Son_of_Perdition
Senior Member
Being somewhat changeable & fly by the seat of my pants has brought about many ideas. Some I have acted on some I have dismissed because of work involved & commitment to the project. I got into van dwelling as I have said many times 'As a lark'. I did purchase a cargo van equip it with more than I needed or could ever use. Realizing that my camping days are limited by my physical abilities & age. Sleeping, eating & sitting by my camp fire are probably the most I will ever be able or want to do. It's not quite the same as tent camping although I do have a small 4 man tent to abide by the rules. My van is considered a metal tent by most, so it actually meets the requirements.
I have downsized my gear, made it into more of a basic sleeping quarters & a method to transport my gear. I have a folding camp chair matter of fact now I have 3 (took my daughter & grandson) bought them a like chair. I do have a 10x10 canopy that requires a 2nd person or I can tie it to my bumper to hold the poles to set up. I have a propane stove, bar-b-que & heater along with all the connections needed. I have 5 lidded containers, down from 10 to carry my supplies. I have an insulated cooler to carry my 3 days supply of food (3 days camping is my maximum exposure). My van houses a decent bed with all the linens & pillow needed. I have a bedside commode for emergencies as well as a lidded urinal for night time use.
I carry a rifle but has never been out of the scabbard. I have the usual array of tools to make minor repairs or apply first aid to small cuts & abrasions. I have 3 2 gal water containers, another over purchase & a 5 gal that I fill & keep available for all my cooking or wash up. I found I didn't need the propane lantern I purchased since I'm usually sitting by the fire until after 10 then it's off to bed via flashlight or LED lantern (one that won't kill me). I had cut a round hole in the van wall to accommodate the propane line for my heater (claimed to be safe, but taking no chance) I have used it 5-6 times since acquiring it, no more than 20 minutes at a time. Those portable propane bottles will serve quite nicely & can be easily attached, removed & should last up to 2-4 hours, should give me 6-12 uses for temporary heat until my bedding takes over.
I have a fire pit grill that has been used 2-3 times for steaks, hobo dinners & keeping my coffee hot. It has legs but find the campsites have metal fire pits with grills that you can place the folded grill (small grid) to cook or if you have no pre-built fire pit you can unfold the legs & use it over the rock ringed pit you have built (BLM requirement). I have 5 Home Depot buckets for waste (either water or garbage) I burn everything burnable (no plastics or metal) & discard my bags into the camp site provided dumpsters or carry it out until I find a proper waste bin. All things you learn as you camping experiences unfold. I opt to use improved camp grounds simply because they usually have acceptable toilets, potable water, waste containers & structured spots. I get 50% most of them, so the cost has never been more than $11 per night.
My latest has to do with my daughter (the fruit that didn't fall far from the tree) has sold her house, closed & immediately purchased a 2 acre plot of level ground that is not zoned for permanent structures. You can have anything smaller than 200 sq feet & not on a permanent foundation. Great for camping, using anything that normally is used in an RV camping site. Motor home, travel trailer, camper & truck or tent. You can even put up a shed as long as it is smaller than 200 sq ft & not on a foundation. My plans have changed, I've been invited to move whatever I want to the site, help with garden & sustainable meat supply. I raised chickens, turkeys, rabbits, pigs & beef cattle on my little 3 acre plot back in the 70 & 80's. So my plans are to focus on rabbits for meat, range chickens for eggs & to keep the bugs at a minimum.
I'm searching Craigslist for a 24 foot travel trailer (maximum length allowed) self-contained with composting toilet. I will still use my out door cooking & waste requirements but use the travel for more usable quarters. I will use the setup as a home port, with camping journeys around the local areas without going to far away. With 200+ campsites within a 100 mile radius I figure I will have enough variety to make it enjoyable. My wife said she would visit occasionally but wants to maintain our current housing because of her love of flowers, friends & convenience for shopping. I will also return the visits to take advantage of the showering, washing & drying of clothes & paying my monthly bills on line. We do have cell service on the land so in emergencies I can access the web. Solar power will probably be used but for now it will be more rustic.
I have downsized my gear, made it into more of a basic sleeping quarters & a method to transport my gear. I have a folding camp chair matter of fact now I have 3 (took my daughter & grandson) bought them a like chair. I do have a 10x10 canopy that requires a 2nd person or I can tie it to my bumper to hold the poles to set up. I have a propane stove, bar-b-que & heater along with all the connections needed. I have 5 lidded containers, down from 10 to carry my supplies. I have an insulated cooler to carry my 3 days supply of food (3 days camping is my maximum exposure). My van houses a decent bed with all the linens & pillow needed. I have a bedside commode for emergencies as well as a lidded urinal for night time use.
I carry a rifle but has never been out of the scabbard. I have the usual array of tools to make minor repairs or apply first aid to small cuts & abrasions. I have 3 2 gal water containers, another over purchase & a 5 gal that I fill & keep available for all my cooking or wash up. I found I didn't need the propane lantern I purchased since I'm usually sitting by the fire until after 10 then it's off to bed via flashlight or LED lantern (one that won't kill me). I had cut a round hole in the van wall to accommodate the propane line for my heater (claimed to be safe, but taking no chance) I have used it 5-6 times since acquiring it, no more than 20 minutes at a time. Those portable propane bottles will serve quite nicely & can be easily attached, removed & should last up to 2-4 hours, should give me 6-12 uses for temporary heat until my bedding takes over.
I have a fire pit grill that has been used 2-3 times for steaks, hobo dinners & keeping my coffee hot. It has legs but find the campsites have metal fire pits with grills that you can place the folded grill (small grid) to cook or if you have no pre-built fire pit you can unfold the legs & use it over the rock ringed pit you have built (BLM requirement). I have 5 Home Depot buckets for waste (either water or garbage) I burn everything burnable (no plastics or metal) & discard my bags into the camp site provided dumpsters or carry it out until I find a proper waste bin. All things you learn as you camping experiences unfold. I opt to use improved camp grounds simply because they usually have acceptable toilets, potable water, waste containers & structured spots. I get 50% most of them, so the cost has never been more than $11 per night.
My latest has to do with my daughter (the fruit that didn't fall far from the tree) has sold her house, closed & immediately purchased a 2 acre plot of level ground that is not zoned for permanent structures. You can have anything smaller than 200 sq feet & not on a permanent foundation. Great for camping, using anything that normally is used in an RV camping site. Motor home, travel trailer, camper & truck or tent. You can even put up a shed as long as it is smaller than 200 sq ft & not on a foundation. My plans have changed, I've been invited to move whatever I want to the site, help with garden & sustainable meat supply. I raised chickens, turkeys, rabbits, pigs & beef cattle on my little 3 acre plot back in the 70 & 80's. So my plans are to focus on rabbits for meat, range chickens for eggs & to keep the bugs at a minimum.
I'm searching Craigslist for a 24 foot travel trailer (maximum length allowed) self-contained with composting toilet. I will still use my out door cooking & waste requirements but use the travel for more usable quarters. I will use the setup as a home port, with camping journeys around the local areas without going to far away. With 200+ campsites within a 100 mile radius I figure I will have enough variety to make it enjoyable. My wife said she would visit occasionally but wants to maintain our current housing because of her love of flowers, friends & convenience for shopping. I will also return the visits to take advantage of the showering, washing & drying of clothes & paying my monthly bills on line. We do have cell service on the land so in emergencies I can access the web. Solar power will probably be used but for now it will be more rustic.