Making Some Progress
And by some, I mean I've been obsessing pretty hard the past couple weeks.
Plans For The Van
I've had a lot of inspiration from YouTube, and to a lesser degree Instagram. In my next post, I'll talk about some of my favourite channels and why I love them.
I've been working on some very tentative designs, impeded by the fact that I don't know exactly what van I'm going to get. I'd love to get a Mercedes Sprinter, the most popular base for travelling vandwellers, but cost is a huge factor. Very rarely do they dip below $10,000 in price, and if they do I'd be a little suspect. And maintenance is high. It's a diesel which I prefer, but I've heard horror stories of the motor blowing and costing almost a new vehicle to replace. My brother has said the same.
My next choice is a high top Ford Transit or Econoline, something extended and high. But really, I'd settle for an average, long wheel base cargo van, high top or not. The downside is not being able to stand up, tho I've seen some amazing builds where that isn't so much of an issue. Long term I'd need to upgrade, but anything is good for now.
I really don't want a purpose-converted van. One of the drawbacks of Thelma was lack of stealth, and I'd really like to overcome that with this build.
I've been putting money into savings for the build, and taking inventory of what I have. For the short term, I have a fridge, toilet, bed, heater and water set up. Priority one will be insulation, and priority two is power. The rest I'm not going to stress too much over.
Working From The Road
You'll notice I rebranded from The Hippie Van. I'm still absolutely a hippie! I just wanted a brand that reflected more of my overall journey. Even a hippie's got to eat.
I have some new social media too. I changed my name on Instagram to @workingfromtheroad. I have a YouTube account under the same name, which you can find at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8FHldk631cDA0LGqwYXg2Q.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel!
Once I'm at 100 subscribers, I can get a custom url. And at 1000, I can have ads and maybe generate a trickle income.
I've got a new (well, used) camera to work on photos and video, and a new laptop is on the way!
That's all for now! I'll be updating the blog more and more as it comes closer to build time. Stay tuned!