Vanlife questions

Matt Piercewrote:

Do you use a tow behind trailer for your Sprinter/Promaster? This doesnt seem common but I wonder. I do see a lot of Thule's on top of vans.

If you haven't bought the van yet, I'd prioritize getting a longer van instead of having a tow behind OR the Thule on top. It's hard enough driving something that long without a bendy joint between the main body and the trailer. A Thule on top cuts down on your solar panel space, and it also adds to your height pretty significantly--that cuts down on where you can go sometimes, but the real problem is finding mechanics, as a tall vehicle means a lot of mechanics can't get the van into their shop, let alone lift it significantly. You can always remove the Thule, but that has its own problems.

The real answer, though, is to trim down your possessions to the point where they fit into the space you have. Everything you keep has a cost, and that cost is much higher when you live in a van. Even if you have space for it, just keeping it organized becomes a burden, and the weight adds to gas, insurance, and wear on the vehicle.

What are your biggest regrets with your van? Wrong model? Too small? Wrong features? Gas prices killing you?

My biggest regret is not building it out fully before moving in. A lot of my build essentially got canceled once I realized the realities of living in that small of a space while it's under construction.

Connor Dobsonwrote:

I bought my promaster with 40k miles for 16k and put about 12k into it and it's a great living arrangement. You don't have to spend 100+k on a build

Say what? When was this? Before fees? Salvage Title? If it's not the 118" low roof, I might be calling BS. Promasters are cheaper than sprinters for sure but they are still fairly expensive, that's like half price.  

OP, I agree with what other people said. make it a nice hangout space, especially if you plan to use full time in winter. Definitely get a diesel heater, best $120 I spent on my van for sure. 

I have my gripes about my work setup in the van, but lately I think the real answer is a coworking space... I'm pretty tired of being in the box for 8hrs during workdays. 

J Bwrote:

Say what? When was this? Before fees? Salvage Title? If it's not the 118" low roof, I might be calling BS. Promasters are cheaper than sprinters for sure but they are still fairly expensive, that's like half price.  

OP, I agree with what other people said. make it a nice hangout space, especially if you plan to use full time in winter. Definitely get a diesel heater, best $120 I spent on my van for sure. 

I have my gripes about my work setup in the van, but lately I think the real answer is a coworking space... I'm pretty tired of being in the box for 8hrs during workdays. 

CA Bay area in Feb 2020 for that one. 

Some dings and scrapes (ex delivery van) but overall not too bad. Clean title. 136 high roof.

Company replaces their fleet off lease every 3 years.

12K for  DIY conversion seems  like a LOT!  I have about 4.5K into materials and apliances.  granted I did some dumpster diving in the wood and fastener dept but I still bought 3 windows, fridge, sink, toilet, mattress, max air fan, solar system, wireing, lights,  insulation and cabinet hardware..  etc... 

naturally the water pump blew and she is sitting at the garage waiting for the mechanic to have time to fix her...  be at least two weeks.. and then it will be just about time for her to go into winter storage. :(

Of course I changed fridges and had to reconfigure my cabinets to accept the new fridge..  I love my big Costway chest fridge but it was so heavy  (60lbs empty) that it kept wearing out the slider hardware that let the shelf it sat on slide out to access the fridge. and it was a PINTA to slide it our and remember to lock it shut. Replaced with a Dometic Truck fridge $729.00  Buying the fridge twice is not cost effective BTW.. ;)    the truck fridge is much easier to get in and out of. allowed me more cabinet space and another sliding table but its not nearly as big as the  Costway chest rig.   old set up. 

 new set up.

a few crappy  phone shots of the instal

Saw this rig the other night. Looks really effin cool but not ever going to make it into 16Z  or even  black velvet canyon...