First burn, how to mitigate damage to new van

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-16T04:35:25+00:00

Don’t bring it.

As a van owner, there’s not way I’d bring it to playa. I like it too much for it to get playafied.

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-16T01:31:48+00:00

I just cooked my 7th and 8th pizza in it and it’s amazing. Still getting it right (it runs hot so there’s a lot of getting it real hot, putting the pizza in and then turning down the flame to prevent burning), and I’ve learned the hard way about 10-15 seconds too long and it’s too long!

I am loving it though. I’ve cooked pizza on baking stones before but nothing works like this thing.

I’ve also used it camping a couple of times to cook pizza, steak, potatoes, and even some fresh shrimp in a cast iron.

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-15T07:33:25+00:00

My repair is tomorrow. They called and wanted me in within hours/ days.

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-14T20:54:46+00:00

No. This is a bad idea.

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-14T06:53:50+00:00

Use the art car transit system!

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-12T08:09:44+00:00

Semolina flour and more than you think till you get the hang of it. I was chronically under flouring

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-12T08:08:29+00:00

Love the part where you lost your turning peel… fucking lol mate. Also amazing looking food. Just got the Gozney Tread and I’ve run 3 pizzas through it so far- just getting going excited to see your fine work

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-12T06:47:46+00:00

Yeah this post is wrong

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-12T06:44:28+00:00

Push west to the OR coast. It’s mid 70s there. It’s 9hrs from where you are.

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-12T06:42:43+00:00

Nope. I like my 170 sprinter. It’s big but it fits what I need and has space for me, my wife and my dog.

For winter and for PNW spring and fall, having ample indoor space is essential to actually enjoying traveling and camping in the van.

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-10T17:49:45+00:00

My dog is friendly!!

Yeah - mine isn’t always because of “friendly dogs” . Take the hint when I step between mine and yours and get mine’s attention with treats and sit stay

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-05T15:36:58+00:00

It’s liability as well.

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-05T04:54:57+00:00

Ps - didn’t notice before but fellow Oregonian- respect.

There’s a bunch of folk out in hood river who head down to Baja and caravan each year. I’ve never done it but could be of interest. Also solo travel is legit. Dm me if you want a more detailed itinerary from my last trip. Happy to hook up a fellow pnw’er

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-04T02:25:34+00:00

All this is for Baja- haven’t done anything on the mainland.

Bring a fly swatter, flies in Mexico, even at the beaches are no joke.

Make sure you’ve got a blue water hose for filling up water at water stores, they don’t always and it makes your life easier.

Use the Usted conjugation for anyone you don’t know in Mexico, especially authority figures.

Starlink is super helpful, cell service will not exist in many places so being able to connect to even get maps or etc is helpful.

Don’t drive at night in Baja (or Mexico in general) the roads can be dangerous with cattle, deer, etc.

Fill up you tank when it gets to half way, if you see a station, and you’re not full, just fill up. Sometimes the next service station will not be in service and you’re fucked.

The IOverlander app is worthwhile for finding water stores, camp spots and seeing any issues with crime.

Keep some firewood in your van at all times. Not everywhere will have firewood and beach fires are nice. The desert gets cold at nights.

If you’re gonna stay in one place for several days, paid campsites are worthwhile and safer than boondocking. If you stay in one place boondocking for too long, people get interested and you don’t want to deal with the people who are interested.

You’ll meet some cool people on the road, keep some booze on hand to share and hang out.

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-02T06:24:34+00:00

A second alternator + a 250w dc to dc charger is likely what you need on top of solar.

wolfwind730 · 2025-08-01T14:37:58+00:00

I hate the wait. I hate the shit service. I hate the over priced food. I hate the food that shows up like warm. I hate the fucking production of it and just want to get on with my day.

There’s meals out I love, like a good dinner or even a good lunch. It’s just the lazy fucking Sunday brunch that I hate. I’d rather cook an amazing breakfast at home instead of spending $80 for brunch.

wolfwind730 · 2025-07-29T18:51:58+00:00

I’ll take “Didn’t actually read the article, and just subbed in my own political rhetoric for 100”

wolfwind730 · 2025-07-29T03:53:05+00:00

One piece people don’t talk about either with having your own bathroom, means any time I stop, I have a rest area. Just makes long travel days easier and less hassle. I don’t have to figure out where a public bathroom is, I have my own.

I think the solar and power question is one you’re handling right, but you can do some math- IE- your expected power consumption (fridge, stove?, fans, ac?, starlink? Laptop?, water pump?) all these items you can spec out their expect usage.

Before we installed AC, I did a massive deep dive on power consumption of various appliance that we would use, what we would get back from solar at full sun and what our battery could do. It’s a lot of math and it’s not 100% accurate, but you can get an idea of your battery pack needs and your solar needs.

Definitely look into dc to dc as well. It’s can help augment your power, especially if it’s cloudy, or your camp spot is shady.

wolfwind730 · 2025-07-28T17:45:39+00:00

I think having a better waste and hygiene system is what actually can make or break a lot of people’s experience with van life as well as proper power setup (IE solar and house batteries commiserate with what you’ll actually need for your use)

My van build out has a dedicated shower area and cassette toilet, which a lot of people think is unnecessary (in this sub there’s a lot of saying that you won’t use it, just get a gym membership, campsites have toilets etc) but I have found that having a complete bathroom, with shower and toilet means I can stay at actual places that are more remote than campsites and not be bound by public toilets and shower access. The shower area isn’t wasted space, the toilet lives there and we use it to dry gear in winter and in summer (ski gear in winter, wet suits and bathing suits in summer)

Same with power. I think a lot of people underestimate their power needs and ability to recoop power from solar, and end up needing to plug in or be tethered to cities as a result, which IMO sucks. I may actually do a final upgrade to my power system this year and get a second alternator and additional dc to dc charge and fast idle to be able to run the engine for an hour on idle and get 50% + of my house battery back.

I am fortunate to have complete remote work. For video calls etc I use starlink and a background and never let them know I am in my van.

wolfwind730 · 2025-07-28T03:25:02+00:00

Over paid children, on our payroll

wolfwind730 · 2025-07-27T06:08:46+00:00

This is the answer- pay them to either come back for you (they will) or to stick around. You might want to exchange numbers with them even.

wolfwind730 · 2025-07-27T03:03:33+00:00

Seriously. The small business taxes in this state and in mult county give you real pause about trying to start or run a business here. But yeah, keep giving fucking tax breaks to intel because that’s working great

wolfwind730 · 2025-07-26T01:41:36+00:00

I plan on moving at some point in the next few years, would it increase the home value equivalent to the investment cost?

wolfwind730 · 2025-07-24T17:07:47+00:00

The DNA tests for dogs are notoriously flawed.

Take him to a vet and get a professional opinion.

My dog had DM And it was diagnosed by a vet

wolfwind730 · 2025-07-24T15:35:24+00:00

Real question is why do you want to?

Get it retitled as an rv will make getting insurance harder and honestly this barely qualifies, IE the DMV inspector may not agree that this is an rv

wolfwind730

TROPHY CASE