Inspiring Vandweller
Charlene's Story (as told to Bob)
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I first met Charlene Swankie in 2009 at a get-together of the Yahoo group
her) 2006 Chevy Express van. She was just getting started on her conversion
and realized the most important thing was getting adequate ventilation in the
van. So she bought a FantasticFan and had us help her install it. I say "help her"
in only the widest terms. She did every bit of the work herself and refused to
let us do any of the actual work (that's me with her in the picture to the right).
Like most of us it was a long trip for Charlene to move into her van. As a young
woman she had done a lot of backpacking, taking multi-week trips with only the
things on her back. Later as a young mother, the family had gone car camping
out of a van. So in 2005, when she was having financial trouble, it occurred to
her that if she could live with only the things on her back, she should be able to
live like royalty out of a van. So she moved into a Ford Aerostar minivan, her
first brand new vehicle. She started vandwelling out of necessity, but like so
many of us, she quickly fell in love with it! Unfortunately, double knee
replacement surgeries required her to move back into a house for awhile, but
her heart was still in vandwelling. She had always suffered from breathing
issues but they had gotten much worse and she was diagnosed with asthma and
COPD in 2008. Living in a house became intolerable to her because of her
chemical sensitivities. She found that being in a van solved all her breathing
issues, so in January of 2009 she bought her Express van and started
converting it into her home.
I have talked to a lot of people about vandwelling. The majority of them say
they would love to do it, but.... and they come up with a reason they can't.
Charlene wasn't going to let any excuses hold her back from the life of
freedom and happiness she wanted. So as a 64 year-old woman, she took the
leap and found the life she has longed for. I hope you find her as inspiring as I
have and say to yourself, "If she can do it, so can I"
She has done a lot of really great and creative things with her van that we can
all find very helpful. Let's look at some of them:
Installed a Roof Rack:
I have always thought a roof rack on a van was a great idea. She has a
KargoMaster that she covered with plywood. That means the roof of her van is
always in the shade, greatly cooling the van! It also gives her a great platform
to mount things on her roof without more holes in it. She attached a solar panel
to the plywood as well as a Winegard Roadstar over-the-air TV antenna. She
also carries her kayak on the rack. At some point in the future she could add a
solar hot water system if she wanted one.
She Pulls a Cargo Trailer:
One problem every Vandweller faces is what to do with all their excess stuff.
Some of us keep a storage place, but that gets expensive fast. Instead,
Charlene bought a cargo trailer to carry her excess stuff. When she sets up
camp, the trailer allows her to carry the things that bring a lot of extra
comfort, such as a canopy for outdoor living. Another example is she carries a
portable sewing machine. That allows her to repair her clothes and even make
new ones (or gifts for the grandkids). Genealogy has been a life long passion to
her and she has a huge volumn of notes, photographs and various documents on
her family that she is carrying with her. She has a scanner and is digitizing all
this material so eventually the trailer will clear out enough for her to add a
bunk and kitchen. A scanner has a lot of advantages to a vandweller, since it
allows you to digitize books, receipts, articles and other things so she keeps the
info, but it doesn't take up room or add weight.
Eventually, if she ever gets done with her travels, she may buy a little piece of
land and settle down on it (or use it as a base camp), using the trailer as a cozy
little cabin.
She Installed a Desk:
Because she spends so much time at the computer scanning in her genealogy, a
desk was essential. She had this one at home so she modified it to fit in her van.
It gives the scanner and printer a home and she gets online there also. The
majority of vandwellers use computers to get online, so this would be helpful to
many of us. Especially for those who work from their vans. She uses a Verizon
data card to get online, and she has been very happy with their service.
She has Hobbies and Goals
One question that comes up fairly often from newcomers to vandwelling is "How
do you spend your time?" And it is very true that living in a van frees up a lot
of time. Many of us are like Charlene, living on Social Security Disability, a
pension, or Social Security, so we have a lot of extra time. For many people, the
free time of retirement is actually unhealthy, leading to lethargy or even an
early death. Charlene has her passion for genealogy to keep her busy, but she
wanted more for her new life of vandwelling. For years bad knees had
restricted her activity and kept her from the outdoors and caused her to
steadily gain weight. After a double knee replacement she wanted a new hobby
to keep her active and in the outdoors. She looked around and fell in love with
kayaking (she loved being on the water and it was easy on her knees). She
wanted a grand goal for her life so she determined to kayak all 50 states!
Already in her first year she has kayaked 8 states and is still going strong.
Installed a Solar Panel and Inverter
Because of her work digitizing her genealogy, she needed an abundance of
power, so she installed a 130 watt solar panel on her roof rack. She tried
buying lead-acid golf cart batteries, but just having them in the van without
being hooked up caused a flare up of her asthma. So she returned them and
bought AGM deep-cycle batteries instead. While they cost more, they can be
put anywhere and are maintenance free. She decided to place them on the floor
of the passenger seat. It was ideal because that moved something very heavy
as far forward as possible, and used what was otherwise wasted space--and
you can't waste any space when living in a van! As you can see from the picture,
they are on their ends in a box and the inverter (a 1200 watt Xantrex bought
from Amazon.com) is mounted on top of the box. I can attest that it is still
possible to sit in the front seat and put your seat belt on. I wouldn't want to do
it for days on end, but for shorter trips it is quite comfortable.
her) 2006 Chevy Express van. She was just getting started on her conversion
and realized the most important thing was getting adequate ventilation in the
van. So she bought a FantasticFan and had us help her install it. I say "help her"
in only the widest terms. She did every bit of the work herself and refused to
let us do any of the actual work (that's me with her in the picture to the right).
Like most of us it was a long trip for Charlene to move into her van. As a young
woman she had done a lot of backpacking, taking multi-week trips with only the
things on her back. Later as a young mother, the family had gone car camping
out of a van. So in 2005, when she was having financial trouble, it occurred to
her that if she could live with only the things on her back, she should be able to
live like royalty out of a van. So she moved into a Ford Aerostar minivan, her
first brand new vehicle. She started vandwelling out of necessity, but like so
many of us, she quickly fell in love with it! Unfortunately, double knee
replacement surgeries required her to move back into a house for awhile, but
her heart was still in vandwelling. She had always suffered from breathing
issues but they had gotten much worse and she was diagnosed with asthma and
COPD in 2008. Living in a house became intolerable to her because of her
chemical sensitivities. She found that being in a van solved all her breathing
issues, so in January of 2009 she bought her Express van and started
converting it into her home.
I have talked to a lot of people about vandwelling. The majority of them say
they would love to do it, but.... and they come up with a reason they can't.
Charlene wasn't going to let any excuses hold her back from the life of
freedom and happiness she wanted. So as a 64 year-old woman, she took the
leap and found the life she has longed for. I hope you find her as inspiring as I
have and say to yourself, "If she can do it, so can I"
She has done a lot of really great and creative things with her van that we can
all find very helpful. Let's look at some of them:
Installed a Roof Rack:
I have always thought a roof rack on a van was a great idea. She has a
KargoMaster that she covered with plywood. That means the roof of her van is
always in the shade, greatly cooling the van! It also gives her a great platform
to mount things on her roof without more holes in it. She attached a solar panel
to the plywood as well as a Winegard Roadstar over-the-air TV antenna. She
also carries her kayak on the rack. At some point in the future she could add a
solar hot water system if she wanted one.
She Pulls a Cargo Trailer:
One problem every Vandweller faces is what to do with all their excess stuff.
Some of us keep a storage place, but that gets expensive fast. Instead,
Charlene bought a cargo trailer to carry her excess stuff. When she sets up
camp, the trailer allows her to carry the things that bring a lot of extra
comfort, such as a canopy for outdoor living. Another example is she carries a
portable sewing machine. That allows her to repair her clothes and even make
new ones (or gifts for the grandkids). Genealogy has been a life long passion to
her and she has a huge volumn of notes, photographs and various documents on
her family that she is carrying with her. She has a scanner and is digitizing all
this material so eventually the trailer will clear out enough for her to add a
bunk and kitchen. A scanner has a lot of advantages to a vandweller, since it
allows you to digitize books, receipts, articles and other things so she keeps the
info, but it doesn't take up room or add weight.
Eventually, if she ever gets done with her travels, she may buy a little piece of
land and settle down on it (or use it as a base camp), using the trailer as a cozy
little cabin.
She Installed a Desk:
Because she spends so much time at the computer scanning in her genealogy, a
desk was essential. She had this one at home so she modified it to fit in her van.
It gives the scanner and printer a home and she gets online there also. The
majority of vandwellers use computers to get online, so this would be helpful to
many of us. Especially for those who work from their vans. She uses a Verizon
data card to get online, and she has been very happy with their service.
She has Hobbies and Goals
One question that comes up fairly often from newcomers to vandwelling is "How
do you spend your time?" And it is very true that living in a van frees up a lot
of time. Many of us are like Charlene, living on Social Security Disability, a
pension, or Social Security, so we have a lot of extra time. For many people, the
free time of retirement is actually unhealthy, leading to lethargy or even an
early death. Charlene has her passion for genealogy to keep her busy, but she
wanted more for her new life of vandwelling. For years bad knees had
restricted her activity and kept her from the outdoors and caused her to
steadily gain weight. After a double knee replacement she wanted a new hobby
to keep her active and in the outdoors. She looked around and fell in love with
kayaking (she loved being on the water and it was easy on her knees). She
wanted a grand goal for her life so she determined to kayak all 50 states!
Already in her first year she has kayaked 8 states and is still going strong.
Installed a Solar Panel and Inverter
Because of her work digitizing her genealogy, she needed an abundance of
power, so she installed a 130 watt solar panel on her roof rack. She tried
buying lead-acid golf cart batteries, but just having them in the van without
being hooked up caused a flare up of her asthma. So she returned them and
bought AGM deep-cycle batteries instead. While they cost more, they can be
put anywhere and are maintenance free. She decided to place them on the floor
of the passenger seat. It was ideal because that moved something very heavy
as far forward as possible, and used what was otherwise wasted space--and
you can't waste any space when living in a van! As you can see from the picture,
they are on their ends in a box and the inverter (a 1200 watt Xantrex bought
from Amazon.com) is mounted on top of the box. I can attest that it is still
possible to sit in the front seat and put your seat belt on. I wouldn't want to do
it for days on end, but for shorter trips it is quite comfortable.
She uses a Microwave and
RoadPro 12 Volt Stove
Charlene was uncomfortable with the idea of using a gas stove
in the van. She didn't like storing the propane or butane
bottles in the van. Even worse, the open flame creates the
danger of fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. She decided on
electric cooking instead. With the solar panel she had enough
power, so she bought a 12 volt RoadPro stove at a truck stop
and someone gave her a microwave. Together, they work very
well for her cooking needs. Because of their very large power
draw, she starts and runs the engine when she uses either one.
The 1200 watt inverter handles the microwave quite well, and
she limits the length of time she uses it. The RoadPro stove is
generally just used while driving.
The RoadPro stove is particularly handy. It is about the size of
a workman's lunch-box, and plugs into the cigarette lighter of
great job. It is great for frozen dinners, but it does so much
more. She has cooked, eggs, corn bread, stews, cookies and
many other things in it. Because she uses an aluminum foil liner,
she even avoids washing dishes!
RoadPro 12 Volt Stove
Charlene was uncomfortable with the idea of using a gas stove
in the van. She didn't like storing the propane or butane
bottles in the van. Even worse, the open flame creates the
danger of fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. She decided on
electric cooking instead. With the solar panel she had enough
power, so she bought a 12 volt RoadPro stove at a truck stop
and someone gave her a microwave. Together, they work very
well for her cooking needs. Because of their very large power
draw, she starts and runs the engine when she uses either one.
The 1200 watt inverter handles the microwave quite well, and
she limits the length of time she uses it. The RoadPro stove is
generally just used while driving.
The RoadPro stove is particularly handy. It is about the size of
a workman's lunch-box, and plugs into the cigarette lighter of
great job. It is great for frozen dinners, but it does so much
more. She has cooked, eggs, corn bread, stews, cookies and
many other things in it. Because she uses an aluminum foil liner,
she even avoids washing dishes!
She Uses Solar Hot Water
Like all of us, she needed hot water to bathe and wash dishes.
In a stroke of genius, she painted a one gallon water bottle
black and placed it in the sun, and that worked pretty well. But
the bottles. She had an aluminum screen that goes across the
windshield to keep the heat out of the car so why not put one
behind the water bottle to aim the heat at the bottle? That
worked great! She places three, one-gallon jugs in front of a
windshield screen on a sunny day and by afternoon the water
gets up to 150 degrees! That was great if she wanted to use
the water then, but what if she wanted to use it the next
morning to wash her hair? So she took the old cooler she had
and painted the inside black and added extra insulation. She
leaves the cooler open to the sun with the bottles and when the
water starts to cool off she puts the three jugs in the
prewarmed "cooler." The next morning the water is still warm
enough to be very comfortable to bathe with. Free and easy
hot water! Because of the risk of toxins from the paint leeching
into the water, she doesn't drink from the plastic jugs. For
drinking and cooking she painted a glass jar black and puts it in
front of the sunscreen and the water easily gets hot enough to
make Ramen noodles or hot drinks.
Like all of us, she needed hot water to bathe and wash dishes.
In a stroke of genius, she painted a one gallon water bottle
black and placed it in the sun, and that worked pretty well. But
the bottles. She had an aluminum screen that goes across the
windshield to keep the heat out of the car so why not put one
behind the water bottle to aim the heat at the bottle? That
worked great! She places three, one-gallon jugs in front of a
windshield screen on a sunny day and by afternoon the water
gets up to 150 degrees! That was great if she wanted to use
the water then, but what if she wanted to use it the next
morning to wash her hair? So she took the old cooler she had
and painted the inside black and added extra insulation. She
leaves the cooler open to the sun with the bottles and when the
water starts to cool off she puts the three jugs in the
prewarmed "cooler." The next morning the water is still warm
enough to be very comfortable to bathe with. Free and easy
hot water! Because of the risk of toxins from the paint leeching
into the water, she doesn't drink from the plastic jugs. For
drinking and cooking she painted a glass jar black and puts it in
front of the sunscreen and the water easily gets hot enough to
make Ramen noodles or hot drinks.
Charlene needs to watch her spending, so she parks for free on
public land whenever possible. She stays in National Forests and
on BLM desert land whenever she can. There are numerous
advantages in that.
If you are dreaming about mobile living but aren't sure, I hope
you find inspiration in Charlene's example of boldness and
courage and it helps you follow your heart. On the other hand, if
you have been doing it for awhile now, I hope you have found
some of these ideas useful and they make your life better.
To follow Charlene's adventures, go to her blog at:
http://SwankieWheels.blogspot.com .
public land whenever possible. She stays in National Forests and
on BLM desert land whenever she can. There are numerous
advantages in that.
- It's free so she saves lots of money.
- The pure, fresh air is wonderful for her asthma.
- She developed a new hobby of rock-hounding which keeps
her active and she hopes to turn into a business some day. - She has reconnected with nature and fallen in love with it
all over again. - Being very active walking and exploring, she has lost 65
pounds since hitting the road and is healthier than she has
been in 25 years. - She isn't a hermit but she likes her privacy. Living in
crowded RV parks or campgrounds is not for her. Camping
on Public Land gives her all the privacy she can want.
If you are dreaming about mobile living but aren't sure, I hope
you find inspiration in Charlene's example of boldness and
courage and it helps you follow your heart. On the other hand, if
you have been doing it for awhile now, I hope you have found
some of these ideas useful and they make your life better.
To follow Charlene's adventures, go to her blog at:
http://SwankieWheels.blogspot.com .
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