Who lives in a van? Or wants to?

[Sweet FA]

Got the interior more sorted - roof panels fixed, speakers wired up, interior lights connected + switch installed, 240v EHU+ consumer board, tiny external inlet, double socket/usb/2x12v, cable etc. Going to spend most of August in it and I'm going to run a fridge so will test it all this weekend

Have also been trying to find an awning that's easy to put up and doesn't require any drilling into the van. I've bought suction cups with d rings, a tarp and some telescopic tent poles...this is either a cheap & easy way of getting shade or the cups won't hold and I'll just have a massive kite.



bmd? How's the minibus looking?

 

[Boudicca]

Got the interior more sorted - roof panels fixed, speakers wired up, interior lights connected + switch installed, 240v EHU+ consumer board, tiny external inlet, double socket/usb/2x12v, cable etc. Going to spend most of August in it and I'm going to run a fridge so will test it all this weekend

Have also been trying to find an awning that's easy to put up and doesn't require any drilling into the van. I've bought suction cups with d rings, a tarp and some telescopic tent poles...this is either a cheap & easy way of getting shade or the cups won't hold and I'll just have a massive kite.

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bmd? How's the minibus looking?

I bought suction cups but they are useless on the Berlingo as everything is curved and they won't attach. I now have a roof rack, clamps and a cheap tarp but haven't tested it yet.

I do have a proper awning, but it took three of us to get it up. I took it home and sawed a bit off the tent poles but haven't tried again yet.

 

[mx wcfc]

Having researched endlessly (read comments on campervan FB groups) and tried the awning with just straps over the top, I've splashed out on an awning rail and am paying £50 for someone else (pro van converter) to fit it for me!

 

[mx wcfc]

I bought suction cups but they are useless on the Berlingo as everything is curved and they won't attach. I now have a roof rack, clamps and a cheap tarp but haven't tested it yet.

I do have a proper awning, but it took three of us to get it up. I took it home and sawed a bit off the tent poles but haven't tried again yet.

I went for an air awning. Easiest tent I've ever had to put up.

 

[Boudicca]

I went for an air awning. Easiest tent I've ever had to put up.

I think they are quite heavy though and take up a lot of space?

 

[mx wcfc]

I think they are quite heavy though and take up a lot of space?

Correct on both counts.

I leave it at home when the weather's good.

 

[bmd]

bmd? How's the minibus looking?

Nowhere near as suh weeet as yours, that's for sure.

I have kind of got what I need right now, in place Water and gas. It just kills me financially to move it. I have been working in the Bristol area and staying around there too. Being there is fine. It's the 200 miles worth of fuel to get there. Anyway! I fucking love the life. I really do. I'm at 2000 Trees next. Doing a few others and then Boardmasters.

I got back from Glastonbury last Wednesday and it has taken me until today to feel normal again lol. Smoked it to the filter.

 

[bmd]

As a picture is worth a thousand words, here's some photos. I also have the electrics in place. Never used that toilet due to not having installed the opaque film on the windows. Not sure anyone needs to see me having a shit. I moved the kitchen over to the other side, to keep it close to the gas. It's off the wheel arch now too, which means I have a grey water tank under it as well. The 230vpoint is under the sink now. Any questions, just ask.

 

[kalidarkone]

I think they are quite heavy though and take up a lot of space?

Yes I have an inflatable awning and that is correct, also not fabulous in a gale but it was also on quite an exposed hillside.

 

[kalidarkone]

I had this awning- Skandika- it was brilliant, big, lightweight for its size and really easy to put up and it's only £168 ! I only upgraded to an inflatable because I got it half price in 2020.

 

[David Clapson]

Not sure anyone needs to see me having a shit.

Some people do. Monetize that shit, put it on OnlyFans

 

[bmd]

Some people do. Monetize that shit, put it on OnlyFans

Oh well, when you put it like that.

 

[David Clapson]

Oh well, when you put it like that.

I've just checked and onlyfans has a ban on scat. Sorry, my bad. Maybe your output would be confined to the Dark Web? You could start your research here r/Coprophiles

Scat isn't really my fave, but I imagine our shared Hol(e)y Grail is to have a solid stream of moolah on the road. I'm planning to install a composting toilet. Maybe I can dominate the green scat niche? It would also be an elegant way to leverage an investment in a mobile hot spot and some hi-def cameras and microphones. And of course there are endless opportunities for merch.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

tbf even with a decent screening, shitting inside your van is just wrong. Pop outside with a trowel.

 

[kalidarkone]

tbf even with a decent screening, shitting inside your van is just wrong. Pop outside with a trowel.

Even if you have a toilet?

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Even if you have a toilet?

If the toilet is in the van, don't shit in it, that's just gross.

 

[kalidarkone]

If the toilet is in the van, don't shit in it, that's just gross.

I think it's fine as long as it gets emptied immediately and it's my shit and I'm the only one using the van.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Grim.

 

[kalidarkone]

Grim.

This is hyperthetical as I don't have an toilet in my van.

Also luckily I'm not living in the inner city in a van without access to a toilet or running water. Needs must. But yeah grim. I would only do it in an emergency.

 

[Boudicca]

How to shit is a topic which comes up endlessly on the Women with Campervans FB page. It almost always ends in a bust up over whether bagging it up and stick it in the dog poo bin is disgusting or practical.

 

[bmd]

I've just checked and onlyfans has a ban on scat. Sorry, my bad. Maybe your output would be confined to the Dark Web? You could start your research here r/Coprophiles

Scat isn't really my fave, but I imagine our shared Hol(e)y Grail is to have a solid stream of moolah on the road. I'm planning to install a composting toilet. Maybe I can dominate the green scat niche? It would also be an elegant way to leverage an investment in a mobile hot spot and some hi-def cameras and microphones. And of course there are endless opportunities for merch.

So enterpreneurial (sic).

First video could be A Deep Dive in a Septic Tank. Then you can funnel your fans to the more spectacular content that YouTube hasn't the vision for.

 

[bmd]

If the toilet is in the van, don't shit in it, that's just gross.

Yeah. I guess sleeping next to a live turd is not the most romantic vision of life on the road. However! Once it has a liberal scattering of sawdust? Well then, you're on your way to an income stream.

 

[bellaozzydog]

Even if you have a toilet?

I’ve always thought of van toilets as a last resort. If you’ve ever had to empty the fuckers you’ll see why

I was at a festival in my big van years ago and friends camping kept using my toilet in the van, to the point where it topped out. They were baffled that’s the shit and Piss didn’t miraculously disappear into the earth

When a toilet tops out when you pull the cassette for emptying shit goes everywhere, not a happy job

In the mob on exercise the soldier in the organisation who has fucked uo the most gets the title chief elsaneer and has to empty the company shit buckets

To call someone a “toppers elsan” is a grave insult

 

[bellaozzydog]

An elsan earlier today

Elsan 'Bristol' Toilet

Check out the deal on Elsan 'Bristol' Toilet at MarineStore

marinestore.co.uk

 

[Sweet FA]

I bought suction cups but they are useless on the Berlingo as everything is curved and they won't attach. I now have a roof rack, clamps and a cheap tarp but haven't tested it yet.

I do have a proper awning, but it took three of us to get it up. I took it home and sawed a bit off the tent poles but haven't tried again yet.

I looked at magnets but think they might slide off? Let me know how the clamps go; if the cups don't work, I'll end up doing similar next...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WGMLK6P/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_9?smid=A148OXMQOGPIK9&psc=1

Having researched endlessly (read comments on campervan FB groups) and tried the awning with just straps over the top, I've splashed out on an awning rail and am paying £50 for someone else (pro van converter) to fit it for me!

Yeh I've done months of research myself. I'm not convinced I'm going to save much by diy'ing tbh. The bits are near enough 80 quid & the stitches and steel one is 100 though needs rail. (Which I helpfully removed from my van to fit the roof bars that I'm not using this year).

Tarp Awning

The Tarp was a fun one for us. Shelter isn't essential but it does enhance the atmosphere, not forgoing the morale of a camp setup. The Tarp was conceived on the grounds of no two spots being the same, and the same was to be said for the vehicles used to get us there. With that in mind, we...

stitchesandsteel.com

 

[Dystopiary]

They were baffled that’s the shit and Piss didn’t miraculously disappear into the earth

Ffs!

 

[Sweet FA]

I'm at 2000 Trees next.

Don't miss Pigsx7!

 

[bmd]

Awnings and shit. The hot topics of #vanlife.

 

[David Clapson]

Yeah. I guess sleeping next to a live turd is not the most romantic vision of life on the road. However! Once it has a liberal scattering of sawdust? Well then, you're on your way to an income stream.

If yours are live perhaps they'd like their own onlyfans. Get them an agent.

 

[bmd]

If yours are live perhaps they'd like their own onlyfans. Get them an agent.

You never pulled the pin on a big one?