Living in my car

[Snikwahjm]

I’m going to try to camp in my car again this week end. Peeing in a McDonald’s cup or a depend should work. The potty box needs a bit more room. The Honda Fit has a well where the seat goes if I fold just only the seat bottom up. I can duck down there between the front and back seat.out of sight covered by a fitted sheet. Some times less is more.

[Cammalu]

Does that mean you are coming back Snik? The weather is super nice right now.

[Snikwahjm]

I’m headed to Rockford for a night then to Wisconsin. Not an extended trip like I wanted but a break from working on a house. I’m trying to pretty it up. So far it’s not pretty.

[TWIH]

So did you ever decide on a vehicle type, or get one or the other? I still am undecided as far as whether or not a minivan a la' 2007-2010 Sienna or 2011-2014 DGC would be better than a late 90's mid-top (tv top) full sized. Other than the obvious trade-offs between space and gas mileage, it seems both have their strong pros and cons that even out. Cost wise, minivans can be higher than the conversion vans, but stealth wise you can't beat a minivan... If you are going to be a "camper" out in the BLM or NF lands then go bigger as stealth won't matter. If you intend on being mostly urban, then the fs may not be as good. Just thoughts.

[B and C]

Before you started contemplating this lifestyle, bet you never looked twice at a full sized van. They are ubiquitous.

[Snikwahjm]

Likely mostly urban with some BLM thrown in for awhile.
I have come close to buying a Ford Transit Connect. It gets good milage and it isn’t expensive. It drives like a car. Then I talked to my mechanic this morning. He said they are good vehicles. So I asked him about Nissan nv 200 and his face changed. But he did warn me to buy top of the line brakes. He said you have to pay the extra. I haven’t looked real hard at Nissan. I wonder which vehicle would last longer? In the past we haven’t has as good a miles as the Honda’s. But Honda doesn’t make anything I like in the size or price range. Some of their transmissions are iffy. Yup a Toyota is much more stealth. And I’ve seen some good conversions on youtube. Chrysler products have been expensive to repair for our family so I’m not considering any of their products. So I’m still on page one. Right now I’m going to try again to see if I can manage in the FIT. It is smaller than I would like for more than a couple days. But if I can manage for a couple days I can manage something bigger. It might or might not be all that stealth this time. Depends on if I kick off the fitted sheet... no curtains or tinted glass...

Any way back to putting lipstick on the pig.... I mean putting stain on the rubbed off places on the kitchen cabinets. Then I need to try to paint the counter top... the doors worry me more - tenants punched holes.

[travelaround]

How long do you want to live in this van/vehicle? Would you be happy not standing if it is to be a long time? I bought the high roof van because I'm planning to live in mine as long as possible, like until I'm elderly or otherwise unable. I don't think I'd be happy in a smaller vehicle all that time. I'm 66 now and my mom and grandmother both lived until they were 85. So I'm thinking like, for 20 years would I be okay with bending over while getting dressed, and stuff like that? So I bought a larger van for the comforts. The drawback, of course, is the gas mileage. I'm on a budget with low income and will want to keep my gas expenditure and other monthly expenses within that amount so I won't be going anywhere fast. I will want to park for an entire 2 weeks at a time when possible, rather than rushing around and burning gasoline.

[TWIH]

How long do you want to live in this van/vehicle? Would you be happy not standing if it is to be a long time? I bought the high roof van because I'm planning to live in mine as long as possible, like until I'm elderly or otherwise unable. I don't think I'd be happy in a smaller vehicle all that time. I'm 66 now and my mom and grandmother both lived until they were 85. So I'm thinking like, for 20 years would I be okay with bending over while getting dressed, and stuff like that? So I bought a larger van for the comforts. The drawback, of course, is the gas mileage. I'm on a budget with low income and will want to keep my gas expenditure and other monthly expenses within that amount so I won't be going anywhere fast. I will want to park for an entire 2 weeks at a time when possible, rather than rushing around and burning gasoline.

That's a good description of the tradeoffs. Do you plan on being inside the van more than outside or vice-versa?  You won't be "inside" a Fit, Sienna or Transit Connect very long. You will want/need places to go to walk around, stand up, stretch, none of which is possible in any low roof, whether a mini, midi or full sized van without a pop top of some kind.

If you think you will be running into inclement weather much then being cooped up inside a low and small space would likely be far more difficult to deal with than something with headroom.

Then there's what was brought up by travelaround, namely the fuel costs. If in a gas eater, of any sort, but you stay the 14 days at a time, then by all means go big and tall.  If on the other hand you are moving daily or near daily, and anticipate trips across the country to sightsee or visit friends/family then the gas costs will add up if you are in the "big rig".  

There's no single answer or single vehicle that can do it all, totally depends on your wants/needs/budget.  

The YT's videos that show the European-based tall roof vans are the closest I've seen to being the best choice except for $$$.  I couldn't even make the payments on one of those. If I can't find something under say $6-7K, then I'm not buying it (and that includes basic mechanical fix-up). 

Good luck finding even a trashed Sprinter for under $10K...  while mid-top conversion vans abound between $3-8K, and minivans are able to be purchased from $1,500 to whatever you want to pay based on age/miles/condition.

Very personal decision.   If you just have what you have, then like many others, that's what you go in. I mean I've part-timed in a Prius and while it certainly wasn't "comfy", "roomy" or even fun, it's what I had at the moment.

[Snikwahjm]

I won’t be able to go full time for quite awhile. I’m stuck just traveling for now. A small van should do for that. I’m hoping for some time out west this year but with the way things have been going I’ll be very lucky if I do. I can get something larger later on if I want to.

[ChileGirl]

I slept for five nights in my Prius in May. I used my luggable loo inside the car by pushing the front seat all the way up and putting it on the floor behind the driver's seat. I could do it, but it wasn't fun. I had my bed on the passenger side, and I found it pretty hard to get in and out of the bed. I had cardboard with relfectix attached stuck in all the windows and used a big beach towel hooked up the visors to shut off the front. It worked, but as soon as I got home, I started looking for a van. I like the step vans, but I didn't want to spend very much money. I wanted something really dependable and that had fairly good gas mileage. I ended up finding a 2002 Sienna with low miles. I've converted it now (by taking out all the rear seats and putting a cot and mattress in it, making curtains, etc.), and it's SO MUCH better than the car. In a perfect world, I'd have a nice step van with a fancy conversion, but I'm just not willing to spend that kind of money. So for now, the van is it. I'm pretty happy with my decision.