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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,741 posts, read 58,090,525 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meo92953
Actually the author is writing about a couple, not herself. And yes, the woman, Lisa, is talking about the destination, not the journey.
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Hopefully the woman, Lisa, will try it again when her daughter is older and school is not an issue, ....
School is not an issue... ours never went to school and it didn't seem to hurt them any. (They were FT college by age 16, and still traveling on breaks, and taking traveling summer jobs)
We were 'van traveling' before they were out of diapers... waiting until they can climb in and buckle themselves into the car seat would have been easier on parents.
Kids enjoyed planning a lot of our trips, and doing 'fresh market' daily shopping in foreign countries. (with foreign currency.) In my experience the kids handle it far better than the parents, and kids bring a wealth of energy and new relationships and adventure to the journey.
Yeah, Lisa's hubby needs a hard hat, or she could just drop him at the Hilton on her way to the beach campground.
I just watched a sweet build out of a schoolie. This is the type of vehicle I'll be looking for. I'll get to use some of my furniture, my desk looks like their kitchen counter setup, and it will be like a small studio apartment.
I won't be buying anything until I've done the majority of my sight seeing travels because of gas costs, but once I am ready to go slower and just move with the weather, this is what I want.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,741 posts, read 58,090,525 times
Reputation: 46231
I have a few friends who have done skoolies, usually Alaska bound or home school families who need office space. Skoolies are often used for their happiness with free Homebrew fuel. They ride rough, but last forever, and use common truck parts. Economy would be stuck at 10-12 mpg (diesel). Airport shuttle is also a decent conversion vehicle. You want a long wheelbase for easiest ride comfort. Less 'rocking chair' movement on highway with expansion strips.(as in I-80 through Nebraska)
I'm definitely thinking shuttle, rather than a full size schoolie. Big enough to turn into a studio, with plenty of windows. I just can't live in darkness, such as a box van.
I also realize gas mileage will not be what I'm used to with the Cube, which gets 35 mpg. That's why I figure I'll do my exploring in the Cube and when I'm ready to go slower, get the home that uses more gas. Maybe even do what some people do and store the schoolie and travel in the Cube during the hot months.
La Posa long term visitor areas intrigue me. $180 for 7 months. Then the New Mexico state pass for $225 a year. Also the America the Beautiful pass and I believe there may be one more.
All of these together are less than one months rent. It cost me so little in gas to drive between Minnesota and Arizona, I was astonished. And I so seldom fill up the Cube now, I can go months between fills.
I suppose a lot of that is because I lived 9 miles from town in Minnesota so would bundle all driving and only go once a month or so. I did do the occasional Amazon also.
I watch on You Tube van dwellers and full time Rver's. Most people full timing find their own tribe to hang out with. I would say four years of full timing is the average max of time people are on the road and then they get "burned out". A majority of the people go to Arizona in winter and summer West of the Rockies. Many subsidize their income by creating You Tube channels.
We have a smaller trailer (the smallest I could find with a "walk around" queen bed) and we've considered longer cross-country trips but what we've both realized is that neither of us likes driving a truck+trailer very much. We're content to stay within a 2-3 day, 5-6 hour driving day range of home, staying at state, national, county, Forest Service parks. RV parks are okay for overnight stops on the way to a destination, but not really somewhere I'd prefer to stay.
As far as the "comfort" argument - if you don't get a reasonable night's sleep on a bed you find comfortable, you tend to be a cranky camper, not a happy camper - or at least that describes me. I decided quite a while ago that I am too old to sleep on the ground, no matter what kind of air mattress I had.
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I'd like to just do short trips in a van, mainly, with some weekend camping trips, but keep my apartment. One of the reasons I'd like to have a van with a bed in it would be even just for long drives, so I could lie down and ice my bad neck and ankle. I'd like to have a little freezer for ice packs. When I need a break driving or before going home after visiting a museum or whatever, I could lie down, ice my bod, maybe eat or drink something I brought. If the weather isn't severe, I could take my dog and she could hang out in the van while I'm taking a tour, etc.
I do also like the idea that if anything happened to my apartment, whether I had to move out because of an earthquake or whatever, I could just stay in my van. Kind of as an emergency back-up.
A friend of mine that recently died from Cystic Fibrosis either owned a van or rented whatever so he could carry his generator and breathing machine. He would go to state parks etc with good scenery and park every 4 hours to do a treatment.
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