Genuinely curious about this. I go to school and work part time and lately have been thinking about getting myself a van to get out of my current living situation. I know it’s a big commitment money wise and break down do occasionally happen. But I would love to read insights on this.

I need recommendations for new vanlife related videos to watch on youtube... I think I've seen them all...

Here's a list of everything I've seen:

- Eric Enjoys Earth

- Every diy van/suv conversion built around the EEE layout design.

- The hot redhead with the cat.

- The hot Asian with the big boobs.

- The other hot Asian with the big boobs and food fetish...

- All those videos of Asian women documenting their van life and their videos have no talking.

- That blonde nymph with the van.

- A bunch of those vanlife videos with the overly sexualized (sometimes full nudity) thumbnails.

- Pretty much all the milfs on wheels... (RV Elisa is my favorite but she is currently taking a break from YT).

- All the Volkswagen California videos.

- All the foreign language speaking videos.

- All the foreign language speaking videos with the annoying auto YouTube voice over ("Yes, that's right". "Yes, true". "Yes, that right". "The design is very human").

- All the Nate Murphy videos.

- All the Josh Oakes videos (tho if you've seen 5 of them, you've seen them all...)

- That couple that set a goal to travel every country in Europe in 30 weeks.

- All those van tour videos with hot chicks...

- That annoying British chick with a horrible sense of fashion and annoying, forced permanent smile on her face that builds a van with her bf.

- Arab campervans... They seem very repetitive and more like a commercial to sell their Vvns rather than documenting vanlife.

- All the New Jersey Outdoor Adventures videos.

- Can't remember their names but there is this Scottish (if I'm not mistaken) young couple who interview people who talk about their lives and show their vans.

- Pretty much all the campervan exhibition/exposition in any language.

So, any suggestions?

Side note: I'm not interested in van conversion videos. I prefer van tours or videos of people document sting their day to day in a van.

I'm currently putting together a basic jack/stand setup for my 2013 Mercedes Sprinter 313 LWB. I don't plan on using the bottle jack to support the van while I'm underneath it — it will just be used to initially lift the van, and then I'll lower it onto axle stands.

I've already decided to buy the Big Red Torin T43002A 3-ton double-locking jack stands (the pair with the locking pins).

I'm now deciding between these two bottle jacks:

Big Red Torin T90413 4-ton

4-ton capacity

Minimum height: 190.5 mm

Maximum height: 368 mm

2.82 kg

Wide base

€43.22

KATSU 161115A 5-ton

5-ton capacity

Minimum height: 195 mm

Maximum hydraulic height: 380 mm

60 mm adjustable screw extension

3.2 kg

Large base

Overload protection

€30.32

The KATSU seems like the better deal on paper, especially because of the lower price and slightly greater lifting height, but the Big Red has considerably more reviews and a slightly better rating.

Would either of these be a good choice for a Sprinter, or is there anything specific about the Sprinter's jacking points that I should consider when choosing a bottle jack?

I'm also wondering whether the 195 mm minimum height of the KATSU is low enough for the Sprinter, particularly if I have a flat tyre.

Thanks!

Idk if there was an eviction wave or what but half the spots in my rotation each have multiple car sleepers that were not here last week. Fuckin sucks I'm down to like 2 spots now

New to electrical, is this a good kit to get for the price of 740$?

Im looking to power a small fridge and a small tv plus my ps5 and charging accesories. I may want to add AC or something else in the future and im planning on getting a second battery and an alternator for energy storage. Any tips would be helpful. Thanks :)

I used a friends address on my drivers license as i needed a physical address.. (Vermont ) technically i did live there for a short time but havent for a while and havent even been in the same state.. right now i have a van and a moped and left the moped parked on the street for a couple days (new jersey) one of the neighbors called and complained about the moped to police and i guess the police called vermont to get my info and now vermont thinks im commiting fraud since i dont live at my friends anymore and they showed up at his house un-announced asking my friend for my whereabout… he covered for me and said i was away for a couple days but i clearly need to figure out a new address…

I’ve got an old 2006 GMC cargo van, it’s got its quirks, but it runs and drives, due to my current living situation being quite horrible. I’m thinking about throwing in a bed in a few items and moving into my van full-time. I’m based in Vancouver BC I’d be staying around here mostly. Any words of advice or tips or tricks? Thanks in advance.

I currently live in NJ and recently took an 8 day camping vacation throughout Maine and realized that the remote/simple life is something I truly want. I’ve been wanting to leave the standard living and go explore. I have a job that I can work remote that already supports my bills - $1500 rent, electric bill, car payment, credit cards, etc. I have about 10 months until my lease ends on my apartment and want to start gathering information now.
My plan is to find a larger camper van just to sleep, cook, shower, and have my dog with me. I guess the information I’m looking for is:
- insurance costs
- payments to stay in areas to hook up water/electric
- how much it costs monthly to maintain
- any other information I might not even know of

I know a lot of people say they want to do this, but being someone who already enjoys being in the outdoors, prefers camping lifestyle over the standard living, and is okay with having to put in work, I’m really invested in understanding the background of these things so I can see if it will truly be for me.

caved and bought a proper fridge slide for the van. been using a cheap one from ebay for like two years and it rattled so bad I thought something was gonna break every time I hit a bump. plus the locking mechanism jammed

I was looking at the usual big brand stuff and honestly the prices are insane. I get that it's heavy duty and all but come on. it's just a tray with bearings. feels like they slap overland on anything and triple the price.

installed it last weekend and ngl it's solid. no rattles, extends smooth. I can cook without everything sliding around. still can't believe I spent that much on a sliding tray though. my first car was literally 800. this thing was almost half of that.

van life priorities I guess

Hello!

I am planning on purchasing a Class C RV for me and my two cats to live full time, and I’m wondering how yall plan your power if that makes sense? I want to boondock as much as possible, but I know I gotta spend some money on power. How do you use your power resources wisely? What did you give up and what do you prioritize?

Here’s what I’m planning for my setup so far:

Power:

-10-hour fuel generator

-Some shore power at RV campsites

Main Devices:

-MaxxAir Rooftop fan

-Fridge (dual propane and electrical option) I’m also fine with keeping fridge supplies low/not using fridge for stretches. I eat vegan so its easier in some ways

-AC unit?? (I haven’t figured out how much power these draw yet, but I would like to have one for emergencies or times I have to leave my cats alone.) My plan is to try to stick to temperate locations and use the roof fan most of the time. I also plan to have a pet camera and a large thermometer in view of the camera so I can monitor the temp on my phone if I need to be away from the RV. The cab of the RV I’m looking at does have AC.

-Furnace (the RV I’m looking at has one, but I haven’t figured out what type it is yet or if I’d want to use it)

-Laptop (for work)

-Phone

-RV interior lights

-Hot plate and/or water boiler

-Probably other small stuff I’m forgetting

How do you handle your power needs / conserving power / recharging stuff ?