You don't say where in the country you would be living full time in the van. If you are in a temperate climate where it never really gets cold, then the answer to how practical this idea is changes a lot. If you are anywhere that it could freeze in the winter then you would not have water inside the van. For a single person - maybe a couple - it can be done. But with a new born - expected in February?! Think a lot about this idea in terms of the baby. It is going to be a major adjustment just having this third, totally helpless person to take care of. Don't try to do that with a total change in lifestyle to full timing in an RV. We have a van that is made professionally to be an RV and we are nose to nose inside that van just traveling for enjoyment. The fastest way to having this girl take the baby and run is putting all three of you in a van or even a small RV to live in full time.
Put your money in a small furnished apartment and start your family life off right. You are only putting off the inevitable because in four years that baby will be a child who will need to be in pre-school and then a year later in school and you are going to need to be settled in one place with an address.
Do you have any RV experience? As stated before, an RV does not work the best in cold weather. Very few RVs will give you protection from the cold,freezing temps in the Northern parts of our country. Water lines and sewer lines need to be protected from freezing and the furnaces in an RV are not the energy efficient ones found in homes. Insulation is also not the best in a lower cost MH. Single pane windows will give minmal protection from cold. If you go South you will need protection from heat.
2003 Newmar Mountain Aire, Workhorse W22, 2008 Saturn Vue, Falcon 5250, & US Gear Unified Tow Brake
bsinmich wrote: Do you have any RV experience? As stated before, an RV does not work the best in cold weather. Very few RVs will give you protection from the cold,freezing temps in the Northern parts of our country. Water lines and sewer lines need to be protected from freezing and the furnaces in an RV are not the energy efficient ones found in homes. Insulation is also not the best in a lower cost MH. Single pane windows will give minmal protection from cold. If you go South you will need protection from heat.
While all that is true, one CAN survive a winter in Montana in an RV.
How do I know? Simple, I have done it, TWICE! Once in a 1988 Suncrest 32 foot Class A motorhome, and once in a 32 foot triple slide fifth wheel.
Yes, water lines need to be protected from the cold. I built the lines out of hard copper tubing, installed heat tape, and wrapped it with pipe insulation. The sewer hoses were not protected, and never froze. Having a good slope to the hose probably contributed to that success. I used a 100 pound propane bottle with the Suncrest, and rented an 80 GALLON tank for the fifth wheel.
Anyway, with a little thought and planning, it CAN be done, and with very little discomfort.
Just THINK, and plan ahead.
CM1, USN (RET)
2002 Fleetwood Southwind 32V, Ford V10
Toad: 2006 Jeep Rubicon LJ
Other toad: '06 PT Cruiser, Kar Kaddy dolly
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I hate to say this, but your thoughts sound very irresponsible and selfish to me. I would suggest getting a job and some stability in your life first. Your baby ought to be your #1 priority. Just my thoughts and opinion.
for one i am putting my baby first , second i do have a job i am self employed , and living in the rv would give me lots of money to save back for the baby , unlike you , i will not be on welfare not now and not ever , i will do whats best for my baby and thats living full time in a rv and saving all that money for the baby so you like supporting people on welfare then so be it but i will have no part in it ,
"...i will not be on welfare not now and not ever ,..."
Y'know, OP, such statements have a tendency to come back and bite you later in life. I once expressed similar sentiments, until I wound up in a low-paying job, with 5 kids at home, and found myself accepting low-income commodities. I drew the line at accepting food stamps though. I refused to sign up for that program.
Words are tasteless and have no nutritional value. Be careful you don't wind up eating yours!
Whoa...... I'm not try to insult you or rain on your parade. I don't know anything about you. From reading your original post, it sounds like you lack a couple of important things before going "fulltime". With a brand new baby coming into your life (i'm assuming it's your first)? You should probably have a plan and some money. From reading your post, you have neither? If you are self employed, great, I wish you much success.
If it were my son asking me the same question as yours and it involved my grandchild, I would have given him the same answer. There's just something about my grandchild(baby) living in a cargo van "fulltime" that doesn't sit well with me. Especially with no money or a plan. Now if you have both, Great, I wish you all the luck in the world.
I say this because I have witnessed first hand on many occasions where the parents decided to take off on one of their adventures in life. With children in tow, they leave family and friends and get out in the middle of nowhere and run out of money. Now I didn't bring up the subject of welfare like you and mowermech did, but I'll talk about it now. Then the young couple is calling up a law enforcement officer, a church or social services for assistance with food, gas, motels or assistance in getting home. I know, I was one of those officers getting those calls all the time. It didn't bother me so much seeing a young adult couple having those kind of problems, they created that themself, but it really bugged me when I see them dragging their children into it.
Now I don't know if you've discussed your plan with family or friends, but that is the type of advise I would give my own son. It would be honest advise. I know what I've said has nothing to do with your original question, so feel free to ignore it. I was only expressing my opinion with what little information I had. Anyway, if you have a plan in place and it works out for you and your family, I wish you nothing but good luck and happiness in your adventure.
Happy camping.
* This post was
edited 07/04/12 02:33pm by MSGTRETIREDCSP *
is it odd to others, that we have two different "van" posters talking about the same thing.
the OP's name is Van Travel, the other one is Lake Erie Van.
is this the same person with 2 user names? Lake Erie Van took offense even though MSGTRETIREDSG was addressing the original poster, Van Travel.
Dan- Firefighter, Shawn- Musician/Entrepreneur, Zoe- Faithful Golden Retriever, 2007 Chevrolet Avalanche LS, 2007 Rockwood Roo 23SS w/Equalizer and Prodigy, and 5 Mtn. bikes and 2 Road bikes
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