Before my truck died, when Oy and I were on the road, I kept my container of canned goods underneath his carrier in the passenger seat along with some extra can openers. Wasn't the best solution, but since I was making sure to have extra for others it kept me from forgetting to top off my supplies. :D

Dude, I'm still totally down for staring a, "SE Gets Steele a Camper Van", kickstarter.

https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/rvs/d/camper-van/6432790774.html

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/rvs/d/1993-ford-jayco-conversion/6430115463.html

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1997-Dodge-RAM-1500-122969855

Steele has standards.

Wasn’t this one “plan b”?

As much as Musk rubs me the wrong way, one of those Tesla semis would be pretty sweet. ;)

Seriously, though, do we have any wealthy SEers? And and how many of us actually throw in a few bucks now and then?

I set the search parameters for

(edit: looks like using the "less than" symbol in isolation, or perhaps followed by the dollar sign, cuts off the rest of a comment.)

... less than $7000. A Dodge van with under 100k miles on it should last a long time, plus parts & service are reasonable. I thought the '97 Ram 1500 looked pretty sweet, other than the questionable color choices.

Unless I can afford an actual Chinook or something, what I'm probably going to go for is an extended Ford cargo van. If I can find one from a fleet in decent shape, all the better. Make the inside cab and outside look like something that belongs in the parking lot of a telecom, a metal divider, and set up the back windows completely blacked out with a mini rv bed/kitchenette setup. A couple of hidden solar panels up top and my laptops and I'm basically good to go.

I have had two of those extended Ford cargo vans over the years. In my experience, the engines and drive trains hold up well, but after about 100k, all the peripheral stuff craps out, like wiper fluid pumps, window motors, heater, gear shift cables, etc. I'm currently driving a 2005 Dodge with 265k miles on it, and it's been remarkably reliable.

That's only one data point, though. Probably worth researching the Consumer Reports used vehicles data for some real world statistics.

I can fix that stuff. ;) I've heard multiple things over both brands, but the ford is the look i'm going for in this scenario. We shall see. If it wasn't for my cat i'd probably be backpacking it on a bicycle or train by now. But I love my furry little asshole and he probably keeps me from walking off into the woods and never being seen again.

What did you do with him when you had to go grocery shopping or take a crap? Leave him in the carrier in the truck? I'd be worried about that in a warm place like Florida, or doing it anywhere that a break-in might happen. And did you just avoid restaurants and bars?

Asking because I'm thinking of hitting the road in my Ford van this summer, and I have a schnauzer I need to take very good care of and can't/won't leave behind.

I mostly only did food shopping in the evening or at night. That was about the only time I'd ever have to leave him in there besides quick bathroom breaks at rest stops. Unless i was visiting with a friend (where he could stay at their place ) I wasn't visiting restaurants or anything like that. Our time was mostly spent in campgrounds where I would let him run on a tether. Even had him in a kayak once.

Heh. My dog might love a kayak trip, but I'd have to make her wear a lifejacket and keep her tethered, she's not as strong a swimmer as she'd like to think.

(My dog is serving pretty much the same mental health purpose as your cat these days. Well, that and the fact that I'm probably a bit too much of an extravert to be happy alone in the woods for too long.)

I was borrowing that kayak, was totally checking amazon for cat life jackets after that tho.That was in the early days when I was young and naive and thought my journey was going to be easy and profitable. Now, here I am, whoring myself out to y'all. ;)

OK, break's over. Back to work.

What would you do for internet access? Park near a hotspot?

Nowadays I'd usb tether to my phone using Foxfi. I found a sweet camping spot on a lake about an hour away from jacksonville with a cell tower nearby. Back in the 3g days i used easytetherif I could or hotspots.

Yeah, I was thinking I should just bump up the data plan on my phone as high as I can.

Ah, yeah, I have ten year old sprint unlimited plan i refuse to let go of. It may be worth it to get a cantenna and wifi card for your laptop that takes an external antenna.

I kind of wish he had a pot donation like a kickstarter.

People have tried to donate pot but the timing didn't work out. :D

Lol, I appreciate it, but things are very complicated right now. My grandmother passed away late November leaving me with my 93 yo grandfather to look after. So my wings are basically clipped for the next couple years until we get him into a full care home. And! I've actually been waiting on work now for a few months that would pay for a van, plus the upgrades needed, but the company I'm waiting on is dragging their heels on an accounting software upgrade since mid summer. Fun, fun. In the meantime, I'm hoping to get my VR, electronics, and machine learning skills in order and at least put lowkeysoft on the map enough to become eligible for developer kits that I can't otherwise afford. Figure I'll spend the next two years prepping. And by the time my grandfather is at the top of the waiting list for the home I'll have a decent stealth van, the knowledge from my previous years in the woods, and enough contacts to put some of my more interesting projects into play.

However, if anyone has VR or PC EEG equipment (like emotiv, openbci) they can donate... :D

Are you morally opposed to seized vehicles?

Not like wholesale against it, only when IT'S ABUSED BY THE CORRUPT ATTACK DOGS OF CAPITALIST PIGS! ;)

Lol, so you're saying check police auctions?

Personally I'd stick to federal, as opposed to local, police auctions, but maybe I'm biased.

In case anyone listening is concerned, federal law enforcement and their families are forbidden from participating in the purchase of seized/forfeited items. However, encouragement of the public to participate is highly endorsed.

I cannot say you will get anything brand new for 1% of the price. There are entire companies built on following agencies state to state to scoop up what is seized at a fraction of the cost.

What you will find, if you were to say have a few years to look around, are gems that might require you come to pick up the items at locations where it's not worth the time of the "professionals".

As I understand it, there's a thriving market for moving any vehicle that'll fit on a flatback.

Awesome! I shall check that out, thank you. Is there an all-encompassing website that covers all the agencies or is it more of a hunt each one down sort of situation? I'm familiar with gsaauctions.gov, but haven't checked there in a while.

I don't believe there is a one stop shop for all federal agencies unfortunately. Treasury, DHS, CBP and others contract the auctions out and the companies have cleaner websites to show what is for sale.

The US Marshals are set to service the Treasury departments auctions here:


https://www.usmarshals.gov/assets/sales.htm


The links at the bottom of this page lead to the current individual contracting agencies that handle the majority of seizures across the country. As I said, I suggest going to contractor's sites as they have the money and manpower to create more visually appealing listings.

CWS/URS handles several federal agencies and now that I check, the link is broken on the above site (Some good comes from this type of reality check). The below link is their site:


http://www.cwsmarketing.com/


Robertson Auto Auction is what I was talking about finding some gems from time to time based on location. They do have wrecked vehicles, but they also have perfectly fine vehicles that are just located in hard to reach places. If you had the time you might be able to find some gems.


http://auction.robertsonauto.com/auctionlist.aspx

Thanks so much. I'll be sure to keep an eye out. Appreciate it!