Is Overlanding fulltime, still "Overlanding", or are you now just living in a van down by the river? :-)
P.S. I'm now full timing it :-)
I so want to live in a van by the river.
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Vans make perfect long-term travel vehicles, whether for extended backcountry adventures or full-timing both urban and rural. I have 12' of floor from the back of my seats to the rear doors. That's another 50% as much as a long bed pickup, and I can walk directly from the cab into the back. Terrific for bad weather, stealth camping, ease of use, and overall convenience. I call my van my SUV; Stealthy Urban Van.
Believe me though, having full-timed in a variety of vans for years, one grows tired of hearing "Oh you live in a van down by the river?" They usually think they're the first person to have ever asked it, expecting me to give a good laugh in return. Sometimes it's said as good-natured jest; sometimes kind of snarky with a suspicious glance.
Vans, especially white cargo vans, have been blamed for all sorts of stuff they were never involved with, and both social and mainstream media perpetuate the myth. Remember the DC Sniper that killed 10 back in '02? Everyone was on the lookout for a white cargo van. Was in all the news. It ended up being a Chevy Caprice. The anthrax scare? White cargo van was blamed there, too, all up and down the east coast, but turned out not to be.
It's the
black vans you have to watch out for, I tell ya. They're the ones that grab people off the streets.
Ha - no, just kidding.
The greater point is that in general, whether van or pickup or other vehicle, full-timers are often met with suspicion if not in the right environment. Oftentimes anything that doesn't fit someone's own experience of average or 'normal' is suspect in their mind.
You can't beat a good van for full-timing, though. I use mine for towing my trailer and go way the hell back in off-pavement for weeks and months, then wander through cities for historical sites, cultural museums and social events.
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For full-timing, I decided to go to truck and trailer route. I like being able to set up base camp, and not have to break camp down to go anywhere. My preference is to stay in each location for a couple weeks.
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That is one of the major reasons that we are going to move away from the rooftop tent. While it was nice to be up off the ground we found that having to pack up each time we wanted to go explore was a bother. I started in a Toyota Tundra and switched over to a Ram 2500 with a Cummins, which I see you are currently running also. Fuel mileage and range was a big factor in that decision. Do you have a water filtering system that allows you to pump and filter water from any source to fill your tanks? We want to remain in remote locations as long as possible.
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Being able to set up a base camp, especially for multi-week stays back country or if helping with an off-grid project, is the main reason I chose to go the trailer route, too. I keep a hardshell RTT on the trailer, have an expansive three-sided awning with sidewalls I can close in for varying weather (to escape both heat and cold), can carry far more water and gear,
and can easily scoot to some nearby town for supplies or socializing without packing up a thing.
Yep, if you have your primary sleeping or camp set up in or on your vehicle, you have to pack up to go anywhere, and risk potentially losing your site unless you leave some sort of gear behind to mark the site occupied, then risk losing that gear while away. That said, I don't remember ever losing gear I left behind to mark a site as occupied.
I've found, whether camping way off-road or in state/nat'l parks, people generally don't mess with my gear when I'm away. I can see from tracks people have come into camp and checked out my setup, even tried the faucet to see if it works, though I haven't had anything go missing yet. It may be due, in part, to having a set up that looks like I may have my act together. As one guy said "No one's gonna mess with you or your stuff. Looks like you own guns."
I'm also often asked if I work for the state or am part of govt or university research, even when I go through border checks. If folks think what they do and it means my gear is left alone, that's okay with me.
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How are you communicating with the world? Or are you going mostly incommunicado? I find myself with the opportunity to be a part time digital nomad. Starlink, cell signal booster, tracking down wi-fi signals?
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For cell signals, I use a
weBoost Drive 4G-X OTR, which does not
create a signal, but boosts an available signal. I watch it quite often double and triple my signal, which can mean the difference in a slow intermittent connection being steady and usable. Nor does it create wifi, which is what some seem to think. Here's a post about mine in the thread with more on that:
Cell Phone Booster.
These days, honestly, even compared to two or three years ago, cell signals and wifi are far more prevalent around the country, even in remote locations, and one has far less distance to go to find a workable wifi or decent signal.
You get so you know an area, plan your visits to town around supply needs and time to get online to check in with fam & friends, and get some work done. The times and places NOT having internet for dozens of miles around is getting harder to find, though certainly still exists. I treasure those times and places more and more as they dwindle.
That's the weBoost on the back of my van:
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I quite often tell people that my only life ambition is to become a full time Gypsy.
I get some strange looks.
congratulations !
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I said the same thing for years, then was able to change it to "I am a full-time Gypsy." It's an admirable goal to have, in my opinion.
I often think of myself as living and traveling in a modern day Vardo, or Romani (Gypsy) wagon; being economical with space, water, and overall needs but having the most adventurous time exploring North America. I would love to find a place I could set up shop and build an actual Vardo in the classic wooden style with drop down stairs, bowed roof, angled walls, highly decorated interior, and bright outside colors.
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'Til then, if it ever happens, I have Vannery O'Connor:
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I've been planning and researching again on building and installing my own pop top. I've cut big-assed holes in roofs before to put on a high top, and have a ton of experience in designing/making all sorts of things as well as have taught myself to sew heavy duty fabrics, so am finding this to be a fun challenge.
Glad this thread was started. I'll try not to overpost
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Roaddude - Traveling Photographer/Writer/Artist On the Road In North America. Gear, reviews, people, places, and culture.
roaddude.com
