Baker Snoqualmie National Forest in a Chevy Brightdrop⚡️🚐✌️

Hey everyone

I just spent the last two months driving around the USA and had the most incredible experience. I’m en route to my home city on the east coast and feel somewhat depressed I’m leaving the nomadic lifestyle and returning to my old life.

I am contemplating selling all my possessions, quitting my job, and liquidating my investments so I can live this lifestyle for another year (maybe more) while working gig jobs.

Am I crazy for thinking this? Is this a honeymoon phase mindset?

I’ve always dreamt of working gig jobs on the west coast and in ski tons. It’s just a vastly different lifestyle than the culture I was raised in (southeast US). I love the west coast culture and beautiful places. I feel like the desire to leave my current life and chase this new one sounds crazy, but I feel this gravitational pull.

Had anyone expereince this and left their old life behind? Do you regret it?

I am 29 and am at a cross road in my life. I work in a corporate environment and make good money (~120k), but can’t help but think I’d be happier working a job around my passions for much less. My 401k has $50k in it - not a lot but enough to snowball into something when I hit retirement age. I just don’t share the excitement all of my friends have to stay in their careers, buy homes, get married, have kids, and live in their hometown

we have a caravan in our back yard and in heavy rain the water gets in from the roof and drips onto the bed

its a pop top van and doesnt seem to let water in when the roof if down

no obvious spot water is getting in. it I guess it could get under the roof and run a ways before leaking inside so any suggestions for how to seal it up -

current thoughts are to paint the roof area with a barrier

So we looked at our first van today. So we saw a Mercedes Sprinter in a yard. Pulled in, and checked it out. So many things were oh so nice!

But-No bathroom, bed for one, but it was so nice to see one. It’s a 2015, 75K miles, and my husband said the vehicle was in great shape. It had a lot of bells and whistles, which was super tempting. 400w solar, and they said their bottom price was $47K.

I thought that was a bit pricey from what everyone here says? But it had an electric awning, fridge, A/C, microwave, and it was wrapped, (which made it LOOK great)

So please tell me what you think?

Looking into getting a 1999 170 roadtrek and was wondering other people's thoughts as I'm not familiar with the kinda vehicle. Is it a good vehicle worth getting? It has 61k miles and a lot of new parts

Im look at a promaster but seems like they are unreliable
Also a transit but it is a ford and lack over all reliability it seems
Also a possible option is a chevy express

Anyone else traveling with their dog making core memories on the road?

- Victron MultiPlus-II 3000 inverter/charger
- 2x Epoch 300Ah batteries
- Victron Orion XS 50A DC-DC charger
- Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/50
- Victron Cerbo GX
- Victron GX Touch 70 display
- Victron Lynx Distributor
- Victron SmartShunt

This is going to be hard af to wrap my brain around setting all this up. But I’m committed to the upgrade. Any tips would be helpful

amazon parts is here, costed $17 and two days Amazon prime shipping.

Parts are not very well made. The gasket is made of paper, and one of the screen is bent, as shown on P6. I think I should buy from Vevor directly next time.

The ATV I put on last time, caused some trouble removing this time. I just left some residue on there I hope it doesn’t cause any problems.

Observation:

1. The old screen has some carbon build on it, P11. It can be burnt off with 1000 degrees flame.
2. P18, filter caught something dirty
3. P19, there are some dirt in the bottom of fuel tank, I need to flush that out next time it‘s empty
4. There are some thing on the old glow plug, looks like burnt plastic. I replaced it with a a new plug from the repair kit.

Short version: I removed the carpet from my Honda odyssey 2007 and can’t figure out how to install a new floor

The carpet was really gross, so I removed it thinking I could just install a hardwood floor, but then the floor is so irregular I can’t figure out how to even it out to install flooring.

Things I’ve tried:
- getting the old carpet and putting it back in to even it out (too soft, the hardwood bends
- cutting out the profile with pink insulating boards (I can’t get it even and the boards are hard to work with)

Any ideas?? Anyone else done this to their minivans and have suggestions?? I really want to make this van life thing work

Hey everyone!

Currently converting our Peugeot Boxer L3H2 into a campervan and I've been looking into different electrical setups for quite a while now.

Originally I was planning on going with a full Victron setup, but after doing some research I came across the BLUETTI Elite 300 combined with the Charger 2.

And honestly, for our needs, this setup is more than enough. We're mainly going to use the van for camping trips, occasionally spending a day or two off-grid. Our electrical needs are pretty basic: a fridge, MaxxFans, LED lighting, water pumps, charging laptops and phones, etc.

The Elite 300 seems to tick pretty much every box, without having to spend a fortune on a full electrical system.

I've actually been in contact with BLUETTI, and they confirmed that the 12V/30A output can be connected to a permanent 12V fuse box, which is great!

**However, there's one thing I'm still trying to figure out: the 230V side of things.**

I'd really like to install permanent 230V outlets throughout the van that can run from either the Elite 300 or campsite shore power.

BLUETTI confirmed this is technically possible, but mentioned that the Elite 300 has a floating neutral, meaning the grounding and RCD protection need some extra attention. They also mentioned needing a double-pole transfer switch and proper neutral-to-earth bonding depending on the power source.

So my question is:

**Has anyone actually done something similar with a BLUETTI or another portable power station?**

How did you handle the grounding, RCD protection and switching between shore power and the power station?

Did you use an automatic transfer switch, or did you keep things simple with a manual one?

I'm based in Belgium, so ideally I'd like to keep everything compliant with European electrical safety standards as well.

I'm not looking to build some massive electrical system. The Elite 300 already offers everything we need, and I'd rather not spend thousands more just to get a few permanent 230V sockets working safely.

Would love to see how others have approached this, especially if you have pictures or wiring diagrams of your setup!

Thanks in advance!

Hey fellow hosers, my wife and I are selling our cottage and planning to spend about 6 months/ year traveling our amazing country (MAYBE someday we’ll go below the 49th, we’ll have to see).
My question: I hate the noise/ light and garbage polluting folks. Is it possible to mostly avoid this type of shit? We’ll be set up to boondock for a couple weeks at a time and know enough to avoid National and Provincial parks on long weekends.
Cheers!

fall colors are gone here, but very pretty in Bishop still!

Wild Willy's was very crowded, but the other hot springs in the area were vacant

[oc storiesbydalton]

I have a Ram Promaster. My existing drill bits have always worked on the sheet metal of the interior, but I'm having a heck of a time drilling through the undercarriage (the matte gray bumpy textured metal that covers a majority of the undercarriage). Is it worth buying some titanium drill bits or something?

I have a ram CV which is basically a Dodge caravan with beefed up suspension. I moved down to Florida last year for a while and I had that van already from a previous company I was running. It's small but for me by myself living in it wasn't too bad And had some perks. 1.) cheap and abundant there's millions of caravans and town and countries out there, including the c/v and they've had a long production run so parts are everywhere and cheap, So is gas 2.) The rear stow and go seats are built to flip down under the floor which if you remove them from the van gives you two gigantic compartments under the floor. I used the front one for three large batteries, inverter, DC to DC charger and some storage space. Also, there's some low profile solar panels on roof and carried a small quiet gas generator. (This gave me three forms of electricity for redundancy and worked amazing. Driving to and from work alternator charges, battery bank. At work The solar panels do their job and charge battery bank. And if the son decided not to shine for a few days (never happened) I still had power available from the generator.under floor in rear seat space I put a freshwater tank and a gray water tank and a 12 volt pump. Got a fancy kitchen sink faucet on clearance with the pull out sprayer and was able to use that for cooking, cleaning and showering. 3.) Comically stealthy- after covid pushed people to Van life, a lot of places started blocking people from parking overnight in camper vans in their parking lots. I never once had an issue with that and even pulled up to the gate. The Daytona international speedway campgrounds for the Rolex 24-hour race and when I pulled up to pay the guard thought I just was the cable guy or something and just waved me on through and I pulled in found a spot beside of camp spot that I could park out of the way and got to stay at the racetrack for free LOL. 4.) Big vans can be a pain to park and things like high wind blowing on the side are annoying not a problem in a caravan. 5.)Comfort And living space- since it was just me I removed the front seat as well as the rear seats and slid a futon with storage space under it for things that I didn't use very often and slid it all the way up to the glove box, had a refrigerator behind driver seat which due to three power options was able to run 24 hours a day. No problem. Put a swivel wall mount at the end of the futon on the wall. They could swing out and be right above my feet And then utilized the metal gate wall that came with the cargo van and relocated it where the futons feet were to make a separate area for the back 2 and 1/2 3 ft of the van where my A/c unit (portable rolling home unit with exhaust hose ran to a hole cut in the rear window panel) stayed along with a set of shelves for stovetop,tools,sink etc. all stayed secured and out the way.

I know this didn't answer your question but it sounded like you were still in the planning stages possibly and just thought that this info might give you a different perspective on your options.

Cost to build van (2200) batteries 200 FB marketplace, Ac 100 FB marketplace, solar 300 Amazon, inverter 200 Amazon, DC to DC 60 Amazon, generator 200 fridge 50 FB market, Futon free FB market. Fenced in 2 acres of land lake front 30 mins from Daytona beach (13 dollars a day) from hipcamp.com

Total spend 3410 roughly.

Time to design,source parts, and build 10 days while still working full-time and preparing my family and home for me to leave town.

Screaming Bitch I'm from Louisiana at the top of my lungs over the lake at 6am.......

(Priceless)

No, you didn't ask for his for your question. But yeah, thought it might be helpful if you hadn't already figured out your living situation. And if not, maybe helpful to someone else.

Extra advice - since I knew I was going to one place for an extended amount of time, I also added the following comforts-

projector and projector screen inside the van on the separation wall that I also would move outside of the van and then put the screen sheet off the side of the van for outdoor movies.

Bought a used rooftop plastic storage tote for the trip down. Loaded it with my clothes and I had a nice tent laying in the garage so I strapped it up tight. Beside the tote. Had a canopy, strapped it in front of the tote and strapped a kayak to the other side of the tote and made the Journey down a thousand miles.

When I got there I felt like I was living like a hobo King with my guest house (tent) That I kept food, my clothes, extra cooking supplies, etc. In. With my outdoor kitchen under the canopy and the canvas cover in my front porch. Then parked my poor man RV right out front and lived in it.

Hopefully somewhere in this post be fine. At least one thing that is useful to your planning and your adventure. I hope you have a blast. If you have any questions feel free to reach out

I'm thinking about doing van life for a bit. Van has solar and shore power, a bed, and that's pretty much it. It is mainly an empty canvas. I'm planning on truck stop showers and keeping a couple gallons of potable water, and filling a cooler until I get my mini fridge back from a friend.

How are people organizing clothes? I'm trying to keep as small a footprint as possible, and I'm mainly tshirts/shorts/jeans. I'm in Texas so the weather is pretty good to try it for a a week or two.

Recently sold one of my other cars and am in recovery (alcohol) so would like to take a little solo adventure as an experiment.

Have a picture of vanronica! Second pic is of the interior, desk and all that stuff isn't there but toolbox will remain. It's a 99 e350 extended with 340k miles on it from previous adventures.

So, totes? Cheap secondhand dresser, maybe a tall one that can fit behind wheel well? Amazon crappy canvas one? Gimme some ideas!

I’ve just dropped a lot of cash on a VERY nice van. The last owner was an architect working in the caravan industry who built it the interior fitout by hand. The inside was already really nice and I’m adding some artwork to make it more ‘me’.

But I’m struggling with the dilemma of whether to decorate/personalise the exterior? I’d really love to do things like:
- paint/vinyl wrap with a fun colour,
- plaster the back with bumper stickers from my various travels and adventures
- possibly even instal some climbing holds to climb up to the roof (I’m a rock climber and I do need a way to access the roof to clean the solar panels every now and then)

My pros and cons list so far is:
- pro: I like the idea of having a fun van that mirrors my personality, acts as a visual representation of the adventures I’ve taken in it (through bumper stickers) and maybe brightens someone else’s day?
- pro: I need a way of easily accessing the roof to clean solar panels, why not make it fun?
- pro: less likely to be stolen because more instantly recognisable/stands out? Or would I make it more of a target by hinting that I’m a rock climber with potentially expensive climbing/camping gear inside?
- con: unnecessary cost - paint jobs and vinyl wraps are expensive
- con: no chance of stealth camping (but with clearly visible solar panels and an awning I don’t think that’s really an option for me anyway?? Or do people not really notice that??)
- con: resale value might decrease? Or would having it painted a fun colour be valuable? (I feel like I would pay more for a fun vinyl wrap but maybe I’m in the minority?)

Would love to get your thoughts. Did you decorate the outside of your van, and if so why? Do you regret decorating it? Would you pay more or less for a van with a fun exterior?

Last bit of context: this will just be for holidays and work trips (I’m an outdoor guide), I won’t be living in it full time.

Hi Y’all!

I’m thinking about getting a van and living in it, I want to be on the move up and down the California coast. I was thinking for meals and such I’d like to drop in and around spots and work a bit for some cash. Nothing much, pretty easy and free. I was wondering if anybody has thoughts about what I could do for stop and go work (manual labour) (working on ranches?) (restaurants?).

Suggestions would be nice 😊 kinda just wanna be a beach bum and surf and live free and easy 4 a while

So thinking about putting solar on my sprinter. I was wondering if anyone knows the various types of roof rack manufacturers? Specifically, I won't be able to climb up a ladder to clean the panels so besides using a long handle squeegee, was curious if any roof racks have been made that can tilt. Im thinking, a simple hinge system where when at camp, or needing to clean, you push up one side and the entire thing tilts to 45 degrees. That way it would be easy to clean from the ground, or you can more directly point the panels at the sun. Does something like that exists? Google hasnt shown me anything.

We have about 15k and want to buy a van and do a simple build.
*What should we look out for in terms of red flags when buying?
*How many miles is too many miles?
This van will be our full-time living space when we aren’t at work and eventually something we drive across the country.

Hey Y’all!

Prospecting / looking at the idea of getting a minivan to get around the Pacific Northwest, maybe even doing a stint to Florida at some point. Anyways I was thinking a couple grand prob up to 5grand for a vehicle that is reliable and gets me where I need to go and that I can live in. Suggestions? 🚗

I am pretty handy, but not as a professional mechanic, so tires, fluids, oil and so forth, battery and alternators I could prob fix myself but if the motor or transmission has any trouble I wouldn’t really know what to do, then it goes to the nearest mechanic asap.

Feel free to suggest things I should think about before purchase such as vehicle models, age ranges, mileages, service records. ⚙️

I’m thinking something - 2000s - 2010 isch

Hey, we’re going to the Isle of Bute tomorrow to stay in Rothesay overnight. I’m quite familiar with the area but, never stayed in our camper before. I know there’s the road between Rothesay and Ardbegs’ okay to park up but are there any other recommendations? Thanks.

Hey everyone I’d just like to show my conversion that went from July’25 to July’26. I’ve done it all myself and have been living in it for the past 3 months with my wife and two cats. I know some things are not perfect but it’s my home now and handmade with love.

I’ve been trying to build a social media following with hopes to eventually earn money through social media/brand deals. I don’t really want to sell any products to my (current limited) viewers.

Any tips or tricks that I can use to hopefully earn an income from socials. I’m currently posting on TikTok and Instagram under the user @igotyournose96

If possible leave me a follow, like and comments if you’d like to help me reach my goal. Thank you for your time.