Putts
I'll get there.
Hi! I'm Putts.
*sigh*
That ain't right. How about this?
I'm two years into a step van build.
It's named Putt. I know, confusing.
See, I'm Putts on ADVrider.com, too. I used Putts because I putt around on motorcycles, and I don't go fast. My main bike is a KLR, but I've had/have quite a few. (FJR, TW200, XT350, TT350, CB360, TY125, TY250, R80G/S) Obviously, other than the KLR that rules the world for a cheap bike that will get you anywhere on the planet, the Beemer that's a friggen classic, and the Honda which was a basket case that fell in my lap, I'm a Yamaha guy. Anyway, when I started to post what I was doing with my camper (in a smaller private adventure motorcycle forum) those guys thought it would be a hoot if named my truck Putt so that I could have my travel thread titled "Putts putts in Putt." Ha, ha. Oh well, it stuck.
Mainly I ride bike to go on adventures. I love to travel and see stuff. And I love the natural world, so I tend to explore the less populated places...little towns, old mines, you know. Me and my buddy Paul sometimes do summer vacations where we travel maybe 800 miles over the course of the week going from one forest service cabin to another, staying off pavement as much as possible. Great stuff.
Sheesh...time for a pic or two. This was a trip with a bunch of guys.
Anywho, I love the outdoors...but I'm getting too old for the motorbike adventure touring thing. I'm also sick, fed up, and tired of working---I want to go adventure full-time. A couple of years ago a thought popped into my head: I could build a vehicle to live in, sell the house, and retire at 62 on social security and the proceeds of the house. (Had three wives...there goes your 401k.)
What I'd really love is a Unicat...but no way could I afford that. I figured in the roughly three years I had I could finance a step van, build it out on my income, and pull out of the driveway with it paid off. Basically, build an expedition vehicle on the cheap. No, it won't be overland capable, but it certainly could be Forest Service road capable---way more than a class-C RV.
Why a step van? I wanted a rugged vehicle, which basically left out any pre-made RV. I wanted some roomy comfort, which ruled out a 4WD van. So it was either a box truck or step van. Box trucks have better ground clearance, but I'll be living in this thing into my 70s (knock wood) so the extra height would mean that many more steps up and down. And I also liked the easy movement from outside, to cockpit, to cabin of a step van. The down side is the lower ground clearance and they're loud. (Noise canceling headphones to the rescue.)
It's kinda weird to me, I looked all over the place and step vans builds are pretty rare. Maybe it wasn't a good choice? Ah well, I tend to do my own thing; my logic felt sound to me; I went for it.
I looked around for a forum to start a build thread for advice. Expedition Portal, Pirate 4x4, and Cheap RV Living looked promising---all of them could give advice on solar, refrigerators, and LED lighting. I ruled out this place because I didn't feel like I was building an expedition vehicle; I ruled out Pirate 4x4 because, though I knew it could serve as such, I wasn't building a bug out vehicle, so I went with CheapRVLiving. I got good advice on that kind of stuff early on, but in the end I've found that I really am building an expedition vehicle, just not a very capable one. Which actually makes my questions about whether or not to switch to big singles, what kind of winch is best for me, and various recovery gear all the more important. I now feel like I've got to be here to get the advice I need.
So, howdy!
I also think my build is pretty unusual and may offer some good ideas for folks looking to get into an affordable vehicle to adventure in. Took me a while to accept that, and a while longer to decide that it was worth the effort to reconstruct a build thread here, but here I am. I've got a few hours to start posting up before the kids start showing up for Christmas, I reckon it's a good time to start.
Welcome to Putt!
*sigh*
That ain't right. How about this?
I'm two years into a step van build.
It's named Putt. I know, confusing.
See, I'm Putts on ADVrider.com, too. I used Putts because I putt around on motorcycles, and I don't go fast. My main bike is a KLR, but I've had/have quite a few. (FJR, TW200, XT350, TT350, CB360, TY125, TY250, R80G/S) Obviously, other than the KLR that rules the world for a cheap bike that will get you anywhere on the planet, the Beemer that's a friggen classic, and the Honda which was a basket case that fell in my lap, I'm a Yamaha guy. Anyway, when I started to post what I was doing with my camper (in a smaller private adventure motorcycle forum) those guys thought it would be a hoot if named my truck Putt so that I could have my travel thread titled "Putts putts in Putt." Ha, ha. Oh well, it stuck.
Mainly I ride bike to go on adventures. I love to travel and see stuff. And I love the natural world, so I tend to explore the less populated places...little towns, old mines, you know. Me and my buddy Paul sometimes do summer vacations where we travel maybe 800 miles over the course of the week going from one forest service cabin to another, staying off pavement as much as possible. Great stuff.
Sheesh...time for a pic or two. This was a trip with a bunch of guys.
Anywho, I love the outdoors...but I'm getting too old for the motorbike adventure touring thing. I'm also sick, fed up, and tired of working---I want to go adventure full-time. A couple of years ago a thought popped into my head: I could build a vehicle to live in, sell the house, and retire at 62 on social security and the proceeds of the house. (Had three wives...there goes your 401k.)
What I'd really love is a Unicat...but no way could I afford that. I figured in the roughly three years I had I could finance a step van, build it out on my income, and pull out of the driveway with it paid off. Basically, build an expedition vehicle on the cheap. No, it won't be overland capable, but it certainly could be Forest Service road capable---way more than a class-C RV.
Why a step van? I wanted a rugged vehicle, which basically left out any pre-made RV. I wanted some roomy comfort, which ruled out a 4WD van. So it was either a box truck or step van. Box trucks have better ground clearance, but I'll be living in this thing into my 70s (knock wood) so the extra height would mean that many more steps up and down. And I also liked the easy movement from outside, to cockpit, to cabin of a step van. The down side is the lower ground clearance and they're loud. (Noise canceling headphones to the rescue.)
It's kinda weird to me, I looked all over the place and step vans builds are pretty rare. Maybe it wasn't a good choice? Ah well, I tend to do my own thing; my logic felt sound to me; I went for it.
I looked around for a forum to start a build thread for advice. Expedition Portal, Pirate 4x4, and Cheap RV Living looked promising---all of them could give advice on solar, refrigerators, and LED lighting. I ruled out this place because I didn't feel like I was building an expedition vehicle; I ruled out Pirate 4x4 because, though I knew it could serve as such, I wasn't building a bug out vehicle, so I went with CheapRVLiving. I got good advice on that kind of stuff early on, but in the end I've found that I really am building an expedition vehicle, just not a very capable one. Which actually makes my questions about whether or not to switch to big singles, what kind of winch is best for me, and various recovery gear all the more important. I now feel like I've got to be here to get the advice I need.
So, howdy!
I also think my build is pretty unusual and may offer some good ideas for folks looking to get into an affordable vehicle to adventure in. Took me a while to accept that, and a while longer to decide that it was worth the effort to reconstruct a build thread here, but here I am. I've got a few hours to start posting up before the kids start showing up for Christmas, I reckon it's a good time to start.
Welcome to Putt!
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