So hello and welcome to FlyCamper, this is the very first article and I wanted to first start with the reasoning behind why I am getting involved with #vanlife, and share a little bit about where I am at so far.
Motivation
One of the main reasons why I wanted to start my blog about the FlyCamper, was so that I could interact with our awesome community. By establishing the website and social media channels I am going to be able to connect authentically with other campers and van lifers, as well as share my own story, and share the advice that I get as well as just general tips and tricks along the way. I knew I couldn’t do this on my own, and so being backed up by a massive community helps give me to the motivation to get out there and actually do this!
Van life Lifestyle
My current lifestyle is very high stress. I work a very high stakes job, and living in the hustle and bustle of Sydney means that its very difficult to manage my own stress levels. Van life to me has great appeal as a lifestyle factor; slow travel, stopping to smell the roses – that kind of thing. Van life also gives the flexibility to become financially independent (and work optional) much quicker than a conventional lifestyle in Sydney.
There are many alternative income streams that can be generated during Van life, especially those coming under the umbrella term ‘Digital Nomad’ (such as graphic or web design, social media and digital marketing services). Because your cost overheads are so low, you need to earn less from your active income and investments. Everything sounds like it just ‘backs off the gas’ a bit and life gets a bit simpler. I don’t envisage leaving my flying job anytime soon, and so plan to live and fly out of the van as I continue to build up my investments, passive income and digital businesses towards reaching financial independence.
Whilst I don’t imagine raising kids in the Van Life, it provides a high level of freedom and flexibility in the lifestyle I can live now. It leads perfectly into my pursuit of finding a large acreage somewhere with a cool climate to build a homestead and raise a family; actually the plan is to live in the FlyCamper whilst I build my giant food forest ‘reverse-aviary’ (basically a giant netted enclosure to keep birds out), plant my estimated 500 fruit trees and build the future family home/cabin.
Budget
Speaking of financial independence, the FlyCamper concept is something that really appealed to me from a financial security perspective. My current best estimates for the project budget is around $40,000. This includes a budget of $20,000 for a second hand Sprinter (or similar such as the Transit), $15,000 for materials to conduct the conversion and a $5,000 miscellaneous fund which will include skilled labour (trades-person to assist installing the solar and electrical system), tool purchase and/or hire, and classes / workshops to develop my own skills in ways I can’t learn from YouTube.
For perspective, I currently spend $2,200 per month on rent in Sydney, for a one bedroom apartment. That is $26,400 a year! So when you consider that the FlyCamper is a one-off cost of $40,000, that really only equates to 18 months of rent. Furthermore, I can (and am currently) selling down my possessions in the apartment with everything currently going into my brokerage account to buy index funds, or into my mortgage offset on the investment property. I plan to sell my current car and then raid the mortgage offset account when needed to cover the cost difference for the Van, and then as I slowly complete the van build on the weekends I will use my future paychecks (and dividend income) to cover the cost of each item as it comes up.
In terms of labour cost, I’m expecting to spend around 500 hours of my own time on this project from go to whoa, starting from researching and learning, to buying the van and all the way through converting it. Given my current wage as a professional pilot is around $180 an hour, that is about $90,000 worth of opportunity cost. But I don’t mind, because this is a fun project I am doing for recreation in my down time. I don’t really want to just go out and buy a ready made van.
Schedule
The schedule is very relaxed. I am roughly looking to buy a second hand high top LWB van sometime this year (2020), but we will see how it goes. Once I have the van I can then reassess the situation and confirm the floor plans. I am pretty flexible, and know roughly what I want, but I expect the van conversion to take at least 12 months, or the entirety of 2021, to ideally have the van completed sometime in 2022 while I am still 30. This relaxed pace is because I am only budgeting up to 8 hours of work on a weekend, split between a Saturday and a Sunday (which is quite a chill rate of effort), as well as the odd couple of hours here or there after work during the week.
I have seen comparable complex builds take experienced couples such as Eamon and Bec over 3 months working part time, or probably around 300 hours worth of work; That represents a labour cost of somewhere between $15-30K, so its easy to understand why ready made vans from conversion companies can cost around $50,000 to $150,000 depending on complexity and whether the base van is new or not.
Quality
I am aiming to finish the FlyCamper to a high degree of quality. As a former Aeronautical Engineer with a Masters degree in Satellite systems design and extensive software and IT experience, I set myself high quality standards. I also accept nothing less than perfection with my current employment as a professional pilot – something which I actually think works against me sometimes (perfection is the enemy of progress) and I am going to need to manage my own stress and anxiety levels regarding perfection when it comes to the van build.
In terms of what I want in the Van, to quote a famous artist “I want it ALL”. This is somewhat at odds with my lifestyle philosophy as a pseudo-minimalist. I will certainly be adopting a minimalist design philosophy to ensure an efficient design. In such a small space it is paramount to optimise everything, which sends my engineering brain neurons into overdrive, firing about all the neat little tricks and hacks I can use.
I will go into the wish list in this separate article but I am looking for includes
- spray foam insulation
- LED downlights
- a fixed shower
- kitchen (fridge, LPG oven and stove-top, freezer, microwave, espresso machine)
- 100L+ potable water tank with water heater
- around 600 Ah of lithium ion battery bank
- a 600W+ solar system
- inverter with USB and 240V plugs
- electrical reverse cycle air conditioning and max flow fan,
- dual bedside windows
- and the absolute ‘pièce de résistance’ would be a very small portable wood burning stove with a flu that ports out of the side of the van for ultimate winter camping. I would also like roof racks and potentially rear storage lockers for storing additional LPG and fuel.
Weight
The current weight estimate from the spreadsheet is sitting 100kg below the maximum load of a standard MWB Sprinter. I am documenting this carefully because in Australia this is something that police (highway patrol and traffic cops) really smash people over, and if you exceed the limit you can get a massive fine and have to get it certified. Some people are a bit cheeky and will make sure they travel with empty water tanks and simply stock up whenever they get to their destination, or feel they are remote enough to avoid police. Ultimately though, for my own safety, fuel consumption, insurance compliance and longevity of the vehicle I want to make sure I am making the van as light as possible.
Travel
The lifestyle flexibility means when I need to take time off work to visit family, I can simply take the leave from work, charge up the batteries and fill the tanks and then blast off interstate, with all the mod cons and luxuries of home. It also means I can slow tour the country, and afford to take time out to just enjoy the area as opposed to what I normally do which is drive full at throttle, balls-to-the-wall pace so I don’t have to stay in a Hotel en-route.
Choosing a van
Choosing a van will likely be a tricky subject, but as a first pass I am looking at a Mercedes Sprinter or Ford Transit. It needs to be high top, and at least the medium wheel base, or long wheel base version. Ideally I don’t want windows (but would accept forward cargo area windows) as this would be something I add to the rear of the Van later to get cross flow ventilation for the bed. I am budgeting around $20,000 at the moment, and this looks like it is getting me a van that is 5-10 years old with around 200,000km on the clock. I plan to keep this van for life, so expect to have to do some major mechanical repairs to it so I am not too bothered by this age or mileage too much. A 4×4 sprinter would be AWESOME, and I have seen ex defence force ambulances for sale but they are a horrible green color – ideally the FlyCamper is just white for optimum stealth camping!
Summary
Well that is it guys, my ideas for creating the FlyCamper. I would love to hear your thoughts and whether you think I am crazy or not 😁
