Viking... Hola : )
my first reply was eaten by the neighbor's dog, so lemmee try again..
first off, & before anything else, you have to make sure you have the resources in place for the two of you to take care of the child, in case the vehicle shits it.
Have work lined up, or good leads from point to point, make sure you have folks you can hang with, etc.
If she hasn't already, see what mom can do about any non-confining social service benefits..
if you're going to be doing any wwoofing of agricultural stuff, talk to pros... the are people who raise entire *families* on the road, though they do it as organized laborers.
have at least a grand (or near it) put aside for nothing other than child emergencies.
when you & mom are comfortable with being able to step out, *then* the van will be ready at its barest minimum.
traveling with an infant is probably pretty damn cool..
i've spoken to a lot of parents who have done it & they've said it's the best time, because because the state has very little legal hold on where the child must be.
i've talked to others who wanted to, but didn't, & they regret it, because once the kid needs to be in school, all kinds of obligations & complications take hold, and traveling is generally off the table.
also, little kids, & i mean 1 - 5 year olds are *smart* little thingummies, and traveling even that early in life makes a *huge* impact on personal ethics, perceptions, social skills, empathy, intelligence, inquisitiveness, etc..
traveling with a small child is a great idea, but as yer fully aware, the kid comes first, & rigging the van out for the same purpose means that first & foremost it has to be seen not just as a shelter, but as a protective enclosure.
the main issue will be the crib.
it needs to be able, as much as possible, to survive a head on or multiple rollover.
i'm just going to throw a crazy idea out, but what about a fire safe, old valuables safe or an old gun locker?
3/8" - 1/2" steel, box or cage, 3" memory foam padding, etc.. bolted to the frame.
just an idea, but the crib/child space has to be addressed from the perspective of survivability.
secondly, insulation.
traveling guys don't need to worry too much about much more than their sleeping bag & their coats, but you might want to look at what people have done for low cost van insulation.
-if you go in the van, are you going to do a full teardown & rebuild on the interior?
along the same line, heat.
there are a lot of small propane heaters out there that are sufficient for a van, but with a child you'll need to look at additional venting & guarding, as well as where you will stow your tank.
thirdly, water.
you'll need at least a 5 gallon reserve tank (about 2 days for a family), as well access to your standard water supply.
one possibility is a hand operated air-pump sprayer.
they can be used as an effective on demand system.
if you have a 5 gallon main tank, you should be able to get away with two 1 gallon bottles stored out of reach, for backup.
4thly, cooking;
i'm a die hard advocate of gasoline stoves.
you can get them from 1 to 3 burners, with 2 being common & easy to find used for $20 or less.
practice with the fuckers, away from anything flammable or consumable, until you get the art of lighting & regulation down.
they are cantankerous fuckers, too, & require cleaning, repair (pump seals, typically) & often enough replacement.
they are, however, the absolutely cheapest form of cooking you can do on the road, unless you decide to deal with propane tank swapping, multiple propane tanks or propane hose extensions, (to get to picnic tables).
the thing i like, even though propane by swap out may be as cheap, & def. cleaner, is that if you run out of fuel you only need about a pint of gasoline to do two decent meals, & you have a much better idea of how much fuel you have left..
but gasoline stoves are def dirtier & more inconvenient, unless you put in the time (&pain) to learn how to maintain the fuckers.
the same is true of gasoline lanterns.
i personalty am not fond at all of white LED light.
if you decide to go the route of 12v incandescent, with long cords & separate battery, or rechargeable table lamps or whatever, that's the top of the convenience list.
pressurized gasoline lamps last a long fucking time, & are the brightest fully portable source you can get (unless you use small propane canisters), but the thorium fabric mantles are fragile.
another option i've looked at, but haven't used, are the old Alladin style kerosene lamps with a ceramic-thorium illuminator (these things were designed back in the 1880's, i believe)... they appear to be pretty rugged & inexpensive.
hell.. i might try & experiment with one, at some point, to make a kero stove.. all you need is an old kero lantern & the ceramic mantle.. but, i don't have 1st hand knowledge.
all this being said, there is always the problem of gasoline fumes, so that shit needs to be stowed outside, for sure, another disadvantage against propane..
finally (uhmm.. almost), for the moment, is the rig registered as an RV?
what state are you in?
FL allows re-titling of a van or bus to RV by affidavit.
an RV is way cheaper to insure than a van, and the advantages of an RV title are well documented in the StP archives..
one thing in particular are that seatbelt laws are less stringent for RVs.. this is relevant, because on of the biggest space-saving things you can do is pull out the front passenger seat. put your icebox there & use it as a box seat..
anyways.. i think you'll have fun..
some work ahead, but not too bad..
i hope i make it to the jambo.. that's the next post up..
arrrghhh... &;(#)
