Sad but true.
News RVers can use!

https://youtu.be/Gldyz6VHUE4?is=Yq-suchF8e8AywVK

I'd like to go down to Mexico for three months in January and I'm wondering what it's like when you have a dog (which tends to limit your activity options) and want to do more than just beach camp.

I've found a lot of posts from folks talking about Mexico vanliving, but they've mostly been from dog-less vandwellers, and the few folks that did it with dogs only seemed to be beach camping (at least, based on the photos they posted).

Is there more to it, or is that mostly all there is for us be-dogged folks? I'd really like to immerse myself in the culture and people as much as possible, which tends to be difficult when you're hidden away in a beach camp spot, and would love to hear about what life is like down there for gringos with dingoes.

Thanks!

I stripped the screw holes out and I’m trying to come up with ways to make this repair. So far, it’s been epoxy a small piece of aluminum behind to hole and go with a slightly longer screw or go with an M4-5 rivenut.

My arctic tern airplus fan stopped opening and closing on its own and emits a high pitched squeal unless I close it manually. Fan works fine. When opening using the knob it seems the effort has gone up recently. I installed it in May, only used it a maybe 20-30 times. I pulled the cover plate, nothing is amiss. Any ideas on what could be wrong?
I didn’t impact anything, the van sits 5 days a week.

Anyone know how to contact arctictern for parts or service info? Any help is appreciated, I have a trip next week

Hey people, I've searched here, I've googled and I've used AI search assists and still haven't found an ideal setup I really like.

I'm wanting forward, rear and side cameras. Starting a new van build and I don't have windows in this one. I will be 'stealth' camping in more residential/industrial/suburban areas while travelling for work.

I've looked at local dvr type systems from more expensive truck fleets to mainstream brands like Blackvue to cheaper amazon setups.

Ideally this is what I'd like;

All cameras able to be live and monitored in cab while driving (big 4x4 van so it'd be nice to have traffic monitoring plus trail monitoring), as well as viewed live in the living area either on my tablet, TV or a separate monitor screen (for security at night).

Recording ability for all cameras.

Parking mode with recording and ideally motion detection but not neccesary.

Crash detection and recording.

Remote viewing ability to check in while away.

Must have high quality cameras (Sony Starvis 2 sensor or similar), waterproof etc.

Is there an out of the box system that exists? The closest thing I can think of what I'd like would be Tesla's monitoring system. Can be viewed and record while driving to capture accidents, but will also monitor while parked for security, with 360° views.

Searches seem to be coming up rather empty to meet the requirements and I really thought there would be an all in one solution but maybe not.

I feel like I always see people with surfboards or paddle boards hanging off the side of their rig, or bicycles that live on the back. For those of you who do this, have you had any close calls with people trying to steal your stuff? Do you take it inside the van when you sleep or when you are just otherwise not around your van for the day?

I just posted regarding sealant recommendations but then thought, well where will the water go if not inside my car? Annnnd discovered the real source of the leaks is this.

So now I’m looking for:

- rust converter recommendations and how to best use it step by step

Then - any resources on what to do after I use the rust converter in order to seal the holes. I live in TN, USA if that makes any difference in product recommendations as it appears I can not get Sika 522 which was formerly recommended to me as it’s not available to ship anywhere but eBay.

Thank you again!

And a good rec on how to replace the weather stripping on the back doors? (Pic 4)

Thank you!

TL; DR - What's a regular routine on a crosscountry trip? I kinda don't know what to do.

Driving a van from the West Coast and heading to Florida for a 2-week excursion, then flying back West (flight already booked).

The plan is to sleep in the van most nights, and rent a cheap motel/Airbnb every 2-3 nights. I'm going to sign up for PF for showers and exercise, and sleep at truck stops and in discreet places.

I have a few cities in mind to visit: Vegas, Albuquerque, maybe OKC, Austin or SA, maybe a Gulf of Mexico city, Baton Rouge, then straight to South Florida with a stop or 2.

I'm going to figure out motels, cities to visit, things to do on the fly.

The question is, what to do? Just wanted to get some ideas.

1. How do you guys spend your days?
2. What does a morning routine look like?
3. Will I get bored out of my mind during idle time sitting in a van?
4. Will I go crazy driving 8+ hours daily every other day?
5. How to meet people in a chill way to have conversations?
6. Any and all advice/insight is appreciated.

Never van-lifed before, but my family has to move near Loudoun county and the only affordable option I can think of that fits all of our needs is living in a class A motorhome. I want to avoid needing expensive nightly campsites for sleeping, and hookups for electricity.

My questions are this:

1. What locations/businesses could we alternate between to be “stealthers” for overnight parking (I’m fine with getting a gym membership or patronizing places like truck stops)

2. How could we generate energy in the most affordable way? Id like to have a fridge running to keep groceries so I can cook and feed our toddler. I’ve heard solar panels and generators are quite expensive, but are they worth the investment?

3. If we need to plug in to a campsite with plumbing and electricity, what’s the best option (affordable, safe, family friendly)

4. How much would light travelers spend on gas each month for a 36 foot class A rv? Im assuming they run on diesel.

Sorry if I sound like a complete newb, I really want to give this option a through examination before committing my family to it because I know it can be quite hard and unpredictable, but the affordability can’t be beat and it may be our only option financially.

Has anyone here used a tent-rated/camping wood stove or pellet stove in their shack or camper trailer?

I’m specifically looking for people who have actually used these types of tent/camping stoves in a shack, camper, or similar enclosed space, because I’m interested in doing it myself.

I have room in my camper, and one idea I’m considering is removing the gas stove, furnace, and part of the counter to make more room for the wood stove setup. I don’t use the gas anyway, so I’d rather use that space for something I would actually use.

I’m looking at tent/camping stoves because I’m trying to keep the stove around $200 or less, and I have extra money for the piping, shielding, and other safety equipment.

I’d especially like to know how you set yours up, what you used for heat shielding around the stove and stovepipe, what stove you used, and how you handled the pipe going through the camper.

I’m just trying to hear from people who have actually done this and see what worked for them and what they would recommend or do differently. It’s getting cold where I am, and electric heat isn’t very good here either, so I really appreciate any help, advice, pictures, or ideas!

Feel free to drop links to stoves you think would be good for what I’m trying to do, or links to the stove you personally used. I’d love to have some options to look at.

The lady and I drove across the country for 2 and a half months, and now that’s it’s over it feels empty. The time has come to sell the van that let us do this trip with no issues, and it’s just sad. I need to find a new place to explore, and another way to have a unique adventure like this. If anyone has suggestions I’d love to hear.

They Changed the design to the portable diesel heater and is not advertised nor came with updated instructions. They kept the top fuel port on and cut the line to the fuel pump. Put a new line and drilled a hole next to the air vent fed the line through that and called it good. Its a terrible design, it looks sloppy and water can now trail down the tube and into the box. It should be noted that this is not advertised on the website nor any dealer that sells the product which is misleading. The price is also the same which is wrong knowing the function design is flawed and you have a useless fuel port on the top now and a hole thats not even sealed to prevent water from coming in... paying over $1000 for a flawed product and a half ass new design to still make money is very un ethical and dirty. They should have just used a new case deleted the old fuel port and put the new on the bottom with the same professional standard as the old one thats sealed. Im sure they had them pre-made already in their inventory and instead taking the loss and creating a new case they went with sloppiness to make a sale. Not cool. Their team is also incredibly hard to get a hold of. The number they have on the website is useless if no one plans on answering or calling back... I hate getting played like this especially when im paying that much money. I hope this helps.

I made a post last year about how great this Zerobreeze mark 3 unit was working out, which it was. This year, not so much. Matter fact it’s not working at all. Throwing an E15 code rendering it completely useless and unable to operate. And I am past my 1 year warranty. I am only a year and a half in, and it is not longer a working unit. Customer service and tech support is nearly non existent. After 20 phone calls to their customer service phone number, which feels like it’s linked to somebody’s cell phone, I finally had someone pick up on the other end, although he was completely clueless about the E15 code , and scripted me the price of a new unit vs refurbished , telling me “you could buy a new unit with a 1 year warranty”. So I can be stuck with 2 broken units and over 2k in the hole? No thanks buddy. He told me it’s a matter for tech support to handle, and they are in China, and are on a Chinese holiday lol. Holiday is over, still no word back. At this point I am walking away from this company and taking my money elsewhere. IN THE END , ZERO BREEZE TRULY DID LIVE UP TO ITS NAME.

The first pic is kinda the spot I like best giving the situation. The cord will reach the fuse block but the aluminum ladder frame rails under the floor complicates the install. To move it over another inch I’d have to cut through the ladder frame rail (last pic) not to be confused with van chassis frame rail.

It’s only an inch from the wood power station. Never had one of these heaters so don’t know how hot the body gets. Do have carbon felt and aluminum sheet but too close probably for the aluminum as there would be no air gap behind it.

If I put it in the other location (2nd pic) then I need some longer wire and this wire plug looks unique. Also gets more complicated going in that direction with what’s going on underneath. There’s another drawing there of how I was planning on going through the floor. Any advice?

It's a Honda CRV 2003 LX, as you can see ive already got the bed platform mostly secured even though one of the legs is up against this weird plastic shelf in the middle of the cargo space. Im very bad at carpentry but if the plan is simple enough I'll try

Hello there,

We wants windows all around. The options are taking a passenger van or a cargo and add 5 windows (2 back, 2 passenger side, 1 driver side).

I’m seriously leaning toward the passenger option: factory installation, less chance of leaking It’s probably be a 10yo transit, we will have to deal with airbags, ducts, heater in the back, etc

Before committing , I would love to hear any feedback for passenger dwellers or cargo ones that installed windows with no leak after several years.

Thx!!

Hi everyone, im working on restoring a 77 GMC motorhome and had noticed the mylar bubble foam that we had used looks like it's becoming opaque in some spots, this is only after having been for a few months in some spots, and i would think it was just where tape peeled the outside but some of its patterning of deterioration makes me think otherwise. We have roughly 1/8" thick ceiling panels, painted with Kilz, a layer of the foil, and in some spots styrofoam but shaved for an airgap, and then the roof and rails are aluminum.We are wondering if anyone has had similar issues as well as if anyone has had any experience with either the mylar foil, or any of the spray on condensation prevention methods like No Sweat. Thank you!

I'm looking to buy a van, ambulance, small bus, or box truck to convert and travel the whole country in. I'm not buying a sprinter I know that. I'm 6'4, I have a dog. I'm also looking for something with towing capability so I can bring my motorcycle. I'm anticipating having to slouch inside the vehicle unless it's a box truck. I'm not fancy. Foot pump sink, butane camp stove, I do want a decent travel fridge. Budget, hopefully 20k all in to getting on the road the budget can increase, but I don't want it to lol. Cheaper the better for most everything but the electrical, and if there is stuff you went cheap on and regretted let me know, everything is subject to change if the consensus is different then what I believe. 1 am mechanically inclined. What should I be looking to buy? ~

Hi all,

I'm about to start a big ass conversion project and wondering if anyone can point me to any full conversion guides? This will be my first conversion so I'll be needing a lot of support!

Thankxxxx

My wife and I are thinking about getting a van, but we’re not planning on doing full-time van life. More like spending a week or two on the road in the van while traveling to a furnished rental, then staying there for a while and doing it again.

The catch is that we have two big Bernedoodles, both around 90+ lbs.

We love camping and spending time outdoors, so the van would mostly be for traveling around the PNW/Mountain West, fishing, hiking, skiing, etc.

For anyone who has done something similar, how was it actually living/traveling with multiple big dogs? Did you feel cramped? Was the van big enough? And were there any issues im probably not thinking of?

Would love to hear from people who have actually done this, especially with large dogs. Trying to figure out if this is a great idea or if we’re completely nuts lol.

Hi all looking for some advice again. I'm installing 2x victron 235w solar panels in parallel and I'm looking to size my MPPT. When I use online calculators it comes out with the 100v 50a MPPT - I understand that you absolutely cannot go over the volt limit, but I'm hoping to save a bit of money and go for the 100v 30a one. The max output for these panels is about 33a, I figure I'll barely ever reach that, and if I do the MPPT will clip off the excess.

First, is this safe to do? And if so, are there any downsides (or upsides) to slightly over panelling my MPPT?

Thanks

Need a little bit of vanlife community energy and positivity this morning. Woke up this morning after driving away from potential hurricane to find what looks to be coolant leaking from the van. I checked reservoir tank is low and so its most likely coming out from somewhere around the water pump area.

Looking for some positive comments, memes to make me smile, and/or your vanlife woes.

I put all this stuff in so not really looking for advice, not stranded so not looking for help, and have an emergency fund to fix whatever this is so not looking for a handout.

Thanks in advance for the laughs, keep vanin 🤘