Introducing…

The latest addition and start of a new chapter:

1985 Ford Econoline, already partially converted and ready for road trip adventures. Sort of funny, while more people are moving toward electric vehicles and eventual self driving cars, I’m going backwards, trying to learn to fix and maintain older vehicles, and maybe find a way to convert and make more efficient these old road demons. This beast has power NOTHING, crank up windows, loud as all hell, but at least I know that it isn’t tracking my every movement and collecting all my driver data.

I won’t lie, this thing is a tank! It’s definitely a gas guzzler, but it feels solid and reliable. Parts are apparently pretty easy to find, and simple to maintain. Aside from a carburetor tune up and an exhaust leak fix, this thing is in tip top condition for being 37 years old! Already has a bed, a sink, and some cabinetry on the inside, but I plan on undoing and redoing the interior, add a solar panel to the roof and distribute power through the vehicle, make some mechanical fixes (AC doesn’t work, also no radio), maybe a lift and add some off-road tires, eventually redo the paint job and replace the front windshield. Just sup it up little by little to really make it my own then after I’ve had my fun with it, maybe resell it and make some money off it. But honestly, that’s a little too far in the future to really think about. Right now I plan on just packing it up and building the memories with it as much as possible. Have to think of a proper name for him, and yes it’s a him for sure, nothing feminine at all about this Goliath. hmmm…maybe Goliath? Yeah…fuck David.

I realize that the “Van Life” trend has gained a lot more notoriety in the last few years and that most of the realities of it are not being portrayed on YouTube and social media (just like pretty much everything else online). You hear stories all the time about people trying to sell an image online but behind the scenes can’t cope and maybe bit off more than they can chew. Day to day I can only imagine having to contend with weather, road conditions, worrying if wherever you end up is actually safe to be stay, food prep and storage, waste management, and wondering when/where you can take your next shit and shower. I’m sure that’s 99% of your time of day and the other 1% of time is the actual nice moments you picture and post online. All that being said there’s still something appealing about a minimalist lifestyle, doing some traveling and experiencing things in your own way on your own time, I think why it can be so rewarding is that it can be so hard, but aren’t all the things most worth while just the same?

I must’ve really started getting interested in “van life" pretty much around the time of the beginning of the pandemic. That time was a time I really had to ask myself if I was truly prepared for anything and the honest answer is that I’m not, but I am getting better, and I’m going to be. So I started looking at all the different ways I can both make an escape and be off the grid, totally self sustainable and self reliant. I feel like these days you really have to be prepared for anything and at a moments notice. Right now I own a truck, a van, a motorcycle, and have a fuel truck I drive for work, so I’d say I’m well off but still can always do better. I’m doing this right now for fun but I’m also looking at it like the beginning of a learning experience for what I eventually want to do for myself moving into the future, just one part of the package in learning all the “how to’s.”

It’s funny, I think most people hit that mid life crisis and by a boat or a Ferrari or something. I buy some old clunker piece of shit van I have to fix up! But this isn’t a mid life crisis, more like part of an “awakening” I’m having in life that I just have to follow, to whatever end. I’m sure that reads super lofty and full of shit, and maybe it is, but who cares, mother fucker is rad, and I’m super stoked!