#vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again
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@jminer I didn't think those were old enough for nostalgia to kick in yet.
Is my first gen Wii worth anything? I think I used it like four times.
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@jminer said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
Nostalgia - it's a hell of a drug!
Isn't it kind of heartwarming and sweet to see what other people get hung up on? Things that were around when you were a kid, and either connected you with friends or with family, that are obviously technically inferior to what we have now. But it's all about reliving that beautiful memory... of shaggin in the back of a dirty ol' van!!!
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@shop-teacher said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
@jminer I didn't think those were old enough for nostalgia to kick in yet.
Is my first gen Wii worth anything? I think I used it like four times.
I think the ipods are just starting on it, only the special ones are worth a ton. Most models are $40-100 depending on what it is.
Wiis have become useful, but they made so many collectible isn't the right word. They've turned into an emulation powerhouse with homebrew and other stuff. There is also a (relatively) huge scene of modding them and turning them into handhelds. This only means it's only worth marginally more though and you can still usually pick one up for $20-40 last I checked.
I was contemplating building one of these, but if I'm honest, have enough other projects.
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@beefchips said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
beautiful memory... of shaggin in the back of a dirty ol' van!!!
My first car was a van
But yeah, it's both strange and amazing to watch what comes and goes. The thing that has blown my mind is seeing all the youths dressing like we did in the 90s, it's not particularly flattering and frankly leaves me quite confused to see acid-washed jeans and such again.
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@jminer Wow. I should clear out my old unused electronics. Put a little extra scratch in the toy fund.
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@shop-teacher Depending on what ipods you got I might be willing to buy them (working or not).
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@jminer I have a video ipod, I think a 32 gig model (but it's been a long time), and one of those ity-bity square nanos. I think that's a 16 gig. They both worked last time I used them. The video one didn't like to sync up anymore though.
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@shop-teacher Not really interested in the nano, but am interested in the ipod video. They're great to crack open and replace the spinning hard drive with flash memory. I did this to a mini which gets fairly regular use and would love a full-size one too.
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@awesomeaustinv said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
@beefchips The main reasons I'd consider a van over an RV would be that vans will fit in a normal parking space, whereas RVs are gigantic gas guzzlers. And vans can be modified for some off-roading, which could be fun. But I want my own private poop room, I don't want to deal with public restrooms any more than necessary. And living out of either a van or an RV would make it difficult to have any other vehicle in addition to it, which I wouldn't be happy about. I'd rather have an actual apartment or house.
You just gotta live someplace where rent for a 1BR apartment goes for $2k for a cheap small place that doesn't have AC nor in unit washer/dryer. Gotta pay at least $2300 if you want those things. And that's not even in a desirable neighborhood. And so my $1k for a room for rent is a "steal". Making six figures and feeling poor because of housing. That combines to make you strongly consider vanlife even if having a solid place of housing is kinda nice and easy. If I wanted to be in Southern California long term, there's no way I could do it without pursuing vanlife in order to save the $200k in cash I need for a proper down payment.
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@wrong-wheel-drive said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
If I wanted to be in Southern California long term, there's no way I could do it without pursuing vanlife
Buddy of mine does this, he landed a 6-figure job in Silicon Valley, looked at rents, and said "fuck it i'm buying a van."
Now he parks at work or at the climbing gym during the week and drives out to Yosemite or Joshua tree on the weekends.
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@beefchips said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
@wrong-wheel-drive said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
If I wanted to be in Southern California long term, there's no way I could do it without pursuing vanlife
Buddy of mine does this, he landed a 6-figure job in Silicon Valley, looked at rents, and said "fuck it i'm buying a van."
Now he parks at work or at the climbing gym during the week and drives out to Yosemite or Joshua tree on the weekends.
Honestly if it wasn't for covid I might have done it when I moved recently. To me vanlife and intending on continuing my normal weekday career depends on having a 24 hour gym membership. Just impossibly harder to deal with without having that. Having a toilet and shower that I don't have to cart around plus a place to park at any hour has gotta be nice. Idk if gyms actually let you park and sleep but I'd imagine some might if you aren't a pain.
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@wrong-wheel-drive @beefchips I'd be lying if I didn't think of doing the same coming out here. If I wasn't married that would have been my plan. I'm paying $3500 a month in rent, and while I love it out here that's a fucking lot of money.
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@wrong-wheel-drive @jminer he has a pretty sweet situation, actually his work lets him stay there as long as he keeps it on the DL. Sure it’s an office park so there’s no night life, but it’s quiet and there’s no crime.
The thing that kills me tho is he’s like 6’4 and even though he’s got the tall pro master it’s still not quite tall enough, poor guy
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@pixel said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
I'm just waiting for the current van life it to go full 70s van life. Too many boring white Sprinters & Transits.
Yeah, vans had style back then. Understated was not a thing.
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@beefchips said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
The thing that kills me tho is he’s like 6’4 and even though he’s got the tall pro master it’s still not quite tall enough, poor guy
I'm not quite that tall but at 6' 2" I'd need a high-top van, which does make it decidedly less subtle.
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@beefchips That happened about a year ago.
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@beefchips
The new hotness is box truck conversions for stealth camping.
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I am not a vanlifer, only a van traveler.
With a converted transit I can travel a few days without airports, airlines, and hotels. The transit does much better than an RV/motorhome on fuel. The transit can be repaired anywhere there is a Ford dealer in case of trouble.
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@beefchips said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
@wrong-wheel-drive @jminer he has a pretty sweet situation, actually his work lets him stay there as long as he keeps it on the DL. Sure it’s an office park so there’s no night life, but it’s quiet and there’s no crime.
The thing that kills me tho is he’s like 6’4 and even though he’s got the tall pro master it’s still not quite tall enough, poor guy
Are you old enough to remember Trapper John, M.D.? That show had the original #vanlifer. Gonzo lived in a motorhome in the parking lot. One of the tropes of the show was the "meetings" they had on the roof of the RV.
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@beefchips An offroad RV... hmmm... I won't lie, I do want to own an RV in my life. Something obscure and, preferably, not American (it's fun to see how other countries interpret a very American pastime, like the Toyota Chinook or Isuzu Rodeo camper).
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@wrong-wheel-drive I definitely understand why it would appeal to some people, especially in someplace like LA where the price of housing is absurd. But it doesn't appeal to me, in the same way that living in LA does not appeal to me.
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@bicyclebuck Yeah, I'm old enough! That's actually the only thing I really do remember from that show actually, probably because I haven't seen an episode since the 80s. I thought the top-o-the-RV thing was a nice little callback to the Swamp on MASH.
I own a house outright so I'm not going to do the live-in-the-damn-thing type of RV/Van life bit but I have been keeping an eye out for an RV for a little while. I'm hoping to find either a GMC (the ones made by GMC that is, with the Toronado based drivetrain) or one of the aluminum Airstreams. A few have come up locally that looked good but I missed out on them by dithering around trying to make up my mind.
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@nowhere said in #vanlife hot take: everything old becomes new again:
I own a house outright so I'm not going to do the live-in-the-damn-thing type of RV/Van life bit but I have been keeping an eye out for an RV for a little while.
My wife SHOCKED me the other day by saying she wouldn't mind having an RV for trips. This is after years of her telling me that we couldn't get one for a variety of reasons. The one I really wanted was a bus conversion. It was in desperate need of some updates inside, but just look at this thing!
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@bicyclebuck An old bus conversion would be my choice on style points alone too. Every one I've seen for sale around here though has either been in the sort of shape that would make it a massive years long project to get it useable or very expensive. Sometimes both at once! Fortunately my wife is fully on board with getting some variety of RV because just as much as I do she would like to do more RV type camping - out in the woods, primitive enough campgrounds that there are no hookups but still the sort of place where you drive right up to your camping spot. We're both fine with tents when we walk or paddle to a campsite but if we drive to it we want real beds now:-)
I've largely focused on the GMC and Airstream because they tend to have dedicated enthusiast owners so can be found at a price within my budget and in decent condition. The average Class C of the past ten years is usually too expensive for me still and older ones though cheaper, tend to be piles of disintegrating chipboard and vinyl - and just looking at interior pictures on CL you can almost smell the mold and must.
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The beauty of this bus was that the hard parts of the conversion were already done. It just needed cosmetic work to update the interior. I lived in a travel trailer for several years, so I’m familiar with the cheap construction. I was brewing a pitcher of tea once and accidentally set the plastic pitcher on the burner after pouring the hot water into it from the kettle. Hot water soaked the kitchen area and soaked into the particle board floor. The waterproofing under the floor just kept all of the water against the particle board and caused it to swell up and crumble. I was shocked when my mom bought some plywood then went after the floor with a skill saw. I’d never imagined a floor could be disassembled and rebuilt that way. It nearly blew my little 12-year-old mind.
