Winter has arrived!!!

Here we are just 2 weeks into December, with winter officially a week away yet, and I woke up this morning in the STEALTH camper to find this!!

Isn't that a beautiful scene!! Of course, I can say that because I don't have to get out in it and go anywhere!! I have plenty of food and water in the STEALTH camper to last for days.....I have checked on my parents 5 miles away in town and they don't need anything...and even though I have 4 wheel drive, the roads are a mess so I'm just going to sit it out and wait for the state and county road crews to do their thing!!

It seems like I have seen an over abundance of snow in 2013!! I was here in central Illinois last year at this time and we had several light snows...then in the spring I went workamping in South Dakota and the 1st month I was there we had over 4 FEET of snow over a 4 week period!!! And now, here I am back in central Illinois, and looking at our 2nd winter storm already, and its still officially autumn!!??!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ But, the countdown to Spring has already begun!!! Less than 100 days to go!! Hope everyone is safe and warm wherever you are!!

A new experiment

Greetings all, from the frozen north! Cold and wintry here in central Illinois this first week of December. Had our 1st (last please!) measurable snowfall this week, maybe 3 inches. Bitter cold at night, but I am as snug as a bug in a rug inside the STEALTH trailer! Because I am actually hooked up to 30amp power, I can run my heater and electric blankie all night long!!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Things are well here. My aging parents are getting along somewhat OK,but I can see them going downhill a little bit more every time I stop by...stepfather only has 1 kidney, congestive heart failure, on oxygen 24/7, and the doctors say he could go anytime. Plus, they told him a month ago he needed dialysis, but he said no....so, we play the waiting game. Eventually, his 1 kidney will just poison him to death...or his bad heart will just give out. Would be nice if they could just lie down to sleep, and not wake up. Would be better than watching him suffer each day, taking all those damn pills.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have been thinking for some time now about trying something different, and have taken the plunge this week and taken the 1st step to making a dream a reality.....by buying this------

Another angle......

Its a Ford E350 Econoline cargo van.......1 ton chassis/V8/AM-FM stereo/ICE cold A-C/AT/PS/PB......In really good shape for its age.....

Was used as a delivery van, and has a walk thru cage behind the front seats to keep cargo from sliding forward into the drivers compartment...am leaving that in place!! The bed hardly looks used at all....

I have seen lots of people take a van like this and convert the back into very comfortable living quarters!! My plans are to do the same thing with this!! Put a ladder rack on the roof and place the solar panels up there. Take out the passenger seat and place the AGM batteries and the inverter in the floorboard,and use the rest of that area for storage area. The back I will naturally insulate heavily, install a vapor barrier, and then some nice paneling. Mount a 37" flatscreen to one wall, and put the pop up antenna on the outside wall. Drill a hole in a back corner and run a HD extension cord out thru it so when near power can just plug in!! Oh, I can see it all so clearly in my head!! Get that all done, then when I retire for good, be ready to hit the road and boondock!!! NO MORE SNOW for this kid!!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ My friend Bob Wells over at www.cheaprvliving.com is doing the same thing and has been for several years now, quite successfully too! My gosh, go on YouTube and type in "VAN LIVING" in the search bar and you'll be amazed how many are doing it!! I can hardly wait to get the renovations done on my van and get out there with them all!--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hope everyone is well, safe and warm wherever you may be!!