Automatic Roof Vent? Oh Yes!

One thing I hated last year was sleeping, and it's so warm in the van that it's near unbearable, but I can't have the door open, and not enough power to be running a fan all night (See post about dead battery). Then there was having the roof vent open, which was great, until it started to rain in the middle of the night, and I'd get little drops hitting me in the face, waking me up, and disrupting my sleep, as I am now awake, have to get out of bed, and close the vent. Falling back asleep for me is difficult once I'm out of bed, and then there's the sound of rain, which is nice and I want to listen to it.
This fan appears to be a great solution to those issues: FanTastic Model 6000
It for one, has a fan, which I don't have right now, so already a bonus. This fan though, is the top of the line it appears. There are others on the site, so have a look for what suits you. This one is the one I need. Aside from just being a vent with a fan, it's a vent with a fan that can either pull air in, or push air out, has variable speeds so you don't need to make it a wind tunnel in your van. It has a both temperature and rain sensors. The temperature sensor will monitor the temp inside the van, and open and close the vent, turn on the fan, and keep a constant temperature inside. The rain sensor will close the vent so you don't get water damage inside.
That whole getting out of bed to open and close the vent? A thing of the past, this beauty even comes with a remote.
How cool is that? (No pun intended)

A 12v Freezer

So, scouring the forums here, I came across a post about freezers. I don't have a lot of space in my van, and the fridge has a "freezer" in it that is large enough to keep a bag of mixed veggies cold, nothing more really. I need a freezer.

Now, this one, is expensive, but the reviews all seem to be good, except for one guy whose unit broke down, but I'm sure he could get it replaced under warrenty.

For the price, I wonder if the free shipping and handling is only for USA, or for Canada as well. I guess I could always get it delivered somewhere in the States, and pick it up. Maybe on the other side in Montana. I hear that some people near the border run a service to allow you to send stuff to them, and pay $20 when you pick it up.

So much to do, so little time. I need to get my butt back in the van, and actually live my life.

Depression, and the open road

There are times in a persons life when they need to stop and look inwards. I'm coming up to that time now, and I don't know if I like what I see. I have all these responsibilities that are preventing me from being able to get myself in that right place. I currently am living in a stick built while I try to slowly get the van back to a condition that will allow me to live in it full time again, and with many of the troubles in my personal life, I find that I need to get away.
I miss the freedom that being in the van offered me, and I feel that even though there was an insurmountable amount of heartache for me last year, being in the van helped me be a bit happier. I find that I am still down, and it causes me to do some crazy things that I would never have even dreamed of once.

Living in the stick built has caused me to be more anti-social, and I don't really visit anymore. I don't know why, I just don't feel up to it, and that could be a part of this depression I am in. Decided this morning that I would most likely sell off everything I own, and get back in the van asap. I also decided that a counsellor would be a great idea, and possibly anti-depressants even though I have always been against taking medication.

After amking those decisions, I find out today that the company I work for (I work for an IT Staffing company) won't be getting it's contract renewed for the Service Desk at the company that we are contracted to. Now, I'm not currently in the Service Desk, but I am on a project for another team. Once that project is complete, if they choose to not hold onto me, I would be back at the Service Desk, and facing no job by years end. Fun times.

Things keep adding up, and they pile on top of eachother until I am swimming in an ocean of worries, pain, and regrets. I need out of my place, and back into freedom. I find that I want to drop off the radar for a while, and just focus on healing myself, but with all this stuff, I can't. I could lose everything, and then have nothing. If I can manage to sell off everything, I can start looking into getting away for a time, and trying to heal myself. Having only the van to worry about as a possession, would be far better than the stick built with all my stuff.
I can work anywhere, and just live. I came across a website today on http://www.cheaprvlivingforum.com/ that talked about organic farming, and volunteer work. I can travel and volunteer, which in turn gives me food, and a place to stay. Well, park my van in my case. Leave the lodging to those without a home on wheels. The site, forthose who would like to know, is http://www.wwoof.ca/ (.com for USA). Have a peek, it's interesting. I want to get myself to a spot where I can be happy again, and I have to do the things that make me happy. No restrictions made me happy.

Has anyone else ever suffered the depression, and been in the van? How was it? What were your experiences?

Homesteading

I was reading about homesteading just now, and I have to say that I think it would be a brilliant idea. Technically, I would only need an acre, perhaps less, and access to water. A spotto park, and the rest of the land would be used for growing food, and keeping livestock such as rabbits and chickens. I'm thinking about the possibility of posting an ad to see if there are any farms nearby here in Calgary that would be willing to offer up a small area of unused land in the corner of their property that I could use, or buy for a small fee. Park the van, and get a cheaper car. Being close to the city would be beneficial as I am trying to save money of course, and still work at my full time job downtown.

Has anyone done this before where you are not a full time traveller of the roads? I have a stable job that pays well, but all my money goes into bills right now, so I am almost always broke, and just trying to get by. Calgary doesn't allow chickens to be kept in the city, but there is an organization that is fighting the bylaw. I can keep rabbits, but nothing else. Having a permanent area to keep the rabbits is what I really need if I can't get a small plot of land, far enough away from other people. I like my privacy as well.

With the recent updates to the iPhone 4, I can now use it to gain internet from my laptop, so I would be able to still be connected, and that is really my only other concern.

Upgrades

Something happened when I tried to post the other day, and I lost my entire post. I'm rather annoyed about that, as I had a lot of information. So I will try again, and attempt to capture what I had written then...
I have been pouring over websites, forums, and everything else I could get my hands on without spending a dime. I can't be bothered with paying for anything right now. I have too much else to pay for.

I have previously posted my "To Do" list of improvements for the van, but I feel I need to focus on a couple different things right off the bat. This is my "To do before the To Do list

New batteries. Last year, my "house battery", would only really provide me about 2 hours of laptop time before cutting out. Not knowing anything about them then, I assumed that was normal, but the more I read, the more I realize that it is not normal. I then discovered this winter that both batteries (starter, and house) were dead, and frozen. As it turns out, the isolator is shot, and one of the batteries was too, thus draining the good one, and killing it. I now need to replace both starter battery, and house. I am planning on purcahsing three new "house" batteries. One will sit under the hood, and the other two inside the van under the seats. Now before anyone gets upset, they will be in battery boxes, and a hole to the outside drilled to allow for the hydrogen gas to be vented.

I have a large space under each seat in the front of the van that I believe will house the batteries just fine. With three house batteries, I should be able to go without charging for days according to many sources, based on my power usage. Once a week, I could plug in and charge them.

As for charging, I need the following:
Smart Charger: These are designed for deep cycle batteries, and will, as the description reads, "Automatically switches from full charge to maintenance mode to maintain batteries during prolonged periods of storage without overcharging or damaging the battery". Now, mine won't always be in storage, but charging the entire day and night, you're going to want them to not over charge. With three batteries that would need to be charged, I think I will need three of these chargers to permanently hook up. What do you think?

To prevent that annoying "drain the starter battery" issue ever again, I am going to spend the extra cash, and install something better than an isolator...

The continuous duty solenoid: What happens is that when you turn on the key, power goes to the solenoid which activates a magnet inside it. The magnet lifts a bar which makes a connection between the two large posts, allowing charging current to flow from the starting battery to the house battery. When you turn the key off, current no longer flows to the solenoid, the magnet turns off, the bar falls and there is no longer a connection between house and starting battery. That means that if the engine is running, the house battery is being charged, and if it is off, the house battery can not run down the starting battery. The best of both worlds! Absolutely no drawbacks.

I was talking about solar panels previously, but two issues currently for me. First the cost, they are pricey, and second, my rook if molded fiberglass, with nothing really supporting it. I am looking into building a new roof for the van with the assistance of a welder friend of mine, and having better support (braces, etc) which will allow not only for me to walk up there, but also hook up panels, batteries, storage, or whatever.

Having new batteries, the solenoid, and chargers, my power issues should go away. If I set it up correctly, I should be able to even route the chargers through to the plug in the front of the van, and plug in during the winter, keep the block heater running, and batteries charging. That is something of a "wish", not a "to do" though.

What are your thoughts on the above?

Forums!

I hate Yahoo! Groups. I hate that I can never find information, and I get bombarded by emails from very single person who coughs in one of those groups.

Forums have the ability of organizing all the information you need, and still allowing you to socialize. Without irritating other members. I don't know why those groups are still being used...

There is a forum out there, and I think that more of us should be getting on it, and away from that awful Yahoo garbage.

Check it out!

http://www.vandwellers.org/forum/

UPDATE: May 9

I found another forum which is very active, so I want to post it here. The forum could use some work in how it's laid out, but lots of good information, and more active than the other. :)

http://www.cheaprvlivingforum.com/

When will the winter end?

Well, winter has lasted longer than I was hoping, and who knows how much longer it'll be...

I've moved into a new job that looks like it just might become permanent from the project work I have been doing on it. This will afford me more money to really get the van to where I want it for this coming winter (It's never too early to start thinking about the winter).

First things first, I'll be getting that new insulation into the walls, and will post on it for you! Going to take a bit of time, as I have to pay some other bills as well.

EDIT: Ahh, there was a problem. Click here to read