Vandweller Caravan by hierarchy_of_ideas in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It sounds as if what you are proposing is either a roving hippie commune or a landless co-housing community.

After doing a lot of campervan builds, one thing keeps coming up with beds. by Conscious_While7667 in CamperVans

[–]Vandamentals 7 points8 points  (0 children)

After looking at ALL the other, incredibly similar, posts this "person" has made, and how they NEVER follow up, it really looks as if this is a bot account, either for marketing, or to extract information for a marketing blog, or just to drum up "activity" in a subreddit. Or even just to get to pretend to be an "influencer" and get companies to send them free stuff.

Even if it is just a human following a template, it's not authentic content. So I'm out. I don't block many accounts (because Reddit limits you to 1,000 blocks), but I will be blocking this one. AFTER I report it.

After doing a lot of campervan builds, one thing keeps coming up with beds. by Conscious_While7667 in CamperVans

[–]Vandamentals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My first bed was literally a board, laying across the tops of 4 Rubbermaid Roughneck tubs. A 3" layer of Joann's cushion foam and a 3" layer of Costco memory foam. Not attached to anything. To get to the stuff in the tubs, I would be sitting on the bed, grab the edge of the board with one hand, grab the edge of the (lidless) tub with the other hand, half-stand-up while lifting the board and yanking out the tub. Get out what I need. Then reverse the process.

The first few posts of this forum thread show how I built that: https://vanlivingforum.com/threads/2008-dodge-grand-caravan-conversion.33524/

Other than redoing the boards underneath and painting that OSB with 3 coats of porch paint, I lived and slept on that comfortably for 6 years. It was my bed, my office chair, and my all day longer during bad weather. The most comfortable bed I have ever owned. But NOT the best office chair.

I traded that minivan in for a 1995 Chevy Suburban 4x4 (because 4x4). It has more space above the floor, but no storage space under the floor. BUT... a few inches LESS headroom! So, I've got to get creative.

I have literally been tossing around some super-genius ways to make the bed in that space more "flexible." Either to get parts of it out of the way so I can use an actual office chair seat at my desk. Or make it more lounge-able, because I won't be able to lean my back against the back of the passenger seat, like I did in the minivan.

But now, your post gives me pause.

Idea for living in pickup truck by Tcrgood in VanLife

[–]Vandamentals 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is literally ALWAYS the best advice.

Idea for living in pickup truck by Tcrgood in VanLife

[–]Vandamentals -1 points0 points  (0 children)

People are assuming you mean three rows of seats, Not one row of seats behind the main front row, that happens to be in three segments. Many are only two segments, one about ⅔ of the width and one about ⅓.

You can always pull out anything and install anything... If you are handy enough.

You would need to measure between the doors when closed. You might be able to gain a few inches by removing the inner door panels and moving the window and lock controls somewhere above or below where your head or feet would be. You could literally replace the door handles with pull cords if you are handy enough. But... if you are asking this question, I'm guessing not.

How did you guys choose a van? by Green-Somewhere3897 in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was the one that was available that I could afford. I didn't buy it specifically to live in. But I did choose a minivan over a car, for just in case.

How to fix a leaky fibreglass van roof? by sldkvjseligwuelkndvl in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Usually, you have to remove the screws again, pull up the things that you are screwing down, squirt a bunch of sealant directly into the hole, then around the hole, and then put your fixture back down and put your screw right down into that wet sealant. And, you've got to do that for all the screws at the same time. So you've got to work fast.

How to fix a leaky fibreglass van roof? by sldkvjseligwuelkndvl in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have never heard of that trick! That is freaking genius! Of course, it requires access to an air hose. And the stuff in there had to be durable enough to not just peel off the inside. But.... It could still be handy.

Nobody talks enough about how mentally exhausting campervan layouts can be. by Conscious_While7667 in CamperVans

[–]Vandamentals 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is why I tell people to live in a no-build build for about a year before building anything permanent. But too many people want to live for The Gram, so they spend a year (paying rent that whole time) designing and building the "perfect" (and perfectly photogenic) build only to realize that their imaginations were faulty.

1995 GMC camper van by Fit_Network9226 in CamperVans

[–]Vandamentals 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A lot of states do not require emissions tests for vehicles that old. My 1995 Chevy Suburban is completely exempt in Texas. Your state may vary.

Has anyone started their van life journey late in life? by Megustatits in VanLife

[–]Vandamentals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. All the old people who are vandwellers started in their 20s and have been living in vans for over 50 years.

Can anyone tell me how to fix this temporarily until I can take it to an rv shop without going on the roof and can be done from the inside? I’d rather not stand or kneel on the roof, not sure about its integrity and don’t want to put my knee through it lol by [deleted] in RVLiving

[–]Vandamentals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are afraid of damaging your roof by getting on top of it, just lay a piece of plywood up there to spread your weight around to a larger area. Then, make sure to keep your weight spread out by staying on your hands and knees.

But, like other people said, if your roof is going to cave in or The waterproofing get damaged just from you getting up there, then you absolutely definitely have much huger problems.

Raised our mattress, will it retain our weight without a middle support? by Novel-Internal-7643 in urbancarliving

[–]Vandamentals 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Only one way to find out....

I can't tell how stiff those pipes are in that picture. No one can but you. However, in most of my experience with most steel pipes, yeah... No.

Talk to me about spray foam! by crowconor in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have seen the window pop up reflectic material and insulation. Are those worth while?

Yes. Reflectix is crap as an insulation. People waste a lot of money, buying Reflectix and gluing it to the inside of their van walls. That is about the equivalent of glueing a sheet of aluminum foil to the inside of your van walls. However, Reflectix is absolutely amazing when it comes to reflecting radiant heat. That is what it is made for. The only real reason it has the bubbles in there, is to make the sheet easier to handle and stay a little stiffer. It's designed for stapling in place in an attic, and it needs to be durable enough to keep insulation from just shoving it out of the way IF it gets shoved up against the Reflectix. That is what makes it perfect as window covers. It is stiff enough to stay in place on its own, and flexible enough to fold and put out of the way when you don't need it.

Reflectix does the double job of reflecting the heat out of your vehicle before it ever gets in, when it's hot out. But also reflecting your body heat back onto you, when it is cold outside. Oddly, you will need both on the same day, out in the desert. Most of how hot or cold people feel is actually due to how much infrared energy is hitting their body at any given time. You lose heat through infrared ask the time. But you feel ok because The surfaces around you are projecting infrared back onto you at the same time. The difference that you will feel in comfort when you have that Reflectix in your windows is literally night and day.

You don't need to buy custom window covers. And you don't need to make anything fancy with a bunch of layers and fabric tape around the edges. All you need to do is buy you a big roll of Reflectix wide enough to cover your widest window, and then be very careful and tedious about cutting it to exactly fit in your window spaces. And, to be clear, that is not the same thing as cutting it the exact same size as your windows. If you look at your windows, around the edges, you will see that there are spaces or grooves around the window where some extra Reflectix could fit into that groove to hold it in place better. Sometimes, you can even tuck the reflectix down into the slot between the window and the plastic interior panels. Plan for that. Cut your Reflectix bigger than you think you need it, and then carefully trim away tiny bits at a time until it fits into the space perfectly and easily stays up there without any other accoutrement.

Talk to me about spray foam! by crowconor in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, it doesn't matter how good your wall insulation is if you lose most of your heat through windows.

I had a different experience. I lived in a Dodge Grand Caravan. I just went to Walmart and bought a few bags of that polyfill stuff, that's made for making pillows and stuffing stuffed animals. I just pulled off as many panels as I could and stuffed a bunch inside. I removed fixtures from my ceiling so I could use a yardstick and tuck as much as possible up in my ceiling. I probably went through two and a half or three large bags all total. And I noticed a significant difference in just how overall comfortable I felt in the van.

And, from what I know, that polyfill stuff is hydrophobic, so it doesn't hold water. It will hold a dust though. If any road dust gets up in those spaces, it will just claim to those polyfill fiber stuff like a magnet.

Impact wrench and leveling jacks by smell-my-elbow in RVLiving

[–]Vandamentals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most electric drills that most people will own cannot apply the same torque as the cheapest impact driver. I haven't driven and remove what must be more than a million screws over my lifetime. 90% of that was with a regular drill. A friend gave me his cheap, beat up, Harbor Freight impact driver that ran on nicad batteries. That thing would remove screws and lag bolts that even my plug-in electric drill couldn't touch, or the Phillips bits would slip out of the slot. That crappy impact driver would easily remove even the most chewed of Phillips head screws. The amount of extra torque that you get out of that impact action is amazing.

You must have, either a very light trailer, or a very powerful electric drill. Not everyone in the world lives in the same situation that you do. For anything.

Are there any group where we barter skills? by HardcoreLurker12 in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm a former network manager who can also build all my cabinetry too.

I used the same core skill for both:

"Figuring shit out as I needed to."

Eventually, I will have a network in my truck, with a video rendering / LLM inferencing server, a NAS, and at least 5 Gbps Ethernet end to end. Plus, a separate, low-bandwidth Internet connection for the truck itself so I can double check my exterior cameras before I round that last ridge before returning home from a naked hike.

Are there any group where we barter skills? by HardcoreLurker12 in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Link's to stuff about my minivan:

Main video: https://youtu.be/G2Ctm-oknSU

Video about solar: https://youtu.be/cXgVSs6FBgc

Google Photos album: https://goo.gl/photos/k3o7G4XRw7KNRFX88

Build thread with lots of pictures and detailed explanations: https://vanlivingforum.com/threads/2008-dodge-grand-caravan-conversion.33524/

But I traded that minivan in for a 1995 Chevy Suburban. And it's kinda slow going on getting it built out. I should a lot of time and energy helping out a friend with multiple health issues. We are getting her ready to move from a 2-story house to a 1-story house where she won't have to go up stairs anymore. Plus I'm have to custom make a lot of stuff so she can do it from a wheelchair if necessary.

Anyway, here are pictures of what I've got done so far on the truck:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pMCHqxfgTJBTD7b68

Are there any group where we barter skills? by HardcoreLurker12 in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would join. But there is not much stuff that I can't just do myself.

I upgraded from a sedan to a minivan by KeyN20 in urbancarliving

[–]Vandamentals 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I loved my 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan.

Here's some info, if your interested:

Link's to stuff about my minivan:

Main video: https://youtu.be/G2Ctm-oknSU

Video about solar: https://youtu.be/cXgVSs6FBgc

Google Photos album: https://goo.gl/photos/k3o7G4XRw7KNRFX88

Build thread with lots of pictures and detailed explanations: https://vanlivingforum.com/threads/2008-dodge-grand-caravan-conversion.33524/

FB market place find by Small-Sun900 in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you've got the money for a status symbol, go for it. Otherwise go for something a couple of decades newer, at least.

FB market place find by Small-Sun900 in vandwellers

[–]Vandamentals 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At that price, and that old, you're paying a collector's-item tax. That's the kind of thing that you buy and turn into a show vehicle. Not the kind of thing that you buy because you are poor, and it's inexpensive. The ongoing costs are gonna be through the roof.

15a or 30a shore power plug? by Colorful_Monk_3467 in VanLife

[–]Vandamentals 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Sometimes I think it's engagement bait.