Originally Posted by
mconlonx
Been trying to live simpler and simpler with varying degrees of success; relishing this new adventure to really hammer it home. "Simple living" is a broad term with varying degrees of simplicity based on whoever is trying to live that way. Someone's 'simple' might be another's 'extravagance.' Moving into a 60sq' living space will have to be more on the simpler end of things...
OK, just got my van, a 1998 Ford E-350 with a Stahl utility body. The utility body gives me more headroom and a wider body than a regular cargo van, so if a hammock doesn't work out due to back issues, I can install a bed across the body of the van instead of lengthwise to better use the very limited space. Plus it's got all kinds of nifty storage compartments built in.
We were car-lite for a long time, with only one car, a subcompact 5-dr Mazda Protege5. It worked for us, with me doing a lot of bike commuting and my wife working from home. Situations change -- we are separating, house is being foreclosed on, and where
we were thinking tiny house,
I am going even smaller because one person doesn't need something extravagant, like 118 sq ft of living space...
Through the winter, I did the Big Purge. Pretty much everything I own which is still in the house could get packed into the van, although more than half will need to go before I hit the road. We are currently splitting a 10x10 storage place with very little of my stuff in there, mostly her stuff. Anything I don't touch in a year will go...
We still have not received 30-day notice to get out of the foreclosed house, so I'll continue to live there while I build out the van. I could live in it rough as-is, but there are some amenities and necessaries I'd like to do to it before converting to van-dwelling full time. Insulation, an aux battery setup maybe with solar, vent/fan install, CO/propane detector/alarm, cooler or refrigeration, figure out storage and what will come with. Probably a thousand other little things as well.
In any case, I am totally psyched to be getting this show on the road. Due to inspiration found here in Living Car Free, I will now be Living in a Car, a gas guzzling 5.4l V-8 non-aero van, to boot. Driving will be limited -- infrequent big travels as part of a more migrant lifestyle, shorter regular local moves as part of a stealth camping routine.