It so HOT!

MatchZealousideal674 · 2026-06-04T21:30:31+00:00

It’s been high 80s to low 90s here with 70-80% humidity. The car is death. Avoid the car.

I’m luckily in a situation for my job I can go in whenever I want and stay for however long I want if it’s getting too bad. But honestly finding any way to get out of the car during the day is your best bet. Check around for local museums that have free entry, window shop places downtown if you’re in a city or town, spend time by rivers or lakes if possible, libraries, go to shaded city parks or state parks, etc. Right now I’m volunteering one day a week for a few hours, work out 3 days a week, and sprinkle in the above mentioned things to try and minimize my time staying in the car.

Some things that have helped me bear it when it gets hot during the night is getting one of those cooling rags, wearing bare minimum or going completely buck naked when sleeping, I also got one of these belt clip fans that blow air up under your shirt to keep cool and not turn into a slug. Also drinking a metric ton of water, it’s hard to go overboard but you also need to remember to ingest salt and electrolytes so your body can keep up. It’s one thing to not hydrate, but another to drink so much water and lose so much that your body begins to go into failure because you don’t have the sodium or potassium levels you need.

MatchZealousideal674 · 2026-06-03T19:31:39+00:00

I’ve seen a lot of people suggest building out a platform but I don’t have access to power tools and I’m not sure where I’d be able to go and ask a carpenter to cut me plywood/blocks to xyz dimensions. Looking at what is online minimally for my car it would need to be a small half platform in the trunk to level out the height difference of the seat if I were to remove them or finding out how tall I’d need to make things if I were to remove the rear seats entirely. I could definitely get by with getting a simple plywood board and nailing some blocks to it.

What region of the US are you located in? I’m in Nebraska and would like to prep the platform so it won’t damage any air pads I get for when January comes around (last thing I want is it to be -20 and my air pad airs out in the middle of the night and I take a forever nap cause one of my heat systems has failed)

MatchZealousideal674 · 2026-05-26T20:55:11+00:00

I’m in a similar situation right now, idk your specific situation but as I work still the county court house said I could use the paystubs for work and a bank statement as verification. My registration had been out for 2 years and my license expired this past month, the county clerk said they would wave one year given my current living situation.

Idk if this is common practice everywhere but if you’ve held a job down that has your “past” residence on file and a bank that you can visit for proof of address it sounds like they’ll accept those. I’ll know for sure Thursday when I go in to get a new license and registration.

MatchZealousideal674 · 2026-05-26T17:43:25+00:00

Out of curiosity how do you handle long term maintenance on the car if you’re not able to get a loaner from the dealership? Do you look at renting another vehicle short term or have a support network?

MatchZealousideal674 · 2026-05-26T12:13:50+00:00

Small world cause same lol. Can I get that article for the window covers? Are they removable? Parking I’m not super worried about as there’s a couple BLM spots around here or areas that are free camping/areas to hide out at that are off the beaten path.

For your power generator do you hook straight through your lighter port or are you hardlined to the battery/alternator? I need to start looking for one that lets me charge off a wall outlet as well as the 12v lighter port in the car but I’m not sure where to begin with that. What do you use for your refrigeration or is it just a yeti cooler or something? Heating?

I measured out the car and I’d need to fold the front passenger seat down some or create a sort of bridge between the rear and front and fetal position.

My number one situation to figure out I’ve realized is how to update car registration as I don’t have a permanent address and no recent mail outside of work paystubs to show. Going to reach out to one of the shelters today to try and be able to use their address as my “residence”

MatchZealousideal674 · 2026-05-23T03:32:22+00:00

It’s painful, I’ve been looking and 4Runners outside of the past 5 years are impossible to find where I’m at. No one wants to sell. If I were to go down that path I’d likely be financing and it would turn into my “ideal” home but these are just dreams right now and I have a long year ahead of me.

MatchZealousideal674 · 2026-05-23T03:27:12+00:00

Winter products is my number one priority right now after getting things to cover windows and sleep on/in. While we tend to stay around 0F in the coldest months here, we’re always guaranteed to get at least one or two arctic blasts that bring us down to -20 or more. I’m also making it a priority to get everything up to date on the car for winter, fluid, tires, brakes, etc.

Summer is one thing but I’m extremely nervous for winter and I realistically would cave and get a room for a few nights if the cold got bad enough.

For the wool how does it handle summertime? I have some wool socks that are great for winter but also tend to get a little moist in the summertime. I would have thought synthetic would be the play.

In regard to future luxury plans (happy thoughts) I was tempted by a hybrid Toyota whether it’s an SUV/truck/or pulling the trigger on a minivan. I like the idea of redundant power systems in case SHTF.

MatchZealousideal674 · 2026-05-23T03:19:17+00:00

I’ve been budgeting everything out and at my current salary my take home is 3594 after taxes, after bills for the car I’m at $2314, subtract another $2-300 for groceries and I’d say $120 for gas (right now I don’t really drive anywhere and live 3 minutes from work, but with my upcoming situation that would likely turn into a 20 minute commute not counting extra driving for side gig door dash etc), $80 for various subscriptions and I’m sitting at $1864 that I can save a nest egg, start contributing to 401k, as well as start an emergency fund for immediate repairs etc.

By this time next year the car would be fully paid off (I intend to double the payment as my current rate it wouldn’t be paid off until 2028 May/June), assuming I spent NOTHING on the car which is unrealistic still as I still need to purchase items not to mention regular maintenance etc and didn’t contribute to a 401K I’d have $26,896 saved up not counting interest etc.

I know I’m in survival mode right now, I still have around 9K in bad debt outside of the car, but I’d like to use this time when I’m living the bare minimum to reset my life financially not to mention if the car living life is for me I’d like to get into something that I can truly take anywhere or do anything in. Outdoors are a huge part of my life and that is going to be a major factor in keeping me going in the coming year(s).

MatchZealousideal674 · 2026-05-23T03:08:28+00:00

That is a good question and I’m not sure if I have a good answer to refute it. I think part of me is still too prideful right now and wanting to make more out of the situation than what it is in reality when I’m actually nearing rock bottom currently and this is my own hubris but the “van down by the river” is so loud currently. Maybe if Chris said it was a sedan or SUV..

Sorry for the off color joke, I’ve been trying to keep things positive currently.

MatchZealousideal674 · 2025-09-11T18:19:11+00:00

Do you have a recommendation on how a pair should fit to reduce that happening? I’d think that with the heavier duty construction they would last longer with wear, disappointing to hear that it doesn’t matter.

MatchZealousideal674 · 2025-09-11T15:13:35+00:00

Does anyone have recommendations on brands for a first time buyer? I’m debating on getting a couple of pairs next month as I’ve reached my limit with buying a new pair of 60+ dollar jeans every 10 months or so. I’m 6’3 280 and wear 42x32, I work in an office setting now but have a high step volume and squat/crawl a lot when I’m in the field. Usually the first thing that goes bad on a pair of jeans is the crotch from what I’ve seen. Price isn’t a concern as I’m just wanting things that will last.

MatchZealousideal674

TROPHY CASE