Divorce Vehicle - Need Tips

Haven't heard of that one before, I'll check it out!

 

I've contemplated a van on many occasions. And yes, I've even thought about using a portable a/c in one. But the problem with that is...

You either need to be plugged in to shore power to use the a/c, or, as you said, a generator has to be used. The issue with plugging into shore power is a financial one...you need to be at a campground to get it, and campgrounds are expensive. The LEAST expensive one here in NJ is $25 per night, and that's only because it's actually a wooded reservation on state land. And it is literally the only one in the entire state that has hookup's. Most traditional campgrounds starts at $40 or $50 per night. As for the generator...

Since I will be mostly boondocking (parking in the parking lot with other vehicles) at truck stops, Walmarts, casinos, etc., generator usage will not be permitted, nor would it be appreciated by those in close proximity. If I lived out west where there was tons of BLM land, and one could just drive into the desert and set up camp, then yes, I would certainly use a generator. But for boondocking it's not a possibility. Which brings me back to the big appeal of the Prius'. I can gladly sacrifice shower facilities. I can gladly sacrifice cooking facilities. And I can gladly sacrifice sleeping in a traditional bed. But one thing which I will not sacrifice is staying cool in the heat and keeping warm in the cold.

And thanks for your comments about the social programs, but I'm in good health, am fairly well educated, and live in the NE, where finding work isn't too difficult. IMO, there are better options at my disposal.

 

Thanks for the links, I'll look into those. To me, one of the fun things will be setting up my little house on wheels. I've seen some really amazing things people have done with their Prius'.

 

Thanks, Leadfoot. As I said before, my major worry is a battery failure. On top of that, I would hope the batteries tend to die slowly, over time, with sufficient warnings via the dash icons. It would be pretty upsetting to be driving and the battery suddenly dies, or I try starting the car one day and it's completely dead...which happens all of the time with traditional vehicles. The only difference here being a traditional car battery can easily be replaced for $100, versus the $1,000+ on the Prius'...plus the specialized labor to install it.

I can see something like you described with the self-drivable homes becoming a reality one day. I think/hope that society is finally starting to figure out that it's not all about "things", and having more, more, more. There's something to be said about simplicity. Sometimes, less is truly more.

 

Yes, I've seen similar mods. It really is amazing how little space we need, if we think about it. Of course, not everyone wants to live in a car, and I understand that, but the point being that, of all the stuff we usually have in our lives, probably 95% of it isn't needed at all.

Even in a house or apartment, if you think logically about it, most of the time you aren't there. It's basically a place to eat, crap, sleep & shower. Which is why I sometimes laugh when I see these celebrities that have ten and twenty million dollar homes.

 

Exactly, as I've mentioned in prior replies, I have indeed entertained the van option before. But being that I'm not technically minded at ALL, doing the wiring work, construction stuff, etc. would be above my abilities. Which means it would also be expensive and time consuming. The much easier option is simply buying a Prius, which already has everything I need ready to go. Yes, buying an earlier model will be a roll of the dice, but I would be taking the same risk with an older van or RV, too. And as Starship said, the other angle is the mileage. As I will probably be doing a lot of driving, every penny saved will be a penny earned.

All older, high mileage vehicles present risks, no way around that. The main downside of the Prius though, is that they're a lot more expensive to fix. For me however, the upsides (on-demand climate control, superior gas mileage & being able to blend in with other vehicles) makes the risk is bit more tolerable.

If anyone hasn't already, please look up "living in a prius" on Youtube. You will be amazed at some of the ingenious set-ups. Many have stoves in the vehicles, porta-potties, showers attached to the roof racks, etc. Which makes living in one far from uncomfortable. Some might consider it an unpleasant way to survive, and for them, that may be true. But it certainly beats sleeping under a bridge or in a shelter. It's basically just a very small apartment on wheels.

 

To be candid, if I didn't need the climate control or the excellent gas mileage, I would ABSOLUTELY go for a van or small RV over a car. The ability to stand up and the added headroom would be awfully nice to have. So for everyone who has suggested it, I know why, and it makes a lot of sense. But it's very tough for me to neglect the climate control option and bigger fuel savings by going with the Prius.

 

Agreed! I'm sure most of us could live in that pretty comfortably. Again, yes, there are roomier/better options than living in a vehicle, but if one has to do it, or wants to do it, it can be done where it's pretty close to being in a conventional home.

But as your photo above proves, ANY older vehicle (Prius, van, RV, etc.) is a gamble. While that set-up is VERY nice, 285,000 would be a bit high on the mileage, even for my tastes.

 

One thing I'd like to point out here, which I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed, is...

Craigslist has become a breeding ground for unscrupulous dealers. I say this because when you search for cars, there's an option to filter out dealers, which I always do, however, a good 8 out of 10 listings are from dealers anyway, which really defeats the purpose. I don't know why CL doesn't crack down on this, as it really hurts the site, IMO. Many people prefer only dealing with private parties (which is why they offer the filtering option to begin with), but since the dealers all post as private parties, it's hugely inconvenient.

You can usually tell the dealer ads from private party ads based on how the photos are taken, the backdrops (which you'll see in many different ads), the wording in the ads, etc.

And it's not just Craigslist, either. I've seen the same thing on Auto Trader and numerous other sites. On the one hand it's understandable, as these websites need to make money, and there are only a small amount of private sales to go around. The bigger profit comes from dealer advertising, which is fine. But my gripe is when dealers try to hoodwink the public by making their ads SEEM like they are an individual selling a vehicle.

 

Yep, precisely. My beef isn't that dealers are posting, they have to make money too. The issue is WHERE they're posting. It makes it a PITA to have to scroll through the listings and cherry pick only those from private parties.

Someone mentioned looking on eBay, but I've never bought anything on there before, and unless the seller was local, I wouldn't even consider buying a car before looking at it in person.