Newbie Full time in Van

[nlewis]

Wife and I just purchased a class b van. We are going to fulltime in it. We will keep our day jobs and only be in the van at night. We have a trip coming up next week in Los Angeles. Since we are new to rv ing we plan on staying mostly at rv parks. But would really like to do some stealth camping on this trip a couple night to get our feet wet. We be there for at least a week. We are getting past the nervousness of this purchase and getting excited. Any suggestions are welcome. Im sure we going to have many question on this trip as we have never rv before. We suppose to have a 2 hr walk thu when we pick up the van. But a walk thu is different then being on your own. We been talking about doing this for years. Finally this year its was either do it or stop talking about it. We made to leap and fingers crossed we are hoping this is the best decision we ever made. I really hope that we can use this forum to help us with anything that might come up. Any suggestion are very welcome.

[azrving]

Check out Bob at cheaprvliving.com. He's also on YouTube.

[Grit_dog]

The details are yours to figure out for living in a van. Different strokes for different folks......
I’ve had single buddies that did the shower st the gym live in a camper thing. It works, but I couldn’t imagine it with my schedule. Yours may allow for the time and effort to do that.
Stealth camping is a 4 letter word here Don’t bother talking about it or the upper crust of rvnet will just call you a moocher, hippie or criminal. I don’t care as long as you’re not in front of my house. If you are, you won’t be for long. As far as making it a lifestyle, idk, I stop for the night, camper or not pretty much wherever I want. Maybe a campground maybe a rest area/cabelas/Cracker Barrel, maybe a Hilton. Depends on the trip and situation
The only advice I have to offer is since you appear unfamiliar with RVs, maybe take the thing, spend a week or so in it and then go back fornthe training session. It’s not difficult and if you’re afraid it will be then it may not be the right choice, however you’ll have some educated questions after spending a few nights in it and I’d guess get more out of the walkthrough
Good luck, have fun!

[dave17352]

Do you guys work at the same place. How do you use one vehicle for both of you to go to and come home from work? Like others have said seems like a reach to be comfortable in a class b with two full time, but maybe it will be a blast! Time will tell:)

[nickthehunter]

It looks like you already have the plan and have put it in motion. I don't know what you were looking for by posting here. Did I miss something?

[nlewis]

Thanks everyone for your quick response. I will provide more details on how we plans to go about things. I will admit that the size of the vehicle is of some concern. We currently live in the bay area and plan to travel frequently to southern ca. Which is one of the reason we went with the class B. When in Souther ca we plan to use the van for driving around and such.

The other issue I should point out is over the past years we are almost never home. We are mostly home at night. During the day we are at work or running errands or just hanging out. The routine we have in our heads is parking somewhat close to a gym and doing all our showers and getting ready for the day there. This will give us a chance to start going to the gym on a daily basis which we have been trying to do for the longest time. A heaven commute schedule has just made it very difficult to go to the gym. Also we work near Sf so to be able to park anywhere is very important in our case. Having the class b van means we longer have to worry about long commute, buying a house in unaffordable bay area , changing jobs to a totally new city and possibly not liking new job. Currently wife likes where she works. And no new jobs were coming up very often in places that are affordable. We had got to the point where we had to do something.

Also as far as the daily things. We will mixed in some air&b during he week to break things up. I also thought we could use that to cook our meals for the week. We have solar and 2k inverter and induction cooktop that can be ran off the inverter. Also have microwave that can be ran off inverter. Basically everything can be ran off the inverter but air conditioner.
During the day we just plan to be gone most of the time at work, running errands, having fun, cafes, gym etc. Then only using the rv to sleep and travel for vacation.The recently when looking at rv whenever we step in the 25 footers it was always this is just a little to big for what we want to do.

We also plan to hold on to our apartment during our adjustment period. If all goes well we will let the apartment go. If all does not go well we will have to keep the apartment and perhaps just use the van as a commuter room.
Another reason we did not go with he 25 footer we were considering(The wonder by Leisure Travel) is that was 15-20k more than the rv we picked. Just could not picture paying the much. We did not want slides or diesel or Mercedes platform so our choices were limited.

Added background. We lived and Los Angeles years ago and always talk to going back. But our job situation is better here. So we talked for years of living in both places. Keeping our jobs here and go back to LA as much as possible. The van allows us to do that. Driving a 25 footer to LA often just seemed daunting. I know what we doing is risky. But last time took a risk it ended up being the best thing we ever did. At the very least we will know if its possible. Not pursuing this living in both places was something we just had to do. Everyone also keep in mind we are nervously going forward with our plans. Been researching for year and half. I know research does not equate to the real thing. I know there will be things that come up which is why Im on this forum. Im hoping to use this forum to tackle many of these issue. What tying say is yes we are scared and wondering if we did the right thing. The class b just always seems to b the rv we came back to.

By stealth I just plan on parking near malls, hotel parking lots on occasion. 24hr fitness parking lots(we plan to join their gym) Basically urban areas
Thanks

[downtheroad]

I have to agree with the very blunt and honest post above by LarryJM.

I don't think this is going to go very well for you. I wish I could be more optimistic, and I do wish you the best of luck with your new adventure..

Please come back in a month or so and let me know how it all worked out. I have no problem being wrong and in this case would welcome it.

[kerrlakeRoo]

As most have already said, you are choosing a tough row to hoe.
I will suggest that before giving up the apartment, you try two weeks, and to make it easier while still having a job, try Sunday-Thursday evenings at an RV Park so on days you have to go to an office or whatever you have access to the showerhouse and water. Weekends try out the local HelMart or whatever stealthy thing you have in mind. Then decide how to proceed.
Good luck

[magicbus]

Fizz wrote:
... RENT FIRST!

nlewis wrote:
Wife and I just purchased a class b van...

Too late!

Dave

[DrewE]

JimK-NY wrote:

In a majority of areas, the police has some leeway in dealing with issues. Often overnight parking is allowed but camping is not. Is sleeping in the vehicle the same as parking or as camping? Usually no one actually knows, but if you make a nuisance of yourself law enforcement is likely to tell you to move. I have even had issues like this in National Parks. Several times I have gone to the park office to ask about staying in a parking lot overnight so I could do night or sunrise photography. Sometimes I have been told no way. Typically I have been told that camping in a parking lot is not allowed, but I could show up later in the evening and park overnight.

The laws I've seen, admittedly only a very small sampling of the many ordinances nationwide, define sleeping in a vehicle as camping or at least as something other than parking. Even taking a cat nap in a car would technically be forbidden.

[JimK-NY]

Fizz wrote:
.......

Stealth camping is like living outside the law, you are constantly looking over your shoulder.

I have camped hundreds of nights outside of camping facilities. I have never had an issue and never been asked to leave and never looked over my shoulder.

When there is any doubt check with law enforcement. Except for Walmart with a known camper friendly national policy, I always check if staying on private property. Being able to stay still does not mean you can spread out and make a nuisance of yourself. I am a property owner. I don't want a band of gypsies moving into the neighborhood. I have no issue with a neighbor who has relatives visit and park their RV for a few days, or longer.

[Fizz]

Before we bought out first TT we rented a Class B (Roadtreck) for two weeks.
By the third day we knew this was not for us, especially for Snowbirding let alone full timing.
RENT FIRST!

Stealth camping is like living outside the law, you are constantly looking over your shoulder.

[JimK-NY]

bikendan wrote:
What's your definition of "stealth" camping?

Mine involves parking illegally overnight, for free.
If that's your intent, i doubt many will help you.

Stealth camping and illegal camping are by no means the same thing. Stealth camping means keeping a low profile when you stay overnight. I do that a lot even when staying is legal.

When I stay in a residential area I do not get out the BBQ grill, set up the lawn chairs and look like a gypsy wagon. Instead I am careful about selecting a parking area. I don't take parking that is typically in short supply and used by the local residents. I good option is a church parking lot during the week, but check first.

In a majority of areas, the police has some leeway in dealing with issues. Often overnight parking is allowed but camping is not. Is sleeping in the vehicle the same as parking or as camping? Usually no one actually knows, but if you make a nuisance of yourself law enforcement is likely to tell you to move. I have even had issues like this in National Parks. Several times I have gone to the park office to ask about staying in a parking lot overnight so I could do night or sunrise photography. Sometimes I have been told no way. Typically I have been told that camping in a parking lot is not allowed, but I could show up later in the evening and park overnight. When in doubt check with police or other law enforcement, keep a low profile, don't make a nuisance of yourself and you will be allowed to stay in a great many places outside of official campgrounds.

[Tyler0215]

Let us know in two weeks how that is working for you

[classic_31]

If that's what you want to do go for it.nobody can make up your mind except you ..you say you plan to stay mostly at RV parks .reservations could get tricky at times.you didn't say how many more yrs to retirement. If it is a lot of yrs the van rt.might get old after a while.Good luck.I did the same thing yrs ago except I drove 1200 miles a week I worked shows and fairs did it for 9 yrs.would I do it again? Definitely.

[tatest]

A class B so used will have room to sleep, limited wardrobe, tiny kitchen, and minimal toilet facilities needing frequent maintenance. If you are into bathing and showering, you will be looking for external facilities, or RV hookups to support your limited built-ins. Cooking will depend on a limited supply of LPG, and without an external electrical hookup you will have no environmental cooling, and maybe no refrigeration (limited more by electrical power storage than LPG capacity).

Having been married 43 years to working woman(and raising two daughters), I can't imagine her getting ready for work with no running water and no electricity.

With no job, no need for the income, yes I could imagine living for a while. Hippy era, we did it, nobody worked, no showers for months at a time, never washed clothing; peace, love, and a reality defined by LSD.

But in this era, what you are proposing fits into "homeless living in a car." Depending on where you are coming from, that might be a small step up or a big step down.