Living out of a non-westy van for 90 days.

[childofthewind]

what a great thread! thanks for all of the helpful info. i'm about to embark on a summer/fall living in my hardtop. i've been going on extended trips to southwestern wonders whilst camping in my van and have truly learned the art of "keeping a tight ship". being organized, tidy and forced to choose what you will actually use daily have all been good lessons for days to come. there are a lot of websites out there on "van/car dwelling" but i'm quickly turned off by most of them as they aren't very realistic to me and seem to be pipe dreams more than real experiences. i am not judging, it's just nice to find some like-minded folks making this work for them. i have no idea how i was sprouted as a vagabond/backpacker/world traveler but such it is and here i go embracing it. something about not owning more than can fit in this van and on my back is extremely comforting and liberating. i love you, samba!
_________________
1987.5 wolfsburg hardtop; 2.1

“As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote." - Melville

[noganav]

SO, I'm curious, how did it go?

[brent239]

yes very nice website,alot of different experiences. Well detailed descriptions of different types of gypsy living.
I had looked into the workamper website before but the website made it seemed very fake. One story there also was a huge plug for workamper as well. Does anybody have any personal experience?
Turtle all I can say is stay clean and keep your van clean. otherwise you'll lose your sanity.

[TheBlueTurtle]

[climberjohn]

This is a great website for this sort of thing:

http://cheaprvliving.com/index.html

See esp. "Where to Park" for some creative ideas.

xo,
CJ
_________________
'86 Westy, 2.5 Subaru power
Know your limits. Exceed them often.

[TheBlueTurtle]

[TheBlueTurtle]

[82WestyMan]

If she doesn't kill you in your sleep during those three months
MARRY HER
_________________
"The floggings will continue until morale improves"
"I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell" - Harry S. Truman
82 Westfalia - w/ a Raby 'Camper Special' engine

[Saguache]

Find a place for it and always carry your own bog roll. Most places out there cut that corner so you end up using their John Wayne style TP.
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Matt Thyer
http://zenoswagen.wordpress.com/

[noganav]

Super good advice mthyer.

Particularly about the mechanical condition of the van. It must be tip top. Or you can get two I spent just one night without mine while it was in the mechanic. I normally go back and sleep in it even when it's at the shop, but this night when I got there the van was locked inside on the lift. Awful.

Seriously though, once you get the initial kinks worked out, and get used to doing some things a little differently than you do now, it is a very good life. If more people knew how great it was, more would do it.

[Saguache]

TheBlueTurtle,

You’re not the first to do this and the time period you’re planning on doing it for isn’t that long really. Start by looking through the forums, you’ll find people that have moved into their vanagons full time with no plans to move out.

Ok things you’re going to need to consider.

1) Parking: You’ll need a place to park your Vanagon while you’re sleeping. Parking it in a paid campground will be as expensive as keeping your apartment so that’s probably out. Parking it “at a friend’s” is almost as bad as couch surfing with them for that period of time. One night every so often isn’t too bad, but you want to avoid putting them in an awkward position with their neighbors.

Free parking and stealth camping are what I’ve generally used and to very good effect. Sounds like you’ve got the gym membership for bathing so access to a bathroom (read toilet) is really all you’ll be looking for on most of these. Street parking will work in most places as long as you change it up every night; you’ll have to make sure you’ve seen regular access to a toilet before you traverse residential areas for parking to bed down however.

Another parking consideration, street lamps, even with drapes, will keep me awake at night. The advantage of the pop-top is that you can get up there in the dark. Down low if there is light outside the van there is light inside the van; it always seems to be in your face while you’re trying to sleep.

2) Organization: Get *very* organized before you attempt this. If you’re storing things in the van you’ll want to have a place for everything before you move in. Both of you need to pare down your list of possessions to what can be comfortably compressed into the van to include all of your shared possessions. This is probably the hardest part of the whole thing, moving into the van.

If you attach meaning to possessions you should also start to consider this as a personal failure. Find the one thing in your kit that you think you can’t do without and chuck it now. It won’t survive the trip anyway and it’s better to have parted with it before it’s lost, broken, or otherwise ruined.

Also because you have a tin-top consider this space as a possible (storage) expansion area. Living feral in a van is a lot like living out of a river raft or out of a very large sea kayak or bicycle. It can be done, it can even be done comfortably, but you’ve really got to consider how it all gets put together.

3) Your van must be in mechanically “perfect” condition: Consider what you might have to do if your van breaks down for any reason. What will you do if a breakdown requires you to find a mechanic? For this reason it’s imperative that you get as many of those “projects” done now. You shouldn’t want or need to take care of something you’ve been putting off after you’ve moved aboard.

4) Keep your feral lifestyle to yourself: There are people who will understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. There are two other kinds of people as well. First, those who will not understand the above, but cut you plenty of slack if only to keep their distance from such crazy nutters. Second, people who will not understand and take it upon themselves to punish you for living so far away from the middle of normal.

I’m a pretty open person by nature, but I can tell you now that there have been occasions when I’ve talked to others about how I choose to live and they’ve generally responded negatively. Thus I’m generally compelled to wait for signs of genuine interest before I discuss my living arrangements with people I don’t really know.

Make time to work out your new living arrangements. Seriously, this is probably the biggest thing you’ll have going for you because if the two of you approach this task as a team then you won’t have problems getting filed under resentment for later. And there will be these kinds of little things which if not dealt with will eventually reach critical mass and result in an emotional explosion. I don’t know what they’ll be for you or your GF and you can’t know what’s going to bother you until you start collecting them. Make it a part of your daily routine to clear them away and they’ll never bother you more than a little. Wait too long and one or both of you will abandon the project long before its complete.
_________________
Matt Thyer
http://zenoswagen.wordpress.com/

[TheBlueTurtle]

[tencentlife]

[noganav]

Yup, when I've got them both in Seattle it's a real handful. I usually keep one up in Vancouver at my girlfriend's house. I got the second one in case the first broke down and I needed someplace to stay. Haven't needed it yet, knock on wood!

I forgot one important thing in the PNW. Damp-rid. I got the big spill-proof bucket and it really keeps the humidity under control.

[photogdave]

Noganav, that must be lot of work with two vans!
Parking lot shell game!
_________________
89 Syncro GL Westfalia 2.1 WBX/WBXaustSS

My Westy Movies:
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[WestyBob]

Excellent review, Noganav -- all very practical.

[noganav]

Here's some tips I gave to another Samba member who was palnning on a stint in his van. I've lived in mine 5 years now, very happily. In fact, when I house sit I get creeped out about being indoors so much, I like the van better!

Van living is a matter of finding out what lifestyle works for you. What things you use enough to keep and what is best given away. How often you cook and what you cook. Where you do the things that most people do when they are at home. Appearances are very important. It's best to avoid the attention of neighbors, police, and especially other homeless people. Keep your living arrangement a secret if you can, some people think differently of you if they find out you live in a van, even if it is your choice. Other people will think it's cool and tell everyone they know about it, but again this may not be the first thing you want someone to find out about you.

I use three different parking places. A place for overnight sleeping, a daytime parking spot while I'm at work, and a local park for cooking and hanging out in the evenings.

Finding a good, safe, overnight place to park is very important. Places with multiple apartment buildings on the same street are best, because nobody knows that you don't belong there. If possible find something without a sidewalk beside the van so that people are not walking by in the morning. I've been parking in the same spot for nearly 5 years doing this and never once had a complaint or a problem. I do my very best to treat my sleeping spot with respect, no lights on late at night to freak out the neighbors. Pull up when you are ready and go straight to bed. It's best not to attract attention here if at all possible.

I leave my van in the day looking like any other vehicle. Bed made and back-seat in seat position. Nothing at all left out in plain view. I also keep it very clean inside in general, I take my garbage with me and toss it at work rather than leave it in the car in the daytime. I wash and vacuum the van at least once a week and always before anyone comes over to visit. I was once almost arrested in San Diego for vagrancy, but when the cop looked in the car he let me go because it was "obviously too clean for anyone to be living in there". I had been in there constantly for about 3 months at the time.

The third place is somewhere to hang out in the evenings and cook dinner without attracting the attention of the police, or of other homeless people. I use a few of the local parks as well as parking lots near laundromats, since lots of people go back and sit in their car while their laundry is on the go. I got my side and rear windows limo tinted since I felt like I was in a bit of a fishbowl when they were untinted.

This reminds me of one more nighttime sleeping tip. I use dark blue sheets and put a dark blue towel across where the top bunk ends (I stuff it between the upper bunk matresses and tuck it in the curtain loops on the side). I leave all the front windows open, no curtains. This way if someone does walk by it looks like no one is in there. The front of the van is completely open, the tint hides the fact that there is a towel across the center and the dark sheets keep me hidden as well. You are more likely to attract attention if you put curtains up on all the windows, since it's obvious that someone is in there.

I keep my meals really simple when I eat in the van (and I admit that I probably eat out too much). When I go somewhere for takeout I'll get enough for the next few days and keep it in the fridge. I eat a lot of sandwiches, salads, fruit and cereal. I rarely cook meat in the van because of the cleanup and the fact that it leaves a lingering smell.

It is good to have a private place to shower and use the facilities (24hour access is ideal), hopefully your work or a gym will provide that. It's nice to have an aux battery and an aux source of heat. I leave my windows cracked (1/2 inch open) at all times to avoid moisture buildup and mold on the pop-top. I'm sure I've learned lots of little things along the way that I am forgetting, so if you have questions please feel free to ask!

[norcalmike]

join a gym for those 3 months. free showers. or, truckstops have showers for 8 bucks or so per stall. i lived in my 73 bus for about 6 months in my grandmas side yard about 15 years ago( i was 20) and had just relocated...piece of cake

[syncrodoka]

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/VWVANFULLTIMERS/

[Julian13]

Williamtaylor33, can you post a link to the Yahoo group VWVANFULLTIMERS please? I cut and pasted that in the yahoo group search window and it didn't find anything.

Cheers.