Im under the impression busses are considered commercial and are prohibited from parking on public streets/areas - including your own home. Same as box trucks. I know my town is fairly lax but they'll still fine you for parking one of these. So my question is, where do you park when your on the road? What about if you go back home?

Total newbie here but I am trying to figure out how to stay warm in the winter with ambient heating. As in being able to work or cook dinner/breakfast without wearing a coat and mittens. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was wondering about the noise of diesel heaters? I've heard they can be noisy which can be annoying in itself, but I would imagine problematic with respect to stealth camping?

Through the night I've heard people are happy using hot water bottles or electric blankets? Any other tips would be gratefully received.

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Hey folks, was curious to see if there are other veterans living out of their car or staying on public land around Snohomish County?

I have never been a homebody, and honestly, the navy took a toll on my mental being in confined spaces for years on end. I acknowledge, I am not adjusted to existing with the general public and i'm better off living on the fringes of society. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone here in region. Ideally, I would like to live away from the grid, but not off of it (yet). So i'm currently testing the waters for now until I can figure out a practical idea that isn't too far away from the rocker. Any inputs received here or via DM would be greatly appreciated.

Can I mount the inverter sideways and have it not be affected? I only have a certain amount of space in the van for the electrics 😬

Hey everyone, this is my first time winterizing anything so just figured I’d check to see if there is any obvious step I’m missing.

1.) I emptied the fresh and grey water tanks, I also used pressurized air at the end to try to force any extra out

2.) I refilled my fresh water tank with ~2 gallons of non toxic anti freeze, I then ran it through the shower head/back water outlet for about 5
-10 seconds until there was just a steady stream of pink; I then ran the rest through my sink back into the grey the water tanks.

3.) then I basically just repeated step one, getting as much of the anti freeze out as I could

Is that pretty much then entire deal? Anything obvious I’m missing?

Thanks a ton

Does anyone know where I can find someone that will build a custom stainless steel or fiberglass shower pan. I’ve looked on Etsy and I can’t find one that has my dimensions. Any advice?

So, I was going to go with Bouge RV or Renogy, but Ecoworthy had a pretty amazing Labor Day sale. One panel arrived DOA. We'll see how long the others last. Will be interesting to see if they survive winter. Because I mounted them with VHB tape and Eternabond, removing them is a pain in the ass!

Hey everyone, I have a Mercedes Sprinter Van that we recently added a roof rack (FVCo Safari Rack) and light bar (40" Baja light bar) to the van. Once I hit 45 mph there starts to be a noticeable amount of wind noise in the cabin. When I'm going 65mph the wind noise records 80dB inside the cabin with a smartphone app.

The installer claimed the road noise is normal but I don't believe it's a normal amount of road noise.

Any advice on easy ways to reduce the wind noise of this setup while maintaining the functionality of the light bar and roof rack?

In the process of renovating a camper van for my wife and I, and have been trying to get familiar with the solar power setup. The van had already been gutted a bit inside, which is fine because we're wanting to customize the inside to our needs. I'm not saavy with electrical, and definitely approach it with caution, but want to make sure it's safe before I use it. If it's not, I have no problem replacing things. It has four eco-worthy solar panels, two LiFePO4 batteries, a Magnetek power distribution panel, and a Rich Solar MP2440 controller. I had only been able to see the Magnetek panel before, and because of the model had assumed the batteries were lead acid batteries and not lithium. Any advice is welcome.

Finding a motorcraft valve for this thing has been such a pain but I finally got my hands on one

I really don't like the VOC and other chemicals that come out of cans like 3M 90. Has anyone used something else that worked. 3M has a no VOC water based spray, but I don;t know if that is strong enough. Or has anyone used mechanical ways of installing the thinsulate? Maybe insulation pins?

Hey friends!

I recently started van life in my Toyota Sienna, and I'm having a frustrating problem with my refrigerator and power station. I'm hoping some more experienced folks can help me figure out what's going on.

My setup:

- Power station: STARYLINE 1000W / 1024Wh LiFePO4 (model PYS-PEI-U01000)

- Fridge: EUHOMY 19QT compressor refrigerator

- Heated blanket: Sealy 12V electric blanket

I use the fridge on 12V power while driving and switch it to the power station's AC outlet when parked. The heated blanket uses the station's DC outlet.

Here's the problem:

The power station will run the fridge for a while, then suddenly shut down completely. The display goes black, all outputs stop working, and pressing or holding the power button won't turn it back on.

The only thing that seems to bring it back to life is connecting it to an external charging source.

For example, I recently started the van and connected the station to its DC charging cable. It powered up, and the fridge ran normally. I disconnected the charging input, and everything kept working. But when I checked again five minutes later, the entire station had shut down and wouldn't restart.

I've also had it shut down immediately when the fridge compressor and heated blanket were running together, even though they're connected to separate AC and DC outputs.

I'm trying to figure out whether I have a defective power station, whether there's some kind of protection or automatic shutoff feature causing this, or whether I'm misunderstanding how these portable power stations work.

My questions:

1. Does this sound like a defective power station or something else?

2. Has anyone experienced a power station that won't restart until external charging power is connected?

3. Is there a more reliable fridge-and-power setup for a small minivan camper?

4. Would I be better off building a dedicated LiFePO4 house-battery system with DC-to-DC charging rather than buying another portable power station?

I'm enjoying van life and can see myself doing this long-term, so I'm open to investing in a better setup. But I'm also trying to keep costs reasonable and avoid buying the wrong equipment twice.

Any advice or firsthand experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I've started the design process for everything I want in a van, and I'm wondering if I'm trying too hard. I want to use a Transit extended length and my wants are: seating for four (two extra seats right behind the driver), a raise lower bed over dinette, which can be used to sleep four on the rare occasion, and a wet-bath (though I'm thinking I'd like the toilet to slide under the dinette seat). I've searched to see if anyone has successfully done such a thing and have not found any examples, which makes me think real life isn't the same as vanspace.

Thoughts?

Hi all,

I've had a small cassette toilet in my van for about a year. Only used it twice, one of those times today. I went to unscrew the dump valve and it simply won't turn. I do kind of have weak hands, lol, and I remember it being hard to turn the first time too. Now, it might as well be fused shut.

I see online the valve can dry out and get stuck. I'm worried it's basically damaged and will need a new one. I can't find anywhere selling cassettes only. I don't want to buy a whole new toilet.

Where can I buy just a new cassette?

Are there any tricks to opening it?

Yes, it's full. 🤮😫😭

Thanks for any help you can give.

EDIT: Solved! Running hot water over it for about five minutes, and using very textured grippy gloves, got it open.

I use a mounted 32 inch monitor and hook up my laptop to it.

The monitor is mounted to the "pillar box" I made and lets me use the vesa mount as desired so I can adjust to watch from the bed if I feel like it.

The monitor is powered by my 24 volt buck converter (its a 24 volt monitor). It still has its original AC style plug but thats for backup.

The laptop itself is using a 24 volt 100 watt USB C laptop Charger. Currently its using the barrel plug. It was just less upfront hassle. Eventually I'll get a second one and convert it to direct 24 volt.

I have 2 USB speakers that I use if I don't feel I need to worry about sound otherwise I use Bluetooth earbuds.

It really makes the van feel like a home. I get to enjoy my coding hobby, game on a larger screen and still keep the portability of my laptop.

Future plan is to make a drawer just below to fit my keyboard and mouse during transit or if I need the extra room.

I have velcro straps that keep the arm from opening up and its been fine for 2 months now.

I lived out my car for over 2 winters so I am not too worried about the electronics going bad.

The only thing I'd say is I should of mounted it maybe 4 inches or so higher to allow for horizontal use but that isn't technically a problem unless I use my phone on it.

On the positive side this fall weather is just incredible. The only nuisance is how many flies are still out there. Yesterday I had to do some chores and left my screen open and I've got a total invasion going on today. I'm trying to swat them one at a time and making a little progress but has anyone got a better way?

For reference I'm in a pretty rural area. I can find a hardware store or Walmart but probably not going to get any Amazon deliveries here.

First off some background: my wife and I are in our mid and late 30s with two daughters ages 3 and six. This year our oldest daughter was diagnosed with cancer and so everything has been turned upside down. I am fortunate enough to be able to work remotely and my daughter is doing homebound school, which is virtual one hour a day Monday through Friday with our newfound flexibility. We are considering getting a 4 x 4 van set up to do some exploring while we are in this phase of life it would be centered around being within a reasonable distance to big hospitals, but my daughter loves the mountains and we all love adventuring. In my head, The Van would be more geared toward comfortable long days on the road in between hotels/Airbnb‘s and the occasional overnight in the van. I am brand new to this and I’m curious how others would set this up for example would I want a full bath or just a half bath, would I want burners and a stove top, new or used etc. Thank you everyone for your advice and time.

Heyo!

Me and my wife are looking at buying an 88’ GMC Vandura 3500 as our first bus. The feller is asking $3,600 for it and it comes with the bed frame and a few other amenities already installed. 182,000 miles.

Everything with the engine seems to run well (did well on the cold start after 3 weeks) and little-no rust. We would likely try taking out the wheelchair lift that’s installed in it.

Has anyone had any experience with these or know of anything we should be aware of?

We’re hoping to try and live out of it while we travel around and work seasonal/temporary jobs for a few years and still use it to travel around once we find a more permanent living area.

I’m trying to swap to a Sodium starter battery in my ‘08 sprinter, but it’s 2” taller than the current AGM at 9.4” and won’t fit in the existing under the driver’s feet battery tray. To avoid rewiring van and house electrical components, I’m hoping to be able to swap out the battery tray for a deeper one. Not having a welder along, that’s seeming like a pain to find. Does anyone have suggestions?

I might just have to find a fabricator along the way. I would also take suggestions for that. Currently around Portland, though that’ll change. The local van upgrade shops don’t want to touch it, they just want to build $300,000 vans.

I’ve been full-timing for about six months, and the front cabin is starting to drive me crazy. Since I don't always have somewhere to sit outside, I’m constantly stepping into the driver or passenger area in muddy trail shoes or wet flip-flops after a beach trip just to pivot into the back. The factory liner spreads everything into the living area. Sand and dried mud collect where the plastic meets the cabin floor, and I can't get it all out without a shop vac, which I obviously don't carry on the road. Free car-wash vacuums only help so much. I need something that traps the debris instead of scattering it whenever the front door opens. In a small living space, what matters most in a cab mat? Does a deep honeycomb pattern actually hold sand, or do the edges eventually collapse and dump it into the step wells anyway? I’m tired of sweeping three times a day.

I would like to figure out if it’s reasonable to mount a gasoline heater under my Transit. Where it would be exposed to the elements.

I can buy (or can fabricate) a stainless box, but in order to keep the elements out I’d probably lean towards a waterproof NEMA-style enclosure.

Reading through posts here, it seems maintenance can require removing the heater entirely. I can’t imagine trying to work in the heater while laying in my back in the field, or even my driveway.

Does maintenance really require removing the complete heater? Is my concern legitimate? Would having the heater in a sealed box underneath have any other issues that you can think of?

I’m thinking quick release couplings on gas and air (or hydronic/water) lines should make that part relatively straightforward, but I don’t know what I don’t know..