Ever wanted to live out of a VW bus?
12 01 2009
When I was a freshmen in collage I wanted to save money on rent and bills. I had the bright idea to buy a van and convert it to a living space that I could sleep and do all of the things that I couldn’t do at the collage or gym. I had it all planed out, all I really need was a place to sleep and store the minimal things that a college student can actuality call his own (some clothing and a few books). I could do home work at the schools library and shower at the Gym. Now I have to say this was before I fell in to the VW world head first and my initial idea was to get a Chevy Astro van that I could fix up and live in. As I was looking around I found that VW had already had this idea long before me and made camper buses that had everything that I needed (sink, stove, closet space, book shelves, etc..). In my pursuit I happened to sit down next to a guy in the library we started talking and I told him about my idea to live out of a VW bus. He stated that he had a 77 Volkswagen camper that he was using as his College transportation and he loved it. he wasn’t living out of it and said that it wouldn’t be a very comfortable life and he had no planes to move in to his. By the end of the study session he took me out to see his camper and actually gave me a ride to show me how it drove. Needles to say I did not end up getting a bus to live out of but it was one of my first real encounters with the VW bus and the VW “bug” (no pun intended) has never really left me. I wasn’t until a few years later that a work friend (Santiago) really got me in to VW world and the rest is history. Now looking back, married with a few kids, I should have taken the opportunity to live out of a VW bus “down by the river” when I was young and stupid.
If you are interested in the pros and cons of living out of your VW bus check this blog post out. It has some great incite in to Bus living.
I live in a VW Bus, a ‘78 Riviera Campervan, with my son and occasionally my girlfriend and her dog. More than occasionally, perhaps.
We wake up in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain Front Range one day and under the California Redwoods another, Florida for Thanksgiving and Pennsylvania for Christmas. It’s tight, but life is best lived outside anyway, in my opinion.
I’d recommend it to anyone who thinks they could handle small space and lots of outdoors, but only if they’re willing to get their hands greasy adjusting valves and messing with oily engine parts on a rather regular basis.