How do you afford gas when living in a van?

[Matt Derrick]

Damn my Cummins diesel engine on my school bus only got 10mpg and I was thinking that's pretty fucking good.

 

[Matt Derrick]

How much are those Mercedes tho? Looks expensive

 

[yoder]

The engine im talking about is the inline 6 Cummings that are in all dodge 2500 diesels
put a bigger exhaust, 5 inch let it breath
manual trans get a 6speed or more,
Fuel injectors
turbo is a must w/intercooler(dramastic difference in mpg)
chip if its 97 or newer


Now Ups has a 4bt moter( 4 cylinder Cummings diesel) in there trucks. 30+mpg
You can get them at auctions for 3-6 grand

The Cummings in your bus is probably a tank...
Pull down a house...

 

[yoder]

Mercedes e350van 30-50gs New
But in the next 5-10years you'll be able to pick up a used one
Real low cheap...

 

[Matt Derrick]

The engine im talking about is the inline 6 Cummings that are in all dodge 2500 diesels
put a bigger exhaust, 5 inch let it breath
manual trans get a 6speed or more,
Fuel injectors
turbo is a must w/intercooler(dramastic difference in mpg)
chip if its 97 or newer


Now Ups has a 4bt moter( 4 cylinder Cummings diesel) in there trucks. 30+mpg
You can get them at auctions for 3-6 grand

The Cummings in your bus is probably a tank...
Pull down a house...

yeah, i was able to tow my friends short bus with my full size bus and my friend's ford explorer down the west coast (separate occasions).

what is 'chip if its 97 or newer' mean?

i'm curious since I'm thinking about getting another short bus/van to live in next year, and i want to do a veg oil conversion (i have a decent amount of experience with conversions on other people's vehicles).

 

[yoder]

1st Generation Dodge Diesel Trucks 1989 –1993

2nd Generation Dodge Diesel Trucks 1994 –2002

3rd Generation Dodge Diesel Trucks 2003 –2009

2 versions of the 5.9 Cummins in 1998, a 12 valve and a 24 valve. The 12 valve is sought after by most folks for longevity, power and mpg. The 24 valve engine made considerably more power but at the expense of reliability and fuel mileage.

So to answer your question... 1998 and later you are able to plug in a computer chip/little monitor screen. Your able to modify your engine electronicly through this chip to increase horsepower for towing or modify it to get max fuel mileage.

1997 and older use a pea pump
So all you can do is upgrade your injectors...

 

[Deleted member 20]

Dont forget about the dodge rot. Cummins are great but the frames/bodies of the trucks they came in suck with rust/rot issues. Great for converting from gas. Id rather have a small ford van, shuttle bus or skoolie with a 7.3 just because they are super cheap & readily available. The fiberglass bodies of the many shuttle busses make spacious rvs & can fit in a normal parking spot & park legally on most streets if need be.

 

[yoder]

This is very ture...

 

[fotorebelion]

Heyi am alsoa vn dweller .. The best way to cut dow. On your gas prices for is as mentioned above.. Drive as least as possible.. Put a bike carrier on the back use it get around town..i also did some random material carring fror bands or beer run for giggs.. Also keep the weight down... The harder engine has to work to more gas it burns..
Also the type of van you have is the most important... I am driving a 70s light utility vechicle.. Its big enough to live in small enough to get good gpm!!!! Also go diesle… you can cut by even half with used frying oil you can skip form a resturant... Also cheat with the red diesle..…but my fav is directly stealing it.. I keep some jerry cans and hose..and on the scout for left alone trucks parked at night...caution you dont pick a semi with the driver sleeping inside lol... Most often especially on the older ones the tank caps dont have locks..the best is when they are sidewalk side... Just feed the hose to the bottom of the tank and give a big suck eventually it will flow out dont worry youll learn to like the taste..lol. Just the other day i took from a delivery truck enough to fill up my van 3 times...thats like some 700miles

 

[vantramp2016]

i"ll be doing a WVO conversion on my sprinter van. i don't want to have to depend on opec and i want to be as self sustainable as possible!!! i drive an old MB 300D on veg oil and i hvent hit the fuel island in years

 

[drecc]

I really like the idea of living in a van, but vans usually get really bad mpg, so how do you folks afford all that gas? If there are any tips and tricks to get gas, let me know! Thanks much!

 

[drecc]

I really like the idea of living in a van, but vans usually get really bad mpg, so how do you folks afford all that gas? If there are any tips and tricks to get gas, let me know! Thanks much!

Pull up to gas station and ask for some gas. I did it today and got half a tank in less than a half hour. Seems people would rather give you gas than cash.

 

[technotrash]

work temp gigs, drive really slow and stay in one place longer.

Cannot stress drive slowly enough. But not too slow! Most vehicles have a "sweet spot" between 50 and 60 mph, above 60 or so your efficiency drops fast

 

[drynyn]

Assuming you have enough resources to invest in that, you can just earn 30-40 a day doing surveys for psychological researchers on amazon mechanical turk. Each one pays about 50 cents to 10 dollars.

Libraries and Macdonalds means that you won't need to spend any cash on mobile data.

Also if you aren't american you might have issues with mechanical turk, i.e this is what I get:
"
Your Amazon Mechanical Turk Account has been reviewed
Your registration with Amazon Mechanical Turk has been declined. Unfortunately, you are not permitted to work on Mechanical Turk. Our account review criteria are proprietary and we cannot disclose the reason why an invitation to complete registration has been denied. If our criteria for invitation changes, you may be invited to complete registration in the future. Thank you for your interest in Mechanical Turk.
"

 

[Naomi Leigh]

In the whole year and a half I have been on the road my boyfriend and I have never had any trouble gas jugging. If a cop shows up, just go on your way. I personally do not like flying signs for gas (Oregon and New Jersey are different situations all together though ::shifty: but I swear by gas jugging and even when we are stuck in an area for a month or so we still somehow find a way to get by without paying for gas.

My first vehicle I took on the road was a little Chevy Tracker and now I have a 1994 Ford Econoline conversion van that has a v8 engine instead of a v6. Obviously it was way quicker to fill the Tracker but the van holds so much more gallons of gas and although the engine is more powerful it runs out slower than the Tracker would have if that makes sense. So it is totally worth it for me!

I was nervous when I first started gas jugging by myself but you quickly get into the flow of things and it still blows my mind every time someone decides to help us. You can't forget how to be grateful for things, even if it is just a $3 gallon of gas.

This is how my boyfriend (the juggernaut) goes about it:

"Excuse me sir/ma'am; I am sorry to bother you and I am not asking you for any money at all but me and my fiancé are just totally running on E and were wondering if you could spare a little bit of gas?"

It is good not to ask for money when you are jugging so they will not lump you into the "average" panhandler group and once they start filling the jug or put the hose into he tank Hopper will start telling them where we are going, where we came from, car troubles along the way, how it has been a hard trip but we are so close to our destination, and how much this means to us.

"Thank you so much for this, we really appreciate it. God bless you ma'am. Thanks again!"

I hope this helps a little bit, good luck

 

[VanScribed Goat]

If you have enough to afford a van you probably have enough to afford a tablet with a wireless plan. T-mobile is 30 bucks a month for unlimited data and texting prepaid monthly, if you're smart you can use Google Voice for calling since it runs on data. Assuming you have enough resources to invest in that, you can just earn 30-40 a day doing surveys for psychological researchers on amazon mechanical turk. Each one pays about 50 cents to 10 dollars. Plug in when you need a charge, use amazon payments to drop your earnings into your bank account. Run with a credit union because they're all networked together and you can withdraw cash with no penalty just about anywhere where a credit union is. I lost my job awhile back and I've been holding down a studio apartment on just surveys alone.

Actually living this way out of a van or on the road would probably be safer and the only way to go about it. A tablet would probably get you shanked train hopping or squatting. On a really good day I can manage to get about 60 bucks. Of course it would probably be better to find temp work here and there, but if you're ever in a situation where you can't find anything it's nice to have around and would probably keep you afloat. It's basically saving my ass ATM. Assuming you had data coverage or access to wifi it would work out. I'll be honest, it's not that great for holding down an apartment but it would be perfect for living on the road. I'm currently saving up for a conversion van and paying my rent on it alone.

It's been a hell of a time getting approval to join mechanical turk. I've been trying to get in on it but no success yet

 

[wonder]

uship.com is a good website to use to find packages and other things to deliver

 

[happythoughts123]

If you have enough to afford a van you probably have enough to afford a tablet with a wireless plan. T-mobile is 30 bucks a month for unlimited data and texting prepaid monthly, if you're smart you can use Google Voice for calling since it runs on data. Assuming you have enough resources to invest in that, you can just earn 30-40 a day doing surveys for psychological researchers on amazon mechanical turk. Each one pays about 50 cents to 10 dollars. Plug in when you need a charge, use amazon payments to drop your earnings into your bank account. Run with a credit union because they're all networked together and you can withdraw cash with no penalty just about anywhere where a credit union is. I lost my job awhile back and I've been holding down a studio apartment on just surveys alone.

Actually living this way out of a van or on the road would probably be safer and the only way to go about it. A tablet would probably get you shanked train hopping or squatting. On a really good day I can manage to get about 60 bucks. Of course it would probably be better to find temp work here and there, but if you're ever in a situation where you can't find anything it's nice to have around and would probably keep you afloat. It's basically saving my ass ATM. Assuming you had data coverage or access to wifi it would work out. I'll be honest, it's not that great for holding down an apartment but it would be perfect for living on the road. I'm currently saving up for a conversion van and paying my rent on it alone.

Just curious, how much time do you spend per day filling out those surveys? And how much money does it gain?

 

[happythoughts123]

Heyi am alsoa vn dweller .. The best way to cut dow. On your gas prices for is as mentioned above.. Drive as least as possible.. Put a bike carrier on the back use it get around town..i also did some random material carring fror bands or beer run for giggs.. Also keep the weight down... The harder engine has to work to more gas it burns..
Also the type of van you have is the most important... I am driving a 70s light utility vechicle.. Its big enough to live in small enough to get good gpm!!!! Also go diesle… you can cut by even half with used frying oil you can skip form a resturant... Also cheat with the red diesle..…but my fav is directly stealing it.. I keep some jerry cans and hose..and on the scout for left alone trucks parked at night...caution you dont pick a semi with the driver sleeping inside lol... Most often especially on the older ones the tank caps dont have locks..the best is when they are sidewalk side... Just feed the hose to the bottom of the tank and give a big suck eventually it will flow out dont worry youll learn to like the taste..lol. Just the other day i took from a delivery truck enough to fill up my van 3 times...thats like some 700miles

Why don't you just get a real siphon no need to suck that thing

 

[Wild Ty Laserbeam]

Id rather have a small ford van, shuttle bus or skoolie with a 7.3 just because they are super cheap & readily available. The fiberglass bodies of the many shuttle busses make spacious rvs & can fit in a normal parking spot & park legally on most streets if need be.

Just a quick side note. I live in fiberglass shuttle bus (7.3 actually) and I want to note that these things get the rot bad. Mines an 02 and I had to replace the entire floor and ceiling for to water damage. I've patched the roof so much but it still leaks. It's a great amount io space and I love it but these fiberglass boxes are really prpoor built