GFED

hey, saw you mention something about camping year-round for $300. what was the name of the place?

crockett

New Mexico.. You can buy a state park camping pass for around $300/year

GFED

thanks man. selling my house. buying a class c.

crockett

Congrats, RV'S are ok but if you want to travel get a van.


You can also stay on BLM land for free all over but it's mostly in the west.

GFED

I'd really like a van, but I'm a bit too tall. I tried standing up in a roadtrek and had to bend over. also, i've got a dog now. didn't have one when i first made plans to do this. looking for a 24 ft max.... 21 ft would be great... like justin credible has.

crockett

As long as you are ok driving all the time. I started with a Class B and even that sucked to drive daily. I'm a bit different than most though, I don't sit still, even if I'm staying in the same area long term, I'm always out doing stuff or driving around exploring.

Bladewire

How does your internet work? So you have an unlimited data plan?

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oppoten

Utopia..

crockett

20 gig data plan (no one offers true unlimited ) on my cell and I tether to a surface pro. I also use wifi a lot, but 20 gigs isn't bad for normal browsing but I use wifi for uploading my ebay listings due to the images.

Bladewire

Who is that plan with?

Do you use solar energy in any way for energy needs?

crockett

I have a grandfathered cricket pro plan. It allows tethering and has 20gigs. Right now they only off 10 gigs for the same price I'm paying.

They do have a new unlimited plan, but you can't tether with that one. I have heard of people using rooted phones to use the unlimited plan while tethered but I don't want to lose my plan to test those waters..

As for power, I have 360w of solar and 420ah of batteries. I run a fridge/freezer, led tv, led lights, 12v fan and charge my surface and cell with no problems.

After I finish my syncro build it's getting sold and I'll build something new. I'm toying with building a sprinter and if I do that, I will have a solar operated AC unit on the next one if the current misses comes along for a ride.. otherwise I'm building another crazy ass 4wd van...

Misses or 4wd van... it's up in the air..

Bladewire

Dude post a pic of the van! What model/year is it? Syncro?

GFED

This guy has a badass van.

CaptainHowdy

That is living large ...

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GFED

minimalism at it's best

Bladewire

Wow it's huge!


I'm really thinking about wanting to do this. When my kid was 5 we gave everything away and moved to Australia with 2 carry on bags. Now that he's an adult I'm getting the urge to travel again.

CaptainHowdy

Large at heart, you know ...

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GFED

yea he put a lot of bucks into that ride. it's awesome.

crockett

That's on some forest road in the Black Hills. The van is a self build. It's a 86 body, but it started it's life as a hard top 2wd. I had a rusted out Syncro, so I tore out all the 4wd components and transferred them to the 2wd tub.

It's not quite finished yet, I've done half of the 4wd conversion. So far, I've put a engine in it from a Pontiac Solstice, I've installed the 4wd transaxle and installed the Syncro rear fuel tank. I pretty much fabbed everything from scratch on the engine and trans swap.

I then cut the roof off a completely trashed Westy and put it on my van, making it a pop top. I also stripped out the interior and rebuilt it as a camper set up with the solar system ect..



I got tired of working on it so got it to a stage I could use it and hit the road. I've been gone now for 1.5 years and headed back to FL to finish the build this winter.

I still have to do the front drive train/suspension swap to complete the 4wd and I'm gonna rip out the interior again and change it up a bit and finally do the body & paint.

btw, I don't build for flashy, so not a lot of expensive bolt ons. I pretty much build everything my self and built it to use, not look pretty in a parking lot.

crockett

Actually that's kinda crazy as if I build another 4wd van I was going to build a Chevy Express with the Duramax/Allison combo. I'd go for a straight axle front end though and have a high top.

That's pretty much the only one I'd want over my Syncro as far as a 4wd build goes.

GFED

You got a shitter and shower?

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crockett

Gym for the shower and no on the shitter. It's not necessary, the idea of this is not to sit all day inside the van. I'm out doing stuff all day and hit the gym each evening.

If I'm in the van during the day, it's because I'm driving somewhere. It's just a mobile bedroom and kitchen and place to keep my stuff, not really a living room.

The world is my living room. Most people don't get tjat, so they do the same thing with an RV as they do with a house and that's get sucked into it and rarely see the light of day.

GFED

i like this. you have true freedom. i'd need an emergency shitter for taco tuesdays though. lol.

crockett

Well, freedom is subjective. Even at with this I'm tied to the van in a sense. I can't just go leave the van on a trail head and go camping for a few days. Due to everything being inside I do worry about break ins a bit more than say someone with a empty car.

The guys with real freedom are those bum eating out of Mcdonalds trash cans...lol not a worry in the world and free food.

But of course the amount of freedom you get is based on your comfort level requirements..

This is why I use a van vs a big RV. There is a lot more freedom of movement with a van I can drive and park anywhere vs a RV.

Bladewire

That would not be good, happen often from what you've heard?

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Bladewire

That looks awesome! No idea about all the conversion stuff as final product is what I'm interested in. Been looking on CL and other sites out of curiosity. Seen some conversions with drop down LCD & fridge on vans with 100k miles or more for under 10k

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