living outside in a van

I have a steady source of passive income, thinking about living PrepHole in a van full time, i'd be in USA and stay south of Canada, how feasible is this idea full time? Would I get sick of it after a year? pic related, i'd by a newer VW eurovan with poptop

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  1. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    it's easily doable in the Western United States. I'd get a 4wd truck and a truck camper for ease of getting to places on dirt roads to get away from people. I've been living in a tent out on public land for like a year and a half now and I am getting kind of sick of it. I love being outdoors but I long for building something permanent and settling down. Hopefully going to buy a small property to build a little cabin this year. good luck on your adventures anon.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I did the same exact thing. I think eventually everyone has the urge to put down roots.

  2. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Jews will find ways to get money from you regardless of how frugally you manage to live, porkchop.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      well sure, gasoline, insurance, food, a girlfriend, etcetera...

  3. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Just do it? You can get a van for almost nothing you homeless piece of shit, and you'll be over it in a few days.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Yeah, but you can't register or insure it without a home address.
      They have to have some way to hunt you down if you fail to pay your bills on time.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >parents' address
        >friends' addresses
        >random addresses on zillow
        >p.o. box
        I've used every single one of these before

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Yeah, but you can't register or insure it without a home address.
          They have to have some way to hunt you down if you fail to pay your bills on time.

          PO box is the only valid solution, but depending on where you are in the world they sometimes insist on tying POBs to a home address.

          I certainly would not offer my address to be listed as a friend's home address. That's how you know a dude is about to frick his life up somehow.

          I have used my parents' address as a mailing address before (UPS was too moronic to figure out how to get into my condo), but never listed it as my home address. I anticipate outliving them so this is not a permanent solution. I guess it would work if you intended to "van life" for a few years and then return to civilization.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >get insurance and registration revoked for fraudulent statements
          Sounds like a fun time.

          It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Seriously get off the internet and get some life experience

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        it's called having friends & family, anon.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          foh normie

  4. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    depends.
    are you going to live in a van to facilitate traveling, sightseeing and doing PrepHole activities like surfing, hiking etc?
    or are you going to just use it as a mobile home and stay in one spot?
    if its the latter you'll be sick of it after a month.
    most people living in a van who arent weekend warriors are some sort of crazy out sport enthusiast that uses the van so they can camp in relative comfort right next to the activity they want to do (skiing, rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, surfing etc)

  5. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    I've spent about 4 months on and off over the past 3 years living in a minivan about the same size as the van in OP's pic. I've mainly stayed in cities, but I've spent some time out in the country in AZ/NM/CO.

    >how feasible is this idea full time?
    Not paying rent is pretty great. I feel like that's pretty much the only benefit. The worst part about van life is finding things to do when you're in an urban area if you're only working part-time. You'll have to find a way to shower, do laundry, and stay clean. If you don't have refrigeration or a stove, eating shelf-stable camp food gets boring after a few days while eating out everyday is expensive and unhealthy. If your van isn't insulated, the afternoons are hot and the early mornings are very cold.

    >Would I get sick of it after a year?
    Yes, especially if you don't have basic utilities. I have a pretty high tolerance to camping grit, and the longest I've lasted in a van was 66 consecutive days last spring (a combination of camping in AZ, NM, and then working in urban TX). In my opinion, it's a lot more sustainable to treat van life as an extended camping trip rather than full-time living. You'll look forward to van trips if you still live under a roof 10 months out of the year instead of feeling semi-homeless all of the time (pic related).

  6. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    i’m in the same boat OP. Only thing that sucks is that 98% of all vans are 2WD which makes going deeper in the boonies harder. So i’m stuck between SUV with a RTT and this shit.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      FWD minivans make it cheaper for the tow truck to get you when you get stuck since it doesn't have to travel as far.
      Buy a tag-a-long winch and a snatch block/ block and tackle and that'll get you through anything worth getting through.

  7. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    This board is truly infested with /in/cells. How the frick people think this is a costly activity is beyond me. If you're sick of it in a year, I guess you can just sell the van, moron

  8. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >steady source of passive income
    Tell me, please. ty

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Having a shitload of money in an interest-bearing account.

  9. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    The most I've done is a temporary hatchback conversion for a week at a time, so I'm not sure about vanlife.
    Best advice is:
    >have a shower system with hot water (propane)
    Trying to do camp showers is suck and washing with cold water is very suck but exhilarating in its way.
    >have a way to do good airflow wehn its raining
    I've seen people cut in proper vents with shielding, which is best. It will require a decent battery pack, jackery gets mentions. Otherwise you're going to get the thing drenched in your own sweat and breath humidity or cook in warm months.
    >small fridge
    Again you also need a battery for it, but as other anon said eating camp food endlessly sucks.
    >tables
    Simple thing, but lacking work space sucks. Can use folding tables or have pull out ones, just have plenty of workspace, especially for cooking.

    You want a vehicle that's 4wd with decent clearance. Also all the repair kit, including recovery (and watch safety vids please).
    "Overlanding" is a good search term if you plan to do anything more rustic than parking lots and established campgrounds, but any vehicle popular in that community is going to have a +50% price tag on the used market.
    Getting stuck if you go offroad is common, be prepared, calling tow trucks to come 25mi into the back country is both a full day wait and balls expensive, so know how to safely use recovery equipment and try to be smarter than the muddy ditch..

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      lots of simple things following

      -need address to have insurance/mail/taxes/other things to forward/receive? State of South Dakota has literal businesses whose whole purpose is to allow RV/Camper retiree's to get their insurance/bills/mail/packages/medicine/etc routed to them throughout the US while driving everywhere once they sell their homes, buy an RV, and drive away their twilight years....or end up spending everything away at a Casino.

      -shower? Large Folding Bucket, small round platform that fits into bucket, small 12v water heater and electric shower head. Fill bucket with water, put 12v heater in, heated water, put electric shower head in said water, step in, put magnetic shower curtains on ceiling and shower with needed filters(basic shower head filter, coffee filter over intake to prevent dirt, shit, etc(don't pee in the shower idiot), inline filter(with sand filter tube to filter soap out)
      Shower as long as you have power, dump dirty water later. Collapses into small tote that takes no space, also have bucket for hauling/dumping water

      -need power, folding solar panels or install some on your roof, if you have space, get outdoor speaker stand and mount wind generator to it to get that high air currents(top of van best if you have proper connectors) generators and shit take fuel, maintenance, and get stolen, complained about, take up way too much space, and won't give you as much as a well done solar/windmill setup(have 2 separate battery banks so if one shits the bed, you aren't without power)

      solar cooker for hot water and food(unless you are feeding many people) gas stoves and shit take lots of propane/butane, but they also double as heating for bad weather

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      get van, make sure to have 4WD, go offroading alot and get stuck
      -general purpose way to prevent that is to go offroading in semiwooded area's and having a electric WINCH(with attachment points at the front AND back)

      get stuck in muddy rut, can't get tire grip to get out/vehicle stuck in muck platform, take winch cable, wrap around tree/large boulder, use winch and boards/sand/gravel to pull van out

      half of the recovery equipment used to get vans/trucks/cars/jeeps out of such situations is either strong ropes/chains attached to vehicle or winches on a larger/better vehicle to pull you out

      then laugh/point out spot to others when the area is dry, mud free, and you look like a moron for getting stuck

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >4WD
        Or just get a winch.

  10. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    As a guy from Northern Minnesota if you aren't going to try this in places in the winter you will have cops knocking on your camper. Reason being most people don't sleep in a car this far north in -20 F temps. If you try van camping in a warm climate they are aware of you.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >If you try van camping in a warm climate they are aware of you.
      Sounds like /in/cel cope. My friend has an RV illegally parked on his forest property right now, been there since 2020.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      It entirely depends on what OP wants to do.
      You can definitely overland legally in many places with public lands. You can also rent campsites, and so long as you switch up every X days its legal. You can move around, and there's sites that will share parking lots that are permissive of overnights.
      Alternatively you can make a stealth setup, but I imagine hiding all the time gets really old when it progresses from a silly weekend bit of fun into daily life.
      If you're just going to buy land and rv life it, there's many many counties that allow it, but why bother, just find a permissive county and build a shed at that point, its probably easier and cheaper.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I'll be doing this hopefully in a year's time. I graduate college in may and hopefully I'll land a comfy remote codemonkey job shortly after that.

      Twin Cities gay here. I will NEVER live in my vehicle here in the winter. That's fricking crazy. Part of the reason I intend to do van shit is to leave this shithole in the winter. Lived here all my life but frick the cold. I'll spend winter and spring elsewhere and I'll come back for summer and fall to go to the boundary waters and to hunt.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >living in MN, Minneapolis even
        >can finally leave
        >still going to live most of year there
        ngmi

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >most of the year
          Lol no no no. I'll be back in the summer for a week's long annual boundary waters trip with my dad and in the fall for deer hunting which can either last a weekend or a couple weeks.

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            Acceptable.

            why not get rid of the bed entirely and sleep on a hammock? can hang it up when youre not using it and then it takes up basically no room

            Because nobody wants to sleep in a hammock every night and you need like 12ft to hang one and most vans would have difficulty fitting one.

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              why would I need 12 ft to hang a 7 ft hammock? 7 feet should do it

              • 1 year ago
                Anonymous

                Because hammocks are generally 11ft long and factor in a few inches on each side for supports.

              • 1 year ago
                Anonymous

                i see, i see

  11. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >get pic related
    >put a full mattress in the back
    >propane heater to prewarm the inside for night
    >0 degree sleeping bag
    >mid weight base layers
    >get cheap gym membership for showers/bathroom
    >simplify your diet and learn the art of one pot meals
    >park in hotel parking lots, wal-mart, apartment complexes

    It's simple guys. You mother frickers are over complicating the hobo van life.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      oops forget the pic *smacks head*

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous
    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >cheap gym membership
      >$200 for 3 months
      >cheap
      k

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        tf are gym memberships 200 bones for 3 months? you in commiefornia or something

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >All gym memberships cost the same
          Someone put this moron back in his cage

          $200 gym membership? Da frick...

          Then if that's your only option get a battery operated sprayer.

          thats how much they cost now
          covid ruined fricking everything

          • 1 year ago
            Anonymous

            planet fitness isn't even $20/mo you fricking mongoloid

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              >planet fitness
              doesnt exist here

              • 1 year ago
                Anonymous

                $30 on scamazon
                add a basin and a washcloth and your favorite soap

            • 1 year ago
              Anonymous

              I just signed up for planet fitness today
              Absolutely get the $25/month black card plan because the massage chairs are worth.
              I accidentally got some exercise in today as well

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        >All gym memberships cost the same
        Someone put this moron back in his cage

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        $200 gym membership? Da frick...

        Then if that's your only option get a battery operated sprayer.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >park in hotel parking lots, wal-mart, apartment complexes
      Walmart no longer allows overnight parking due to city ordinances changing, and people making messes and causing problems at other locations.

      Overnight parking pretty much anywhere is only legal if you're paying an hourly or daily rate nowadays.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Anon, you realize that your own city's ordinance changes don't actually affect all other cities, ja?
        Anyway, stealth camping or public land. F spending time in a Walmart parking lot regardless. Thats one step above homeless camp.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          >Anon, you realize that your own city's ordinance changes don't actually affect all other cities, ja?
          This has been happening nationwide since the pandemic.

  12. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Its chill and easy unless you get car repair anxiety or get anxiety about people creeping around wherever you are parked 24/7

    Basically get over those 2 anxieties and stay warm and you literally have a really nice life

  13. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    My friend lives in a van full time and travels around for work as a forklift driver for festivals. Something I notice that everyone seems to get wrong is that a large bed is a complete waste of space. His bed is just the size of his body. He also has a gaming PC setup. It's the best van setup I've ever seen but I don't have pics of it.

    I'm going to end up living in a van too while I travel around to remote areas working in the medical field. I can't wait honestly.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      why not get rid of the bed entirely and sleep on a hammock? can hang it up when youre not using it and then it takes up basically no room

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        The bed doubles as his couch/chair and as a storage chest.

  14. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    New Zealand is finally cracking down on the do-it-yourself street-shitters:
    >https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/11/bogged-the-toilet-laws-that-could-spell-end-of-the-road-for-new-zealands-van-lifers
    I hope we have similar legislation in the United States soon.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      >Kiwi prison island being authoritarian cucks yet again
      lol angloids have brain rot and will do anything they can to israelite you out of your money and freedom.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Would you prefer some indigent slob emptying their shit bucket in the dumpster at WalMart?

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          Putting shit filled baby diapers in the trash? It's better if it's put in the trash.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Even this isn't a complete solution, because I've seen RVs empty their holding tanks into the storm drains. It's like these morons exist just to shit up everyone else's property because they're mad they can't afford their own.

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        stop trying to get rid of incinerator toilets then,
        all they need is either electricity or gas and the shit gets reduced to non-hazardous ash
        most of those asshats that dump their shitwater everywhere are going to be the same ones to take a dump in a clothes rack because they don't want to walk 5' to a toilet
        EVERY camper and RV sales lot seems to have free to use within reason sewage dumps(around the midwest)

        they only do that if they have not enough money to drive to dump(very likely with both new/older ones(main reason they haul a small car/jeep/atv/cart around) or they are doing the bad neighbor shit on purpose(those kids didn't suck my ass(married couple with college kids) better dump my shit on their lawn, storm drain and stink up/destroy their street

  15. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Thinking of popping my PrepHole cherry by overland camping in my gen 1 CRV for one maybe two nights on public land. It's an AWD vehicle that I fitted AT tires on but I'm still worried the anemic 4banger engine will get me stuck on harsher trails. The seats fold into a bed and I think if I insulate the windows it can be comfier than a tent. I can also look into one of those tailgate tents to give me more room for changing and just general shit. What do you guys think?

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      don't need to insulate the windows, especially on fairly newer vehicles like a crv, also for sleeping in you'll want at least one if not two windows cracked, otherwise you'll wake up soaked with condensation and your windows fogged/frozen on the inside depending how cold out it is, which is a royal pain in the ass if you want to get anywhere soon after you wake up
      also i will say it's a nice plus to have the 'smoke when it's raining' covers that go around the outer edge of your windows, makes it a lot more convenient to keep windows cracked if it's raining without getting anything soaked
      first time just take it easy and find a public land place where you'll more than likely find plenty of spots where other people have pulled up their vehicles and made campfire spots, you don't have to go miles into the wilderness, especially if you're just getting the feel of it, start off with something easy so you can figure out how well you sleep in the car an everything
      generally with a window or two cracked it's best to have a sleeping bag that's warm, i've used a -20f sleeping bag in winter and have never had a problem sleeping well when it's cold out, only when it's warmer months and i switch to a reg sleeping bag or even just a liner

      • 1 year ago
        Anonymous

        Thanks for the tips, I do have rainguards on my windows and actually I bought pic related just for looks but I guess now they have a practical use. I need sleeping bags.

        • 1 year ago
          Anonymous

          yep good idea, though i dunno about whether or not those can help or deter break-ins if you're camping in towns/cities
          anyways, sleeping pads are a big plus as well, use the initial trip to figure out you're sleeping setup, i have a bad hip so i've got a few sleeping mats & pads, with a good sleeping bag you should be fine most anywhere once you get it squared away

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      Do it. put a mattress topper in it, almost as good as sleep at home.
      Bring recovery gear if you're worried about getting stuck, which will happen. Winch, tree strap. Know how to use it safely.
      Don't insulate the car, just bring enough blankets. Wear thermals to bed. The usual

  16. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >aaaah, i need a shower to stay clean
    Nope, all you need is a basin and a washcloth.
    Use a lot less water that way too.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      I've noticed some people sweat a lot more and stink quicker. I lived in a share house with some girls and I would ask them to smell me to see if I need a shower and even after 7 days working 5 of them in the sun i didn't stink.

  17. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    Frick it, got tired of :
    * shitting into a 5 gallon bucket (you can't always hold it)
    * being Hot as frick / humid during summer
    * knock on window and cops saying move on
    * having Nogs trying to rob you at night (in a walmart parking lot)
    * come back from baseball game and fining van was robbed
    * bad wifi most years (last year used the $50 verizon internet, it is fantastic)

  18. 1 year ago
    Anonymous

    >i'd by a newer VW eurovan
    In the US? You're looking at 1999.

    • 1 year ago
      Anonymous

      in USA and Canada the newest I can find is 2003 ... which is 20 years old yeah, but it's managable for me

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