Living In A Van By The River

by Jonathan Hunt ATU 757 Portland

Mondays post, 17 Random Things You Probably Didn’t Know About M.D. Creekmore seems to have stirred the interest of several readers who sent emails asking for more details about my 2005 experiment living in a van down by the river .

Most asked for elaboration on my set-up inside the van, so that is where I will concentrate my efforts today.

Granted this lifestyle will not appeal to everyone, but for those with the desire and mentality, it could be an alternative to the 30 year mortgage. And even cheaper than the travel trailer on junk land concept. You can literally have a roof over your head for under $1200.

If I were doing this again, I would choose a 4WD truck with camper instead of a van. My wife Melissa says the van is to cramp. But in my opinion the van worked well, but being forced to stay humped over while inside grew old quickly. At least with the truck and camper there would be more head room, and it is already equipped with most of the stuff you need to be comfortable.

I spent around $500 on the conversion. First I built a frame for a bed behind the drivers seat with room for storage underneath. Then mounted a 13 inch TV on the wall above the bed and built cabinets along the wall opposite the bed. Nothing fancy - just open shelves large enough to hold cardboard boxes that were held in place by bungee cords.

Under the shelves on the same wall, I built a kitchen area large enough to set a two burner propane camp-stove. On the wall I mounted a power inverter and underneath, I built a battery box with sealed lid vented outside. I charged the batteries with the alternator in the van.

The passenger side chair was affixed with a swivel base allowing it to turned 180 degrees, this made a comfortable place to sit, read, sleep or whatever.

For the sink, I used one taken from an old RV. I hooked up the sink so it would drain into a 5 gallon water bottle underneath. Between the bed and sink, I built a divider of 1/2 inch plywood to separate the two areas.

On the other-side I built another partition from the same sheet of plywood, creating a small closet and extra storage space. I left enough space to pass between the two partitions and out the backdoor of the van.

For refrigeration I used a 12 volt refrigerator that plugged into the vans cigarette-lighter outlet. I also kept stuff cool by submerging a Styrofoam cooler in a shallow spot along the riverbed.

As I said before; if I were to do it over again, I'd choose a 4WD truck with camper instead of a van, and a small pull behind trailer would be a good idea to haul extra survival gear. This could could easily be the ultimate bug out system, or freedom from a mortgage. You can even build your own camper.

Have you lived in a car, van or camper? We would love to hear about your experience in the comments below....