Hey guys! I'm debating whether to buy a Multiplus inverter/charger or just and inverter. The later option is WAY cheaper. So I'm wondering if shore power is just an in case scenario option if I'm not planning to live in campsites?

I'll have 460Ah lithium batteries and 415W solar. Also 30A B2B charger.

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Thank you!

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https://preview.redd.it/sutkd4ze9brc1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7fdaa3e8b442a238f9d7bc41dbb00fd4a6e052b4

I’ve been a full timer for the last few years and my husky, who during her first two years of life would just blow her coat twice a year and that was it, now sheds 25/8. My life is consumed by dog hair. I’ve awoken with dog hair in my mouth. Somethings gotta give.

Any full timers with pups have any tips on dealing with dog hair? Any specific product you may use like a nice car vacuum?

Driving from the Bay Area to San Diego over the weekend, and I have some elevation-sensitive cargo this time. Trying to stay under ~3,500ft, over 4k is verboten.

My current plan is 580 --> 5 --> 58 --> 15. I think that works, but this is the first time I've ever had to worry about elevation.

I'm used to going through the grapevine, but that route clears 5k, meanwhile the 1 has the usual closures.

Any advice appreciated!

Does anyone know any income strategies so I can stay in the van year-round? I'm fairly new to this and was on the road about 2.5 months before I had to go back to my parents house for monetary reasons (and also to fix some things on the van).

Ideally would be something I can do on my laptop, I have found some voiceover gigs which pay well but it's not steady.

Currently just making some adjustments for the electrical needs while I'm here but I'm looking to get on the road and stay out there as soon as possible! Any suggestions/help would be appreciated.

I am new to this and my father passed away, leaving a little bit of funds.

I wanted to ask if I get an e-Transit, passenger, to have the windows, would this type of electric van work to be converted to a “camper van??”

Not fancy etc.

I wondered how tough it is to remove the seats so I could convert it.

54-year-old female here, Army veteran, but not particularly skilled with tools or building things.

Eventually might be able to pay for a basic van conversion package.

I've been living in a van for a while now and people are constantly looking down on me, thinking they're being helpful, I get a mix of:

• "you're always welcome to use my shower or stay over mine anytime!"
• "there's a toilet in that pub/hotel/park over there you can use!"
• "there's a phone box here" I literally had my phone playing ice age when I got this one today.

I feel like I'm good at responding by thanking people for trying to be helpful but it's so annoying that they don't understand. I feel like they look down on me but they just don't get it, living this lifestyle suits me and I probably will never ever limit myself to living in a house ever again. I have not lived in a house for 3 years now and I don't ever dream of going back to it. I put so much work into my van and no it's not the super luxury ones all over Insta, it's a simple set up, and I'm so happy in my lifestyle.

I'm sure I'm not alone in this frustration. Are there any better responses that shut people up? Sometimes it's the same people offering over and over !

when I built my van a couple years ago, I purchased a Renogy 50A DC to DC MPPT charger. I can charge via alternator or portable solar panels. I found that I often park for a few days where shore power is available.

I want to wire a 20 A Renogy charger to the 12V buss enabling battery charge without deploying solar. Looking at different systems, I noticed people have, DC to DC, MPPT and inverter / chargers sharing the battery buss.

Is what I want to do any different?

Sorry for the small text… Am I missing anything? Thanks!

Many prefer a stealthy van, so can you mount the fan in the floor? I get it would have to seal well and could not be used when the vehicle is running. I am sure there would be challenges and customer work, but no fan on the roof would be nice for going unnoticed.

And is solar worth it? Would charging batteries from the vehicle be enough for most of the time? If it is a primary vehicle, it would be getting driven a fair amount. And how about removable solar panels? Sure it could be done.,

Seems like a bare roof would be key to look like a work van and not look like a stealth rv.

Hello! I have 460Ah Lithium battery and I'll be getting Multiplus 2000VA. Will it be enough to sustain a 1700W mini air fryer oven in my van?
The Cont. output power for this Multiplus is 1600W and it has a Peak Power of 3500W, and can sustain higher current for a short period of time.

Thank you for your answers! :)

(US-centric post) being on the road for months at a time, my wife and i mostly have slept in remote dispersed areas in national or state forests. we were always somewhat interested in rest stops - we would drive through them, use the bathrooms and make a cup of coffee, think "well i guess this one wouldn't be too bad to sleep at", and keep driving.

it took a few months to finally do it, and even then it was out of pure exhaustion! but we ended up really loving it.

of course this certainly depends on where you live and i know everyone has their own stories.

but our CA, OR, and WA rest stops have been great. oregon's allow TWELVE hours instead of the standard 8, and i mean, no one really bothers you for length of stay anyway here. the only weird ones we've slept at were around portland where we had fights happening outside the car, waking up to crashing sounds, and that kind of thing.

we've found some with walking trails with little bridges over creeks (van duzer in oregon), some with picnic benches on the river, some far enough from the highway you can hardly hear it (randolph collier in yreka, ca), and one sleeping right across the river from the twinkling lights of astoria (dismal nitch in washington)... many have warm water sinks, and all have had dog poo bag dispensers. and we love to have such a variety of "neighbors", even the guy who said "hey don't forget about that cup on your roof" when we started the car - kept us smiling all day because that was a fair reminder for sure.

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Mines near 100%.

I use my 24 hour gym membership and rotate sites. Sometimes I use 24 hour gas/restaurant locations. I travel constantly so I'm never staying in the same place two nights in a row.

How about you?

I’ve been looking around and can’t seem to find a good all around system. I’ve seen systems that you hook up before your fresh water tank but it confused me because stagnant water in the tank could grow bacteria & whatnot. So just wondering what you guys are running in your builds!

So I live in New York. I have a good job that pays well. But after all my expenses I have only about 10k a year left over. (This could go to fixing my car retirement accounts etc.) Is it actually cheaper to live out of some type of conversion? Or live at a camp site in some type of conversion or camper? I know overhauling a van can be expensive. My rent and expenses exceed 30k a year. Any advice ?

EDIT I live in upstate NY. You may be surprised to know it's not much cheaper than NYC at this point.

So I have been told that I can install after market seats without the need to have them tested due to a legal grey area in the UK. To officiate the seats you merely fill in on section 1 of v5c where it asks the number of seats including the driver you write the new number and send it off to Swansea by post to be amended. I have done all of the above and just gotten my new v5c back in the post and the number of seats hasn't been changed at all. Has anyone had any experience with this or know how to go about registering new seats in a vehicle? Any help would be much appreciated.

I'm planning out a super simple no-build minivan build in California. I'm hoping to be able to fit something like 300-500w of solar on a roof rack. I don't have the minivan or setup yet but I'm saving up to get there before the end of the year.

How much wattage do you typically gain in a day from your solar, and how many watts of solar panel do you have?

If I can fit 400w I assume in peak conditions I only get 380-400w for a few hours when the sun hits just right, but then how far will the wattage drop when the suns at an angle for the majority of the time?

6 inch foam pad. Battery operated lights. A power inverter.

I have a 2WD Sprinter and I wanted to do a strike mission up to Mammoth. Would normally take my wife's 4WD suv but I was planning on just leaving at night, sleeping in the rig, riding all day sleeping and coming home.

I have BFG K02 and I think with the conversion it is pretty weighty and I'd bring chains just never driven a vehicle that big in the snow and haven't been up there this season so don't know the road sitch.

Definitely contemplating getting a 4WD one now but wanted to feel you guys out.

Appreciate it!

I can no longer afford my rent with the cost of everything skyrocketing and only making a modest wage. I don't really want to live in my car or a small RV. I need a decent amount of space to prevent not going nuts. I was wondering if anyone in the Seattle area(within like 45 min commute) has been able to live successfully in a class A RV? Any BLM land that I could park on for free near Seattle? Any area I could park outside of that? Any thoughts/advice in general? I'd like to do this legally(or as legal as possible) and piss the least amount of people off possible.

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Btw I understand this is vandwellers and not RVdwellers but you guys seem to be much more active than those communities and I think there's a lot of crossover there.

All these are ugly af

Hi everyone, has anyone here done a full van build while in Mexico?

I’m a US citizen living in Mexico, and starting to plan a full year(s) long Panamerican highway journey in the 2025 timeframe.

Current thinking is: buy a van in the US (it’s cheaper), drive it down to Mexico; currently thinking somewhere in Baja California due to proximity and the lack of requirement for an import permit. Possibly Ensenada due to distance from border and weather but also considering todos santos or Cabo.

I plan to do most of the build myself (carpentry experience) but would love to find someone who knows about van electrical systems to hire to help out with that part.

Has anyone done this?

My biggest concerns with this plan:

Spending a bunch of time building a van in the heat. More of a problem in Southern Baja.

Would I have to take the van across the border with me if I had to return to the states for a brief trip?

Finding someone with van electrical experience. My Spanish is pretty advanced so that parts not a huge issue, but no clue where to look for someone with that skill set. Maybe that’s something I could have done in SoCal if need be.

Really appreciate any insights.

I have been thinking about living in a van, and I would do so due to my financial limitations and I am still seriously considering it….but….I just created a new community to connect unmarried or widowed female seniors 55+ to give them a space to arrange cohabitation in actual homes to reduce costs….like the Golden Girls. I’m hoping this isn’t against any rules, but I think it would help a lot of seniors! It’s brand new…just search for GoldenGirlsLiving. And maybe even just connect Golden Girls who still want to live in their vans but still would like to travel with a companion (in two different vans of course). I may need to create a separate community for that. What do you seniors think? Any drawbacks to my idea?

I have one MaxxAir fan installed already. I’m thinking of installing a second one. Would it considerably cool my van during the summer?

If I decide to get a roof ac instead, would I need something like a Jackery?

I bought a Fogstar lifepo4 battery a few days ago. It was working fine, the capacity reading around 60%, I was running my diesel heater and charging my laptop through my 1000w inverter when all of a sudden the battery just completely drained to 0% and was reading 12v. What would cause such a sudden discharge? Is it a faulty battery?

Hello everyone, I have a 2018 ford transit connect. I am trying to figure out how to properly secure these ratchet strap hooks into the floor, so that the water tank stays in place. When full, it reaches close to 450 pounds. I am willing to screw through the van floor, however i don’t have access to the bottom to screw in a nut. Any ideas?

I saw that post before work and meant to save it but I didn't and now I can't find it.

You said you plan on going between SD and SF and needed something not woodsy. The one I think should be on more lists and isn't because it's Bakersfield. It's a good mid point between LA and SF.

Bakersfield, CA is called the armpit of CA for a reason, but it has a great little art museum, and a fantastic diner two blocks from the museum, plus Bakersfield has so many truckers that no one bats an eye.

Will you be going to the louvre? No. Will you get to eat pancakes with fake blueberry syrup? Yes

edit: for words

I purchased a butane stove. If I had my vent fan going with front windows cracked, will it set off my CO alarm? I know I can go outside to cook or open doors, but I’m talking about a scenario of cooking in the evening where I don’t want to make a scene . Also, don’t want to be concerned about the CO alarm always going off .