Retiree Newcomer

Newbie's Corner
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Introduce Yourself…

Good morning. I am a retiree who works part time as a substitute teacher. I became addicted to traveling 10 years ago and have tried to take an extended vacation to Europe every year. My income is very limited and as rents have increased, I am considering living in a van for the summers as a cost saving measure. I must admit I have little desire to live or travel in the US as I am thoroughly nauseated by our politics. I plan to purchase and convert a Ford 350 XLT passenger van. (I received an email saying I should introduce myself, hence this post.) Thank you for the information I have already received on this site.

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Greetings & Welcome!

On limited income, an older RV is frequently the best bang for your buck, and even move in ready.

Cheers!

"Accountability, responsibility, sustainability,
& creative solutions for the win." ~ Old_Soul


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I am planning on getting a used van (under 50,000) miles. Since I have minimal mechanical skills and the van will be my only vehicle, I am afraid to get one with more wear than that. In my wanderings, it appears most of the van conversions I have seen devote half of the space to a bed. Toilets/showers are another space hog which I do not want. I am not going for fancy, just the things which are important to me such as a recliner, many dressers, ample cooking equipment. Most of my stays will be in state parks where I will have electricity, bathrooms, showers, etc. I have already purchased most of the “furniture or appliances” needed. I doubt I will ever boondock. My thought is that I want a van 1. to have a safe place to sleep since I am a elderly female traveling alone 2. Having a place to hang out and watch TV when it rains; 3. Being able to pull over and take a nap or make myself some coffee when I get sick of driving somewhere. My introduction was more negative than intended. Much of my childhood was spent camping and these are my favorite memories so to some degree, I just want to be in the woods. I want to awaken to the sound of birds and trees blowing in the wind. My soul needs restoration and woods are for me, the best way to achieve that! Thanks for the advice.

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Greetings!

I live, lounge, & work while enjoying my lazyboy swivel rocker/recliner.

I would seriously reconsider not having a toilet though.

Cheers!

"Happiness only comes before work, jobs, & money in the dictionary." ~ Smilin Sam


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Welcome! Where is it you are looking forward to traveling with in your new van?

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Politics rarely enters RV travel. It’s all in online forums, television, or in people’s minds. If you’re offended by things you see but do not interact with, like a flag or bumper sticker, it’s a you problem. As for a van, plan on a bare minimum of $150k. I’ve had a 2003 Sprinter T1N for 8 years and 100k miles. I’ve been investigating a new build for years, I have the skills to DYI, and can’t get do what I want for less.

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I am finding Ford Passenger Vans with 50,000 miles between $40,000 and $50,000. I think your standards are considerably above mine. I am using dressers with cloth drawers for storage, my seating is a recliner which I already own, my eating area is a high top table and chairs which I also already own, etc. Purchased a TV, refrigerator, generator, power packs, folding cot with high quality memory foam mattress. No need for a sink or bathroom area as I will usually be camping in parks with electricity, showers and restrooms. Time will tell. Regarding politics, part of my reason for wanting to camp is to detach from the news.

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I live in Florida so I would like to go up the east coast to Maine, as well as up the entire west coast. There are a few spots in the Southwest which I would also like to see. My preferred way of traveling is to stay in a hotel and take escorted tours to see the sights because then I have playmates. I do not want to pay for hotel rooms as I make my way to the various vacation sights as they involve many days of driving, hence the van. (I have some circulation issues so I can’t sit for many hours. I am thinking with a van, I can drive for 34 hours, stop, relax in my recliner with a book or watch a TV show for an hour, then I can resume driving.) I am also thinking I might stay in the van for a couple of months in the summer as a cost saving measure. (I suspect I am not the typical vanlifer.)

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I actually have purchased a folding toilet which can have the bags attached. I will have it in the van for emergencies but hope to never have to use it. I also have a shower tent, shower pump, etc. I have a large screened porch which I will use as my “kitchen” in good weather.

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Greetings!

When I first started out, my toilet was for emergencies, then one of my best upgrades was using my own toilet & shower instead of going and hunting for them. Saves me a ton of time, money, & hassle, and I never have to clean up after some stranger or worry about catching the creepy crud.

Emptying my toilet & trash once a week is whole lot easier than hunting a toilet whenever I need one.

Cheers!

"Accountability, responsibility, sustainability,
& creative solutions for the win." ~ Old_Soul


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I too am a newcomer, retiree. My partner and I are going to be looking for a van to build out. We are waiting thru part of the summer as we live in MN and the weather is better in summer. If you are a social media person, there are a few Facebook groups for vanlifers. There are many helpful tips and no politics as far as I can tell. We are seeking to unplug from all of it. I have been looking for a Promaster 2500 with high miles. My thought is we won’t spend a lot on the build out, try it out and decide later if we want anything newer. We don’t want a shower and toilet either. There are all kinds of options for those without taking space in the van. We have dogs. They need their space!

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Consider a built in futon-style couch/bed/recliner instead of using a living-room style recliner chair and a cot. Check out the many van conversion walk-through videos on YouTube, you’ll see some that have a system like this.

Also, most van bucket seats (like all car seats!) recline. All you need is a footrest to duplicate your living room recliner chair. If your seat swivels (you can modify it to do this, and some manufacturers offer a swivel seat option) you have infinite leg room.

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With all due respect, I live and work from my rig, and for true comfort, nothing beats a dedicated chair that also rocks. Rockers make all the difference in the world for many people.

Many desk chairs can be super comfortable and include a rocking feature while taking up minimal space, and if you have the room like I do, I wouldn’t be without my lazy boy swivel rocker recliner. I can work from it all day without getting fatigued. I live in this chair when not sleeping…

Most car seats start becoming uncomfortable after a couple of hours, and no sofa I’ve ever had can compete with a comfy rocker recliner.

Everybody is different, but that’s my 2¢ worth.

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Nothing beats folding camping mesh camping chair. I use only those for many years
When the temps warm up, there is no sweating.
Its also easy to move or remove for floor cleaning.
I never use traditional “furniture” it seems dirty to me, mites, sweat and all.

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I have washable covers on everything. Plush but spill proof. Never had a sweating problem, since I keep the inside cool.

My outdoor chairs are washable canvas, and they seem to breathe okay.

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I’m curious. Do most people here consider “under 50,000 miles” a suitable criteria, if you want to economize?

I don’t especially like a lot of the new features of modern vehicles, but some modern vehicles can last a few hundreds of thousands of miles, with proper care. E.g., I know 10 or so years people used to view 250,000 miles as typical for a properly maintained pickup truck - though that would include one engine replacement, and other assorted maintenance. I know they are more complicated now, so might be less reliable, but still. Of course, most other vehicles have been less reliable than pickups. But I think some work vans are built fairly sturdy too.

If one wants to economize, I would have thought one could make do with something close to 75,000 or 100,000 miles, if you selected one of the more reliable vehicles from a manufacturer with reasonably priced parts, that has a lot of people who know how to maintain it at reasonable prices.

Am I wrong?

Also, maybe you could simply move to a rural area, with cheap rent, for the summer. Buying a van for one summer’s use doesn’t seem economical. But maybe I am wrong.

Those short hotel stays with escorted tours might be a lot more expensive than you realize too.

Also, if you have a lot of possessions, you may pay almost as much to put them in storage as you would to rent an apartment. Storage business charge A LOT now.

BTW, it is quite possible Europeans will not especially welcome US residents (if that’s what you are) right now, because of the current politics. But I’m not sure about that. The news media may be over-hyping the hostility.

If you want to travel, and interact with a lot of people with different views, I think it might make sense to just ignore your personal politics. Imposing your politics on them creates hostility. Trying to understand their point of view (without attacking them, even if you don’t agree, or what they believe is complete nonsense) is an easier way to live.

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For an RV, yes. For a daily driver NO! People keep good reliable daily drivers for ~100k miles, lower than that there are usually reasons for selling. Usually because they’re money pits.

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Wow! Considering the price of a typical new RV, 50,000 is an amazingly low mileage. Several dollars / mile…

Except that I looked up how long typical RVs last at many Internet sources. Most say 20 years or 200,000 miles, whichever comes first. Maybe you have higher standards than most owners.

Even 100,000 for a daily driver seems low. Typical lifetimes at the time they are junked for the most reliable brands and models are in the 200,000-300,000 mile range. I use typical lifetimes as a major deciding factor when selecting vehicles.

Of course, the o.p. said they were looking for a “van” - not an RV. In which case 50,000 seems pretty low even by your standards - because vans are daily drivers.

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Boy is that ever a highly optimistic number… Maybe if you dumped enough money into it…

The drivetrains of newer vehicles aren’t built to last, and the camper quality is in the toilet. Many people are having delamination problems within the first year. For miles maybe they were looking at diesel pushers…

All of the euro vans are notoriously unreliable, and shoddily built. Many people reporting leaks on brand new ones. One of the biggest problems is electronics and heat don’t play well together, and engines & transmissions get hot. Then when the electronics screw up, you’re either stranded or in 20 mph limp mode. Too many people reporting they need new engines or transmissions at under 100k miles. Brakes failing, engine fires, wheels falling off, steering failures, long lists of problems. Turbo failures are another frequent and expensive problem on many of them.

Greed, which is largely due to the stock market, has us screwed up in so many ways these days. Stockholders demanding a return on their investments, and all that jazz. A “Screw the consumers but pay me mentality”. It’s a sad state of affairs, but it’s our current reality. Things used to built to last a lifetime but not any more. Now it’s planned obsolescence, and a disposable world. I can remember when there were repair shops on the main street of every town, to repair anything and everything that needed repair. Every gas station also repaired cars and fixed flats.

The world has gone crazy, and we’re just along for the ride.

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The only vehicle close to 100k miles I would consider is a Toyota.
The rest is s big gamble
I do not like to gamble neither Im rich to pour money into those dark horses with high mileage dumped right before 100k maintenance is due and with all other maintenance never done.
Also, people rarely sell good used vehicles, they hold onto them or their friends and fam scoop them up before those hit the market