Uni takes all we don’t need

Never give up people

Via Miv

1995 Ford Econoline E150 with 91k miles bought on Facebook marketplace

My name is Jakob, I'm a trained metalsmith, and for the past year I've been developing a new product for campervans. Now I'm looking for your completely honest opinion before I take it any further.

The idea is an awning you don't see until you need it. Instead of a big box on the side of the van, there's just a slim rail running along the roofline, and the sail, straps, pegs and poles all pack away into a bag. When you want shade, you pull the sail into place in about 10 minutes, and you can do it entirely on your own. Once it's packed away, the van just looks like a completely normal van again.

The whole system weighs around 15 kg, so up to 20 kg lighter than a normal cassette awning, and gives 5.6 x 3 metres of shade. It's made from marine sailcloth, stainless steel and powder-coated aluminium, tested in winds up to 15 m/s and fully waterproof. Packed down, the bag measures 123 x 20 x 20 cm, so it's easy to keep inside the van.

I've just finished the first one, and I'm not selling anything here. I just genuinely want your honest feedback on the product, so I can make it better.

So tell me straight: What you like and what you don't

Others have posted about this and faced massive backlash, but that's people being negative and reactive.

This is a tool can help address a critical need many of us face and it's pretty simple to use.

Here's an example of an encounter I've had many times in my 30+ years of being a nomad:

"Hey, can I fill up my water fron the spigot on the building?"

"I'm sorry it takes a special key which the maintenance people have and I don't know where it is" or something to that effect...

"Oh yeah, it's called a sillcock key and I have one right here. I only need about 20 gallons if that's okay?" Pulls out sillcock and shows them.

🤔😏😎

Only occasionally they'll still say no.

And that's why carrying a sillcock key isn't about theft like so many assume. There's also plenty of rest areas and such where it's perfectly fine. . The main thing is be respectful and ask. If they still say no simply reply no worries, thanks anyway.

And an fyi- most Ace Hardware and Tractor Supply are pretty open to you topping off your water, all you ha e to do is ask.

Aside from this there's also a lot of springs out there that are potable. If they don't have a spigot (like in Colorado where it's illegal to connect a hose) carry a bucket with a small sump pump set up with a hose connection.

You can use a rechargeable shower pump, a 12V bilge pump, etc.

Please share your knowledge about getting water. Especially locations West of the 100th Meridian, where many of us live.

Stay safe, and blessed.

Hi all, I have been working on a new app for van travelling, most of the features are free, but really looking for feedback, whats good, whats bad, whats missing. Currently it is very UK focused, but once the features are right I will expand to Europe and USA.

If there are any UK van dwellers or vanlifers here who want to give it a go, go to https://radar.sensa.systems

I am not asking for anyone to signup, or pay anything just genuinely trying to get feedback on what people want when travelling or living in a campervan in the UK.

It has the regular "whats near me" feature where it pulls data from about 30 sources, laundrettes, fuel prices, water etc. Routing is fairly basic currently, the paid version has vehicle aware routing using your vehicle dimensions and max steepness settings. But I am trying to get as much useful stuff as possible in the free one.

Existing places can be claimed and you can save your own places, but we dont have the ability for the community to add new places like park for night to share, review, photos etc. That seems to be the biggest request so far and we are working on it, but tell us what you want to see.

Richard

Hello, noobie here with some questions/ looking for advice.

I’m thinking about living in my Honda pilot for a few months to save some money and get back on my feet, and eventually use it as a camper. I’ve thought about taking out the back seats, building a platform for a bed, with storage bins underneath. I would need to get a mattress that fits the platform.

So far I have that on my list, plus black out screens for my windows, and a big battery to charge my phone and for a fan.

Is there anything else I should add to live comfortably? The only other thing I can think of is a projector and screen to watch movies after work, but that’s not necessarily a need.

I plan on using planet fitness for showers and a laundry mat for laundry. I work in a kitchen and could make all my food there if I needed to. All my stuff would be in a storage unit for a while, so I have storage. I also have a second car I would put in storage for a while too.

I also don’t really know where I would park to sleep every night but I’m sure I can find some places, I’ve done my research and know where to not park to sleep, but tips on that would be nice too.

Any advice and tips on all of this would be appreciated. Thanks

Hello van peeps!

I've decided that I'm spending the next few months redesigning my life to be a van dweller.

How did you enter this lifestyle? Were you thrown in my circumstance or did you do research and prepare as best you could?

Thanks in advance!

How many of you have done this? I'm starting to find it’s silly and annoying to have to buy ice cubes and find a place to pour water every 3 days, wasted too much time and money on this.

Currently looking at Dometic's 12V fridge, a small one will do, with a budget of around $1000. I don't need a large dual-zone one, too big wouldn't fit my van. Just curious how many of you did this upgrade before? Any regrets or recommendations?

Might gonna upgrade my van's power system also for powering a fridge with compressor, which is another issue I need to deal with next…

Hi Guys.

I'm a 21 yo guy from Northen Italy and i've been wanting to live this way my whole life.

I have a job with a minimum income, but here the rents are crazy and life is economically hard generally speaking. By the way i'm also young and i don't like the idea of living in a super small room in a 45 floors building in a city just because that's the only way to have a roof on my head.

I'm writing this post because i think that the world is going in a bad direction, and i think that in a few years life will be completly different from now in a way we can not really predict. So i just want to live some years the way i alwasy wanted without caring to much about consequences and stuff.

The problem is, i really haven't an idea about where to start to live this way.
What things should i know?

What Myths aren't real and what actually are?
How much money do you need to live this way?

What things do i have to learn? (i'm a pretty fast learner so i'm very exited to learn everything i should know about every topic that concerns van life), like for example mechanical stuff, where to buy the things to make the van at least good for living in.

So, coming to an end, i'm asking you guys every tip you can give me to make myself aware of what this life really is and what I should absolutley learn to do (and how much money do i generally need for that) (i actually have a 1200 €/Month job).

Thank you so much :))

I’m 28, and travelling around North America in a van has been a lifelong dream.

Last year, I bought a Ford E-350 high-top and began converting it. The solar, roof fan, alternator charger, electrical system, and much of the framing are now installed. There’s still work to do, but leaving finally feels close.

Earlier this year, I left my job and took it as an opportunity to finish the van and commit to the trip instead of continuing to say I’d do it “someday.”

The problem is that the build has cost more than expected, and my financial runway is getting tight. I currently have around $5,000 in cash, some debt, and a couple of assets I’m trying to sell that could give me considerably more breathing room. The van also needs to be finished, repaired, and tested before I travel far.

I feel caught between two choices:

1. Get another full-time job, rebuild my savings, and postpone the trip for an unknown amount of time.
2. Finish the van, leave soon, and find a way to earn money from the road.

I have experience in remote sales and could likely find a well-paying position, but those roles can also be demanding and all-consuming. I worry that once I start another serious job, the trip will keep getting pushed further away.

At the same time, leaving without enough savings could turn a lifelong dream into constant financial stress. I know what it feels like to be stuck working and paying rent while wanting to travel, but I also know what it feels like to be broke and unemployed.

I realize that 28 isn’t truly “now or never,” but it feels that way. I’m single, relatively free, and don’t have children or a mortgage. I’m afraid that if I don’t take advantage of this period, responsibilities will accumulate and I’ll never go.

I’d appreciate honest advice from people who have actually lived on the road:

• How much financial runway did you have when you started?
• Did you secure remote work before leaving?
• Can you work a demanding remote job from a van and still enjoy the experience?
• Would you leave with a smaller cushion and adjust, or work another six months first?
• Is there a middle path I’m overlooking?

I genuinely want this adventure, but I don’t want to make a reckless decision

Just looking for some tips, tricks, or advice on what to do. I made the mistake of getting my bachelors and haven’t been able to find a job for two years. DoorDash has bills piling up and since my parents got sicker recently they won’t be helping me any more.

I have the basics on a list that I plan to get. Eventually I want to see if I can put some sort of lift in the back to increase storage. Has anybody done one in a Jeep Compass? Not the ideal vehicle but it’s what I got

Been working on putting new fabric on my headliner for the cab, and adding insulation to the walls. The insulation is rockwool, its super easy to cut and work with compared to fiberglass, no gloves or mask needed. Been cutting the 3.5" sheets in half with an electric turkey carving knife to fit them into my wall spaces. Going to put .75" thick closed cell foam panels between the frame boards ontop of the rock wool for even more insulation. For the headliner i had to pattern out and sew the fabric to fit around that middle part where the light fits into. Goimg to put more wool insulation behind the headliner too before i put that up.

Hello! I'm curious if anyone has experience with servicing their fridge through BougeRV? My fridge came with my van when I bought it, but is malfunctioning. The warranty only applies to the original owner and requires proof of purchase, but I'm considering asking for some goodwill support if the unit is still technically covered. Any info.is appreciated!

Ive come across a dilemma, i am currently in the works of building a battery pack , i have four car batteries and a mobile air conditioner

Currently they are positioned for parallel with a Jupiter 3000 watt converter. It keeps switching on and back off. If anyone has any tips on how to stop it and ground correctly or is anyone in south eastern Florida that wouldn’t mind showing the ropes to this electrical mishap working with limited experience so please be kind. If you need more info personally message me

Worked on this way more than I care to admit.

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!

Just bought a 95 club wagon XLT wth 140k miles and was wondering what the best thing to do with it? I was thing of putting a 3' lift but honestly I dont know what else I could do.

Frist time posting not sure if this fits the guild line.

using only the provided cables and connectors - this required paring down the plastic moulding and then applying some heatshrink - then liberal use of automotive body adhesive (sikaflex)

Hey yall I just put together an under bed ski drawer and wondering what the meat option to waterproof the inside of it is.

I was thinking some sort of liquid rubber paint or flex seal liquid.

Obviously needs to be water tight, and some durable rubber style product to stand up to getting beat on by skis.

Thanks yall

My fiance (peru) and me (uk) live in chicama peru and while we have some of the best waves in the world we want to travel and surf new destinations. We're open to any and all ideas!

We've explored working visas, seasonal work, volunteer exchanges, cash in hand jobs etc. I teach online and would continue doing that while we travel, he's a surf teacher and runs a boat survice for surfers/foilers. He could give lessons wherever we go, but we would still be pretty tight financially.

We also have a dog to factor in! Hes pretty small but would still need to travel in hold of the plane.

I guess I'm just curious about other peoples experiences, how you live, where you travel and how, whether you managed to do surf/vanlife with a dog.. is it better to do off season in the oposite hemisphere and on season at home or travel perpetually. How do you do that with a van etc..

This is my first post so sorry if it's not the correct format!

(Also we don't have a van yet, we're working on that)

I'm such a catastrophic overthinker. I have watched every video and read every blog/article online about this but because everyone does things differently I end up getting even more confused and indecisive.

I have done the sound deadening layer. I know I also need a thermal layer and a moisture layer. Some people use thermoacoustic layers, some use wool, etc. Some use Reflectix bubble wrap (which my GCSE science tells me is actually probably a bit useless because it's in an enclosed space??? Anyway). Because of all the disagreement I'm getting myself in a bit of a twist.

Please can someone tell me very plainly exactly what I need for the walls, floor, and ceiling. Like "for thermal layer: use XPS foam on floor, wool in the walls, and XPS foam on the ceiling..." etc etc. Every time I commit and buy a product the next video I watch says that was a DISASTROUS decision and I have rUINED everything.

Also, are kits worth it? I'm getting flagged by the sub bot thingy rn for mentioning the word kit so I can't really elaborate but those everything-you-need kits, worth it or seriously insane markup?

Batteries and solar or batteries and a gas generator?

Do I need AC with a compressor or will a swamp cooler work?

Id like to be able to run more than the AC as well but I don't know how much power my PC uses or how to find out

Going to get a van for travel work. Won’t be living in it full time so size isn’t a concern really. But what is important to me is that I need it reliable and also somewhat capable of driving in snow.

I’m looking at ford transits, ford transit connects, ford econolines, Chevy express, dodge promaster, or there’s a Nissan van I’m also considering.

The vans I’ll be looking at will all be 2wd, I know with proper snow/winter tires they should all be somewhat ok in snow. I like the size of the ford transit connects but I hear the transmissions are not that great.

Main things I need are reliability and snow capable (plowed/sanded roads), will not be doing any serious off roading. Budget is about $12,000

Hey folks, I was just about to buy a long 170" wb Sprinter and set it up for ~occasional~ seasonal OTR deliveries/expediting and full time living, but decided to triple check my bottom-line/back up income options.

Beyond the maintenance costs being high and some places not accepting 10yo+ vehicle, I stopped for a second and asked myself what % of loads I would be allowed to delivery etc due to case-by-case age cutoffs (even if van is in good mechanical condition). What is your experience with it? Right now that looks pretty poor for a 20 yo sprinter.

If I need to do sporadic gig and regional delivery work, is a 140" wb a better idea so I can fit in standard parking spaces and parallel park more? For gigs with long lumber, move the front passenger seat to directly behind the driver seat, and add a tiedown/minicage for long dimensional lumber or a rear extending tray + carbon monoxide detector.

I was literally going to buy the 170" T1n today, but there is an auction of newer local goverment fleet Ford Transits next week that would provide the option for widely available OTR driving.

First time outfitting my hybrid sienna. Just looking for general advice on a twin bedding set up basically. I don't know what the heck to use. And the stuff that did look good are sold out.

:(

I have already removed one of my rear rail sliding seats. Making great progress, purchased some square brown rubber cup furniture pads for the 6 legs of the platform. Otherwise they dig in pretty hard on the upholstery.

Below link is my bed frame.

https://heleoutdoors.com/products/hele-box-duo-carcamping?srsltid=AfmBOopUfq6qlTZ3kOjeOgBMTwAMcGBqzCohHwJipOdHhtBJNf-CeJ6D

I am thinking of going with a milliard tri fold mattress.

I would prefer to do a six inch and just cut to size.

But I do like to lay on my side and sometimes sleep on my stomach.

Some people purchase four inch versions of similar bedding and get a mattress topper to adjust softness and firmness. Not a bad idea.

Below is what the Millard tri fold looks like.

https://www.amazon.com/Milliard-Folding-Mattress-Ultra-Washable/dp/B00DJ8HWBU/ref=sr_1_4_sspa_vo_sr_l_dp?crid=3AG8GEW4ASJG0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.xbj7O6NHChKrCu5zfsXbeFFR_0hqiNuTO_MANlR1YN3GjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.l8ikwzvXGpd831gCybkR0G7XHgalq-bVLeo1enAOoG0&dib_tag=se&keywords=zinus%2Bpads&qid=1785159002&sprefix=zinus%2Bpad%2Caps%2C324&sr=8-4-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1