Living in a Step Van
By Rodger L.
November, 2010
Hello, my name is Rodger, I will be sixty this February and I  have  been  a  full-
timer for about  8 years, mainly boondocking about 95% of my time .  Originally,
I   worked construction as  a carpenter, working out of and traveling in a Class
A motor home with my wife of 10 years. Our home was in California but we both
enjoyed  traveling. In 1995, her MS had advanced to the point I could not work
full time, so we decided to sell our home and go full time, working when I could.
We had a few dollars from the sale of our home to help,  but we still had to be
very frugal. We didn't want to reduce our quality of life so we started cooking
from scratch, eating foods  in season  and following the sun. It’s hard to be
unhappy when the sun is always shining and there is no lawn to be mowed!  

In 2000 my wife could no longer travel, so we settled in eastern Oregon.  I
worked as a assistant manager for a mobile /rv park. When she passed away in
2003 she had taught me one of life's most important lessons: live your life
today, tomorrow may not come. Trying to live that way, I sold everything
(which paid most of the medical bills) and filed bankruptcy.  I met this older
gentleman that had a 1966 International Metro step van for sale.  It had a 152
cubic inch 4 cylinder, 92 horse power with 3 speed transmission.  It is about 14
feet from bumper to bumper,  picture a postal truck.  I checked it out, paid
$800.00 for it, and hit the road again. My little home gets about  18 MPG and I
only put about  6,000 miles a year on it.

Van Modifications:
In order to make it more livable, I made these modifications:

  • I built  a cabinet with drawers that is also a couch and  opens  to a single
    bed.
  • I bought a really good ice chest for food.
  • I put a 3 x 5 window on the passenger side. It is a typical 3 x 5 vinyl
    slider. I just cut a hole in the side of the van to fit the window, and
    installed it with self-tapping metal screws with rubber washers  and
    caulking. The window extends outside the van 3/4 of inch. I wanted to
    maintain my stealth so I had a thin piece of metal cut to cover the window.
    It is the size of the window plus 1 1/2  inches all the way around plus
    another 3/4 inch to be bent at right angles. I soldered in its corners so
    that when I was done it looked like giant cookie sheet. I put a piano type
    hinge on top so it could not be seen from outside when closed. The 1 1/2
    inch added all around  is needed so after the hinge is on, it will not bind
    when opening. Also, the added 1 1/2 on each is to hide the diagonal braces
    needed for when the awning is up. I then painted it to match the rest of
    the van. When it is down (it locks from inside), it looks very natural and
    most people don't even notice it.  It looks like I could sell hot dogs when
    its up! The cover helps to maintain my stealth parking ability, so that when
    I stop for the night it looks like a normal  delivery van. I also keep the van
    clean with no stickers  or writing on it, which also helps it be stealthy.
  • When I stop, I don’t want to put anything on the ground, so I built a 5x5
    patio that drops down when the back doors are open. The van has two  
    doors in back, each 2'6" wide, which open out. I had a piece of aluminum
    cut to 5' wide by 4' deep, and hinged on the 5' side. I attached it to the
    floor inside the van so that it drops down when the back doors are opened.
    Two hooks on the bottom of each door hold the deck up. To add shade, I
    mounted a typical  RV window awning (works like old fashion window shade)
    above the patio. It has a metal cover (painted White) that it disappears
    into,  maintaining my stealth. I covered it with a green canvas awning to
    make it nice for napping or grilling.
  • I also removed the uncomfortable drivers seat with a very nice office
    chair. Because it is on wheels I can leave it inside or roll it to the patio.
  • I built more cabinets on the passenger side under the window with a fold
    out desk and a one burner propane stove top for my morning coffee.
  • Installed two solar panels and two batteries.

It's taken awhile, and is always a work in progress, but the van has become a
very nice little home. I was able to get almost everything either free or at a
good price used, except the two new solar panels  for the two batteries and
small fold down flat screen TV.  I don’t have a cell phone or computer, I might
get a computer but do not want to have any monthly bills.

Making Money:
I found I don’t like to work for someone else so my hobbies are incorporated
into my income. I have three main ways of making money:

  • Crafts: I make many different crafts out of found materials (meaning
    logs I find in the woods or stuff I get cheap at flea markets/garage
    sales). I like making a variety of things because if they were all the  same
    it would be a job, plus, it lets my imagination go wild.  It is definitely not a
    get rich proposition but it does pay for my gas. I only use hand tools, so no
    electricity is involved. I buy used tools and have found that the older tools
    are much better quality. Here is an example of something I might make: I
    will look around in the woods until I find a log on the ground that is about 6
    to 8 inches around and say 18 inches long. I take a sharp hand ax and chop
    one end to a point as if a beaver had chewed a tree. Next, I chisel a hole in
    the log as if a woodpecker had built a home in it, then I  add porches and
    windows to the woodpeckers house using a Victorian style.  My goal is that
    the porch look will look like it is worthy of being on a very expensive
    Victorian doll house. I  attach it as if it was built by the Keebler Elf's.
    Finally, leaving everything that is natural alone, I paint the add on  with
    bright Victorian colors. Your done when people enjoy just looking at it.
  • Buying and Selling: I enjoy garage sale-ing and I always keep my eye out
    for things I can resale at a profit. Mainly I collect small stuff of  interest
    to men. I keep it all in a plastic tote. When it gets full, I hold a mobile
    garage sale. I can do this almost anywhere, and it's free. It's very simple.
    First, I open the awning over the side window. I carry two pieces of
    plywood (about 2 foot by seven foot) that I keep under my mattress. I
    attach them under the awning and window to display my goods. I open the
    back doors and sit on my patio to work on my crafts and meet new friends.
    I have never had any problem doing this. If you keep yourself clean,  
    courteous of other peoples property, and always clean up when your done,
    nobody will object. Generally, the people who have problems look and act
    like they are cast member from the Grapes of Wrath.
  • Fishing: This year was one of my best ever,  I fished the Columbia River  
    in  Washington State for pike minnow. The cooperative that runs the
    Bonneville dams on the Columbia river want to eradicate them because
    they eat baby salmon, so they put a bounty on them. I sold them for about
    $5.00 per fish  and you can fish all night. You don’t even have to hold the
    pole! I used  a pole holder  with a bell on it to tell me when I had a fish on.
    I averaged about 6 a day. Not only did I make money from fishing, I also
    collected free food. I caught all the Salmon and steelhead I could eat and
    smoke. Nearby I found wild blackberries which made great blackberry
    wine and delicious pies (in my dutch oven).  The many new friends I met
    supplied me with vegetables, and I enjoyed working in their gardens  to
    help out.

My advice to you is that life is a work in progress, just enjoy it. My writing skills
are pretty slim but I hope you get the jist of what I am saying.   Thank you for
your time.   Rodger
The authors step-van.