Well, I'm pretty much done, I may make some curtains to cover the storage areas, but it's necessary. Gonna be headed for Quartzsite,AZ in2 weeks.
You're seriously going to go on the road without proper tools? I won't leave the neighborhood without a well-stocked toolbox. Hope you got some bomb-ass roadside assistance plan. At the very least, you better have a fire extinguisher or two. Cars burn all the time, especially if every thing you own is in it don't take any chances about being able to stop a fire.
The tools needed to take out those mounting points would not have been useful for the van, the only way they would come out would be with a plasma cutter, or other heavy duty cutting tool.... As far as tools go, I have wrenches, sockets, pliers, screwdrivers, jacks, saw, and some other basic stuff. I do also have a kick ass roadside plan in my insurance, a Carbon Monoxide detector, and do indeed plan on a fire extinguisher..... I'm adventurous, not stupid. While there are 15,000 reported vehicular fires a year, the grand death toll from said fires is only about 208 a year. It's more likely that I could be one of the 450 a year to die from falling out of bed, or one of the 845 killed a year by volcanos.... Also, having all of one's belongings in a vehicle does not increase it's chances of catching fire, nore does a vehicle on fire automatically mean that it is irreperably past saving.... There are a lot of fires on engine blocks that can be doused, with no real harm to the engine.
Looks like your making good progress Vince. I've done the same thing starting 4 years ago. Look at Vandwellers Facebook on Facebook. Lots of people doing the same thing.
I was in a few on facebook, but settled on one (which can't be searched for) I'm looking forward to my departure date on the 25th
Hi Drumminmama, I used to pull a 13ft camper behind my little Ranger pickup; but, I blew a head gasket on a mountain near Winnimucca Nevada. So now I have a Ford van. I took the seats out and built a bed and a wardrobe. I'll be camped in Poudre Canyon for a while and visit with my daughter in December. After that, I'm going to be camped along the Vulture Mine Road, outside of Wickenburg, Arizona. The place is mostly free BLM land. You can get free water at the city park, near the public library. Winter is nice in that area. Peace & Light
Vincent, please keep the fire extinguisher close to you. Nothing like the fire being between you and the extinguisher. (Doghouse of a Chevy Step Van, I was napping in the back, smelled smoke, saw flames. My then husband had popped into a store. Someone saw the flames, announced in the grocery, so volunteer firefighters responded. The extinguisher was about six inches from the fire! I happen to be very timid about fire, used to be scared of it as a kid, because of a housefire, so I don't always react as quickly as I should. I froze, then tried to figure out how I was getting past the flames. (Quickly, very, very quickly)
Well.... The time has come, my friends. I roll out of Billings, MT tomorrow morning, and will be headed to Quartzsite, AZ. I have a couple stops along the way, so I'm hoping to get to Quartzsite by the first of the month. I'm really excited, but extremely nervous too... I'll be looking to keep everyone updated via MY BLOG
WOW!!! Since my last post I had made it to Quartzsite, AZ, where I spent from September to February living on the BLM land. I have since made a long journey up to Seattle, spent several months there, then came down to Pacific City, OR, where I currently reside. I'm still in my van, though she needs an internal make-over, but currently parked in an RV & Trailer Park until I find work and can save some money.