8 ms·

Nice writeup. I also live in a vehicle. I have a 25ft (7.6m) former airport shuttle bus I've converted to my home. It took me over six months of full time work

Nice writeup. I also live in a vehicle. I have a 25ft (7.6m) former airport shuttle bus I've converted to my home. It took me over six months of full time work and it's still not complete. I've lived in it for a bit over four months. Overall it has been good but not without challenges. I'm currently busy working which has led to neglecting stuff I need to finish on the bus. I can't travel far until I finish these things. Here are some recommendations and tips if you're considering this life: * If you haven't spent time camping in a vehicle rent one for at least a week and try that first. It's not exactly the same but similar. * Don't jump in blindly. Do significant research into what others have done, what works and what doesn't, etc. * If you decide to build something yourself expect it to take at least twice as long and cost 50% more than you plan. * Evaluate if it makes sense to do the build yourself. I wanted to build something physical instead of just writing code. Financially it would have made more sense for me to continue working full time and have a place like Sportsmobile do the build. I wouldn't have learned the skills and had the experience though. I have a lot of build photos on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/driverdan/ https://www.instagram.com/driverdan/ I'm happy to answer questions.

wallace_f 9y ago
That's a cool van! In Australia I built a van out of something like a Toyota Hiace for less than $500 + the cost of the van. I travelled in it for a year, living in it for well over 6 months of that, and sold it at the end. I actually didn't really need $500: I made money building the van as I bartered a deal to help out a carpenter with some basic office IT stuff, and ended up learning and helping a little bit around his shop, whiche he gave me cash-in-hand for at the end. I also used second-hand and bartered items for the interior, and even a little bit of left-over lumber, tiling and cloth, which saved at least $1,000. I have 2 pieces of advice: the first is that the most important thing is a comfortable bed, real bed. I bought a new, cheap one at Costco. Not fold out cushions, or a pad, or anything like that. A big bed with extra blankets, good sheets, and pillows. Consider that you want to be outdoors right? Ostensibly, you will use the van for driving, carrying a surf board and mountain bike (or your hobby of choice), and sleeping. That's the big 3, and you don't need much to make that possible, other than a van with a nice bed inside. I did also have bench inside for working, an electric cooler, and kitchen setup, but even all that was superfluous: I prefer to work in coffee shops, libraries, or laying in bed. I ate out or bbq'd. I showered at beaches, gyms, campsites, or at new friend's places (for some reason, most are very eager to help travellers and invite them over). The second is how much do you care about not looking poor? I have travelled in a ~$5,000 camper and a ~$200,000 camper. I slightly preferred the $5,000 camper. It is pleasant to drive rather than worrisome, doesn't give you motion sickness or pollute as much, easier to maintain and manage, and you can take it into the city, to the supermarket, and places the RV can't go. There is a reason those old Westfalias are so expensive other than them being rare! However, most people care mostly about not looking poor, or their status, especially in America(1). You will see, and be seen by other people differently living in a $5,000 camper, and that unfortunately presents challenges here. However, in the end I sold it for even more than that, and it taught me a lot. If you are thinking about doing this, you could always start with something basic, like this! Especially if you are young and want to go surfing, mountain biking, and snowboarding every weekend, I really recommend it. 1- content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1974718,00.html
- FooHentai 9y ago
  >It is pleasant to drive rather than worrisome That resonates. I scaled down my daily driver to a beater Toyota because every time I drove the amount of anxiety around the car getting stolen, broken into, dinged in a parking lot, or any number of other small injuries became unbearable. I ended up not enjoying driving, so what was the point? After a year, I still enjoy driving this beater more than the one that cost forty five times more to purchase. I guess it's a lesson about things you own ending up owning you? :)
- jackgolding 9y ago
  Any photos of your setup? Did you mainly hang around East coast Australia?
irrational 9y ago
Has living in a shuttle bus at all affected your relationships or love life?
- driverdan 9y ago
  I haven't had a partner while owning the bus so it hasn't been positive or negative. I've encountered very few negative reactions to it, mostly positive. I've had a few people respond with shock, as if they didn't understand it at all. People who would be negative about it are not people I want in my life. I expect friends and family to support my decisions, even if it's not something they're interested in themselves.
  - alphadog_78 9y ago
    Where do you park ?. I love to explore this idea considering how high the bay area rentals are. I guess this could be a faster way to payoff your student loan. -N
    - driverdan 9y ago
      Parking depends on your location. I currently live in Austin and can park anywhere I want. Since my bed goes across the width of the bus with the head on the passenger side I have to find fairly flat places to park. Many of the streets here have a steep slope at the edge for drainage so I have to be careful. Sleeping with your head lower than your feet is a great way to get a headache. I often park in store lots (eg Walmart). Some cities have NIMBY laws that ban living in vehicles. This is especially common in the south bay area. You'd have to lookup your local laws.
  - libria 9y ago
    > People who would be negative about it are not people I want in my life. I expect friends and family to support my decisions, even if it's not something they're interested in themselves. On the other hand, it's unhealthy to surround yourself with yes-men. I personally think it's pretty cool, but I can't say I support the decision since I don't know if it's good for you in the long run. I wager you take criticism better than that sentence indicates, though.
rbritton 9y ago
What do you do for internet? I don't have any intention to live full time in a vehicle, but I want to be able to take off for an arbitrary amount of time and work while away. I've done a few test outings but generally end up reinforcing my conclusion that cellular is not overly reliable when you're more than an hour or so outside a moderate-sized town. I currently have to carry equipment for two separate carriers (AT&T and Verizon) and a signal booster to have a reasonable success rate at getting a strong enough signal to work. The next avenue I'm exploring is satellite internet, but it is significantly more expensive.
- clort 9y ago
  You have to let go - I got 4G mobile wifi earlier this year, its fast as heck and sometimes when I don't get a signal.. I don't connect to the internet! Can always read a book, or go for a walk. I'm kind of extreme though; I've been using cellular data almost exclusively since 2001 so its nothing new. I've spent plenty of time out of range. I think that if you are out of range and you need to connect; its time to move on.
  - thatcat 9y ago
    How do you handle sms and voice over data or do you forego it all together?
    - clort 9y ago
      No I have a mobile phone for voice calls. In the beginning I used dialup, then GPRS or EDGE directly through the phone (cable and later Bluetooth connection). Then I got a separate device for data, first an ICOM 3G USB dongle which I used for many years but as of this year I'm on 4G, with a Huawei 4G mobile wifi thing.
  - rbritton 9y ago
    Problem is, I can't let go. At least, not all of the time. I'm a remote employee rather than it being my own endeavor, so there's a certain expectation of communication in addition to needing to interface with our various services from ticketing to source control. My ultimate goal is to be able to work from a beautiful place, and once I'm done for the day, to go out and explore it.
zpr 9y ago
This may have been asked before but I can't seem to find it: where do you typically shower or use the restroom? Truck stops? Or just ad-hoc as the situation allows?
- driverdan 9y ago
  I have a shower. I don't have hot water right now though so I've been showering at my gym and coworking space. Most people who don't have showers in their vehicles join chain gyms with a lot of locations (Anytime Fitness, Planet Fitness, etc).

wallace_f 9y ago

That's a cool van! In Australia I built a van out of something like a Toyota Hiace for less than $500 + the cost of the van. I travelled in it for a year, living in it for well over 6 months of that, and sold it at the end. I actually didn't really need $500: I made money building the van as I bartered a deal to help out a carpenter with some basic office IT stuff, and ended up learning and helping a little bit around his shop, whiche he gave me cash-in-hand for at the end. I also used second-hand and bartered items for the interior, and even a little bit of left-over lumber, tiling and cloth, which saved at least $1,000. I have 2 pieces of advice: the first is that the most important thing is a comfortable bed, real bed. I bought a new, cheap one at Costco. Not fold out cushions, or a pad, or anything like that. A big bed with extra blankets, good sheets, and pillows. Consider that you want to be outdoors right? Ostensibly, you will use the van for driving, carrying a surf board and mountain bike (or your hobby of choice), and sleeping. That's the big 3, and you don't need much to make that possible, other than a van with a nice bed inside. I did also have bench inside for working, an electric cooler, and kitchen setup, but even all that was superfluous: I prefer to work in coffee shops, libraries, or laying in bed. I ate out or bbq'd. I showered at beaches, gyms, campsites, or at new friend's places (for some reason, most are very eager to help travellers and invite them over). The second is how much do you care about not looking poor? I have travelled in a ~$5,000 camper and a ~$200,000 camper. I slightly preferred the $5,000 camper. It is pleasant to drive rather than worrisome, doesn't give you motion sickness or pollute as much, easier to maintain and manage, and you can take it into the city, to the supermarket, and places the RV can't go. There is a reason those old Westfalias are so expensive other than them being rare! However, most people care mostly about not looking poor, or their status, especially in America(1). You will see, and be seen by other people differently living in a $5,000 camper, and that unfortunately presents challenges here. However, in the end I sold it for even more than that, and it taught me a lot. If you are thinking about doing this, you could always start with something basic, like this! Especially if you are young and want to go surfing, mountain biking, and snowboarding every weekend, I really recommend it. 1- content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1974718,00.html

FooHentai 9y ago
>It is pleasant to drive rather than worrisome That resonates. I scaled down my daily driver to a beater Toyota because every time I drove the amount of anxiety around the car getting stolen, broken into, dinged in a parking lot, or any number of other small injuries became unbearable. I ended up not enjoying driving, so what was the point? After a year, I still enjoy driving this beater more than the one that cost forty five times more to purchase. I guess it's a lesson about things you own ending up owning you? :)
jackgolding 9y ago
Any photos of your setup? Did you mainly hang around East coast Australia?

irrational 9y ago

Has living in a shuttle bus at all affected your relationships or love life?

driverdan 9y ago
I haven't had a partner while owning the bus so it hasn't been positive or negative. I've encountered very few negative reactions to it, mostly positive. I've had a few people respond with shock, as if they didn't understand it at all. People who would be negative about it are not people I want in my life. I expect friends and family to support my decisions, even if it's not something they're interested in themselves.
- alphadog_78 9y ago
  Where do you park ?. I love to explore this idea considering how high the bay area rentals are. I guess this could be a faster way to payoff your student loan. -N
  - driverdan 9y ago
    Parking depends on your location. I currently live in Austin and can park anywhere I want. Since my bed goes across the width of the bus with the head on the passenger side I have to find fairly flat places to park. Many of the streets here have a steep slope at the edge for drainage so I have to be careful. Sleeping with your head lower than your feet is a great way to get a headache. I often park in store lots (eg Walmart). Some cities have NIMBY laws that ban living in vehicles. This is especially common in the south bay area. You'd have to lookup your local laws.
- libria 9y ago
  > People who would be negative about it are not people I want in my life. I expect friends and family to support my decisions, even if it's not something they're interested in themselves. On the other hand, it's unhealthy to surround yourself with yes-men. I personally think it's pretty cool, but I can't say I support the decision since I don't know if it's good for you in the long run. I wager you take criticism better than that sentence indicates, though.

rbritton 9y ago

What do you do for internet? I don't have any intention to live full time in a vehicle, but I want to be able to take off for an arbitrary amount of time and work while away. I've done a few test outings but generally end up reinforcing my conclusion that cellular is not overly reliable when you're more than an hour or so outside a moderate-sized town. I currently have to carry equipment for two separate carriers (AT&T and Verizon) and a signal booster to have a reasonable success rate at getting a strong enough signal to work. The next avenue I'm exploring is satellite internet, but it is significantly more expensive.

clort 9y ago
You have to let go - I got 4G mobile wifi earlier this year, its fast as heck and sometimes when I don't get a signal.. I don't connect to the internet! Can always read a book, or go for a walk. I'm kind of extreme though; I've been using cellular data almost exclusively since 2001 so its nothing new. I've spent plenty of time out of range. I think that if you are out of range and you need to connect; its time to move on.
- thatcat 9y ago
  How do you handle sms and voice over data or do you forego it all together?
  - clort 9y ago
    No I have a mobile phone for voice calls. In the beginning I used dialup, then GPRS or EDGE directly through the phone (cable and later Bluetooth connection). Then I got a separate device for data, first an ICOM 3G USB dongle which I used for many years but as of this year I'm on 4G, with a Huawei 4G mobile wifi thing.
- rbritton 9y ago
  Problem is, I can't let go. At least, not all of the time. I'm a remote employee rather than it being my own endeavor, so there's a certain expectation of communication in addition to needing to interface with our various services from ticketing to source control. My ultimate goal is to be able to work from a beautiful place, and once I'm done for the day, to go out and explore it.

zpr 9y ago

This may have been asked before but I can't seem to find it: where do you typically shower or use the restroom? Truck stops? Or just ad-hoc as the situation allows?

driverdan 9y ago
I have a shower. I don't have hot water right now though so I've been showering at my gym and coworking space. Most people who don't have showers in their vehicles join chain gyms with a lot of locations (Anytime Fitness, Planet Fitness, etc).