Results 1 to 25 of 54
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03-22-2020, 03:19 PM #1
Talk me out of trading my truck for a van....
2012 Tundra TRD Rock Warrior 6.5' bed with fiberglass topper. 105k miles
I've done the whole sleeping under the topper with a platform, etc etc. It's not terrible for a weekend, but to actually live in......eh, kinda rough.
There are some decent FWD Promasters of similar value around. Immediate drawbacks I see are lack of clearance (I've been able to get way up some nasty FS roads with current rig), no truck bed for work, etc.
Saving $1300 month in rent would be huge in these sketchy times.
Will we be seeing a shift from "Cool! #vanlife" to "Cool, #livinginavandownbytheriverinsteadofastorageunit!"
Please tell me how dumb this is. Thanks.
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03-22-2020, 03:23 PM #2
I have the same truck, same year and everything. I could mayybbbeee see doing this if the van in question was a 4wd. A FWD will be cool until october, maybe, especially where you are.
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03-22-2020, 03:36 PM #3
Sounds like a plan for a single man. In times like this were I single I'd go all in with a smaller 4wd RV with a pot top roof to live in. Finance as much as you need to get what you need.
FWIW, my brother has a job marketing for a global supplier of RV OEM and upgrade systems. Sales are curving up like the virus. By it now.A few people feel the rain. Most people just get wet.
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03-22-2020, 03:42 PM #4
I could see if any lenders would let me trade in the truck for a greater value 4x4 van. Increased monthly vehicle payment, plus all my stuff in a storage unit is still cheaper than my current truck payment + apartment rent.
Hmmmm.
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03-22-2020, 04:00 PM #5
This sounds like an impulsive decision like buying tons of TP and beans that might leave you with tons of TP and beans (and a higher payment that doesn't go away by eating beans).
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring."
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03-22-2020, 04:03 PM #6
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03-22-2020, 04:05 PM #7
Have you really reaaallly thought through living in a van?
Where are you gonna shit? Shower? Most vans don't have those facilities. Cartridge toilets and outdoor showers are gonna get old pretty quick. Especially in the winter / shitty weather.
Where you gonna park it? Is this your only vehicle? How excited are you to move your entire fucking house every time you want to go anywhere?
Are you ready to have a vehicle that's functional for sleeping in, but fairly terrible for pretty much everything else?
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03-22-2020, 04:08 PM #8
Maybe go halfway and find a used slide-in camper that will fit your truck? Less elbow room then the inside of a promaster but way better then a cap/platform setup and you retain the 4x4 and ground clearance.
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03-22-2020, 04:20 PM #9
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03-22-2020, 04:22 PM #10Registered User
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what he said
and
don't sell the truck don't buy the van
have you ever lived in a tent? in a van? out in the woods? hike in to your "house"
it gets old as shit quick, pretty much all your energy is put into finding a place to park your van, dealing w bullshit, being homless is a ton work
but it can also be the best experience in your life
if can swing keeping the truck and buying a van I'd say go for it just don't sell the truck
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03-22-2020, 04:34 PM #11
Except for the fact that for the foreseeable future, every community is going to adapt a ‘keep on movin’, son’ attitude to van lifers. It’s gonna be ugly if you don’t have somewhere stable to park, IMO.
Forum Cross Pollinator, gratuitously strident
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03-22-2020, 04:41 PM #12Banned
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03-22-2020, 05:07 PM #13You are what you eat.
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There's no such thing as bad snow, just shitty skiers.
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03-22-2020, 05:09 PM #14
First of all, wait like a month or two to buy any kind of vehicle.
Second, I believe this crisis allows people to put rent/mortgage into forbearance of some kind pretty easily.
Third, you really want some kind of (possibly rapey) fwd van? Ew.
If you're not working and you just want to be able to camp at trailheads in style, maybe get some kind of camper for the bed and take off the topper? Tow a pop-up?
Or go all out: sell everything and get the Sprinter van with 4wd.
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03-22-2020, 05:23 PM #15Registered User
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Sounds like your tenant needs evicted, and you need to quit paying rent.
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03-22-2020, 05:41 PM #16
Great points. This succinctly describes my 5 summers (May- Sept) of VW van living experience 25 years ago, long before #vanlife. I was working as a kayak guide so showers were not an issue, we could stink. Halfway through the first season, 4 of us finally rented a back grove from a local farmer for $100 per month ($25 each) because we each got sick of the knock on the windows of our trucks and vans at midnight telling us to move along when trying to stealth camp around town. We could then have a permanent outhouse and firepit on our rented land which was much awesome. I ended up buying a enduro moto to commute to work/town because it sucked to pack everything up in the van to go anywhere without breaking stuff.
If you are going to do this, maybe look into renting a seasonal campground spot.
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03-22-2020, 05:51 PM #17
don’t pay your rent. there’s a moratorium on evictions currently.
skid luxury
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03-22-2020, 05:57 PM #18
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03-22-2020, 06:21 PM #19
That's (mostly) not true. There's a moratorium on the federal government evicting you. As far as I know, non governmental landlords (in other words, the vast majority of residential landlords) can evict people like normal (and if they can't, that moratorium would only exist on a state by state basis).
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03-22-2020, 06:24 PM #20
There is a big difference between #vanlifing while holding down a job and #vanlifing while frigging off IMO.
In the latter case, it's quite easy. You aren't tied to one area, so finding spots to hang without being bothered is easy (hint: keep moving). I've done ~275+ nights in my van - window knock tally is still zero. You're seeing new places so stoke is high. Public restrooms are abundant and totally usable, assuming there isn't a global pandemic in process.
If you need to show up to work every day, you'll be crashing in the same area(s) frequently. It can be done, but I wouldn't call it low stress. Ain't as fun to be the "van guy" in your local community, and around all of your old haunts. Hard to explain but it's a bit awkward. Also consider that it will definitely take longer and cost more to build it than you're anticipating - take your time estimate and multiply by 4. Take your cost estimate and double it.
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03-22-2020, 06:26 PM #21Hucked to flat once
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You don’t want to pay rent because someone won’t pay you rent? Yes, I think you should borrow money right now and get the 4x4 van so your lifestyle isn’t crimped.
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03-22-2020, 06:40 PM #22
this garbage fire thread should be ripping pretty soon.
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03-22-2020, 07:00 PM #23
It's been a while since we've had a good phishshow thread. #bringbacktags
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03-22-2020, 07:04 PM #24
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03-22-2020, 07:04 PM #25
Vans kick ass
Haven’t spent more than a rare night in them, but compared to a pickup or suburban, they haul so much more for the same mpg.
Look for factory Chevy/gmc factory awd.
They hold their value, but kick ass.
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