THE URBAN #VANLIFE
(OR #TRUCKLIFE)
Construction on my original truck-home began in late 2013, a simple layout designed with utility and comfort in mind. Discretion, too. At that time, municipal code 85.02 forbade sleeping in one’s vehicle in Los Angeles. Keeping a low profile proved one could live in a vehicle responsibly. And ensured I’d get good nights’ sleep. Wherever I parked for the night.
I’ve since traded in the Ranger for an F-150 with a towing capacity and 4×4 for backroads. You can see a little of what I’ve done with it (pictured here). On my Instagram page you will find progress on that build, as it is much more ambitious than the relatively austere Ranger truck-home.
In practice, it was the Ranger which took me to the latitudinal borders of America, surviving winter blizzards, summer heat waves, and autumn hail storms. But the real benefit was in the city. My home was wherever I took it. In a city like Los Angeles, that saved me a great deal of time, effort, money, and energy–not to mention a relief from “traffrustration”, as I like to call it.
The urban #vanlife is a truly freeing lifestyle, despite its sometimes-too-cozy confines and oft-maligned reputation. Original diary work regarding the truck can be found on my The Office Hobo blog including the truck’s somewhat detailed construction outline.
If you read only one of my published works, make it my July, 2014 LA Weekly article on living the working man’s #vanlife. In it, I challenge negative perceptions about vehicular dwelling and champion the life of intention as beneficial to society, even in America’s most superficial city.
