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Old 09-06-2014, 12:56 AM   #21
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Re: Everyone is telling us it's a bad idea...ADVICE?

Sounds like your dad is trying to scare you to stay around and the family is backing him up. 10K for injectors? I wanna be this guys mechanic! Life is short and we only get one shot at it, so do what makes you happy! If it doesn't work out your family will always be there and will welcome you home. As far as the truck, stay away from dealers for starters. Find a vehicle from a private seller and then pay the $ for a pre buy inspection. That way you aren't paying a business so they can keep the lights on you will get an honest opinion on condition from an unbiased mechanic and not the dealers mechanic. Also you will more often than not get a history on the vehicle, most small dealers buy their vehicles at auction and know nothing about them.

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Old 09-06-2014, 10:45 AM   #22
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Re: Everyone is telling us it's a bad idea...ADVICE?

Try for an oil sample too!
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Old 10-08-2014, 12:38 PM   #23
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Re: Everyone is telling us it's a bad idea...ADVICE?

opinions are like assholes, everyones got one. my whole family has been supportive but my fiances family thinks were insane for buying a vintage bus to live in.
yes it can be expensive and yes it can be alot of work but a new roof on a house can be upwards of 10k and what if the foundation needs work?! any sort of home will cost money, but a bus or truck home will take you places.
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Old 12-20-2014, 03:12 AM   #24
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We're already in the process of basically trying to sell everything we own that we can't or have no need to take with us. So we're there at least. Just need to find our bus
And we're from northern MI, some cold weather really can't throw us back when we're used to 10 foot drifts We jokingly thought about that when we chose SC; everyone will be off the roads leaving it free for us in a mild storm lol.
Other than leaving family and very few friends behind that we maybe see once to less then that a month, we really don't have much to lose, that's why there isn't anything that can really detour us from our plans.
I absolutely support your dreams. Tell your dad where he can stuff it, and by the way, also tell him I have some injectors for sale, cheap, only 9k. People will always doubt anything outside their comfort zone. It doesn't make it a bad idea. The nomadic life isn't for everyone, and you may very well get sick of it after a while and decide to put down some roots again.

However in the meantime you can save up money by living in your small home, see a ton of new places and meet a lot of interesting (maybe even good) people. Bottom line, if you never go for that adventure, you'll end up regretting you didn't. And in your travels you might come across a place you absolutely fall in love with. Save up and keep your eyes out, you might score some great land for cheap, its easy to do in todays economy.

As far as the conversion, I'd say let it happen organically. By living in the space for a while you'll start to see patterns in your traffic. Things will naturally come together if you allow yourself time to think it through. Start off with a bed and a camp stove (or whatever you already have) and go from there. Throw down some painters tape for imaginary walls and see if you can live with the layout or if they're always in the way. Living in a small space takes a ton of planning, better to do this before you start making saw cuts.

Watch craigslist and freecycle for things people are just throwing away. You'd be amazed what you can come up on if you're patient and diligent about looking. People throw away beautiful usable old-growth wood all the time, its sickening. RV's very commonly sit in peoples driveway and rot in the sun and rain until they are junked out. This means appliances, holding tanks, furnishings, etc which have barely been used can all be sourced for free or cheap if you keep your eyes open. One of the design principles I plan to follow is trying to source everything I can reclaimed. Its not just a cost issue, but one of ecological responsibility. Why fill up our landfills with stuff I'm about to go out and buy. Sure it takes more work and time than just hopping on amazon or walking into walmart, but it builds character. Both for yourself and your project.

I built and lived in a 24x16' cabin for several years. The bathroom was 5x5'. However everything was laid out very well, with modularity in mind and I never felt cramped (except a few times when we had 10+ people there lol.) Living in a small footprint allows you to put a lot of thought into every little detail, and encourages you to ACTUALLY GO OUTSIDE!

Ditch the stickframe house in suburbia and ditch all the monotony that goes with it. Most people grind out 40+ hours a week working a job they cant stand for a boss they hate just so they can barely keep up with their bills on crap they don't even own. AND THEY'RE PROUD OF IT! They'll rub it in your face and try to say you're crazy for not being "normal." As it turns out, humans have been nomadic for a long time. We are hunter/gatherers at heart, its only because of modernization and mechanized agriculture we've allowed ourselves to stagnate. And look what its brought us. Our country is in a steady decline, some might say freefall, and we've still got it better than a lot of the rest of the world.

Live your dream, dont let anyone stop you. And most importantly, tell people about it and how it enriches your life. Consider yourself fortunate to have a significant other to share the experience with you, most modern women wouldn't dream of leaving their dishwashers and hair straighteners behind.
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Old 12-21-2014, 09:12 PM   #25
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It sure sounds like you spent time visiting Dancing Rabbit. It is an eco-village. They have a website and it will be on our plan list when our bus is ready to hit the road!

Quote:
Originally Posted by headinthetrees View Post
I absolutely support your dreams...
in your travels you might come across a place you absolutely fall in love with. Save up and keep your eyes out, you might score some great land for cheap, its easy to do in todays economy.

As far as the conversion, I'd say let it happen organically. By living in the space for a while you'll start to see patterns in your traffic. Things will naturally come together if you allow yourself time to think it through. Start off with a bed and a camp stove (or whatever you already have) and go from there...

Watch craigslist and freecycle for things people are just throwing away. You'd be amazed what you can come up on if you're patient and diligent about looking. People throw away beautiful usable old-growth wood all the time, its sickening. RV's very commonly sit in peoples driveway and rot in the sun and rain until they are junked out. This means appliances, holding tanks, furnishings, etc which have barely been used can all be sourced for free or cheap if you keep your eyes open. One of the design principles I plan to follow is trying to source everything I can reclaimed. Its not just a cost issue, but one of ecological responsibility. Why fill up our landfills with stuff I'm about to go out and buy. Sure it takes more work and time than just hopping on amazon or walking into walmart, but it builds character. Both for yourself and your project.

I built and lived in a 24x16' cabin for several years. The bathroom was 5x5'. However everything was laid out very well, with modularity in mind and I never felt cramped (except a few times when we had 10+ people there lol.) Living in a small footprint allows you to put a lot of thought into every little detail, and encourages you to ACTUALLY GO OUTSIDE!

Ditch the stickframe house in suburbia and ditch all the monotony that goes with it. Most people grind out 40+ hours a week working a job they cant stand for a boss they hate just so they can barely keep up with their bills on crap they don't even own. AND THEY'RE PROUD OF IT! They'll rub it in your face and try to say you're crazy for not being "normal." As it turns out, humans have been nomadic for a long time. We are hunter/gatherers at heart, its only because of modernization and mechanized agriculture we've allowed ourselves to stagnate. And look what its brought us. Our country is in a steady decline, some might say freefall, and we've still got it better than a lot of the rest of the world.

Live your dream, dont let anyone stop you. And most importantly, tell people about it and how it enriches your life. Consider yourself fortunate to have a significant other to share the experience with you, most modern women wouldn't dream of leaving their dishwashers and hair straighteners behind.
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Old 12-21-2014, 09:51 PM   #26
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It sure sounds like you spent time visiting Dancing Rabbit. It is an eco-village. They have a website and it will be on our plan list when our bus is ready to hit the road!
Nope, I'd like to though... Been subscribed to their newsletter for at least 3-4 years now and watched them progress. I've been in contact with a few other intentional communities out west, and once I get my bus ready I'll be visiting a few of them. I'd like to film the various things going on and eventually put together a documentary on permaculture and intentional communities.
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Old 12-22-2014, 03:41 AM   #27
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Nope, I'd like to though... Been subscribed to their newsletter for at least 3-4 years now and watched them progress. I've been in contact with a few other intentional communities out west, and once I get my bus ready I'll be visiting a few of them. I'd like to film the various things going on and eventually put together a documentary on permaculture and intentional communities.
This is an interesting subject.
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Old 12-22-2014, 06:14 AM   #28
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Nope, I'd like to though... Been subscribed to their newsletter for at least 3-4 years now and watched them progress. I've been in contact with a few other intentional communities out west, and once I get my bus ready I'll be visiting a few of them. I'd like to film the various things going on and eventually put together a documentary on permaculture and intentional communities.
Arcosanti, AZ.
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Old 12-22-2014, 10:49 AM   #29
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Arcosanti, AZ.
50,000 visitors a year?! How have I not heard of this place already? I'll definitely put it on my list of places to go see. I have a feeling the hardest part about making this documentary will be deciding what actually makes the final cut. There's going to be so much awesome information it'll be tough to press it down to less than 90 minutes.
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Old 02-22-2015, 12:39 PM   #30
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I feel we're in the same boat too. Taxes going up in the city we live in now. Just too expensive to keep a real house anymore. We just want to throw in the towel with house living at least for a few years. We need to stay local and keep our jobs but converting a bus to live in with our 2 young children, seems hard to fathom considering where would we keep the bus to work on it and keep it parked to live out of when we're not camping or travelling?
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Old 02-23-2015, 05:59 AM   #31
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There are lots of things like that which need to be figured out.
I'm lucky. I have a friend with a ton of property.
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Old 02-23-2015, 06:33 AM   #32
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I feel we're in the same boat too. Taxes going up in the city we live in now. Just too expensive to keep a real house anymore. We just want to throw in the towel with house living at least for a few years. We need to stay local and keep our jobs but converting a bus to live in with our 2 young children, seems hard to fathom considering where would we keep the bus to work on it and keep it parked to live out of when we're not camping or travelling?
first thing to do is forget about the city. you have to smother the herding instinct and reconsider "material".
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Old 02-23-2015, 10:10 AM   #33
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Our city is more of a "big town" and we are surrounded by Amish farmland and we haven't lived in it very long. The only glitch I can foresee is where to work on it and once we're in, where do we reside. I'm just hoping I can get more direction from real people on here than just reading up on stories. Stories leave out a lot of the dirty work
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Old 02-23-2015, 10:43 AM   #34
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Not to be at all negative, but I think you're asking the million dollar question.
Lots of recently converted and partially converted buses I see for sale make me wonder if some don't realize all the legwork required to up and live in a bus.
I think you're extremely prudent to be figuring all this out now.
Trailer/RV parks are the first thing that comes to mind.
Buying your own lot in a place where zoning and all will allow it is another.
I'm lucky that my bus will fit in my yard, so once its done I'll be parking it here for a bit. Eventually I want to rent out my house and buy a few acres out west.
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Old 02-23-2015, 09:15 PM   #35
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Our solutions may not be the right fit for others but let see what we come up with. My wife and I have a lot of land on Prince Edward Island. We don't want to build on it and destroy the environment so we plan to visit when we can and stay in our bus there and around the area. We also talk of buying some land (acreage) in FL somewhere affordable where we can park a shipping container with a screened porch attached. That will be a place to stay in the winter months and store our "southern clothes" while away. All this will come about when we sell our house and the bus should be ready to live in at that time.
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Old 02-23-2015, 11:40 PM   #36
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Full timing

Have you considered getting your feet wet with a cheap motorhome or camper? I would consider spending 4-5k on a older motorhome, or pickup and camper, that has depreciated out, try it for a year or two. Spending 5500-8k on a box truck that won't be worth much in the end doesn't sound good to me. The motorhome or camper will still be worth about what you paid for it. The box truck doesn't offer much over a motorhome, only costing much more in time and money and will be in worse condition.

If you get into this for only a few thousand dollars, buying something you can actually sell if you change your mind, it may take some pressure off the decision.

Some of the worst ideas I have had, gave me the most pleasure. I came to realize my family do not see the world as I do, and tend to give advice that serves their perspective, knowing mine is different.
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Old 02-24-2015, 05:53 AM   #37
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Not bad advice at all.
Reminds me of what I tell some "tiny house" people.
I tell em to buy a shed, stick it in their back yard and live in it a year before blowing 60k on a rolling trailer based shed.
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Old 02-24-2015, 07:53 AM   #38
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Try playing the game "Redneck Life" Then, if you still want to live in a bus, go for it and to hell with anyone's opinion! My family played it last week. My daughter-in-law said,"Hey you are an authentic Redneck".
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Old 02-25-2015, 07:40 AM   #39
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Try playing the game "Redneck Life" Then, if you still want to live in a bus, go for it and to hell with anyone's opinion! My family played it last week. My daughter-in-law said,"Hey you are an authentic Redneck".
i have been playing redneck life since i was born. its in my genes. coonass and redneck!!
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Old 02-25-2015, 09:09 AM   #40
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We've have only ever gone tent camping for every vacation....no RV's. We are very adaptable to setting up in strange and unpleasant conditions and with young children at that. Our outside families would think we've totally lost our minds but wouldn't be surprised in the least since we're unconventional people anyway. This would be a long hidden secret until all is done. I also want to make this an economical option for my oldest son who is 23 and just getting started in his career. He's very concerned about rent, mortgage, all the bills that go along with it, plus student loans. Our own mortgage is rising because taxes are moving up in this city. Why have 3-4 jobs when you can save $ in the long run living without so many financial commitments? It's a better option to live on wheels than what we're doing now.
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