There are lots of videos online about people upgrading their rigs (motorhomes, trailers, vans, slide-ins). There aren’t as many videos about people buying a van, an empty van, and then building it out to be a camping van. Not very many people do all of that work because it’s a lot of work and takes planning and knowledge and skill … and tools … and time. For most people, it’s easier and faster to buy a rig, and then make a few modifications or upgrades.
But, if you want what you want … and you want to save money … and you want your rig to be precisely what you want (did I already say that?) … and you are able to do it yourself … then doing it yourself really pays off.
Here’s a video of one woman’s van build. I think she did a great job! She hired the electrical work done … the rest, everything else, (the cabinets, the walls and flooring, the bed, the plumbing, the shelves, etc) she did herself, and she did ALL of the planning for it.
I’m not too sure about the title of the video, with the interviewer’s emphasis on the van owner’s age of 79. Sure, most people who are 79 are not building-out vans or doing home remodels or rebuilding car engines, etc, but we sure can … and we sure do. On the other hand, to see a person do that sort of work at 79 years of age is certainly incentive to other people. Let’s keep on doing, going, walking, exercising … at ANY age. And, let’s stop encouraging the idea that people in their 70s or 80s (or 90s) are old and that it’s so unusual to have a life at that age.
Walk, exercise, take your vitamins, eat your Wheaties (ok, maybe eat oat bran which is better for anyone of any age), and enjoy life. Just like the woman in the video below. 🙂
Early in the video you’ll see a great way to hold drawers in place while driving down the road … with just a simple small wooden dowel. Lots of other really good ideas here.
As mentioned in the video, Kate is a member of Escapees RV Club. I am too. “Escapees” is the largest organization of RVers in the USA, maybe in the world. They hold in-person and online training sessions for RV maintenance. They produce an informative and fun monthly magazine (not just a newsletter). They/we have advocates in state and federal government. For instance, several years ago there was a move afoot to restrict the rights of people who lived in their RVs … calling those people “homeless”. Escapees RV Club reps stepped up and educated the folks in Congress … and reminded them that there are more than 1,000,000 (one million!) full time RVers in the USA … and they vote and they pay taxes … and they DO have a home. Their home happens to be their RV. They are not homeless. And even those of us who travel in an RV only parttime would have been affected by the proposed legislation, even though we also rent or own a “stick-built” home. In the end, the proposed legislation to restrict the rights of people who live in their RVs was removed thanks to the Escapees RV Club lobbyists that our club dues pay for.
Escapees club members have gatherings all over the USA and Canada. And the Escapees organization owns entire RV campgrounds … one of them is in Oregon and that’s where Kate lives in her permanently parked larger travel trailer (and then she travels the country in the van that she built out). I stayed in an Escapees campground in Chimacum, WA, last year. It was super clean and super great.
Here are Kate’s suggestions for other solo RVers when traveling across the country, from one location to another, things that have helped her:
- I never travel after dark if I can help it.
- I usually stay in free or low-cost spots. Forest service campsites, BLM land, truck stops and rest areas (when allowed). I never stay in a rest stop if there is only one car over-nighting there. One other RV is ok, one trucker, etc, but never just one car.
- I have never plugged in. My 100W solar panel and two 100-amp-hour LiFePo batteries are enough (at least so far).
- Truckers are generally wonderful. I woke one up in the middle of the night because I had gotten seriously ill. He probably saved my life.
So, if you come across people who live in their RVs, give them a wave and say hi. We are all neighbors on this planet, after all. And if you ever come across Kate (above) in her van, please thank her for sharing her van build and this part of her life with us.
Happy travels everyone!