the cons of buying an old van for van life

Hi, my name is Alyssa Vanilla. I drive a 1990 GMC Safari and it f***ing sucks. Sorry that my bed is only half made but if you guys were my real friends you would come over even when my room is messy. First, who wants to guess what the 12th decimal pi is and also if having a 30 plus year old van is worth it? Show of hands. I will tell you as somebody who owns one, I can't say. What I can say is Miss Stevie Ray Van here has been a pain in the ass and I say that with love. So it's hot as balls. It's summertime and I no longer have AC in this van. It just blows hot air which is cool because I don't even need AC. I like getting a migraine every time I drive in this oven on wheels for more than five minutes. Super annoying right now because it's way too windy to film outside but it's so hot sitting in here with all the windows rolled up because the wind noise would be too much. Classic Alyssa Vanilla with the toilet paper dabs. So I took Stevie in for inspection for an AC check. It is summer. They told me that the compressor was leaking and that it would cost $1,700 to fix it. Just for reference, I bought this entire van for $2,800. Now you might be saying, what did you expect? You bought a vehicle older than you with a lot of miles just because it looked cool. And you'd be correct. Except when I bought the van, I literally took it to a mechanic like three different times and every single time I took it for inspection because I was paranoid about having an old van, they told me that everything was fine. I replaced the serpentine belt which was given. It was the original one, it was old. And then everything was fine and they repeatedly told me afterwards, everything is fine. I'm glistening. I don't know if it's the van's size or maybe that it's just getting too old. So either the other mechanics missed these things, the van is just quickly deteriorating, or they're trying to get one over on a young woman who knows nothing about cars. And I mean maybe it's a combination of all three. But you know what I do know something about? This EverFun insulated cooler backpack. More convenient than carrying around the entire fridge, especially for certain adventures when I'm just going on a hike and I want to bring cold drinks. This cooler backpack, cooler and backpack, is perfect because I can carry it on my shoulders and it's not heavy at all. It's super lightweight and I don't have to lug around a big bulky plastic one that hurts my shins. And who doesn't love having a fun drink? I think one of my favorite features are these padded straps. They're super super comfortable. They're not those thin backpack straps that usually come on backpacks that really dig into your shoulders. These are super squishy and comfy. It also keeps drinks cold for 20 hours which is a very long time. And it's leak-proof so don't worry about throwing some ice in here. And that leak-proof interior also makes it very easy to clean. As you can see, just a quick swipe with a paper towel on that and any sticky drink residue is gone. There's definitely quite a bit of room in here as you can see. So here's me a human, here's my human arm. My whole arm! I'm not gonna put on my head cuz I'm too hot. But it could easily fit a whole human head, maybe even two. Also got all these cool little separate zipper pouches that are also insulated. My hairbrush is in there. You can keep fun snacks in or miscellaneous as you can see. Holder here, pocket here, pocket here. It's really a nice little backpack to keep all of your things organized and also cool. Thank you Everfine for my nice wonderful new insulated cooler backpack. Now I do want to make it clear, I did not buy this van because I wanted a project. I bought this van because I couldn't afford anything else. Anyone thinking I just wanted to be a cute van lifer is wrong. I used to live in my car and I liked it 1,000 times better than this. Not just because of the mechanic issues but personally, this might sound crazy, I just liked living in a car better than living in a van. But if you watch my channel you know that my car got totaled and this is what I could buy after that. The used car market right now and has been for a little bit ever since COVID started is crazy. So I could afford the $2,800 van and I took it. Now I am very grateful to have even found a vehicle in my budget because it wasn't much. I was living in my car traveling around the country. I had no backup plan. But when you get the van and it has a few issues and you think, okay, there's an issue, this is how I'm gonna fix it, this is how much it's gonna cost, bam, I'm done. But then that keeps happening over and over again. You begin to think, is this even worth it anymore? So that's the hard question I have to ask myself lately. I love traveling. I love this travel channel I have made. I love adventure, I love exploring, I love driving on highways. But at the same time, the instability of this lifestyle when you are not already financially well off can be heart attack inducing. Look, if you're gonna have an old van to tinker with that is not your sole means of transportation, then go for it. By all means, buy an old beater and just work on it. Learn how to build and convert a van, learn how to switch out the stereo, cool stuff like that. But if you're gonna buy an old beater, but if you're gonna buy an old beater and then live your entire life in it, learn from me kiddos. I mean, I'm making it work and I will continue to make it work like I always do. But I feel like it would be a lot less stressful if I had had the opportunity to plan before buying this van. My car was totaled when I bought this van and I lived in my car so I had not only no way to get around but I had nowhere to live, I had nowhere to go. So when I saw this van was for sale, I bought it. For people not in a desperate situation like that, I would recommend at least having a few tools and a place to work on the van because I have neither of those things and uh ----'s rough out here. Also make your rainy day fund a lot bigger than you think it needs to be because mine got you through quick. I'm really grateful for Stevie and all the lessons that she has taught me. But it's summertime, school's out, no more lessons. So what does this mean for the future? Venturing for this channel. Well I can't drive basically anywhere during the summer in the southwestern United States without AC. A few videos ago I went to Sedona and I drove there uh without AC and I gen- like I got very very sick. I wasn't even driving that long. If I was in the PNW, I would be living the life. I love the forest up there, I love how temperate it is and I've been trying to get up there ever since winter ended. But obviously I am not going to drive up there in a van that might not even get me up there. I would be totally stranded, I have, I would have nowhere to go and no way to drive around. It's just not safe to take that leap yet. Last summer I drove from Texas to Oregon like four times because I would just get too cold and then I'd get too hot and then I'd get too cold and I'd get too hot and just drive back and forth. With this van I can't be so spontaneous. So right now I'm undecided. I would like to fix things with this van with Stevie and continue our relationship but if it gets to a point where the repairs are just way too expensive, they're more than the van ever costed and it's and it's not a guarantee that this van won't even run properly for that much longer, of course I think it's not smart to invest all that money into something that's not going to be worth it. I'm also just having a hard time finding a mechanic I trust. Every time I go to a mechanic they say something different but then new cars and by new car I mean new to me used cars right now are just so crazy expensive. I can't I can't just buy a new car right now. So I'm gonna continue to make do with what I have. I mean Stevie drives fine at least in small increments. I haven't gone anywhere super far but as my daily driver it's okay. It's okay right now. Will you guys be seeing us on the road anytime soon? To be continued.