/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.1578626]

Hi /diy/
I'm thinking about creating a van to sleep in to escape my family. I already live frugally, and I only use the bathroom once a week, so it shouldn't be too hard on me. I only need access to a computer and wifi, and I have a gym membership, so showers I have access to.

How should I go about doing this? I have $9,000 I can use before I go broke. Hopefully I can only use half of it, and then use the other for food. Has anyone done this before? I'm planning on removing the back seat, adding a wood base, and covering the windows up.

[Anonymous No.1578640]

https://old.reddit.com/r/vandwellers/wiki/index
https://www.cheaprvliving.com/
http://www.livinginavan.net/buying-a-van/

Heres some resources

[Anonymous No.1578642]

>>1578640
Some good resources thanks

[Anonymous No.1578649]

>>1578626
YouTube has millions of videos of van dwelling peasants offering advice

[Anonymous No.1578657]

>>1578626
>I only use the bathroom once a week.

What.

[Anonymous No.1578670]

>bathroom once a week.

I'm lucky of I only plug one toilet a week

[Anonymous No.1578678]

Get a car and camp at public library indefinitely. Sleep in walmart parking lot if need be. Free Wi-Fi at McDonald's. Drive far far far from your problems. Make money somehow.

[Anonymous No.1578705]

>>1578678
that last part lmao

[Anonymous No.1578706]

>>1578626
Make friends with an auto dealer (maybe get a job there) and have him buy you a box van at auction. Give him a budget and you’ll get what you can afford.

Then allot 4-5grand for repairs and cabin finishing and then spend the next 4 months building it.

Then, when you’re finally fed up with the goddamn thing but get it finished, leave your family and live in the hell you put on yourself constantly worrying about getting broken into and police finding you out.

The only way to safely van dwell is if you have a property you have permission to park on or if you rent camp sites.

Honestly, I could do the moving and camping thing, but I would have a plan and place that I can safely live.

Here’s my van. I don’t live in it, but it’s a hell of camper and with its solar set-up, you can travel comfortably across country and spend days off grid.

Hoping my wife quits her job soon as we can take 2 weeks and travel the states.

[Anonymous No.1578708]

>>1578706
If you’re in the states I’ll sell it to you for $6000. It has 6’7” ceilings and an engine that’s known to run for a million miles.

I’d would take the cash and buy a truck and build a travel trailer desu

[Anonymous No.1578713]

Would a hammock not be the best possible use of space in a van?

[Anonymous No.1578714]

>>1578713
>would having the worst possible sleeping situation not be the best way to make your already shitty living situation worse?

Yes, yes it would

[Anonymous No.1578764]

>>1578626
How big and compacted are your shits?

[Anonymous No.1578778]

>>1578626
Jesus anon. Skip the van. Just sell your shit, pack what you can in a single backpack and start a new life literally anywhere else. Go and never look back. Your current existence sounds miserable.

[Anonymous No.1578937]

>>1578640

Get on my level, fagget

[Anonymous No.1579065]

>>1578937
Imagine taking a corner in this thing

[Anonymous No.1579101]

>>1578640
I cant beleive that is still floating around after all these years.

I ditched the idea of lead acid batteries from those days. I decided to use LiFePO4 in 16s configuration for 1kwh modular batteries. I also am big on flexible solar pannels and a slightly smaller array.

Currently I've been car camping in a prius while I save to finally do that sprinter project from all those years ago. I decided to do the shelving units under the bed/seating area and leave the rest for desk space. underneath the flooring I will stack the lifepo4 pouches in a protected container.

The prius has changed my stance on car/van camping in alot of ways. I've survived in colorado winters in it due to the design of the electric synergy drive. I averaged $1.20-$1.50 a night running off the engine for heat on nights below freezing. On nights above freezing I didnt use heat.

As for powering electronics I just got a 150W inverter for my laptop and misc low power AC appliances. I have 3 USB battery banks with dual usb slots that run on removable 18650 batteries. This powers my phone, wifi hotspot, and usb fan (also takes 2x18650 and has a usb port). I got a folding memory foam pad off amazon and use prime with lockers+PO box.

Showering at the gym has kept me in shape. Although using the bathroom once weekly is not in shape. I've trained my body to poop before bed and have 2 stainless steel vacseal thermoses for emergencys in the middle of the night. I've learned to utilize off street parking near public parks and practice a get-in & get-out philosophy for sleeping. Portopottys are a commodity for dumping the thermos when necessary, or latenight shits lol.

[Anonymous No.1579106]

Whats great about the prius is that the ignition cuts the engine on when the battery drops below 20% and cuts the engine off when it hits 80%. This elimates running the engine all night, it only turns on to spin the electric motors for charging the batteries.

I made window cut outs from foam and covered them with thick black wool. My windows are blacked out tint and the wool covered foam inserts pop into the frame. With summer approaching I'm considering velcro strips with a more pourous fabric to allow more air flow, but may continue doing the same process with windows insulated for AC efficiency.

I also fashioned a curtain using paracord with carabiner clips that attach to keyrings on my hangers above the driver and passenger doors. Dont use a shower/closet pole, paracord works amazing. Velcro was my initial attempt but I didnt use strips (just little circles), and it kept coming loose and agrivating me.

[Anonymous No.1579716]

If you don't want to get meme'd by the police you could just buy a $5000 plot of land. Only costs like $40 a month with 0 down payment

[Anonymous No.1579747]

>>1578713
Bed doubles as couch

[Anonymous No.1579748]

>>1579065
The video is on youtube, it's scary seeing this thing drive on the motorway

[Anonymous No.1579757]

>>1579716
Where does a $5000 plot of land exist

[Anonymous No.1579773]

>>1579757

In a lot of places actually. It wont be good land or anything you could build on but it would be good enough to tent or car camp on.

[Anonymous No.1579792]

> I only use the bathroom once a week

[Anonymous No.1579848]

>>1578708
I'll buy your van Anon. Are there any problems with it?

[Anonymous No.1579866]

>>1579757
Did you look already?
Probably won't be if you live in California

[Anonymous No.1579891]

>>1579848
Some body rust.

It’s on a 1-Ton chassis so you know it’ll last forever.

I changed the plugs, vac lines, rear brake lines, all the calipers, rotors, pads, idle control valve, air filters, battery.

The one wealthy owner before me had the whole thing serviced so the transmission shifts like new and it only burns oil if you’re redlining it.

Structurally, it’s a fantastic vehicle. Aesthetically, it’s not perfect.

SC is lhalfpap.

DM me for more details

[Anonymous No.1579895]

>>1579773
Land without electricity and easy road access is dirt fucking cheap

[Anonymous No.1579912]

>>1578626
>I only use the bathroom once a week

[Anonymous No.1580071]

>>1579912
Sorry, I meant that I only poop once a week. I can use bottles and public restaurants without a problem.

[Anonymous No.1580073]

>>1580071
>I meant that I only poop once a week.

[Anonymous No.1580095]

>>1578626
>I only use the bathroom once a week

you must stink

[Anonymous No.1580096]

>>1580073
>poop once a week.
>poop

are your 8 years old?

[Anonymous No.1580099]

>>1580071
What the fuck is wrong with you? I poop every day, half of the time being I actually don't do it and jerk off instead. Now I have too keep up so my wife won't notice the pattern has changed.

[Anonymous No.1580115]

I used to poop once every three weeks

[Anonymous No.1580117]

>>1580115
You must be 200 years old!

[Anonymous No.1580126]

>>1580073
Is this a power of onions?

[Anonymous No.1580144]

>>1580115
I went through a time where I was literally starving, lost a bunch of weight, and would only shit about once a week.
It was actually pretty scary seeing how before then, I would shit daily. Sometimes twice a day if I ate a bunch.

Bad times

[Anonymous No.1580169]

>>1579792
Confused me too at first. They mean the bath part AKA washing your body.

[Anonymous No.1580207]

Just buy a motorhome and park it at Walmart.

[Anonymous No.1580234]

>>1578706
>Hoping my wife quits her job soon as we can take 2 weeks and travel the states

>quitting your job for 2 weeks in a van.

[Anonymous No.1580245]

>>1579101

You shit in a thermos while in a Prius? WTF?

[Anonymous No.1580256]

>>1580234
She’s going to quit anyway. I just want to turn part of the off time into a cross country camping trip.

[Anonymous No.1580266]

>>1579757

You could probably get 2 acres in rural Ohio on non-tillable land for that price. Densely wooded and hilly land in east buttfuck goes for about $2k/per acre with no utilities. Of course you have to live way out.

[Anonymous No.1580290]

>>1578708
Bruh I was trying out all of the sleeping arrangements of the world for a while in mryearly 20s. (Sleeping pad for a week, carpet for a week, hammock for 3 weeks) The best sleeping that i found was just a normal ass bed (box spring and mattress .

[Anonymous No.1581982]

Bump

[Anonymous No.1581995]

>>1579065
Do you even physics? Just fill hatch area with molten lead and allow to cool. Problem solved.

[Anonymous No.1582225]

>>1578778
>>1578626

litteraly this find a cheap studio >500 miles from your current eituation. live on your 9k while job searching in the trades. learn a skill make new life. goodluck.

[Anonymous No.1582234]

>>1579757
i know a guy who bought about 20x60 plot of land in new orleans in a neighborhood about a nile away from all the nightlife kn the french quarter

[Anonymous No.1582242]

or you could just get a bit of money, from a credit margin, (instead of a credit card , lower interest) and buy a fucking camper that is like below 6000$ damn it Lawl . fucking diy shit is so overrated sometimes and not worth the effort.

[Anonymous No.1582659]

>>1581995
>2000 pound axle
>add 1999 pounds of OSB camper directly above axle
>nigga why don’t you just fill the bottom of the car with lead??

[Anonymous No.1583304]

>>1580245
A thermos is for liquid, number #2 I go before I park for the night.

[Anonymous No.1583309]

>>1582242
That would be too easy, you would already have an electrical system, plumbing, a bathroom, a kitchen, and it's already made from lite weight materials. It's much better to have a mattress and a ton of plywood in the back of a van.

[Anonymous No.1583734]

>>1583309
A lot of it is about specific needs. There is no need to build your own camper van if your are only going camping in it. But it is easier to park a normal van on roads than a camper van. A lot of people also use their vans for their hobby or work, designing them to bring bikes, tools or the like with them.
So yeah for a lot of people it doesn't make sense, but for some it's the best choice.

[Anonymous No.1583932]

>>1582242
You'd need something to tow it with

[Anonymous No.1583939]

living in a van sounds like a nightmarish hell honestly, why would you ever do that to yourself

[Anonymous No.1583955]

why the fuck is he challenging now

[Anonymous No.1584648]

I take like 3 or 4 shits a day, easy.

[Anonymous No.1584693]

>>1579891
Hmu @ [e-mail] if you're selling in California

[Anonymous No.1585219]

im thinking next vehicle
15mpg or less shortbus house
17-22mpg traveling self sustaining hightop van dwelling
27mpg astrovan traveling dwelling
or tiny travelling 40mpg little wagon honda
>i imaine aggressive hypermiling could raise the mpg's by about 20%

[Anonymous No.1585350]

>I only poop once a week

Are you a legit heroin addict? I guess that might explain why you are living in a van down by the river

[Anonymous No.1585399]

>>1578626
Jeez.. My biggest expense -- by far -- is food! Maybe you should solve that problem first before this whole van thing.

[Anonymous No.1585538]

>>1585350
I'm a 19 year old male who is a virgin of all external drugs except caffeine. I'm extremely skinny and just poop once a week. Is it really that bad?

[Anonymous No.1585594]

>>1585219
>thinking you'll still get the same mpg with your car weighed down all the time.

[Anonymous No.1585596]

>>1578626

Dude, just buy a caravan.
Having 4500$ to buy and rebuild a van with (most probably) no tools and experience will get you nowere. You need a garage and months of work to get shit done. In your situation this will not work out.

You can get a sturdy pickup to tow it and plop it in a trailer park. I am not sure, what do you intend to do afterwards but this will be the most practical thing to do. I am renovating an apartment and trust me everything ends up costing more and taking shit ton of time to do.

[Anonymous No.1585639]

>>1584693
Check your email anon.

I didn’t see your response until today

[Anonymous No.1585668]

>>1585538
Have you ever heard of this thing called fiber? Its typically not present in McDonalds and poptarts.

>>1579101
>>1579106
I did a couple week in my van in Colorado this winter, cold as hell. I got a -30F sleeping bag though since I feel pretty bad about running the engine all night. That and some exhaust eventually recirculates back into the van. Without a real forced air heat its impossible to fight the condensation when its 0F out so I just gave up. Sleep with the windows cracked and just stay warm in the bag. Kind of a big hassle to ski for pennies but its worth it desu.

[Anonymous No.1586119]

>>1585594
>>thinking you'll still get the same mpg with your car weighed down all the time.
-bus is made to handle weight.
-hightop van would not be filled with a heavy wooden build out or have shit strapped all over the exterior
-astrovan would be light as well
-little honda wagon would just have a bed, cooking gear and myself
I did the math and my ranger had like 500lbs of load including the 150lb fiberglass topper

[Anonymous No.1586122]

What's cheaper: building a camper can or buying/building a camper trailer?