21 Years in a 1973 Dodge Van

That sounds like an interesting job, maybe some times rough but I bet it was rewarding at the least.

 

You know, somebody once said, that if you have a job you love, you'll never have to work a day in your life.

Getting paid to travel and help people was like being paid to be on vacation to me. I fell into that job by accident, and it turned out to be the perfect job for me.:2thumbsup:

 

Very cool, most of my jobs I kinda fell into as well. I got lucky many times getting what I wanted but later became bored wanting something new to do. If I felt like not going in then I moved on. I hated going to work to work, it had to be fun. One of my jobs allowed me to travel all over Canada and over seas and even brought me to an island in the ocean once which was very cool. I had to camp in the middle of winter and learn how to survive it, that was awesome.
When I was a kid I went on a bush lore camp to learn how to find and rescue missing aircraft and people and survive. It was a tough course but I loved every minute of it. I have since wanted to work for Search and Rescue but haven't had the opportunity altho I did take other courses related. I even thought about becoming a game warden but other opportunities showed up first.
You got lucky to find one that lasted you a whole career.

 

Excellent thread.

I read all of TwoDogs posts and most of the others over the last week or so.

I'm truly sad it's over. Hope he posts soon.

Here are some thoughts. I can't believe someone didn't ask about the camera until after 400+ posts. Those are some excellent shots.

Did you have any formal photography training?

I can't believe that so many posters are surprised by the fact that a man can live in a van. This is by no means revolutionary, and has probably been done even before the first van rolled off the assembly line. I know of a 1930ish article on how to convert your car into a house car.

Anyway, hope all is well TwoDogs. If one day I can be as free as you, I'll look you up.

 

What a nice reply!!!

Welcome to hipforums my friend

 

Thanks, I know it's going to sound strange, but it was a nice ride.

Lived TwoDogs 7+ years of this thread in a little over a week.

It might sound selfish, but I wish I could savor it some more.

Gonna have to buy a van and leave all the BS BEHIND! Just need to grow a pair!

 

It not as easy lifestyle I dont think........

 

Once you get it figured out, I think it's probably the easiest lifestyle there is.

Since your housing costs are so low, supporting yourself becomes pretty easy. I don't know of any other lifestyle where people can actually thrive on less than $500 a month.

Of course if you wish to travel a lot it costs more, but most van dwellers only travel small distances at a time, then take in all an area has to offer, then move a town or two away and do it all over again.

The hardest part is creating a comfortable and sustainable living space, once that has been established, the rest becomes easier. The beauty is that even the living space can be built in baby steps if the funding is low.

 

Do you have any kids camperbob? I feel like it would be hard for me to live in my camper unless I was close by to my kids, which then would seem not as exciting cause I couldnt travel as much! Ahhh man.

 

What's easy?

Getting up in the morning going to a job you hate to pay for a house you barely live in?

And when you're fed up you take a 2 week vacation to get away from it all, and are sad and depressed when you have to back to the "real world".

Nothing's easy.

 

Nope, no kids. My lifestyle afforded me many girlfriends, some even long term, and some with kids, but none of my own.

I keep in touch with many of them, and even some grown kids with families of their own now. I am Uncle Bob, or Grandpa Bob to many, and some of the kids even consider me to be their Dad. Many were victims of some sort of disaster, and I would stay on for a while to help them put their lives back together.

Even though I don't have much for blood relatives, I have a rather large extended family out there.

 

While very few of us have had the opportunity to live out our dreams, a new reality is beginning to sweep the nation, even the world, that the dream lifestyle was a scam to keep us in debt, and to be good little worker bees.

Today, more and more people are pursuing their real dream by becoming full timers, abandoning the dreams we were taught by our fore fathers, and creating our own path to fulfillment, enlightenment, and true happiness.

While we must still live in the "real world" we do not need to be enslaved by it.

 

I am looking at vans and plan to purchase my first one within the next six months. I had assumed that I would be full on urban stealth, but after reading this thread over the last two days (yes, all of it) I'm beginning to look for dispersed camping sites. Thanks for the inspiration, TwoDogs! This thread has some great info for those of us who are making the choice to live free rather than being stuck in the daily grind and crass consumerism. I've already gotten rid of two storage units worth of stuff and the feeling of freedom and relief is amazing!

 

Welcome to the site!!!

Good luck in your quest

 

"Racetrack" is in the news today.

Racetrack Playa mystery in Death Valley solved

 

I kinda' wonder if that explanation fits what TwoDogs saw when he was there. One of his dogs actually "stalked" a moving rock, after all....

 

I think the idea of ever increasing, ever accelerating progress is in and of itself a trap. You can go to many many collapsed civilizations throughout history (Sumer, Maya, Easter Island etc) and the theme quickly makes itself apparent the relentless pedal-to-the-metal approach toward ever increasing progress eventually burdened the civilizations so much it led to their downfall. There is a fantastic book about this called "A Short History of Progress" by Ronald Wright. Its about 130pgs, he doesn't mince words and looks at the notion of progress throughout history and how it had led to the downfall of so many previous cultures and civilizations. He argues we are in the exact same position, we have fallen into a "progress trap". One of the most powerful things I have ever read (easily readable in a day if you're dedicated) and reading is my first love and primary hobby in life.

Things are a little bit different now, but not much. I'm not convinced America isn't marching toward the same fate.

I think we may need to focus more on simply treating each other right, building our communities and living simply off the land. It's a long hard road and I'm not convinced we'll ever get there but I try to hold out hope and spread peace and positivity wherever I go.

 

Got this thread pointed out to me. Two dogs you're an inspiration. I hope you come back on here. I'm 31 and in the process of acquiring my van hour to be on the road by the first of the year. I wanna be in dessert sw area for winter and work my north for spring summer. I plan on taking my adorable English bulldog asking and hopefully my wife comes but I'm ready to leave everything behind. You're living my childhood/adult dream t two dogs and I'm finally putting the wheels in motion to line my dream myself. I'd love to connect with you if you ever get back on here. You're in the area I plan on being at the beginning of my trip and if you're up for it I'd like to hangout for a week and pitch your brain. Have ya show me the Arizona dessert. I'm envious my friend you have exactly what I want! I love it brother! I can't wait to leave Iowa behind!

 

What happened to all of twodogs' pics he posted here? I'm not seeing anything that was previously posted here. Also, does anyone know if anything has happened to him? It's been nearly 30 years since he hit the van life and he hasn't been on here in a few years. Last I heard he remembered why he lived out in the boonies and vanished.

 

Pics got lost in a software upgrade.