top option, on top of an $80K build.
I guess I have to admit that there's a bit of sentiment attached to that "VW" badge, too. Ignore the fact that VW vans haven't been the quirky little beasts we fondly remember in over 20 years. Now you'd have to take a second look to distinguish it from a Chrysler (in fact, the U. S. vans were Chryslers for a short time).
Sure, $9K on top of $80K is pretty steep, but that $80K build is orders of magnitude more comfortable than what an old VW could provide, and at reasonable speeds too. By the time you upgrade a classic VW to similar standards (Subaru engine swap, A/C that isn't terrible, etc), the cost would be close to $80K. OTOH, if you want something more Spartan and more classic VW-like, $60K should be good enough to get you there, and it's not like a VW T6 conversion would cost less.
Sure, $9K on top of $80K is pretty steep, but that $80K build is orders of magnitude more comfortable than what an old VW could provide, and at reasonable speeds too.
You're right, I'm just being a cranky old man who thinks candy bars are still a quarter of a U. S. dollar. A/C? PNW, don't need it. But it's going to be $4K (installed) for the rest of the country. Power? 70bhp in that 4000 lb. tank. Now myself, when confronted with a mountain pass I'm content to put on some Grateful Dead to complete the experience, put 'er in 3rd gear, turn on the blinkers and get in the right lane with the trucks. But I can see that getting old quick for most folks. $10K for that Subaru engine. Add $20K for a turn-key VW, and we're at $35K for an old van that will keep you cool and get out of its own way, but still has inadequate brakes and a suspension that could use a refresh, along with a refrigerator that is so reliable that many remove it to put aftermarket in (though ours is rock-solid on electric and propane). But despite all that, I still love ours. :-) But we look at it as a metal tent-on-wheels rather than living quarters.
And my pound sterling->USD converter says a T6 is going to cost you exactly $60K, before the 25% "chicken tax".
You, sir, win the "Educated Guess of the Day" award ('81 California-spec Vanagon Westfalia). Though we're content with the air-cooled 2.0L for what it is, the 50-odd horsepower diesel would have me seriously deciding whether I'd be doing the engine conversion myself or letting the shop do it. If I see a VW going up Snoqualmie Pass more slowly than we are, I'll be sure to wave as we go past. :-)
I was able to "offroad" a bit in my class C RV to get to dispersed camping spots, most of the forest roads were fine. Driving it was also nice since you are pretty much king of the road. Overall, I'm glad I had the class C, especially since I was living with someone else in it. If I were to do a hybrid lifestyle, I would get an offroad capable van (think sportsmobile), but I don't think I'd be able to live permanently in one. I skipped the class B's since they were too expensive
>, I have a pee bottle and a 5 gallon jug. Line the jug with two trash bags, and cover the poop with kitty litter. Then toss it in a dumpster.
1.is this legal to dump trash in somone else's dumpster without owners permission?
2. Is it ok in the US to dump poop in dumpsters? I know nursing homes incinerate poop but not sure if there is a law specifically against dumping human waste.
There are lots of sewers for human waste at truck stops, some gas stations, and parks that he could dump it down, I would rather do that than throw it in a dumpster.
I think people are misunderstanding your comment and thinking you mean dump it in the drain.
For those people, there are actual sewage dump stations at a lot of those places. Look for a sign with a vehicle with an arrow or pipe out the bottom next time you're near a truck stop or state park.
Unless his purpose is to pollute other peoples trash bins with human waste than it has no impact on what he is trying to do it is just a safer way to dispose of his waste.
It seems like OP is already halfway to the RV lifestyle, and he's probably in close proximity to dump stations, so he might as well dispose of it in the 'correct' manner rather than throwing it in dumpsters meant for trash.
I absolutely loved reading this. I liked how he went into it cautiously, testing out whether he could get by with a small fridge, small bed, less possessions, etc. And I also appreciate the web page design itself -- one long vertically-scrolling piece, very easy to read through!
One thing I find ironic though is the attitude towards other people who make a different decision about the worth of a home and the mortgage. Does he not realize that his van was only possible because his parents owned a home, raised him there, and let him park the van in their carport for 40 days while building it out?
His dad's woodshop (& expertise) was critical to the build - note that dad did all the cuts into the body of the van. There's nothing wrong with it, just a reminder that we never really do anything alone.
Personally, I'd rather have the shop than the van ;)
Not to be too critical, but reminds me of a woman I know who pitches how great & easy & wonderful it is to buy complete fixer-upper cars and houses and make something great out of them. But if you read her posts on the subject, you realize her father is a contractor, her husband is a mechanic, and they do most of the work.
Yes, he glosses over that part. From the pictures it looks like he _and_ his dad built it in 40 days (and who knows how many hours per day). That's not free, and could easily add another $20K-$30K.
That's not exactly true. He could have done the build-out in plenty of other manners, some less efficiently. With some extra money, he might have had it done more quickly, even.
Camping out during the build time, or getting a hostel/hotel for 40 days, renting a room, building it ahead of time, etc. Lots of reasonable options.
I noticed on some page he mentioned "focusing on building less expensive homes" and then pointed at tumbleweed homes, they build those "tiny homes" on trailers. Those things go for like 3x the most inexpensive mobile homes.
We've already solved this problem, we're just changing the paint to avoid the social taboo.
I too have wondered at the tiny home thing. Regular single wide mobile homes are small, cheap and standardized, and they even have "communal living" in a park. I'm pretty sure it's just trying to tell bougie people that it's fine to live in a trailer park
I'm not really against it, even. I think it is fine. Some of those tiny homes are really nice, or inspiring, or liberating. I really appreciate hand-made things, especially ambitious projects like homes. And I definitely appreciate the frugal builds.
But when you're buying it pre-built, it's just a tiny, expensive mobile home.
If they catch on enough, they'll build them cheaper and more efficiently, and we'll have smaller versions of normal mobile homes, with aluminum siding and all.
I'm all for it, personally--there's no reason for the dream of home-ownership to be expensive.
Sure, variety is the spice of life, I just don't get it.
It feels like a cynical marketing exercise to me, and I have some other personal issues probably tied up in millenial homeownership angst, but that's me, not the tiny homes.
When I've lived in mobile homes, I've found them to be substandard in various ways. One might be prepared to accept that in exchange for their advantages, but if not it seems perfectly rational to seek other solutions with different trade-offs. E.g., most mobile homes are over 70' long, while tiny houses are much shorter.
The social taboo had nothing to do with quality and everything to do with the mobile home = trailer trash stereotype.
Tiny houses are what happens when a garden shed has sex with a travel trailer. Practically tiny houses copy the floor-plan and interior design of an existing high end travel trailer and paste it into a traditionally constructed building. The result is basically a travel trailer optimized for staying instead of going.
As people realize they want more space than a tiny home they're gonna basically build mobile homes, realize they're heavy as all hell and not really mobile and see that the mobile home people are actually on to something.
It is true that is it partly about class and stereotypes, but the Tiny House people have thought about this much more than you seem to think (I'm currently designing one). Here are some counterpoints.
Beyond class, the other major reason for Tiny Houses appearance is acceptance in local communities. If they look nice, people and the law tend to leave them alone. Also it is nice to be nice for appearances sake.
Because they don't move that much they often get wide permits and skirt the trailer or put it onto a pad such that it appears to be a small house rather than a something on a trailer.
I should say also this perception that Tiny Houses are, well, Tiny, is not quite accurate.
Some of them are very small, 200 sq ft. Many of the new builds for living full time are easily 500 sq ft if you include the loft space.
In America that may be still very small but in many countries such as mine, that is actually larger than many townhouses most people live in.
As for later discovering that they need more space, that is not something that scares Tiny House people. They already built a small house, constructing other modules to do other things doesn't scare them much.
It is difficult to overstate how much less expensive they are than the traditional housing route. 50% of the cost of building in the West is paperwork. That is half off the most expensive item most people buy in their lives.
The main hiccup is about Land. This is solved in different ways, I intend to buy mine.
Most Tiny Housers spend money on quality materials. I've worked in construction before and know that most 'modern' builds won't last much longer than a 30 year mortgage due to cutting corners, substandard materials and an overall lack of attention to detail. I fully expect my TH to last at least 50 years, probably longer, be constructed from state of the art materials, and still be 1/4 of the cost of the average house in my area (excluding land).
Of course not everybody can go this route but it beats being homeless or paying a mortgage for decades. Besides, as a geek it is fun to find out how things work, it is an education.
The point I clearly made is that social taboo is not the only reason why one might prefer a tiny house or indeed any other sort of house over a mobile home. You might not care about the other reasons, but they exist nonetheless.
He owned a house before, so that's a moot point, he could have used his own house before selling it.
But of course his lifestyle is enabled by his environment. It is easier to do that in the US than in Europe, easier in the Western World than in the third world, easier if you started off as a developer rather than a min wage employee with the burden of student debts, easier single than couple with kids, easier as a man than woman, ...
If you are one of the richest man in the world (not the 1%, just above average in one of the richest country in the world), which is pretty much the majority of HN, this is an interesting alternative lifestyle.
Note that it is oddly reminiscent from the 7/80's hippies. I just wonder if just like them, some of those people will settle down one day and make a 180 turn on everything they valued when they were younger.
Can you elaborate on why you think this would be more difficult in Europe?
I can imagine Europe wide fitness chains not being so common. http://www.basic-fit.com and friends seem to be building something like it. But then again, public swimming pools, and even public showers are more common and often highly subsidised.
- Language will be a problem. Speaking more than 1 language will help.
- Access to public bathroom is going to be another - like even public bathroom in place like Walmart-equivalent cannot be assumed to be generally available.
- Legality and Cultural acceptance is going to vary country by country. In my home country, a single man living in his van will be reported to the police the second nights he stays in the same place, and he will be asked to move somewhere else at the very least.
- You pointed out to a gym being available across Europe, but the replacement, swimming pools are not anywhere as available as gyms. There is no public toilet at the public library that is next to my place. Public shower are often restricted to professional drivers and I haven't seen one outside of the highway or trucking road.
- Insuring your car requires to have a physical residence in a country, and you generally can't legally be more than a few months in a country with foreign registration. Similarly depending on the age of your car, your country may require a yearly car check which mean you need to be around there at that time.
- Internet access - you will need to prepare that a bit more carefully.
- What about taxes ? That's another thing you have to know when crossing several countries.
- Stupid little things like currencies.
So going across Europe is going to be more adventurous than in a country that has road-trip in its DNA, and depending on the country, even staying in a single one is going to be more adventurous. Of course it's all relative, that is harder than in the US, but nowhere as hard as for Syrian refugee in Turkey.
Well actually that one is pretty easy. If you are European you can ask for your European Health Insurance Card (free, valid for several years) which will cover you in the whole EEA as if you were a resident yourself.
The problem though is that if you have a chronic or permanent disease that requires continuous medication. Hospital will likely sort you out in a pinch, but if you need to stock up some pills you will need to go through the whole doctor chain (GP / Specialist / Various treatment trials ...) in each country (prescription do not cross borders). I have known people going back to their country on a regular basis just because that´s just a pain in the ass to go back to square one and start a several months ordeal only to end up with the medication you know is working.
> Note that it is oddly reminiscent from the 7/80's hippies.
I found his reasoning very solid. To me it seemed like a nice way to save money, enjoy the time and invest it to into his game creating business. What made him a hippie to me was not the van part but the part where he created his own programming language before getting to work.
I am having a hard time with this article. On the one hand, it resonates with me DEEPLY.
"Sure, it's cliché, but it's cliché for a reason -- this subconscious drive for freedom is hard-wired in our DNA. No modern comfort or toy can take the place of true autonomy."
On the other hand, I can't deny certain life comforts. Relationships come to mind when considering a life like this. Sure, living frugally on the road while coding your own project sounds exhilarating. But I wonder how I'd feel without my significant other?
I guess what I want more than a life in a van, is economic freedom with a home.
It calls for making unorthodox decisions, and trying something different. I live in the rice fields of East Java on about $3 per day with my 1.5 year old baby girl and wife. I grew up in Brooklyn, NYC and spent most of my time in urban areas.
I also have two older children whom I raised during their youth with my ex-wife in rural NJ when we decided to leave Manhattan. They grew up with a fresh water lake, no motorboats, with bears, deer and raccoons among other wildlife.
My new baby girl is growing up with fresh bananas, mangoes, papaya, and of course, rice right outside our door, and beautiful sunsets and sunrises over the rice fields. There are chickens, goats, geckos, cobras, beetles that look like gold, and colorful birds, and we live in the shadow of a dormant volcano. We live very minimal. Most of the floors in the village are just packed dirt with a bamboo mat pulled out to use. My home is tiled - had to have that!
Funny thing is my internet is spotty at times, but much cheaper, and it goes with me and my phone wherever I am. I get 500 KB/s at times, with an average of 175 KB/s. This allows me to Skype my Dad and older children several times a week with video and share my world. I love my freedom, health and the world of wonder I am learning about. I have been in SE Asia for over 7 years, and in the village for almost a full year now. I might grow tired of it, and move on, but it will be to the next different thing, like a sail boat with short jaunts to other islands. Am I rich? No! You'd be amazed at how much you can accomplish if you set your mind to it, and have some passion about it.
People live in fear. Not the terrifying type of fear you might experience in an immediate life or death situation, but in a sort of self-imposed fear of change or anything different. I like to imagine our world takes place in an imaginery little bubble around us, and if we don't kick and push its walls, stretch them, exercise them, they close in, and we become imprisoned in this gnawing, subtle fear.
It goes hand in hand with the quote attributed to Einstein. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
People know why they're unhappy; they just don't listen well to themselves, or are paralyzed by this subtle fear that drives their whole life.
Bit of both. I saved a bit from working elsewhere in SE Asia, however, most of it went to support my family that lives back in the US. We live off of a fifth of that here.
And remember, I said minimalism. Where I live you get by on $3 per day per person. That's for food you don't grow yourself and other luxuries like internet, razors, soap or toothpaste. I use my phone's 3G service tethered via WiFi to my computer when I need it or want it. It's my biggest luxury item. I could even cut it in half. I currently spend about $25 dollars a month for it, or 1/3 my daily expenses!
As I wrote above, most people have dirt floors here, and refrigeration and electricity came not too long ago to this village. Each home has just under 900 Watts of power available, usually on a single 4 Amp/220 Volt (880 Watts) breaker. That's the deluxe plan. You can opt for 450 Watt service! You pre-pay for your electricity.
I am just starting on the ground work for a house similar to this: http://www.domegaia.com/ All in all, it should cost me less than $15K for the land and the house. Less than two years of property taxes for my house back in the US.
I am vegetarian, and it is great to be able to eat local produce. I have bananas, mangoes, papayas, jackfruit, peanuts, rice, and chilis right outside my home, and potatoes, carrots, corn, and other leafy greens from the vendor who comes down the road each morning at 6:00am.
There are plenty of chickens and goats around if that's your thing. Roosters start up around 4:30am!
There are also mongoose and king cobras, and I am buying an antivenom kit (finally after a year!), since there's no way to save someone from a positive bite other than antivenom. King cobra bites are very rare, but the nearest facility with antivenom is over 3 hours drive from here mainly due to the road conditions and the distance. You only have 30 minutes tops after a good envenomation by one. I am no doctor, but I have done some reading on extreme medicine over the years, but luckily I have not had to test most of that knowledge!
Bottom line is that I always wanted to travel and experience life throughout my life, not only when I was over 60 like most people plan to do. Funny, but when most people have saved and not traveled or lived differently, they tend to stay put and never do it. At least from those I grew up with or knew. I think there are a lot more 30-something millionaires now than ever before, but I ain't one of them; I wish I were 30-something again, and a millionaire ;)
Interesting. What will you do for education when your kids reaches school-age? There are lots of people living off the grid, on boats, all over the world. A common choice is to return to the US when the kids hit middle-school and would benefit from the facilities at secondary and higher schools.
I lost the argument to home school with my first wife, and our children went through the system there in the US. They both did, and are still doing well, but both of them independently came to the conclusion, as well as my ex, that the homework load is insane. More than 3 hours per night, and my kids are pretty fast at doing it. Some friends were taking 4 to 6 hours! Unnecessary, and not education in my book. My son did the same as me, and works on his own projects outside of school mainly in the summer due to the homework load. My daughter reads her own books late into the night, and is developing my old habit of staying up too late!
I am not fervently against the school system like others can be. I just think the world holds enough wonder and obstacles to teach children. I've traveled enough to meet and speak with homeschooled children from boats, to remote areas, and I just like what I see and hear. Besides, I love spending time with family; I'm selfish that way!
I don't think any parent needs to be too academic either. It just takes love, patience and basic aptitude, since the materials are more readily available than ever, and attitude goes a long way to children opening up to learn rather than mechanics. Side benefit: the parents relearn along with the children. It's wondrous. A few focused hours per day maximum should accomplish more than 7 hour day at school confined to a room, and to administering a lot of the time away.
If I were to consider any school for my latest child, it would have to be project-based. I like applying as many disciplines to a singular project a child is impassioned about rather than teaching the discriminate subjects. They can focus later on, but getting how things work together in the real world is more valuable to me. Less is more in this instance.
Here, daily life is a learning experience, and social life is across the ages like when I grew up in Brooklyn, where it seemed to be an urban immigrant thing more than an American suburban thing. I don't believe in age segregation in schools. It was instituted about 170 years ago in America. I think the experienced elderly are an untapped resource, and it would benefit young and old to rediscover this.
I grew up with my Irish grandmother next door, and I learned a great many things from her, and the other elders around me - history, music, storytelling, and just life. I befriended a childless couple on our block who taught me so much too. The man was a very literate, sober, milk-drinking, pipe fitter who was like a very older brother, or more like a second father to me. He taught me the basics of celestial navigation, took me on a sail on a sailboat a group of workers co-owned to afford it, and would invite me over for dinner with his wife to discuss literature, philosophy, history, Latin, the classics and film. I will never forget those moments. They proved to me what a rich life a person can have at the poverty line.
The young children in the village here are naive to the world's history, politics and urban life, but they seem to have a lot more common sense at an early age than what I recall of my urban peers when we were children. I started an informal school here to give them some additional help with English, mathematics, music, literature and art. I had four girls show up daily, until a few of the boys that were making fun of us from the road, joined us. At one point, I counted 11 heads not including my baby girl walking around and creating havoc ;)
I plan on putting on a bit of extra space in the house I am building as an informal classroom, or at least where we start off.
I am buying some King Cobra antivenom just in case, since it takes over 2 hours drive from here to get to a facility that purportedly has a stock of antivenom. Attacks are very, very rare, but rather safe than sorry, given I videoed a 7 ft cobra at the edge of the rice fields in a patch of teak trees several weeks ago. Handlers or performers are generally the people getting bit like the singer Irma Bule who died in West J...
I'm genuinely curious - why did he do all the repairs in his house before selling it? Was the market for housing that bad that he couldn't sell it as-is for the new owner to do repairs?
I did exactly this! Bought a used NV2500, went to town. Took 7 months to build. Have closets, cabinets, cooktop, sink, wood floors, butcher block counters, fridge, electricity via solar, bed, etc. etc.
I knew nothing about insulation, wiring, woodwork, power tools, etc. and learned everything as I built it.
Was not cheap, because I didn't want to give up any luxuries, so breakeven is in a matter of years, not months. However, its been treating me well. I have spots that I prefer in South Bay and in San Francisco depending where I'm working out of.
In the 1970's TV series Trapper John, M.D. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapper_John,_M.D.) one of the characters, "Gonzo", is a doctor working alongside Trapper John, while living in a motoro home ("The Titanic") in the hospital's parking lot.
Man, think of all the money you can save if you have a good income, and live in a motor home virtually for free.
Last year after getting made redundant from Cisco I was looking for work but there was nothing for 4 months as a Devops guy near where I live but there was plenty in London. I was actually considering either getting a van to sleep in, or a narrowboat, and working in London with London rates, then coming home at the weekend.
I'd love to know a cheap way of converting something liveable, bearing in mind most offices have showers so I don't need that, just to provide for my family.
Canal boats in London are not much cheaper than apartments. Nor is anything else.
I used to work Monday-Friday in London and head home (Manchester) for the weekend for about six months. During the week I'd stay in the cheapest hotels I could find (£50/night average). It was horrible, and after six months I ended up doing super cheap Air BNB just so I could cook some food once in a while. Still not great.
Eventually we just moved here. It's fine if you look for beyond zone 1, ideally near where you're working, and get paid London rates.
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 159 ms ] threadI wonder how long it'll take him to regret the fact that his bed only fits one person in it.
I shared a 20" wide camping mattress in a pinch. We are both very slender. Spooning was mandatory.
Oh. Well. Yeah, I can see how that's a real problem.
(Actually, I spent almost a decade married, so, gentle sarcasm aside, I can see how that might be a problem. On the other hand, I get the impression the cases aren't really parallel. I mean, if it were me and I had someone moving in, it'd be a good occasion for a rebuild to meet current needs, I think.)
Even though I know his whole backstory, I still wouldn't come right away and I'm a 25 year old dude...
I wanted a vehicle I could explore the world with, so I turned my Jeep into a house on wheels with fridge, drinking water and filtration, solar and dual batteries, interior cabinets and a custom modified pop-up roof so I can stand up and walk around in the Jeep.
I joked about applying for a home owners grant :)
The full pictures and story are in this album - http://imgur.com/a/OLK3o
I'm driving it around Africa now.
EDIT: I'm a Software Engineer too, and I decided there is more to life than sitting at a desk - a few years back I drove Alaska->Argentina, now it's around Africa for 2 years.
EDIT2: I've hit my posting limit.
Yes, I'm still alive!
Follow along if you want to see if I stay that way!
Facebook: https://facebook.com/theroadchoseme
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And my website: http://theroadchoseme.com
If I wanted a Toyota diesel, I would have just bought a Toyota, but I didn't want that.
The reason for the merc is that the engine I chose (the OM606) is the most sophisticated non-computer controlled diesel possible - actually it came from the factory with a computer, but by using the injection pump from the earlier OM603 it can be made fully mechanical. This is a boon for repairs, simplicity, and the ability to burn basically anything like kerosene. It also means it's powerful and efficient, and mileage was my number 1 goal.
Also, that Merc engine happens to come from the factory in many cars with exactly the same gearbox as in my Jeep (the NSG370), so things made sense there. Jeep have also used Merc diesels in the past (not in the Wrangler), so that made sense too.
It was an ambitious plan, and I'm glad that I tried, even though it didn't work out in the end.
That aside, I'm in west Africa now, having the time of my life :)
Have you run into anything as dangerous as they made it seem?
People here are extremely friendly and welcoming, and the landscape is breathtaking. "Africa" does not deserve the reputation it has.
I've never met anyone that has traveled in Africa that would say otherwise.
Because the rest are all dead?
That could be survivor bias.
I have. Many.
And not just "travelled" to Africa—actually lived there.
Africa can be safe, at times, but it can also turn brutal seemingly overnight depending on where you are.
Saying that it's safe (without any caveats) is basically irresponsible IMO—especially if you are white/foreign. Very different customs/culture. It's not for everyone.
That has to be one of the simplest, reliable, and over-engineered motors MB ever made. I spent 5 years running mine on vegetable oil! I figure that would have been a good Africa motor.
How's getting gas been so far?
1) the non-turbo versions are absolute dogs 2) manual valve clearance adjustments are annoying 3) vibrate more
Even if the engine didn't blow up, there was still months of work to iron out bugs.
After the hard miles I've done here in Africa, I'm actually immensely happy it didn't work out, and that I have a factory drive train in my Jeep now.
But great to see you took that as a character building exercise and kept going!
You speak with such authority and finality, yet your basic lack of African geography makes me wonder if you have any experience at all.
When was the last time you were in Africa? For how long? where exactly did you go?
You may want to have a look at a map at where Ivory Coast is.
I didn't put MB diesels into a Jeep twice, I only did it once.
When that engine blew up, I bailed out, and I'm now driving a completely stock driveline 3.8 gas engine Rubicon.
Unlike most others in here, I'm not trying to second-guess you -- everybody's choices are personal choices, and I'm sure you had reasons for every choice you made that we weren't necessarily privy to -- I'm just curious, as I don't hear of a lot of 3.8s getting swapped INto JKs
http://theroadchoseme.com/panama-to-colombia-vehicle-ferry-x...
I wrote up the whole process in great detail so others could follow in my footsteps.
http://theroadchoseme.com/shipping-across-the-darien-gap-pt-...
There was no ferry when I did it, and it's been cancelled again now.
Now it's not running again.
I reckoned a Jeep was about the worst possible vehicle for the job, that you would break down and be stuck because nobody drives Jeeps in Africa. I still believe a Landcruiser, Land Rover Defender, or a G-Wagen would've been a better choice in terms of parts and repairs, but it seems the Jeep has held up fine.
I'm actually quite happy to have been proven wrong. Congratulations on a safe and fun trip!
Of course the landcruiser would have been. It also would have cost twice as much, and I couldn't get a diesel one in Canada.
Registering and insuring a vehicle in a country you don't live in is near impossible, and then renewing it while on the road is even closer to impossible. It's not something I wanted to deal with.
I find it strange the conventional wisdom is to drive a 25+ year old vehicle with 300,000+ miles instead of a near-near vehicle with <80,000 miles.
My last Jeep didn't have a single mechanical issue in 40k miles from Alaska to Argentina, and of all the overlanders I have ever heard of (a lot) I have never heard of a single landcruiser or defender doing that.
It's all about choice, and variety. If we all did the same thing, life would be pretty boring, wouldn't it!
Will the old landcruiser break down? Maybe, probably even. But the good thing is that any mechanic in even the remotest African village can fix it. Good luck finding a bush mechanic who can sort out a CANBUS-error in your Jeep...
Having said that, I have to admit I'm just an armchair warrior. I read your story on Reddit and I massively enjoyed your undertakings. Hats off to you for actually persuing your crazy plans!
Of course, you are right.
Remember though I can't get a diesel.
> But the good thing is that any mechanic in even the remotest African village can fix it. Good luck finding a bush mechanic who can sort out a CANBUS-error in your Jeep...
Of course it adds to the complications if and when something breaks down, but that's all part of the journey. I have friends in the USA that can send me any part I need, and I'll kick back for a few weeks while it arrives and I install it, or have a mechanic do it for me. That's perfectly fine, I don't have a timeline. Waiting a month somewhere is not in any way a problem, it will just allow me to learn the language better and get involved with the community.
> Having said that, I have to admit I'm just an armchair warrior
It's interesting you acknowledge that.
I spent 2 years driving 40k miles through 16 countries. I created and moderate wikioverland.org, and have attended and presented at Overland Expo. I'm a moderator on multiple overlanding forums and fb groups, and I've personally met hundreds of overlanders, and "met" thousands more online. I've spent years of my life researching and planning and talking to people. I've watched and learned from literally hundreds of people that have made the same journey I'm making. Even one in a Wrangler!
I did do a tiny bit a research here, you don't need to "convince" me of your opinion that a Toyota is "better"
Edit: Didn't scroll down far enough to see your install ran away from you. Ouch..
Either way, it worked out well for you so who cares! Love your story.
Pro tip: xfinity is your friend.
The reality is that everyone can do this. And why not? The big problem with this model, though, is lack of property taxes. And parking spots.
I would happily pay for X per month for a nice parking spot though and my fair share of property taxes. Ok, maybe not happily, I have to admit I do enjoy free.
What will be really interesting for this model is when we get self driving cars.
I basically founded my entire new startup and team while homeless. It sucked sometimes, but it was an experience. Would I recommend it to everyone? Probably not hahah, but if you're brave enough you should try it at least once. :)
The need for a stable native (underclass) population to sustain the travelers.
You will probably encounter much more police checks in Mauretania and beyond than in Morocco.
At some border crossings, you can negotiate a visum on the spot. I had a 'visum' written with ballpoint in my passport. No stamps or official stickers, just a signature :) It was reluctantly accepted on my way out of the country.
I drove a sedan from the Netherlands to Burkino Faso, it was an awesome trip.
If you check out his list of things he likes about van living, most have more to do with working for himself rather than all the traveling. He doesn't come across as one of the wanderlust folks.
The one question he didn't answer is how he bathed. It's very easy when you're living as a lonely bachelor to slowly morph into Grizzly Adams because there's nobody in a thousand miles who cares about you or how you smell.
The problem is the same as the cabin, it's more difficult to be a developer when your Internet is slow and shitty. It would be really hard to go back to dial-up.
Hell, depending on weather you can buy naked land and live in a shack or a tent.
http://davidmckinney.com/blog/2013/12/29/redesigning-the-off... By mr david awesome mckinney :)
It's that, or get an actual office, but I think I'd prefer to be able to drive somewhere interesting and work from there.
"Pile up my crap. Anytime I need something in the pile, take it out of the pile and save it for later. Monitor usage."
Thank you for posting this.
A screwdriver costs less than $5 and takes a minimal amount of space to store. Yes, the slippery slope is when you have a thousand tools falling out of your closet, but again, thought and moderation.
The "if I haven't used it in the past year" rule is a great idea overall, but it's not appropriate for this example. Now if we're talking about a ball-bearing extractor, yeah rent/borrow that unless your livelihood depends on it.
If there's no cost, great. Keep everything. If there is a cost, that once-a-year item might not make the cut.
- the item takes up a negligible amount of space (fractions of pennies), and its usefulness is huge when you need it. Also, factor in the value of immediate access (e.g. fire extinguisher).
- some things you don't use, but are required to have (birth certificates)
Again, my main point was thoughtfulness with ownership. And it doesn't always require breaking out an Excel spreadsheet and amortizing costs and calculating expected values.
Cellphone camera good enough? Ditch your actual camera.
There's a point where it becomes very hard to reduce item count without greatly increasing the frequency that the task at hand can't be performed with the existing set of items.
Do these things exist in urban areas? Seems useful for apartment dwellers who don't have the space for anything more than a tiny toolkit anyhow
A while back I rented a nice hammer drill for $30 instead of buying a shit one from the same store for $50. For a more niche tool like that, it works out great not to have a bunch of money invested in nicer tools or a bunch of crap lying around.
Strikes me as an idiotic waste of resources that a street of a hundred houses would have 50, say, power drills. Most likely they're inferior for costs purposes, they break because they're designed to (capitalism FTW), they're unnecessary duplication and so waste resources.
We've seriously missed the mark with design of our communities/society.
If you take an object that I use less frequently, say a small tack hammer, I still need it when I need it. I need it for maybe 1 minute or less. I'm supposed to do what? Take my project down to the library, hit it with the hammer, haul it back home? Go borrow the hammer and take it back? Now I've cost myself more in time & effort than it would have cost to just own & store the hammer.
Does your solution only apply to more expensive items? More specialized? How does it account for discrepancies of usage patterns?
What if I need the work-light but I'll interrupt someone's project?
No, I think I'll just have my own set of tools, thanks.
I would be okay with a "library for [tools, whatever]" for people who don't often need a screwdriver or corkscrew or something, I guess--but I'm not going to use it. We have an approximation, with maker spaces, companies that loan tools (auto zone etc), neighbors, and tool rentals. (I don't use those either.)
FWIW it sounds like a good place for community members to access tools would be at the house you live in.
Jokes aside, are there really places you can rent a screwdriver for a day? And is that really the appropriate solution?
There's places where you can buy them and return them a day later for a full refund.
Autozone is one example, offering this service for things like bearing presses and radiator pressurizers and so forth. They don't make any money on the tool in this case; the play is, if you have access to <expensive special tool> you'll do the work yourself and buy parts & consumables from them.
BUT, you're totally right about the time & gas, and there's also the issue where you always discover you need tool X right after removing the engine.
> The Oakland Tool Lending Library currently offers over 5,000 tools available for loan, as well as books and how-to videos and DVDs. The tools can be used for a variety of purposes, including home improvement, remodeling and repairs, gardening and landscaping and seismic retrofit. This is a free service to Oakland, Emeryville, and Piedmont residents and property owners.
Cheese on salad and tacos, corkscrew when friends came over (it's part of a multi-use tool, anyhow), and potato masher all the time, lately on potatoes from my own garden!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheney%27s_algorithm
I do a similar approach, except it's insert freshly washed shirts into middle of closets, so anything that hits an outer edge I don't wear much, and is the best candidate for pruning.
But they don't fit me well and so I rarely wear them.
Need to lose some weight and then it won't be such a problem...
See thing. Want thing. Add thing to wishlist. Forget about thing. See thing again, bump it up on wishlist. If I still want it 30 days later, consider buying it. I end up not buying 90–95% of things I instantaneously wanted this way.
I'm more interested in 'settling down' and 'getting to work' these days, realizing that my sense of personal success is mostly dependent on quality relationships, productivity, and a sense of community belonging. Now, I've done my fair share of living life on the road, and I always enjoyed the experience, but just like the comedown from a psychedelic drug high I was always grateful at the end to be back home squared away in my "real world."
My issue is not with the self-determinism or the low-impact tiny house living, just with the transience of it. Is he certain that he'll be able to be productive working out of the back of a van or in random cafes around the country? What about stimulating interactions with colleagues? Girlfriend??
My parents fought over the house seemingly continually. The only time they didn't fight was when they left it on weekends.
My father wanted to do what this guy is doing now, but died before completing his van.
I think this is an untapped way of living, but society/cops seem to discourage it by ticketing excessively. That is my main concern. Towns, and cities have much made it illegial to park pretty much anywhere overnight, unless you pay a fee.
It gets to be a mess when too many people try it.
Sometimes it's totally unrelated to vandwellers- in college, the town was only twice the population of the school, so there was a massive shortage of parking.
I still want to have kids though; I don't get how even these tangible concerns can turn anyone off the idea. The chemical and emotional wonder of the idea is overwhelming to me.
I started out in the van with a girlfriend, then our relationship came to an end (the van probably helped it last a bit longer) and so I got back into dating.
I'd say dating with the van was easier than before I had it.
You must lead with it. You have to make sure it's upfront with everyone - you don't bring it up last - it said it all over my OKC profile - and you know - nothing starts conversations like something unusual. It's not for everyone - but the people who opt out - it would't have worked with anyway. The ones that opt in, it's good. Probably the most dangerous people who fetishise your vanlifestyle above the reality. Reality is that there are ups and downs, good things and tradeoffs.
Anyway, I'm now happily in an awesome relationship - and yeah - the van isn't a big deal. It kind of helps - cos she lives a good distance away from many of my friends. :)
[1] https://www.instagram.com/tdobsonnet/
If you feel that you have to be upfront with everyone about living in a van, it sort of becomes an enormous part of your identity, which I would call a big deal.
Some people (especially programmers) use the expression "it's not a big deal" to indicate something is straightforward (when you're thinking about it correctly), not to quantify its importance.
It doesn't really matter because with dating - you only need to win once.
Congrats on the adventures!
[0] just as many Americans have been radicalized by the perverted mind of Roger Ailes' Faux News.
I guess you could also buy an RV chassis as one heck of a do-it-yourself project.
Which is highly likely this this case too. I'd suggest renting for a month and living in it the whole time before buying. It can be a great life but it can have its hardships too.
On BLM land in the United States, if you are willing to hunt for a while for good dispersed campsites, you can often score the combination of good cell signal + nobody else around.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_California
- the T6 is smaller than the Sprinter.
- OEM. You'd need to go aftermarker for a pop-top. And as as awesome as it is to DIY, not everyone has the time/skills for a conversion.
- Volkswagen cult appeal. You can't deny there's a demand for older T2/T3s and Westies. They released the Beetle for nostalgia, they can do the same for the T6.
These Ducato vans are the popular 'platform' for camper vans in Europe, due to the low floor. Most of the conversions have worked out the hard problems and been 'debugged' with customer feedback. The swivel seats come already done properly with no hammer needed. The various tanks for various fluids are worked out. Spares can be bought, plus you get something better than really heavy plywood carpentry - actual cabinet-making.
We all have our own dreams, however, from my experience of living with a camper-van mad family, second hand is good. I would not go for brand new van that depreciates and custom prototype carpentry when people vastly more experienced than me have done it all before hundreds of times over.
It looks like the Ducato is not available in the U.S. Presumably the author could fly to Europe, purchase one, and ship it back for less expense and labor. But I think part of his venture was to have some measure of self-reliance / DIY. "How I bought a great van from Europe and now I live in it" doesn't have the same novelty and escape-from-society appeal.
He can park this van on virtually any street in the world and sleep for free, and nobody will be the wiser. Try that in an RV and many places the police will be called on you in 30 minutes.
As a preference, I think that this guy being able to make van living work is awesome. That being said, it's not necessarily cheaper than regular living unless you're willing to adhere to a certain kind of lifestyle. Awhile back, I looked at van living and there's an amazing community on YouTube of all places that chronicle the practicalities of van living and they talk about everything like expenses, sex life, etc. As one example on the expenses:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXA8_YeMvAA
Anyway, as much as everyone thinks that you can just park at Walmart every night, that's not necessarily the case or desirable. Not every Walmart allows it. After awhile, you don't want to live there. That leads people to guerrilla camp, which there's an art to. Industrial areas aren't always safe as there's no one around in case something happens. If you park in front of someone's house, they probably will call the police because it's weird. As such, the best guerrilla camping spots are in mixed commercial/residential areas where you can park on the commercial side of the street and still be near people for safety. As long as you move the van before the business opens, no one really cares. However, that moving around increases living costs. Loaded vans get terrible gas mileage. Gas isn't always cheap.
Alright, so we can just park in National Parks, right? Not always. Many, if not most, National Parks require camping fees per night, but it depends. Also, with budget cuts in Congress and not everything being fixed since sequestration, many parks have shut down their camping spots between Labor Day and Memorial Day, so there are fewer places to go. BLM land can be a bit more forgiving, but, really, because BLM doesn't have the money to patrol the amount of land they have and this only works in areas of the country with huge BLM controlled areas.
Alright, so say you do want to do it legally. What's the cost? If you ever want to shower, the cheapest place is a Planet Fitness membership at $10/month and there are many around the country. As far as rent, trailer parks vary in price, but in smallish cities I see them going for $300-$350/month. As far as food, since there's little storage place and refrigeration, expect to eat out quite a bit more or buy in smaller quantities, so more money.
As an aside, cooking is sort of a pain in the ass because cooking in the van will vaporize the fats in the food. That will, in turn, get it all over your stuff, which sucks and is a pain to clean. I wish I could find a link to it, but there was a video from one guy who did a beautiful build out of a van where he created an isolated kitchen in the side door of the van. In that way, all of the cooking problems were isolated from the living area with the consequence of having to go outside the van to cook, which made it more difficult to guerrilla camp.
As another aside, if you're unwilling to guerrilla camp, I came to the conclusion that it's better to just have a trailer that's towed. It tends to be more comfortable. When your vehicle breaks down, and it will break down, you still have a place to live while doing repairs unlike a van or RV. Also, the startup cost is much cheaper. I was at a maker fair this last weekend and this guy was there showing off a trailer:
http://camperplans.com/
$4500 for a full build out and all he started with was an axle. The result seemed pretty good, but I'm not an expert. I believe he sells plans for it as well. Certainly, trailers require a vehicle to pull them, but a small trailer like this can get away with something like a Tacoma and a used one can be had for a few thousand dollars.
Anyw...
That said, I'd probably agree that a better solution would be had for spending the additional money. But this project is pretty darn cool.
So buy a camper van? Meh, you could. Good luck, because there's a reason we ended up with a 35 year old VW instead of new. Despite having the money for new, we were at a loss to find something that wasn't outlandishly expensive or outlandishly large. Sure, there are the Sprinter conversions...for north of $100K. I'm not throwing dogs in a vehicle that costs more than my first house. There are other options, Campmobile and the like, and when the Westy dies we'll probably go with something like that. But plan ahead, because it's not like they keep those on the showroom floor, and though fairly-priced IMO, still spendy. So in the end, we just got a turn-key Westfalia. But it's 35 years old, so you better be ready to turn a wrench, which the author said he wasn't. That leaves building his own.
What I really want is a brand new VW pop-top van, as are still sold in Europe. But those don't go to the U. S. :-( I imagine that since one can buy a bigger Class C (or a lightly used baby Class A, even) for around $60K, $60K for a small pop-top VW isn't going to be a big hit in the "bigger is better" U. S. Me, I'd pay the $60K because it's smaller, but I'm obviously in the minority.
You could probably get a Ram Promaster SWB with pop-up roof for about what an equivalent VW van would sell for, were they sold here. If that's too spend, there are always 10-20 year old Roadtreks that are in good shape for under 30K, and if you get a Ford or Dodge based one it's even quite good off road with a locking differential.
The Promaster looks to be the sweet spot between size and expense. But holy cow, Sportsmobile wants $9K for the pop-top option, on top of an $80K build.
I guess I have to admit that there's a bit of sentiment attached to that "VW" badge, too. Ignore the fact that VW vans haven't been the quirky little beasts we fondly remember in over 20 years. Now you'd have to take a second look to distinguish it from a Chrysler (in fact, the U. S. vans were Chryslers for a short time).
You're right, I'm just being a cranky old man who thinks candy bars are still a quarter of a U. S. dollar. A/C? PNW, don't need it. But it's going to be $4K (installed) for the rest of the country. Power? 70bhp in that 4000 lb. tank. Now myself, when confronted with a mountain pass I'm content to put on some Grateful Dead to complete the experience, put 'er in 3rd gear, turn on the blinkers and get in the right lane with the trucks. But I can see that getting old quick for most folks. $10K for that Subaru engine. Add $20K for a turn-key VW, and we're at $35K for an old van that will keep you cool and get out of its own way, but still has inadequate brakes and a suspension that could use a refresh, along with a refrigerator that is so reliable that many remove it to put aftermarket in (though ours is rock-solid on electric and propane). But despite all that, I still love ours. :-) But we look at it as a metal tent-on-wheels rather than living quarters.
And my pound sterling->USD converter says a T6 is going to cost you exactly $60K, before the 25% "chicken tax".
1.is this legal to dump trash in somone else's dumpster without owners permission?
2. Is it ok in the US to dump poop in dumpsters? I know nursing homes incinerate poop but not sure if there is a law specifically against dumping human waste.
For those people, there are actual sewage dump stations at a lot of those places. Look for a sign with a vehicle with an arrow or pipe out the bottom next time you're near a truck stop or state park.
One thing I find ironic though is the attitude towards other people who make a different decision about the worth of a home and the mortgage. Does he not realize that his van was only possible because his parents owned a home, raised him there, and let him park the van in their carport for 40 days while building it out?
Personally, I'd rather have the shop than the van ;)
Not to be too critical, but reminds me of a woman I know who pitches how great & easy & wonderful it is to buy complete fixer-upper cars and houses and make something great out of them. But if you read her posts on the subject, you realize her father is a contractor, her husband is a mechanic, and they do most of the work.
Camping out during the build time, or getting a hostel/hotel for 40 days, renting a room, building it ahead of time, etc. Lots of reasonable options.
I noticed on some page he mentioned "focusing on building less expensive homes" and then pointed at tumbleweed homes, they build those "tiny homes" on trailers. Those things go for like 3x the most inexpensive mobile homes.
We've already solved this problem, we're just changing the paint to avoid the social taboo.
But when you're buying it pre-built, it's just a tiny, expensive mobile home.
If they catch on enough, they'll build them cheaper and more efficiently, and we'll have smaller versions of normal mobile homes, with aluminum siding and all.
I'm all for it, personally--there's no reason for the dream of home-ownership to be expensive.
It feels like a cynical marketing exercise to me, and I have some other personal issues probably tied up in millenial homeownership angst, but that's me, not the tiny homes.
When I've lived in mobile homes, I've found them to be substandard in various ways. One might be prepared to accept that in exchange for their advantages, but if not it seems perfectly rational to seek other solutions with different trade-offs. E.g., most mobile homes are over 70' long, while tiny houses are much shorter.
Tiny houses are what happens when a garden shed has sex with a travel trailer. Practically tiny houses copy the floor-plan and interior design of an existing high end travel trailer and paste it into a traditionally constructed building. The result is basically a travel trailer optimized for staying instead of going.
As people realize they want more space than a tiny home they're gonna basically build mobile homes, realize they're heavy as all hell and not really mobile and see that the mobile home people are actually on to something.
Beyond class, the other major reason for Tiny Houses appearance is acceptance in local communities. If they look nice, people and the law tend to leave them alone. Also it is nice to be nice for appearances sake.
Because they don't move that much they often get wide permits and skirt the trailer or put it onto a pad such that it appears to be a small house rather than a something on a trailer.
http://imgur.com/a/Dv8xE
I should say also this perception that Tiny Houses are, well, Tiny, is not quite accurate.
Some of them are very small, 200 sq ft. Many of the new builds for living full time are easily 500 sq ft if you include the loft space.
In America that may be still very small but in many countries such as mine, that is actually larger than many townhouses most people live in.
As for later discovering that they need more space, that is not something that scares Tiny House people. They already built a small house, constructing other modules to do other things doesn't scare them much.
It is difficult to overstate how much less expensive they are than the traditional housing route. 50% of the cost of building in the West is paperwork. That is half off the most expensive item most people buy in their lives.
The main hiccup is about Land. This is solved in different ways, I intend to buy mine.
Most Tiny Housers spend money on quality materials. I've worked in construction before and know that most 'modern' builds won't last much longer than a 30 year mortgage due to cutting corners, substandard materials and an overall lack of attention to detail. I fully expect my TH to last at least 50 years, probably longer, be constructed from state of the art materials, and still be 1/4 of the cost of the average house in my area (excluding land).
Of course not everybody can go this route but it beats being homeless or paying a mortgage for decades. Besides, as a geek it is fun to find out how things work, it is an education.
But of course his lifestyle is enabled by his environment. It is easier to do that in the US than in Europe, easier in the Western World than in the third world, easier if you started off as a developer rather than a min wage employee with the burden of student debts, easier single than couple with kids, easier as a man than woman, ...
If you are one of the richest man in the world (not the 1%, just above average in one of the richest country in the world), which is pretty much the majority of HN, this is an interesting alternative lifestyle.
Note that it is oddly reminiscent from the 7/80's hippies. I just wonder if just like them, some of those people will settle down one day and make a 180 turn on everything they valued when they were younger.
I can imagine Europe wide fitness chains not being so common. http://www.basic-fit.com and friends seem to be building something like it. But then again, public swimming pools, and even public showers are more common and often highly subsidised.
- Access to public bathroom is going to be another - like even public bathroom in place like Walmart-equivalent cannot be assumed to be generally available.
- Legality and Cultural acceptance is going to vary country by country. In my home country, a single man living in his van will be reported to the police the second nights he stays in the same place, and he will be asked to move somewhere else at the very least.
- You pointed out to a gym being available across Europe, but the replacement, swimming pools are not anywhere as available as gyms. There is no public toilet at the public library that is next to my place. Public shower are often restricted to professional drivers and I haven't seen one outside of the highway or trucking road.
- Insuring your car requires to have a physical residence in a country, and you generally can't legally be more than a few months in a country with foreign registration. Similarly depending on the age of your car, your country may require a yearly car check which mean you need to be around there at that time.
- Internet access - you will need to prepare that a bit more carefully.
- What about taxes ? That's another thing you have to know when crossing several countries.
- Stupid little things like currencies.
So going across Europe is going to be more adventurous than in a country that has road-trip in its DNA, and depending on the country, even staying in a single one is going to be more adventurous. Of course it's all relative, that is harder than in the US, but nowhere as hard as for Syrian refugee in Turkey.
You are absolutely right about this. I've even thought of yet another rather elephant-in-the-room one: health insurance.
The problem though is that if you have a chronic or permanent disease that requires continuous medication. Hospital will likely sort you out in a pinch, but if you need to stock up some pills you will need to go through the whole doctor chain (GP / Specialist / Various treatment trials ...) in each country (prescription do not cross borders). I have known people going back to their country on a regular basis just because that´s just a pain in the ass to go back to square one and start a several months ordeal only to end up with the medication you know is working.
I found his reasoning very solid. To me it seemed like a nice way to save money, enjoy the time and invest it to into his game creating business. What made him a hippie to me was not the van part but the part where he created his own programming language before getting to work.
"Sure, it's cliché, but it's cliché for a reason -- this subconscious drive for freedom is hard-wired in our DNA. No modern comfort or toy can take the place of true autonomy."
On the other hand, I can't deny certain life comforts. Relationships come to mind when considering a life like this. Sure, living frugally on the road while coding your own project sounds exhilarating. But I wonder how I'd feel without my significant other?
I guess what I want more than a life in a van, is economic freedom with a home.
I also have two older children whom I raised during their youth with my ex-wife in rural NJ when we decided to leave Manhattan. They grew up with a fresh water lake, no motorboats, with bears, deer and raccoons among other wildlife.
My new baby girl is growing up with fresh bananas, mangoes, papaya, and of course, rice right outside our door, and beautiful sunsets and sunrises over the rice fields. There are chickens, goats, geckos, cobras, beetles that look like gold, and colorful birds, and we live in the shadow of a dormant volcano. We live very minimal. Most of the floors in the village are just packed dirt with a bamboo mat pulled out to use. My home is tiled - had to have that!
Funny thing is my internet is spotty at times, but much cheaper, and it goes with me and my phone wherever I am. I get 500 KB/s at times, with an average of 175 KB/s. This allows me to Skype my Dad and older children several times a week with video and share my world. I love my freedom, health and the world of wonder I am learning about. I have been in SE Asia for over 7 years, and in the village for almost a full year now. I might grow tired of it, and move on, but it will be to the next different thing, like a sail boat with short jaunts to other islands. Am I rich? No! You'd be amazed at how much you can accomplish if you set your mind to it, and have some passion about it.
People live in fear. Not the terrifying type of fear you might experience in an immediate life or death situation, but in a sort of self-imposed fear of change or anything different. I like to imagine our world takes place in an imaginery little bubble around us, and if we don't kick and push its walls, stretch them, exercise them, they close in, and we become imprisoned in this gnawing, subtle fear. It goes hand in hand with the quote attributed to Einstein. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. People know why they're unhappy; they just don't listen well to themselves, or are paralyzed by this subtle fear that drives their whole life.
My wife and I are also planning for the life like this. We haven't had children yet, but we want them to live in nature, value life as it is.
We don't know when and how we will start, but once day, we will have the van like the OP's, and just go.
Thank you for sharing.
And remember, I said minimalism. Where I live you get by on $3 per day per person. That's for food you don't grow yourself and other luxuries like internet, razors, soap or toothpaste. I use my phone's 3G service tethered via WiFi to my computer when I need it or want it. It's my biggest luxury item. I could even cut it in half. I currently spend about $25 dollars a month for it, or 1/3 my daily expenses!
As I wrote above, most people have dirt floors here, and refrigeration and electricity came not too long ago to this village. Each home has just under 900 Watts of power available, usually on a single 4 Amp/220 Volt (880 Watts) breaker. That's the deluxe plan. You can opt for 450 Watt service! You pre-pay for your electricity.
I am just starting on the ground work for a house similar to this: http://www.domegaia.com/ All in all, it should cost me less than $15K for the land and the house. Less than two years of property taxes for my house back in the US.
I am vegetarian, and it is great to be able to eat local produce. I have bananas, mangoes, papayas, jackfruit, peanuts, rice, and chilis right outside my home, and potatoes, carrots, corn, and other leafy greens from the vendor who comes down the road each morning at 6:00am.
There are plenty of chickens and goats around if that's your thing. Roosters start up around 4:30am!
There are also mongoose and king cobras, and I am buying an antivenom kit (finally after a year!), since there's no way to save someone from a positive bite other than antivenom. King cobra bites are very rare, but the nearest facility with antivenom is over 3 hours drive from here mainly due to the road conditions and the distance. You only have 30 minutes tops after a good envenomation by one. I am no doctor, but I have done some reading on extreme medicine over the years, but luckily I have not had to test most of that knowledge!
Bottom line is that I always wanted to travel and experience life throughout my life, not only when I was over 60 like most people plan to do. Funny, but when most people have saved and not traveled or lived differently, they tend to stay put and never do it. At least from those I grew up with or knew. I think there are a lot more 30-something millionaires now than ever before, but I ain't one of them; I wish I were 30-something again, and a millionaire ;)
I am not fervently against the school system like others can be. I just think the world holds enough wonder and obstacles to teach children. I've traveled enough to meet and speak with homeschooled children from boats, to remote areas, and I just like what I see and hear. Besides, I love spending time with family; I'm selfish that way!
I don't think any parent needs to be too academic either. It just takes love, patience and basic aptitude, since the materials are more readily available than ever, and attitude goes a long way to children opening up to learn rather than mechanics. Side benefit: the parents relearn along with the children. It's wondrous. A few focused hours per day maximum should accomplish more than 7 hour day at school confined to a room, and to administering a lot of the time away.
If I were to consider any school for my latest child, it would have to be project-based. I like applying as many disciplines to a singular project a child is impassioned about rather than teaching the discriminate subjects. They can focus later on, but getting how things work together in the real world is more valuable to me. Less is more in this instance.
Here, daily life is a learning experience, and social life is across the ages like when I grew up in Brooklyn, where it seemed to be an urban immigrant thing more than an American suburban thing. I don't believe in age segregation in schools. It was instituted about 170 years ago in America. I think the experienced elderly are an untapped resource, and it would benefit young and old to rediscover this.
I grew up with my Irish grandmother next door, and I learned a great many things from her, and the other elders around me - history, music, storytelling, and just life. I befriended a childless couple on our block who taught me so much too. The man was a very literate, sober, milk-drinking, pipe fitter who was like a very older brother, or more like a second father to me. He taught me the basics of celestial navigation, took me on a sail on a sailboat a group of workers co-owned to afford it, and would invite me over for dinner with his wife to discuss literature, philosophy, history, Latin, the classics and film. I will never forget those moments. They proved to me what a rich life a person can have at the poverty line.
The young children in the village here are naive to the world's history, politics and urban life, but they seem to have a lot more common sense at an early age than what I recall of my urban peers when we were children. I started an informal school here to give them some additional help with English, mathematics, music, literature and art. I had four girls show up daily, until a few of the boys that were making fun of us from the road, joined us. At one point, I counted 11 heads not including my baby girl walking around and creating havoc ;) I plan on putting on a bit of extra space in the house I am building as an informal classroom, or at least where we start off. I am buying some King Cobra antivenom just in case, since it takes over 2 hours drive from here to get to a facility that purportedly has a stock of antivenom. Attacks are very, very rare, but rather safe than sorry, given I videoed a 7 ft cobra at the edge of the rice fields in a patch of teak trees several weeks ago. Handlers or performers are generally the people getting bit like the singer Irma Bule who died in West J...
I knew nothing about insulation, wiring, woodwork, power tools, etc. and learned everything as I built it.
Was not cheap, because I didn't want to give up any luxuries, so breakeven is in a matter of years, not months. However, its been treating me well. I have spots that I prefer in South Bay and in San Francisco depending where I'm working out of.
Man, think of all the money you can save if you have a good income, and live in a motor home virtually for free.
Gonzo legitimized the whole concept. :)
Last year after getting made redundant from Cisco I was looking for work but there was nothing for 4 months as a Devops guy near where I live but there was plenty in London. I was actually considering either getting a van to sleep in, or a narrowboat, and working in London with London rates, then coming home at the weekend.
I'd love to know a cheap way of converting something liveable, bearing in mind most offices have showers so I don't need that, just to provide for my family.
I used to work Monday-Friday in London and head home (Manchester) for the weekend for about six months. During the week I'd stay in the cheapest hotels I could find (£50/night average). It was horrible, and after six months I ended up doing super cheap Air BNB just so I could cook some food once in a while. Still not great.
Eventually we just moved here. It's fine if you look for beyond zone 1, ideally near where you're working, and get paid London rates.
Was definitely cheaper than an apartment
No. But trading it for a van doesn't sound more pleasant.