Frequently Asked Questions
Something you want to know? Ask me here!
Table of Contents
- What kind of van was it?
- How did you poop?
- How did you shower?
- Where did you go?
- Did your van have solar panels?
- What did you do for electricity?
- How did you keep food cold?
- Did you get lonely?
Questions and Answers
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What kind of van was it?
It was a 92D190V. That’s how other Roadtrek owners refer to a 1992 Dodge Roadtrek 190 Versatile. The 190 means it’s 19ft (5.8m) from bumper to bumper. Versatile refers to the van’s footprint: four total seat-buckled seats, as opposed to the Roadtrek Popular which only has three.
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Where did you go?
I started in San Francisco in mid-February. I made my way down the California coast, stopping by Big Sur, the central coast cities, and LA, before stopping in San Diego. I then went to before coming back to SF. Next was Yosemite, after which I headed for the desert.
After visiting a series of parks in the Southwest, I stopped by Santa Fe before heading to my dad’s house in Dallas. I rested there for a bit before heading to Austin, TX for a music festival. From there I went deeper south to Big Bend, which was one of my very favorite stops on the trip. Next I headed north, stopping by national parks on my way to Salt Lake City. It was there that I somewhat-randomly got backstage passes to see P!NK in concert.
After SLC I went to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, another highlight of the trip. From there I made a beeline eastward toward Chicago, stopping by the Badlands, Devil’s Tower, and Mt. Rushmore on the way. I spent a long time in Chicago before heading to Detroit to visit the Henry Ford museum, after which I went to Niagra Falls. From there I went to Letchworth State Park in Upstate NY, and then Hartford, CT. I spent the whole summer in New England, including an entire month on Martha’s Vineyard, a week at Acadia, and a week at a Buddhist monastery.
As summer drew to a close I headed south, stopping by various Civil War battlefields that were of interest to me. On my way to the Great Smokey Mountains I had my (mechanical) breakdown. I went back to Dallas to get everything fixed up, and then drove straight across the country to LA to meet a friend at a music festival. From there I made my way back up the California coast, spending more time in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. Finally, I ended up back in SF where I lived on the streets for 6 weeks while I worked on selling the van.
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How did you keep food cold?
The fridge built in my Roadtrek could be powered in three ways: shore power, the coach battery, and propane. With propane I could keep it cold when I was holding still for several days, but I rarely used this feature. Instead, I found a fancy marine fridge on sale and used that for everything. This way I could keep things cold with only battery power, and boy could that thing get cold!