I am moving out soon and I am thinking of buying a cargo van and converting it to live in. Has anyone done this or lived out of an rv? Please share.
Check with Saskatchewanian. He spent some time living in his truck last year.
Here’s a thread with lots of pics of a very beautiful conversion.
What’s most important is sealing and insulating. This blog is a great writeup that tells you step-by-step what you need to install and why. Must read!
Should we call you Mr Foley or will just Matt do?
Only if he parks his van down by the river.
I lived in a 27 foot motor home many years ago, and it was actually a great adventure! It was 100% self-contained with full bathroom, kitchen & dinette, master bedroom plus a bed above, and the dinette could convert to two beds. Gasoline generator, tons of storage and it was a 1988 with only 14k miles when I bought it for $15,000.
After about 1.5 years on the road I sold it…for $18k! It was really fun and I traveled all over the west coast, parking wherever and staying overnight then moving on. I had a VW bug that I towed so when i parked the motor home I could unhook it and make small trips to the store, the beach whatever. Lots of fun. 
Busses are THE vehicles to live in… ( Yellow school busses)
My dad did that for a while… was not yellow though
My buddy has lived in a 30 foot Puma RV for 3 years now. He actually really likes it and he saves a metric butt ton on rent/mortgage.
Makes things easy come moving time, too.
If I didn’t have a whole retinue of camp followers to take with me, I’d totally do it.
Don’t forget that RV’s can cost $$$ to maintain, and if you get 8 mpg, you’re lucky, so gas is also a big expense; even now, with gas prices about 1/2 what they were a year ago! RV tires and regular break jobs are also quite expensive, and transmissions can go out often, especially if you drive a lot of miles and steep grades. Then there’s roof maintenance-they often develop leaks, and when it rains it’s not fun! Then the engine, radiator, etc., needs work from time to time and tuneups. No free lunch as they say, but RVs can be lots of fun. 
where did everyone park. this is the one thing i haven’t figured out yet. i can’t afford an rv park so that is out of the question. i know walmart doesn’t care if you camp there overnight but staying there long term may be different. i would really like to be in the woods somewhere but there is nothing free by where i live.
also about battery life. what was the size of your second battery, what did you run off it, how long did it last, and how long did it take to charge?
if i were to get a 90 amp/hr battery could i run a 1.7ft^3 minifridge as well as an a/c unit and mini tv for a couple of days?
Check out this blog, lots of stuff about parking. Check the side navigation tool that sorts by topic.
You’ll want to look into deep cycle marine batteries, probably. There are other options too, I think. Here’s a website that goes over a lot of options in detail.
Without a gasoline generator, you can forget about running an a/c and fridge, I think.
I’ve been looking into moving into a van to save on housing expenses at college…loans are becoming hard to come by. It would be exciting, though might get cold in Pennsylvania winters…In any case, its a neat mode of living that I definitely want to try for a while.
G’luck with your search
I lived in a Nissan hi-ace campervan for a while, The freedom was great but that was about it. It was easy at school, i just camped in the car park which was always handy for a little extra sleep in. I could not keep it up though as i lost my license for a period.
Its also pretty cool when heading into town with a few friends.
anyone know where i can get a mini fridge that uses no more than 2 amps? every time i google for one i come up with crap or a british site.
You should be looking for a fridge that runs on LPG. LPG is more efficient for heating / cooling than comparable electric devices. You might also find a hybrid LPG / electric refrigerator, for when you have hook-ups.
Magical Mystical Michael used to live in a bus, where he sprouted beans and all kinds of stuff! He was a New Orleans street performer, traveled.
I haven’t seen magical M Mike in a while
And I don’t remember his bus, but I think he had one.
I lived in and around a '65 econoline that I bought in '76 for 100$, for 11 years.
My advises are for poor people mostly, or people that end up in a van with not much money.
1 Paint it white. A white van reflects the sun and is the coolest color.
2 Do not try to live in a school bus or RV if you want to travel a lot. You want to make it look, from the outside, that no one is living in it. Not paying rent is the point here. It is illegal to live in a vehicle/rv in many places, so if you are going to do it anyway, a “does not look like a camper” appearance, is mandatory. Or you will talk to the cops a lot, and pay a lot of fines or you will lose your license. This depends of course on where you want to park. I lived in my van in NY, Boulder, N.O. , and 100’s of places. I could write a book on talking to cops at 3 AM. Trust me on this one, don’t make your camper look like a camper.
3 You must have a roof vent, and 12 volt fans. With good ventilation and a fan, I could sleep comfortably almost anywhere, in my white van.
4 A large ice chest is all you need to get clean. With a plastic kitchen scrub pad and a few gallons of water, sitting in an ice chest, it is easy to wash off the days grime, even in a small van. Then just dump it out. No pluming needed.
For me, it was all about having a secure, clean comfortable place to live, at the location of my choice.
With more $ then I had during my travels, I think the ideal would be a commercial looking diesel box truck. The interior could be modded to anything, yet on the outside look like a non camper.
Nice photo! I haven’t seen him since 1979 or so!
WOT A long career!!