Been doing lots of work, but not making time to write about it, like I should.
Spent lots of money today, all of it on the van/next move.
I’ve got a cargo trailer reserved, and had my hitch inspected by uhaul today. Everything looked good. Had to buy a trailer hitch adapter that would raise my hitch ball like 6 inches, and that was costly. Had to buy a big fat socket (1 1/4″) to tighten the nut on the hitch ball. My torque wrench goes up to 250 ft-lbs, which is exactly what was called for.
I’ve also got a storage unit reserved in MN.
The chairs for the roof are ready, and the brackets are installed and sealed on the roof. I should be able to get the chairs installed in the next day or so (next time it’s sunny out). I’ve also got the hardware in hand to splice the solar panels (the 30W panels that are mounted to the backs of the folding chairs) into the existing circuit. The chairs took way longer than was expected, and ended up being way more expensive than I’d planned (I bought an angle grinder to cut bolts down to length). But they should work now, I think. And they’ll be cool. I just ordered a ladder to mount to the back doors, and had it shipped to a friends house that I’ll be visiting in early July. Shit was 650 bucks. But it’s a good one.
It is now clear to me that I need to use some 3d modeling software to plan out the interior before I proceed beyond the roof work. guess-timation is not gonna cut it. So that’s gonna take some time. I gotta learn to use Blender, and then I gotta make a model. At least closer to scale than what I can do in my head.
I want to get the electrical installed, the walls and insulation done, and the bed platform in before I leave. That would be a huge win. I was hoping to have much more than that done, but everything takes so long.
I’ve been going back and forth on whether to live in the van next year or get an apartment. I would save around 500$/month or so by living in the van, which is actually not all that much. But I’d also need a 12 month lease if I rent an indoor space. I figure it comes to a difference of about 6000$ total to live in the van on a mobile home lot for 9 months instead of in a studio apartment for 12. Plus savings on utilities, which could be another 1000 or so. Though living in the van I’ll be paying more for diesel, as that will be what runs my main heater, so maybe the cost of utilities evens out.
I’m leaning towards living in the van, just to see how it goes, though I’m not crazy about the first time being in a MN Winter. Still, it could be interesting.
If I could find a lot in the town I’ll be working in, so that I could walk to work if needs be, that would make me feel a bit better. Right now that lot that I found is about a 20 min drive from the College.
Big picture, the plan was always to have the van set up so I could roll into town, work for a year, then roll out again. Moving from one apartment to another is a ton of work, especially if you have to do it every year or two. Moving the apartment itself should make things much easier, and make it so the work I put into my space stays with me.
Time to crash.
