Post: #1

Ever since buying a small camping trailer I've been fixated on this lifestyle.

Many things attract me to this, and I decided a year ago that I'm going to work towards this being my life goal, working on the road and living in my house on wheels. I'll be buying my first motorhome soon and ditching the trailer, with the ultimate goal to upgrade to a big class C or A that's easy to full-time in.

There are many advantages:

- Can stay for free in many places (overnight wal-mart, national parks, etc.) if you have solar or a generator and big holding tanks it can be for days.

- The loan is tax-deductible just like your home mortgage.

- Everything travels with you, no need to pack or unpack.

- It's inexpensive! Aside from the expense of the rig itself there are all sorts of creative ways to live on the cheap.

Disadvantage: MPG sucks, gas prices could lock you in from traveling far.


There is a YT channel "nomadic fanatic" that shows off the more white-trashy version of this lifestyle. Not sure where he gets his money but I plan to work from the road so I have a decent income.

https://www.youtube.com/user/nomadicfanatic

Has anyone else tried this?

Post: #2

Interesting idea, but if you want to pull chicks wouldn't logistics be an obstacle?

Not sure you can park your RV right next to a bar or a cafe. My ex-in laws had an RV and they could only park it in a RV park, which is usually in the boonies 30-60 miles outside of a major city.

But nevertheless, an interesting idea.

Post: #3

Shouldn't this be in the Lifestyle section

Post: #4

Rent one for an extended trip before you commit. The road gets boring after a while and, for the same cost, you can travel the entire world.

Post: #5

(09-03-2015 11:41 AM)Captainstabbin Wrote:  Rent one for an extended trip before you commit. The road gets boring after a while and, for the same cost, you can travel the entire world.

I own a trailer right now, so I've been going on longer and longer trips. When I upgrade to a small class C motorhome in a little while I'm going to try the long-term ones and see if I still like it. The trailer is small enough to where it is annoying for me right now.

Post: #6

If you love the road and want to stay continental then do it - doesn't appeal to me at all but to each there own.

I don't see how it would be that inexpensive. A new RV worth living in and having guests over will run you $80k - $100k plus insurance, gas, registration, inspection, general maintenance, etc. For the monthly costs you may as well buy plane tickets every several months and travel the world.

Yeah yeah Lifestyle section would be a better place for this.

Post: #7

I think there might have been a thread a while back about a trailer/camper lifestyle.

Might have been a vw bus. Might be helpful. On a phone so doing stuff isn't as easy a pc or I'd just do it for you.

Edit: meh I searche'd for it. /thread-33977.html

Do I sound like a get off my lawn guy

Post: #8

I have updates to this thread, things have changed somewhat but my dream hasn't. Plan though is to park the motorhome and use a "toad" vehicle to travel around the city during my stay.

Sold the small camping trailer (Jayco SLX super light weight) for $1,000 more than I paid for it. Trick was to wait until spring 2016, so I paid on 2 loans for a few months. Essentially got to use it for over a year for free!

Purchased an early 2000s Class A motorhome on a Workhorse-based chassis (it's a GM 8.1L V8 with a GM tranny but it's not really a GM vehicle, most parts are interchangeable to a point) in late 2015, the best deals are at the end of the camping season. Price paid for the motorhome was about $15k. Well taken care of for it's age.

Advantages of the new motorhome:

- Larger holding tanks (1-2 people can live off for a few days depending on water usage, sewer hookups make this irrelevant though)
- Holding tank heaters for winter usage, haven't made use of that yet
- Ducted A/C and furnace, so heat and cool don't all come from one side of the unit
- Built-in 4kW Onan generator, AC power is needed for microwave or air conditioner
- Propane oven in addition to gas cooktop, no electricity needed
- Bathroom has a sink (weird brushing your teeth over the kitchen sink)
- Built-in LCD TV (an upgrade, original was AC/DC tube type)
- Actual bedroom with a mini-nightstand and small closet and short-queen bed
- More room overall, jacknife sofa folds down to a bed, so does the dinette
- 8 cu. foot fridge/freezer, which is huge for an RV, runs off either propane or AC power, this one is completely automatically temperature controlled.

I've done some minor upgrades and repairs, but I'll save them for the next post with pictures.

Post: #9

I've seen some sick campers and totally would love to do this for a year or two in a large camper.

This one hippy guy I saw on a website somewhere set up a dual tank diesel, waste vegetable oil fuel rig. He would go to small businesses and ask to pump their waste oil. He'd filter it and boom, free fuel once the engine was warmed up by the diesel.

Post: #10

I knew an Italian hippie that did the same with his Camper van, I hope I can do that with a sprinter type

Post: #11

Great idea, I rented a class c this past summer and took it took to Santa Cruz and parked it in a rv park in the redwoods. very cool vacation for a few days. I researching it a bit because I work in the music industry and I'm going to develop either a Volkswagon camper or a class c and tour reggae festivals for a reggae label. I was thinking to have one for the European festivals and one for the US Festivals.

Post: #12

Great project done in only 17 days.







Full video:




Guy's blog:
http://offgridvan.blogspot.com.br/

Bonus:

Post: #13

Man I'd probably get a headache from spending tkme in such a small space.

Post: #14

I'm probably going to end up buying a truck and a fifth wheel or travel trailer one of these days and chase work all over western Canada from April until November while its not too cold. I even looked into buying a permanent lot an an RV park in the warmer parts of BC (about 1.5 hours from Vancouver), parking a trailer there and renting it out while I'm away working.

Post: #15

Time for an update, new piece of gear! This isn't just limited to RV use though, it would be great tent camping. I've tested this out with low drain devices and it worked great! Not bad for something I got cheap.

The manufacturer calls it a "solar generator" but it's really just a battery pack with a solar charge controller and some power ports, 12V and 5V USB.



I've already taken it apart to see what's inside, standard SLA (sealed lead acid) battery like I replace in UPSes all the time. It's always nice when manufacturers use easily found replacement parts so your thingy isn't junk when the battery dies.

Have no idea what that "external battery" connector type is, otherwise I'd buy one and wire up a cable to charge the motorhome's big battery bank.

The other half of the box is this, a fold-able solar panel set:



Panels are 10 watts each.

When looking for pictures of it I found this video:

Post: #16

If it were me, I'd do some extended camping with high quality equipment or do the stealth van option and just hit the national parks during the prime summer season june july august while its warm. Low cost of entry, high value per dollar, and no fixing shit in the dead of winter.

If you add up all the expenses, motorhome travel isnt actually as cheap as you think.

Post: #17

Grats to OP for taking the road less travelled, figuratively speaking of course.

Part of what makes this forum great is the wealth of experience the members provide.

Post: #18

(05-12-2017 01:40 AM)mickeyd Wrote:  If it were me, I'd do some extended camping with high quality equipment or do the stealth van option and just hit the national parks during the prime summer season june july august while its warm. Low cost of entry, high value per dollar, and no fixing shit in the dead of winter.

If you add up all the expenses, motorhome travel isnt actually as cheap as you think.

Correct! Unless you can boondock for free on BLM lands all the time, or always sleep at a walmart and move daily, there's a campsite fee you'll need to fork over. Minimum $12 a day with electricity only or no utilities at all, or about $18 for electricity and water.

Boondocking has the disadvantage of being literally no services, so you have to fill your water tank and last off that (60 gallons for me) and make your own power, which means solar panels or running the generator. I've only boondocked a few times so far just to get a feel for it. The onboard 4kw Onan generator uses about a half gallon of gas an hour, so I actually use one of these when boondocking because it lasts for hours on 1 gallon of fuel:



Not to mention if you're moving a lot that'll cost you in fuel. Mine gets 10 MPG and that's about average for most rigs. $2 to travel 10 miles.

Post: #19

http://thevanual.com/ quite a decent website with good step through guides, thinking of making a campervan when I get back from traveling.

Post: #20

I lived in a camper van full time for 5 years. I traveled mostly around the western US. I spent 3 winters in SoCal. One in South Texas. One in south Florida.

First mistake people make:
Trying to live in the vehicle as if it is a house. It's not. That's going to have all sorts of practical problems and depress you emotionally.

The reason you probably want the RV to begin with is for freedom and a different lifestyle. Why the hell would you try to pretend it's a house and live in it as such. Crazy.

Second mistake people make:
They think they need a big RV to be comfortable. Class A and such are for family's on vacation or retired couples who sell their home and full time it. As a single guy you don't need that. Nor should you really want that.

Third ASSumption:
You need a nice vehicle to fuck chicks. All you need is a beer in that brat. Not even. Slightly lowered inhibitions and she will get super wet being Fucked in a van. I fucked plenty of chicks in my nasty camper van. When they squirt all over my cheap carpet and fixtures I don't give a fuck. Just replace the cheap foam topper every season.

The main thing you should be concerned about is fitting in a compact parking spot. Also your weight and gas mileage. If you fit in a compact spot parking is a breeze. You can blend in with their cars. You will avoid parking tickets and hassles.

The way you get extra room is to have a super high top. This allows you to stand up inside. That makes a huge fucking difference and gives you space if you use it economically.

The van is a place to sleep, store your stuff, and get from A to B. You don't hangout in it! You hangout at Starbucks. That's your living room. Your toilet is the gym or any public toilet. You carry a backpack with your toiletry kit, charger, etc.

You can park at most but not all Walmarts. Make sure to ask or look for the RVs off to the side. Sometimes it's not allowed but if you let the security car know you'll only be one night (and you're clean cut white guy on a road trip) they will accommodate you.

I can go on and on. There's lots of methods and ways to do the van thing. I stopped telling people about it. Most people just like the idea. But they'll never pull the trigger. It's to scary a change from their sedentary lifestyle.

Post: #21

I bought a large 7 seater car ( Ford Galaxy in Europe, not sure what the equivalent in U.S. would be) but we are talking about something quite a bit smaller than a VW campervan.

I travelled around Europe for three blissful months and saved a load of money compared to living in an apartment or house.

The space was small, but you get use to it and it's super stealthy as looks like a regular car with shaded windows. I even parked up in Central London and slept!

The MPG was awesome too! The key it to be minimalist and super organised with your stuff.

That said, I would go for a larger vehicle next time. If the weather is bad then being stuck inside a car is pretty grim! Luckily I had great weather for all of the trip. Would love to do the same across America. One day.

Post: #22

Dream of mine is to retire and do this. Nothing big, just a cozy class C.

There's a roving community of RVs here in my neighborhood that post up for a few days and then move around. It's weird, but heck I'd do it too.

Maybe spend a day or two at an RV campground just to dump the toilet, refill the water, and charge everything back up. I could see it being a lot of fun. I think campers are so cool. It would be a blast to be able to be on the move whenever you needed to be.

Post: #23

Travel Museums, what do you do / what did you do for money while traveling?

Post: #24

I seriously looked into this for a while so let me give you my thoughts on it from what I thought the pros and cons were for me.

First off checkout Youtube lots of videos and lots of content on this type of thing. Some people love it and other people giveup after a few weeks and realize they hate it so I'd definately suggest renting and trying it out for some extended period of time before committing.

I definately think it can and will be cheaper than having an apartment or house but at the same time many people report its not as cheap as you think. While there are many things you will save on in terms of rent and utilities, you have very little storage so many things you'll have to pay for on a regular basis and it will cost you more than living in a fixed location. Things like laundry you can't do laundry in your camper so your paying quarters for washing and drying. You'll probably wind up eating out more, going out more, etc just to spend time outside of the van.

I think you have to A. really love the road, and B. realize its more a lifestyle than a place to live. Many people who do this do web design or something where they can work remotely so its not 100% traveling but basically traveling and working which you can do because you don't have a fixed job to go to.

Lastly not sure how stealth you want to be but Walmart is less friendly to this than they used to be and campgrounds aren't cheap your probably looking at $30 to $50 per night so unless you are on BLM land and can camp for free you may have trouble finding parking.

Many people who do this report that its more romantic in the idea than it is in reality. Do you happen to have friends all over the country? Reason I ask is I think it would be ideal to spend a few weeks/months here, move on to somewhere else and do some traveling along the way but you can park for free, hookup to utilities for free, etc.

Post: #25

There seems to be no reason to choose an RV over a cargo trailer.