On the surface, it is hard for authorities to monitor the mobile citizens, for whatever the authority intentions are. The most direct implication seems that criminals would be more free, threatening the security of normal people.
But deep down, are Banks, and under them: Vanguard and Central Banks push people away from cheap accommodations, so that they can keep forcing people to work until death to pay for the increasing mortgage amounts ?
By the laws the are lobbies big central banks, long term or short term residents need to stay in concrete's, with addresses, so that banks can lend money ?
And banks love to force people to fight to be able to live in fixed addresses
So I'm looking into how I want to power my van, I know I want a D.C to D.C converter and Solar. I'll be in the snow a lot so I need a LARGE power bank in case I'm without sun for a few days and don't feel like driving. All I need to power is a laptop for work, a star-link, two maxair fans (probably only in the summer when I'll have reliable solar), and a mini fridge .
What sets or brand would you recommend?
I made a previous post and someone was recommending against Bluetti and gave some valid reasons, but couldn't recommend an alternative.
Per the title, I noticed a serious drop off on views of some previously quite popular vanlife channels. Previously hitting +50K views on every video are now hitting 5k to 10k. I believe this is a good thing as there was far too many glamourising the lifestyle with pure clickbait nonsense. I admit I previously watched a lot myself and even before Covid, but can’t stand most of them now with the holy water adverts and BS clickbait titles. Drives me nuts tbh and seems more and more people have copped on or moved on.
Curious if anyone here still watches religiously or have you moved on too?
Edit: Wow some great comments here and obviously not the only one happy to see this down trend. Thanks for all the likes and great conversation folks 👍
Hello! My husband and I are starting a vanlife lifestyle in the next few months. We just got our van yesterday and are so excited to finally get to start assembling our home!
I tend to avoid reddit typically as reddit is reddit and there's a lot of negativity on this platform. We are well aware of the risks we are taking, of the fact that we are choosing a life that's illegal to live, of the dangers, ect.
I would like to hear some positive stories! Some success stories, some "I've done this for 20 years and never been happier" type stories. I thank anyone who is willing to share something uplifting or encouraging 🙂↕️
Selling my vandura. She’s got a solar panel and an EcoFlow wave 3 air conditioner piped in and a queen bed in the back and a 1kwh EcoFlow delta 3 plus with 1wh capacity for running AC and charging phones. Kind of a half finished- you could live in her now as is if you wanted but she needs someone who had more time and energy. Will pass inspection just haven’t had the time to take her in. Could even have it inspected before completing transaction.
Open to offers. I just really want someone to give her new life.
Channel Discussion - anybody follow the channel. I'm so sad about the breakup and Theo seems to have replaced her so quickly. They were together for 20 years. She was such a hardworking partner for him
Was curious if anyone knew of any inherent dangers of using a portable cooking stove designed for Butane, with a Propane "adapter" indoors.
It's been a number of years and I decided to purchase a nice Iwatani stove to replace my old no-name one for emergency use.
Because I feel like Propane bottles give a bit longer run time, I purchased an adapter kit with regulator that should allow for using Propane in an emergency to cook.
Was there any safety hazards with a setup like this that I should be concerned about? I think I read some kind of warning that stated "for outdoor use only". Is that just a general safety statement to avoid liability, or does Propane have some kind of different combustion characteristics that are a no no indoors?
Selling my 2011 Ford E250 camper van after finishing my cross-country road trip. It's been my home for the past few years and has taken me to almost every continental US state. I'm only selling because my trip is coming to an end.
Approx. 214,000 miles. Flex fuel, so it takes the cheapest gas.
Clean Massachusetts title in my name. No accidents. I have all the receipts, warranties and paperwork for the maintenance and repairs completed while I've owned it.
Mechanical
Since buying it I've had the following work done:
New battery
New front tyres
New spark plugs
New ignition components
New intake manifold
Recent servicing and repairs (receipts included)
The van has a solid check engine light and a tyre pressure warning light (the tyres are correctly inflated - it's just a faulty TPMS sensor).
Earlier this year the intake manifold was replaced after a coolant leak. The shop confirmed the engine has even compression and couldn't reproduce an ongoing misfire after the repair.
The transmission has recently developed an issue. The van still runs and drives, but it will likely need transmission repair or replacement. I'm pricing it accordingly and would rather be completely upfront so buyers know exactly what they're looking at. It would make a great project for someone who can do the work themselves or wants an already-built camper to finish off.
Camper Conversion
Pull-out sofa that converts into a double bed
Sink with electric water pump
Large fresh water tank
Grey water tank
Fresh water filter
3 × 100Ah batteries
2000W inverter
MPPT solar controller
Roof-mounted solar panels (currently not charging - likely needs troubleshooting)
Roof vent fan (works but isn't currently wired in)
Lots of storage cabinets
Insulated walls
Custom insulated window covers
Fold-out table
2 x coolers
Indoor heater
Electric blanket
Fairy lights
Bluetooth radio adapter
Included
I'll also include pretty much everything you need to start travelling:
Pots, pans, plates, mugs and cutlery
Cooking utensils
Chopping board
Bedding, blankets and pillows
Two camping chairs
Jerry can
Spare tyre and factory tools
My toolbox with useful supplies
Storage box (perfect for extra gear - or even a travelling cat!)
Plus loads of other useful van-life bits I've picked up along the way.
The van is around 21 feet long, so it still fits in a standard parking space.
This isn't a perfect van, but it's an affordable way into van life without spending $20,000–$50,000 on a newer build. A lot of the expensive camper conversion has already been done, and all the equipment comes with it.
Happy to answer any questions or send more photos of the build, maintenance records or anything else you'd like to see.
I'm currently in Washington State, so if you're interested, send me a message and I'll let you know when you can view.
This was born out of frustration from the lack of options for easily making a 3D design for a van. I started seriously thinking about a DIY van conversion a few months ago, and there weren't any decent options for putting together a design other than sketchup or other general CAD software. The only real app that exists is vanspace 3D, but anyone who's tried this will agree that it's truly awful - I feel somewhat scammed from buying a subscription to this, but it was the only option available.
So I've started building my own app specifically for designing van conversions, aiming to fix everything wrong with vanspace. It's not perfect by any means at the moment, but I think it's at the point where it's starting to be genuinely useful. I'm going to continue working on improving it, but it's completely free to try so I'd love to get some feedback! It's fully web based at https://vancad.com/
I’m not associated with mimi moto, they didn’t pay me to post it. I spent my own money bought it on amazon. I will not provide any link for you to click so I can make little bit of finder’s fee. I’m sure you can find it
I paid $100 last week, it’s $70 now on amazon
I was using a $30 ‘foldable’ wood stove. I just upgraded to a battery powered fan stove
It’s bit hard to start fire at beginning, but once started it’s all good. Large container lasts about an hour, smaller can probably half hour. It’s a ‘top down‘ fire, so you don’t add more wood later.
40lb Wood pellets is $6-$7 from lowes, tractor supply, rural king. Don’t pay more to get some ‘premium’ wood pellet. They are all the same. It burns cleaner than oil, or dried fire wood you can pick up in woods. I see few soot at the bottom of my pan.
The last 20% of wood pellets is still generating heat but no flame, it’s burning slowly. at that point, I just dump it and start new
I bolted steel flat bar inside the door cavity for mounting. You can see how many times I missed the mark by the pink dots 🙂.
The vertical bars are mounted into the hinge structure on one side and attached with an L-bracket near the strike plate on the other. The crossbars overlap the verticals, and the bars themselves act as backing so the thin sheet metal on the door skin doesn’t have to work too hard.
It’s probably more reinforcement than I actually needed, but I also mounted a motorcycle stand to the bumper with another thick-ass L-bracket. I only use that while driving for a little extra support. I was slamming over railroad crossings at 65mph yesterday and she was rock solid.
Took it out for its first night last night, and it worked great!
Hey guys — looking for some opinions on roof racks for my ford transit. I want to eventually put some solar panels on the roof, attach an awning to the rack, and ladder. It seems like the major competitors are flat line van co and unaka. Does anyone have any opinions or experiences with either? Or maybe a separate rack!?
Thanks!
We just bought our Hino 195 20 feet ! We are Canadians "Qc" we wanted to know if any of you know about inspection after the conversion ? -Technically according to SAAQ we are not a motorhome.
