How to Live in a Box Van
By Bob Wells
What I Did, and Why I Did It
In 1995 I had an amicable divorce from my wife of 13 years. I was so broke I
couldn't afford to rent an apartment. I was commuting about 60 miles to work
and couldn't afford to pay for all that gas. So I started staying in town in my
camper during the work week Then it occurred to me, "Why not just get rid of
the apartment and live in the camper?" Well, I had an old Courier pickup with a
shell and didn't want to live in that so I started looking around for something I
did want to live in. I found an old, beat-up box van for $1500 which was all the
money I could scrape together. It had a Chevy van nose with a 12 foot box and
a roll up door in back. It was perfect, so I bought it and moved in. I needed
somewhere to sleep so I built bunk beds out of plywood and 2 X 6's, slept on
the bottom and used the top for storage. I moved in my recliner and had
comfortable seating. I bought an Igloo Extreme cooler (extra thick, keeps cold
for 5 days) with an outlet so I could screw on a garden hose to easily drain the
water. Brought in my Coleman 2 burner stove and some pots, pans and dishes
and started cooking. I filled a gallon jug with water at convenience store
bathrooms. For storage, I installed plastic shelf units by screwing them into the
walls.
Over the course of time I added things as I could afford them. I bought a
battery, generator and inverter to watch TV and have lights. I insulated the
roof and walls and added some windows. I needed heat so I bought an Olympian
catalytic heater and a 40 lb propane bottle. It became a very comfortable
little home!
STEALTH PARKING: After I bought the van, I didn't know where to go with it.
I couldn't afford to pay for an RV park (and they probably would not have
accepted me anyway since my van was pretty beat-up looking) so I slept in the
parking lot of the store where I worked. No one even noticed me! The great
thing about the box van was that when I parked in front of any large store, it
looked like it belonged there. I lived in that van for 6 years and never once
paid for parking anywhere and was never bothered for where I did park. Of
course I was considerate and never did anything to bring attention to myself.
I continued to live this way for the next 6 years. It was not a sacrifice at all, I
really enjoyed it. Of course everybody I knew thought I was crazy and I knew
they were right, crazy like a fox!!
Pros and Cons of a Box Van
WHAT I LIKED: First, there was plenty of room for me alone. I never felt
claustrophobic since 8 X 12 feet is the size of a small bedroom. I loved the
stealth parking. I could park anywhere without paying. Of course I had no house
payments or utility bills. Most of all I loved the freedom to go anywhere I
wanted and stop wherever I wanted. No obligations.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I hated the gas mileage! I only got about 5 mpg. You
can get used Ford or Chevy box vans with their diesel engines easily now so I
would look for one of those now. Also, the metal skin made it hot in the summer,
and cold in the winter. So I added insulation, a heater and windows and a
Fantastic Fan. That made it good except on the very hottest and the coldest
days. That points out another thing I didn't like: it was a lot of work. Everything
I wanted I had to buy and install. I am not a real handy guy so I had to learn
how to do a lot of these things for the first time and a few times I paid
someone else to do it. I also had to accumulate and carry the necessary tools.
How You Can Do It
Basically you just need to save the money to buy one, the more you have the
better the quality will be and the fewer problems down the road. Look for a
diesel!! Next, you have to convert it into a livable space. You have to have tools
and knowledge to do it yourself, or pay someone else to do it for you. I highly
recommend the 18 volt Ryobi cordless saw and drill combo kit from Home
Depot. You should join the VanDwellers Group on Yahoo. Ask them for help with
specific questions. Other web pages on this site will deal with installation of
specific systems .
.
In 1995 I had an amicable divorce from my wife of 13 years. I was so broke I
couldn't afford to rent an apartment. I was commuting about 60 miles to work
and couldn't afford to pay for all that gas. So I started staying in town in my
camper during the work week Then it occurred to me, "Why not just get rid of
the apartment and live in the camper?" Well, I had an old Courier pickup with a
shell and didn't want to live in that so I started looking around for something I
did want to live in. I found an old, beat-up box van for $1500 which was all the
money I could scrape together. It had a Chevy van nose with a 12 foot box and
a roll up door in back. It was perfect, so I bought it and moved in. I needed
somewhere to sleep so I built bunk beds out of plywood and 2 X 6's, slept on
the bottom and used the top for storage. I moved in my recliner and had
comfortable seating. I bought an Igloo Extreme cooler (extra thick, keeps cold
for 5 days) with an outlet so I could screw on a garden hose to easily drain the
water. Brought in my Coleman 2 burner stove and some pots, pans and dishes
and started cooking. I filled a gallon jug with water at convenience store
bathrooms. For storage, I installed plastic shelf units by screwing them into the
walls.
Over the course of time I added things as I could afford them. I bought a
battery, generator and inverter to watch TV and have lights. I insulated the
roof and walls and added some windows. I needed heat so I bought an Olympian
catalytic heater and a 40 lb propane bottle. It became a very comfortable
little home!
STEALTH PARKING: After I bought the van, I didn't know where to go with it.
I couldn't afford to pay for an RV park (and they probably would not have
accepted me anyway since my van was pretty beat-up looking) so I slept in the
parking lot of the store where I worked. No one even noticed me! The great
thing about the box van was that when I parked in front of any large store, it
looked like it belonged there. I lived in that van for 6 years and never once
paid for parking anywhere and was never bothered for where I did park. Of
course I was considerate and never did anything to bring attention to myself.
I continued to live this way for the next 6 years. It was not a sacrifice at all, I
really enjoyed it. Of course everybody I knew thought I was crazy and I knew
they were right, crazy like a fox!!
Pros and Cons of a Box Van
WHAT I LIKED: First, there was plenty of room for me alone. I never felt
claustrophobic since 8 X 12 feet is the size of a small bedroom. I loved the
stealth parking. I could park anywhere without paying. Of course I had no house
payments or utility bills. Most of all I loved the freedom to go anywhere I
wanted and stop wherever I wanted. No obligations.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: I hated the gas mileage! I only got about 5 mpg. You
can get used Ford or Chevy box vans with their diesel engines easily now so I
would look for one of those now. Also, the metal skin made it hot in the summer,
and cold in the winter. So I added insulation, a heater and windows and a
Fantastic Fan. That made it good except on the very hottest and the coldest
days. That points out another thing I didn't like: it was a lot of work. Everything
I wanted I had to buy and install. I am not a real handy guy so I had to learn
how to do a lot of these things for the first time and a few times I paid
someone else to do it. I also had to accumulate and carry the necessary tools.
How You Can Do It
Basically you just need to save the money to buy one, the more you have the
better the quality will be and the fewer problems down the road. Look for a
diesel!! Next, you have to convert it into a livable space. You have to have tools
and knowledge to do it yourself, or pay someone else to do it for you. I highly
recommend the 18 volt Ryobi cordless saw and drill combo kit from Home
Depot. You should join the VanDwellers Group on Yahoo. Ask them for help with
specific questions. Other web pages on this site will deal with installation of
specific systems .
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