My lifestyle experiment

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soup
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by soup »

Try and answer some questions:

-yes to heat and ac. Heat provided by a small diesel furnace that sits underneath. Heats up glycol and this is passed thru heat exchanges to provide hot air and even better; hot water.
Ac is only there when we drive.

-there are lots of creator protections for original material in the USA. Sadly tho, following up on the lawsuits requires a lot of money. Meh. I just do my thing.

-costs. It varies. We stay in places for weeks/months if it’s nice. Or we bounce every other day. Some days we don’t spend a dime(including electricity, diesel, water and food) and some days we fill up the tank twice and go out for cocktails.
Maintenance costs on a brand new van are pretty minimal.
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Paingod
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Paingod »

soup wrote: Wed Jan 31, 2018 12:29 pmMaintenance costs on a brand new van are pretty minimal.
It's probably years off, but is there a plan to replace the van when it does go - or is this a one-off amazing adventure that ends when the van does?
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Zaxxon
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Zaxxon »

Fantastic job on the ride/home and video production! I have a family member who's currently going through the process of remodeling their van/future home to try to do something similar, so I'm definitely passing this along to her.

I also signed up for your updates. Keep living the dream!
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Xmann
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Xmann »

I keep watching that video and I'm so jealous and inspired.

The wife and i are really considering a move like this in a few years when our son is out of school and settled.

We went to the Colorado RV show last year and seeing all the vehicles is what got us seriously considering this.

You have just made us realize this is definitely a reality.

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Enough
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Enough »

Incredibly cool and impressive work as always. So happy you all are chasing after your happiness and joy!
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gameoverman
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by gameoverman »

The photograph in that first post alone makes me envy you.
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Grifman
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Grifman »

I am going to contact you in a year. This is exactly what I want to to when I retire - buy a "Euro" van, have it outfitted, then hit the road.

That said, I can't get the videos to run. Any idea why not anyone?
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. – G.K. Chesterton
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dbt1949
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by dbt1949 »

Very impressive. Tiny House on wheels.
How did you drive to the offshore oil rigs?
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coopasonic
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by coopasonic »

Xmann wrote: Tue Jan 30, 2018 1:55 am you are living millions of people's dream soup.
Also what I would judge to be millions of people's nightmare.

My dream would be a small apartment with gigabit ethernet, huge TV/monitor, a kitchenette, bed, bath, treadmill, a secure location for deliveries, a good thai restuarant and a grocery in walking distance. So, basically the opposite of what soup has going on.

On the flip side, soup doing what soup does is part of what gives me the ability to do what I want to do. I can see the world through the eyes of another while they suffer the uncertainty of adventure. I can readily admit that everything soup has built is really, really cool.

My only regret would be (and is actually) that I love rock climbing and snowboarding, but hate travel, people and spending significant money on impermanent experiences. So many life choices, so many wrong answers.
-Coop
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Isgrimnur
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Isgrimnur »

coopasonic wrote: My only regret would be (and is actually) that I love rock climbing and snowboarding, but hate travel, people and spending significant money on impermanent experiences. So many life choices, so many wrong answers.
So you’re the anti-MHS. For the sake of humanity, I hope the two of you are never in the same room. The cataclysm would be devastating.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Xmann
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Xmann »

huh?

no idea what coopasonic is trying to say

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Kraken
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Kraken »

Xmann wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2018 12:16 pm huh?

no idea what coopasonic is trying to say

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Some people are participants in life, and others are observers. I'm an observer, like coop. We appreciate the efforts of all you participants to keep us edified and entertained.
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soup
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by soup »

hey y'all. some cool stuff happened over the winter.
my wife went to hawaii for a vacation(from me:) and left me alone in the van.
so i bought a https://mountaincollective.com/ pass(long time dream) and chased snow around the american west.
5 states, 8 resorts, 17 days skiing(and snowboarding) and 7880 miles.
all in 36 days...

made a quick n dirty video here:
https://vimeo.com/265454796

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Lassr
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Lassr »

Still jealous.

So cool, wish I could do something like this.
The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.

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naednek
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by naednek »

MAN I wish I had your video editing skills.
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soup
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by soup »

you have no idea how clueless i was(and still am) when i started trying to edit video.
it was like learning a new language. harder than that.

most of it was lynda.com and a lotta screen time.
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soup
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by soup »

Update: still living in a van.

We spent the last month or so in colorful CO. Mainly Salida, Silverton, Crested Butte, Durango, Carbondale, Leadville.
I did a multi-day bike packing trip on the Colorado trail and got my shit pushed in:


Also wanted to share a new gallery. Bunch of landscape-ish images taken over the past 2 years while roaming the USA/CANADA in a van:

https://scottgable.com/PROJECTS/WILD-PLACES/thumbs

A few:
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Right now we're overlooking Twin Lakes near Leadville in a unicorn campsite: Quiet, beautiful, private, LTE service, MTB trails. Like I said; unicorn. We'll probably stay for a week or so.
Peace out!
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Lassr
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Lassr »

Enlarge Image
The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.

Black Lives Matter
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Grifman
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Grifman »

coopasonic wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2018 8:52 am My only regret would be (and is actually) that I love rock climbing and snowboarding, but hate travel, people and spending significant money on impermanent experiences. So many life choices, so many wrong answers.
Everything you do is an impermanent experience.
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. – G.K. Chesterton
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Rumpy
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Rumpy »

Epic, just epic. Those pictures just don't do it justice, I'm sure. I really like what you've done with the lighting on some of them.
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Drazzil
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Drazzil »

Bitchin.
Daehawk wrote:Thats Drazzil's chair damnit.
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mori
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by mori »

Weren't you the guy that trespassed and bathed in peoples swimming pools biking across the country?
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soup
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by soup »

This October marks two years living nomadically.
Here’s a video:
https://vimeo.com/297238920
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em2nought
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by em2nought »

Some really beautiful sights in those photos. :wub:

Oh WOW, that video! Awesome! :wub: :wub: :wub:
Technically, he shouldn't be here.
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soup
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by soup »

Hola!
Checking in after a 72 day expedition down the Baja peninsula. Learned how to surf, took some mushrooms, did a bunch of spearfishing and drank a shit ton of tequila and tecates.
This 2 minute video is better than the stills:

https://vimeo.com/322518708


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Kelric
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Kelric »

:wub:
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geezer
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by geezer »

The video is really well done - absolutely fantastic sense of place. Was some of it shot with a wrist mounted action cam - can't figure out a couple of the angles :)

And the tonality on the last still of the egret/heron bird is really delicate - nice work.
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soup
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by soup »

Thanks! I bet the weird angles were just a gopro on a stick. I actually lost my brand new hero7 while down there. I had a TINY grain of sand in the seals and the whole thing got waterlogged. Dead gopro... Had a backup hero4 tho.
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Blackhawk
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Blackhawk »

Brilliant! You, sir, are good food. I'd love a year or two in your shoes.
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EvilHomer3k
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by EvilHomer3k »

I have no idea how I missed this thread for such a long time. Fantastic job on the van and the videos. One question. Why only one bike?
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Paingod
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Paingod »

That's awesome! I loved the video.

What kind of Drone do you use for your photography? I'm getting into them - I have a Mavic 2 Zoom coming tomorrow. Some of those shots looked like the "Hyperlapse" function on the Mavic 2 Pro.
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Z-Corn
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Z-Corn »

I invoked his name and he appeared!

As always, great stuff. Love following you guys vicariously.
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Isgrimnur
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Isgrimnur »

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:07 pm You, sir, are good food.
:clap:
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Smoove_B
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Smoove_B »

Yeah, you're living the dream and I'm glad you're popping back in to share your updates.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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soup
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by soup »

Yeah we’ve updgraded to 2 bikes now. At first we wanted everything inside but situations change.
And the drone is a phantom4 pro. I’ve owned an inspire and a phantom and for me the phantom pro is the best combo of size/portability and decent camera.

We woke up this am in Prescott AZ with 3 inches of snow on the ground. Did not expect that...
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LordMortis
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by LordMortis »

:envy:

But as stated by kraken and coop last year, I'm more of a have roots than a have wings sort of person. As described of me this weekend: "well, he would go to Disney with you...but... Disney's not in his house..." Still I can love what you do from the comfort of my monitor and keyboard.
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El Guapo
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by El Guapo »

LordMortis wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:49 pm :envy:

But as stated by kraken and coop last year, I'm more of a have roots than a have wings sort of person. As described of me this weekend: "well, he would go to Disney with you...but... Disney's not in his house..." Still I can love what you do from the comfort of my monitor and keyboard.
Personally I am wary at best of the outdoors. If the outdoors is so great, why did we go to the trouble of building all these buildings?

Still, pretty cool what you're doing. I would love to do the same for 1 - 3 months as long as I had people available to fix anything that happened to break.
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em2nought
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by em2nought »

Watching these videos makes me want to make my life "more" than it is, but I think I'm trapped for the foreseeable future at least. :doh:
Technically, he shouldn't be here.
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Paingod
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by Paingod »

soup wrote: Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:37 pmAnd the drone is a phantom4 pro. I’ve owned an inspire and a phantom and for me the phantom pro is the best combo of size/portability and decent camera.
I imagine the Inspire was almost too big to fit easily in the Scout. I can certainly see the Phantom 4 working in terms of space, though... :D ... I'm hoping my drone today is as awesome as I want it to be. I'd love to take pictures like this (a sample from someone else with the drone I'm getting):

Warning: Large JPG File Download

*Edit: Oh. I went looking for the Phantom 4's specs, and they're retiring it and redirecting people to the Mavic 2 Pro. It looks like they have similar cameras with that 1" CMOS / 20 Megapixel image capture.

Not that I want to be a competitor and travel the country like you do, but how do you locate drone gigs for photography? Do people find you, or do you search certain job sites? I'm interested in finding some local work once I get good enough to not feel like a fraud by offering my services.
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soup
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Re: My lifestyle experiment

Post by soup »

As far as drone work goes: I already had an established photo business and I just kind of added drones as an extra. I have a rep that gets me work through ad agencies and we relentlessly self market ourselves too.

Im sure you know to fly for pay you need the FAA 107 cert. Its not a hard test, but you should do it.
I've heard of people getting drone work for real estate and power/telcom companies(checking transmission lines & towers).
Good luck!
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