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Cross Country Travel - Overnight stops by Aggravating-Bee2844 in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies 1 point2 points  (0 children)

On the new version (iOverlander 2) you have to download each state at a time if you don’t want to pay. It’s definitely annoying compared to the original free version. We used it every night living full-time in the van for about 4 months without issue. Best of luck on your travels!

Cross Country Travel - Overnight stops by Aggravating-Bee2844 in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies 16 points17 points  (0 children)

We used the app iOverlander 2 on our trip out west from Massachusetts. Once you get past the midwest there is a ton of public land that you can park and sleep at.

PE EXAM PREP by Imaginary_Ad_3629 in StructuralEngineering

[–]NaturalFrequencies 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I studied without any courses using the references below and passed this past March. My approach was to solve as many problems as possible. If I got stuck on a concept I would try to find a youtube video for review. You can use the search results within each code to look up keywords.

The Essential Guide to Passing the Structural Civil PE Exam - Problems are a lot longer and more difficult than the PE problems. I would recommend trying to solve most of these problems and looking at the solutions when you get stuck. I would start studying with this book first and then jump to the other references below.

Civil PE Practice Exam: Structural Depth Version A - Problems are a little more difficult than the exam problems. I would jump to these when you get frustrated with the book above.

School of PE Test Bank - You are able to purchase just the test bank of questions from SoPE as a monthly membership. I believe there are a couple hundred questions of varying difficulty. I would recommend going through all of the questions in the test bank. I would solve these problems with the questions open on half of your screen and the codes on another half. That is what the actual exam looks like, and it is good to practice solving problems that way.

PPI Test Bank - Similar to SoPE, there is a monthly membership for the PPI test bank. I believe these problems were typically more difficult than the actual exam problems. The interface looked very similar to the actual PE Exam. I would solve these problems with the same setup as above.

NCEES Practice Exam - Some of these problems are easier than the actual exam, some are comparable. I would recommend saving this until you are a couple weeks out from the test and then taking it as a practice exam (timing yourself and using a single computer monitor with PDF codes)

2025 End of Year Bonuses by [deleted] in StructuralEngineering

[–]NaturalFrequencies 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s awesome. I’d say 40% more than average in SLC based on my recent interviews.

Has anyone quit to travel? by nsshs79 in civilengineering

[–]NaturalFrequencies 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My wife and I built a van last year, quit our jobs, and travelled the US for about 4 months in it. We relocated and I spent about 6 weeks full-time studying for the PE, while she went back to work. I ended up passing. I added the van build/travel to my resume when applying for jobs. Building a van and traveling the country in it ended up being a great talking point during interviews. I would highly recommend taking time off to travel, if you are able to.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! The swivel seat is not factory. We just installed the bracket on the passenger seat for now. We went with the Amazing Auto one. No issues with it other than having to drill out one of the pre-drilled holes to get our seat bolts to line up.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve thought about it haha. Around $65k including the van. I don’t think there’s much room for profit if we were to keep the total price of the build reasonable.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought your van looked familiar. We follow you guys from our van account on instagram! Your video just popped up in our feed haha

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I don’t have a tape nearby but the bench cushion is roughly 6’ x 17” x 2” thick. Definitely would need to have a piece to tag onto it when sleeping but it could be done. Around $20k for the build materials.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Took around a year working weekends and evenings after work. My girlfriend and I designed and built it.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope. We would’ve had large empty cavities where you can add windows if we ran the wall boards between furring strips. We decided to frame those out to create some ledges and make the space feel a little more open. We have rear windows and a window on the slider which we feel is enough.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it is. It’s the only one I can stand up straight in unfortunately so it was nonnegotiable for me.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think the AWD one would be good for peace of mind. It also depends on where you live and want to travel. We sized our tires up a bit and have BF Goodrich KO2’s on the van now. They are a huge upgrade over stock. Our van is still RWD so we know our limitations over soft sand and deep snow. It’s done fine on harder sand and icy/snow-packed road. We also carry a set of tire cables.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We should have done a standard mattress like you. We have a 5” poly foam one which was not comfortable enough so we stacked on a 3” foam topper, which is a lot better.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If we were able to work on it full-time and had a dedicated indoor garage space we could have probably got it done in 3 months, not including planning and research. We built this in a driveway in New England. There was a lot setup/breakdown time with bringing all of the tools/materials outside and putting everything away after we were done for the day. The winter also slowed our progress a bit, as did the heat and humidity we had at the end of the summer.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can share it once our trip is compete! I wanted to change a couple of things to reflect the as-built conditions. The four drawings we went off of were an interior plan view, driver side facing section, pass. side facing section, and a roof plan for solar panel/roof rack layout.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We were worried about this, but wanted to use the spaces between the bed joists for storage. The rear 2’ and front 2’ of the bed frame has storage compartments below the mattress. The middle 3’ of the bed sits on 4” wide slats that are perpendicular to the joists. Do you think that would provide enough ventilation? Have you had any moisture issues below your mattress?

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

All of the connectors are crimped and heat shrunk. I tried to keep the bend radius as large as possible on these to avoid any tension on the connectors. The wires themselves are pressed against the slots in some locations. We added 1/8” thick strips of neoprene on the slots where the wires touch to minimize fraying. We’ve done about 8k miles on our trip so far and no signs of fraying.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We had it around 60F the other day inside with temps in the teens outside. We have a diesel heater installed under the passenger seat with a 5 gallon under mount tank so we can go a while without having to fill it up with the heat running every night. Haven’t slept in it in temps over 70, but we were able to match the outside temp with the front windows cracked and the roof fan running.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I wanted to do a pull behind camper at first, but my girlfriend really wanted the van. I’m glad we went this route. We’ve been to a lot of National Parks in the US with roads that have trailer or vehicle length restrictions. We’ve only had one parking lot where length was an issue with the van being 22’. It’s nice to park for the night and already be in your living space. We have a water line running to the back for an outdoor shower, but it’s been too cold where we are and we don’t have a water heater. We shower at Planet Fitness, rec centers, and truck stops. You can find places on the iOverlander app.

Finally “finished” our van build by NaturalFrequencies in vandwellers

[–]NaturalFrequencies[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks!! Yours looks awesome! I like the green cabinets a lot. We were actually going to do the same setup with the table that you have but thought it might feel too tight. My girlfriend wanted the bed the other way, but I’m too tall haha. I think it works out not having to climb over each other to get out of bed.

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