A Van and an Ebike

[Dallant]

I agree some might see "homesteading" as some sort of escape, or movement, whatever. There are degrees, as with anything. I consider off-grid as being the one ( person) that produces what is normally billed if on-grid. There is nothing that says off-gridders can't have internet, cell phones or big screen TV's. That is where tech is allowing us to go. You may be confusing this approach to minimalist choices. Even then, it's a choice. Perhaps having had to do farmwork during the summer ( my wife grew up doing the same) would inform one to NOT want anything to do with "homesteading". I can relate, I would not be married if I was adamant in having her go off grid and rough it as a lifestyle. To her credit she did participate in my off-grid adventures for a few years but only because we agreed there would be and end-point.

With solar, etc. you can live in town but be essentially off-grid.
Of course lifestyle is a choice. It’s not always a clear choice as some folks are pushed into a lifestyle by parents, spouses, etc. All you have to do is watch a few of these programs like ”Homestead Rescue”, etc.
Many of these homesteaders are on the electrical grid/have large propane tanks and are often less self sufficient than your average Midwest farmer.
Hey, I get it. I had a fantasy of running up to western Canada to buy land and build a cabin many years ago. Life just didn’t work out that way.🏔🏕

 

[Dallant]

Traveling with a camper is a pain...be it van or in our case pop-up. Our folder fits inside the Aliner when traveling, two would fit but I did not want a folder. I carry mine on a Fat Tire double rack on the camper bumper. I have come to the conclusion they are secure on a rack, be it on the camper or car. In your case it would sure free up your walk space while traveling. By the way, awesome van. We are starting to look at used pro-masters. Love the idea of using the Aliner as a base and the van for exploring in say a 200mi radius.

We been pondering a Ford Transit type van to camp/fit our ebikes in for a cross country trip.

 

[Art Deco]

Using mine as an example, cross country is what it's made for; Minimal setup and teardown, drive all day, then spend a few days camping, then drive on. Quite nice for upto a week or two. Not fit quarters for months.

 

[GypsyTreker]

We been pondering a Ford Transit type van to camp/fit our ebikes in for a cross country trip.

We looked at the mini transit and pro master City ( dodge) but I want about 3000lb of towing capacity. I'm leaning MoPar because of the incredible dependibilty of our 94 3500 Ram extended Van. We bought it for my wife's business from a Church. In the almost 170k we put on it all we ever repaired was an internal fuel pump and a radiator punctured by an errent object that I believe came off a gravel truck in front of us. I have always looked up cost of basic parts ( alternator, fuel pump, headlight assembly) as a consideration of purchase. Fords are very expensive when it comes to parts. May not be a consideration based on miles actually used. I figure if I found a Pro Master 2500 tall roof with around 100-110k on it, good maint. records I could easily add 125k over the next 10 years or so with probably no major repairs other than brakes, shocks, tires etc. Pretty sure a Ford or Pro Master are good for 250k before they even begin to wear out. Like @artdeco said, really great way to see the country. They now have modular pre fab interior conversion kits for cargo vans. Very creative designs, most are modular.

 

[john peck]

Van closet and ebike pics. "Nope, it won't fit." I said that a lot when we were traveling in my van.

My van is 34 years old. I´ve put 60K on it since I bought it for a $1000 20yrs. ago. No way could I get a bike inside it. It´s really
just a storage unit most of the time, but I´ve kept it great running order despite it´s disreputable appearance. It´s already packed
with enough tools & toys to survive a global nuclear war. My rack, however, can handle up to 4 bikes & 300 pds or one ebike &
my 200 mpg gas bike. I´m ready; bring it, armageddon! Too damn many people anyhow. Animal populations have declined
68% since 1970. We need to balance that out. C-19 needs to kill more than ten times as many people just to shed 1% of
current U.S. population. Surges in red states are helping, but blues states need to pick up the pace.

 

[GypsyTreker]

We been pondering a Ford Transit type van to camp/fit our ebikes in for a cross country trip.

We looked at the mini transit and pro master City ( dodge) but I want about 3000lb of towing capacity. I'm leaning MoPar because of the incredible dependibilty of our 94 3500 Ram extended Van. We bought it for my wife's business from a Church. In the almost 170k we put on it all we ever repaired was an internal fuel pump and a radiator punctured by an errent object that I believe came off a gravel truck in front of us. I have always looked up cost of basic parts ( alternator, fuel pump, headlight assembly) as a consideration of purchase. Fords are very expensive when it comes to parts. May not be a consideration based on miles actually used. I figure if I found a Pro Master 2500 tall roof with around 100-110k on it, good maint. records I could easily add 125k over the next 10 years or so with probably no major repairs other than brakes, shocks, tires etc. Pretty sure a Ford or Pro Master are good for 250k before they even begin to wear out. Like @artdeco said, really great way to see the country. They now have modular pre fab interior conversion kits for cargo vans. Very creative designs, most are modular.

 

[Art Deco]

My van is 34 years old. I´ve put 60K on it since I bought it for a $1000 20yrs. ago. No way could I get a bike inside it. It´s really
just a storage unit most of the time, but I´ve kept it great running order despite it´s disreputable appearance. It´s already packed
with enough tools & toys to survive a global nuclear war. My rack, however, can handle up to 4 bikes & 300 pds or one ebike &
my 200 mpg gas bike. I´m ready; bring it, armageddon! Too damn many people anyhow. Animal populations have declined
68% since 1970. We need to balance that out. C-19 needs to kill more than ten times as many people just to shed 1% of
current U.S. population. Surges in red states are helping, but blues states need to pick up the pace.

armageddon is a bit much ... but we may need your rain dance again ... and if you still have a peace pipe ready...

 

[Art Deco]

I want to figure out how to incorporate the vans batteries and my rooftop solar, with the shelter in place stuff overlapping power outages and storms. I am supposed to travel this spring...that's a long time from now.

 

[john peck]

armageddon is a bit much ... but we may need your rain dance again ... and if you still have a peace pipe ready...

Bin raining here for days. I don´t know if I can come up with an appropriate dance to save animal life on earth , but it´s worth a shot.
My pipe has yet to bring any real peace. It ´s not just that mankind is doomed, but we´re taking everything else with us.

 

[Dallant]

Bin raining here for days. I don´t know if I can come up with an appropriate dance to save animal life on earth , but it´s worth a shot.
My pipe has yet to bring any real peace. It ´s not just that mankind is doomed, but we´re taking everything else with us.

Oh, mankind is doomed. The only question is when.
There will be some life remaining.

 

[john peck]

Oh, mankind is doomed. The only question is when.
There will be some life remaining.

Ah, we have become such a greedy, arrogant, destructive species. The last 4 years have been like the director´s cut
of ¨ Doctor Strange Love meets Goldfinger.¨

 

[Dallant]

Ah, we have become such a greedy, arrogant, destructive species. The last 4 years have been like the director´s cut
of ¨ Doctor Strange Love meets Goldfinger.¨

Actually I’m thinking more “Deep Impact meets Armageddon“ where a giant meteor hits earth or the sun goes supernova and we go out like the dinosaurs.

 

[GypsyTreker]

We need the Earth, it does not need us. How we ever got that so wrong is beyond me. I always figured the idea of us killing Mother Earth was a serious example of human arrogance. We might make it uninhabitable for a variety of life-forms, including ourselves, but once we are gone it will (Earth) teem with life once again. So saving the Earth is altruistic. I will never get what the debate is about.

 

[john peck]

Actually I’m thinking more “Deep Impact meets Armageddon“ where a giant meteor hits earth or the sun goes supernova and we go out like the dinosaurs.

I´m not thinking total extinction, just an evolutionary bottleneck where a few of us mutants will somehow get thru it, & interbreed with
bigfoot. I´ve already been in telepathic contact with the sasquatch community. They are receptive to girls with large tatas as long as they don´t
talk too much.

 

[john peck]

We need the Earth, it does not need us. How we ever got that so wrong is beyond me. I always figured the idea of us killing Mother Earth was a serious example of human arrogance. We might make it uninhabitable for a variety of life-forms, including ourselves, but once we are gone it will (Earth) teem with life once again. So saving the Earth is altruistic. I will never get what the debate is about.

We have assumed we are in control, but weather events prove otherwise. Nature continually acts to counter our efforts & achieve balance.
In this nature could use a good deal of help which we are failing to provide.

 

[Art Deco]

We have assumed we are in control, but weather events prove otherwise. Nature continually acts to counter our efforts & achieve balance.
In this nature could use a good deal of help which we are failing to provide.

One of the things I expect to see in our lifetimes ( or soon thereafter) is real weather control of major storms, droughts, and such. It may require 50 miles long blimps and giant towers, but will more likely involve planting geneticly modified plants and trees and a full stop to using the atmosphere and ocean as a sewer.

If we quit ripping things apart for a few years, nature will come roaring back. Probably with stuff we don't want at first ... like kudzu, mosquitoes, and maybe giant roaches and spyders, but an actual explosion of new lifeforms. Hopefully, we can avoid the complete ELE (Extinction Level Event) that caused the last resurgence of diverse animals in time for the familier animals ( like humans ) to adapt.
But BAU is running things very close to the edge.

 

[Dallant]

One of the things I expect to see in our lifetimes ( or soon thereafter) is real weather control of major storms, droughts, and such. It may require 50 miles long blimps and giant towers, but will more likely involve planting geneticly modified plants and trees and a full stop to using the atmosphere and ocean as a sewer.

If we quit ripping things apart for a few years, nature will come roaring back. Probably with stuff we don't want at first ... like kudzu, mosquitoes, and maybe giant roaches and spyders, but an actual explosion of new lifeforms. Hopefully, we can avoid the complete ELE (Extinction Level Event) that caused the last resurgence of diverse animals in time for the familier animals ( like humans ) to adapt.
But BAU is running things very close to the edge.

Good luck with that.

 

[Art Deco]

Good luck with that.

We are going to need more than luck. But there is an expression about Americans that I think aplies to all Humans ."You can count on Americans to do the right thing, but only after trying everything else first."

 

[john peck]

I´m not thinking total extinction, just an evolutionary bottleneck where a few of us mutants will somehow get thru it, & interbreed with
bigfoot. I´ve already been in telepathic contact with the sasquatch community. They are receptive to girls with large tatas as long as they don´t
talk too much.

Heh heh heh, you probably thought I was kidding. H.Heidelbergensis Robustus arrived on this continent via Beringia during
the late Acheulean era along with other megafauna. Most evidence of his Acheulean tools are now underwater, but some portions of land have
been uplifted by plate tectonics. This is what he looks like having lost most body hair. Once here, He was driven by megafauna predators
into the deep forest & adopted a largely nocturnal life style to survive. He no longer makes tools using & discarding whatever´s handy.
He has become perfectly adapted to his environ. Unfortunately inbreeding has driven him to the brink of extinction & has asked me to
act as advocate to find him a girlfriend.

 

[john peck]

You still think I´m kidding don´t you. I had a sasquatch girlfriend for a while who used to do seemingly impossible things
to flirt with me. I´d know when she was near by the heady, musky aroma of her, not unlike an expensive perfume made
with ambergris. They have a language of signs they use by placing sticks in arrangements that are unnatural upon close inspection.
We used the same trails & foraged the same area. Even where the trail was hard pack her foot prints would be clearly outlined
by pine needles, deep & well defined where she leapt from the trail up the hillside. She finally moved further into the
interior due to human environmental pressure I think. I miss her. They are human you know, just hairy hominids with no need
of possessions.