Building the right kind of RV

Well before I build the RV I had quite a few things to consider since I will be crossing borders and with them: laws. So I’d like to go after a nomadic lifestyle with Willie. But what do I want, what do I need. Let’s break up all the needs and wishes into basic categories:

1. Travelling
2. Eating, sleeping, and hygiene
3. Fun and adventures
4. Working
5. Laws and safety

 

Travelling

I think the traveling point is pretty much self-explaining. Or is it? I’m going to travel with the Yellow Hellmachine mostly off highways and similar stuff. So I will not be going fast that’s for sure. But: I will not travel solo the whole time. Naturally, the other categories will be affected by it. The plan is that friends will visit me from time to time, I pick them up at the airport, go through a vacation with them and bring them back to the airport when their holidays end.

 

Eating, sleeping, and hygiene

I definitely like to eat good and quite a lot if I am honest with you. So I need something long lasting and with more than just one single option to heat things. For sleeping, I have to consider that there will be visitors from time to time so there has to be enough space for two people to sleep reasonably comfortable in the car. For Hygiene its pretty straight forward: Washing and brushing my teeth is a must and a full grown shower from time to time. Also for two persons obviously.

 

Fun and adventures 

While traveling I need a little bit of fun which directly translates to visiting places, taking pictures, making videos, flying the drone and doing sports. Not the hardest category but still not just nothing.

I will have to charge my electrical devices almost on daily basis so I will need a power source even when I’m stationary for a week or two. Just running the Engine is a waste of money and simply does not fit into my mindset. So solar power is definitely the way to go.

For sports, I’d like to take my bike with me, also because it may come really handy within cities. I do not want to transport the bike externally since the car should be as stealthy as possible. More on that later.

 

Working

Well, this is fairly easy since I will be within the European Union and I am an Austrian citizen. So I can take each and every exciting opportunity along the way that suits me to gain experience and a little bit of money to stretch the trip even further.

I even have a few job offers located in Athens already in my Mailbox which I will eventually check out when I’m in Greece and the Idea of staying a while will become more and more tempting. Since most of those jobs offer a free beginners course for language and culture it may be worth giving it a shot.

 

Laws and safety

 

Within the EU there are currently 28 states who all have different laws. “No shit Sherlock?” – I know. So the laws, which I need to consider the most are camping, RVing and sleeping in the car.

The allowance of wild camping and sleeping in the car within the European Union vary and are sometimes gray areas. As in Austria, for example, it is not particularly forbidden but almost every piece of land has an owner who will not react very nice to you setting up a camp and lighting a fire without allowance.

This brings me to the simple conclusion that my vehicle has to be as stealthy as possible and can be locked up over night so nobody can tell if the car is just parked, or if there is someone sleeping inside. The fact that nobody can see what’s inside may even prevent “smash and grab” – not that the EU is full of criminals but let’s be realistic here and admit that things happen.

 

Pretty much to consider right? Well yes but everything is manageable within a reasonable budget and there is nothing too complicated in it. The gas stove would need an inspection and the rest will be done by myself with a little bit of help on the solar system since I have a friend who is experienced with this topic. The fact saves me lots of time “reading the internet” and also gives me a far better feeling in my stomach – even if I think I would be capable of installing the system.

The Yellow Hellmachine is almost finished at the moment I’m writing this very article and you will understand why I was not able to do both blog and conversion at the same time.