SOMTHING LEARNED IN VAN

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UKHippy is a long running online community and of likeminded people exploring all interpretations on what it means to be living an alternative lifestyle -- we welcome discussions on everything related to sustainability, the environment, alternative spirituality, music, festivals, politics and more -- membership of this website is free but supported by the community.

    Biggest problem with any of the sammich toaster things is supporting the handles if you use them on a camp stove .

    I use mine on the gas stove at home but will be needing to sort that out before I use it on my camping stove .


    I’m on the lookout for a cast iron one for use on camp fires or the chiminea .


    I’m waiting to see the first Ridge monkey in either the charity shop or at the car boot sale . They’re all popular just now but a lot of people get stuff and then get fed up or stop using it because they’ve got the newest latest thing .


    Im sure a lady of ingenuity can improvise such a device as this. A cast trivet stand and adjustable handle rest.



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    Me myself and I personally would just make a simple small tripod of three sticks lashed together and rest the handle in the top fork.




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    Nomadic RT , interesting .


    I’ve been out for a walk / skip hunt but drawn a blank on materials this time however I will be looking through my collection of interesting metal bits to see what I can come up with .


    Agree on the sticks , always available to hand .


    My life has never been the same since the metal skip disappeared from the boatyard . It was A source of excellent goodies including a very nice cast iron frying pan .

    I had a very nice large cast iron frying pan for outdoor cooking,i liked it a lot,so did the thieving bastard who took it along with my cast iron pan and griddle while i was fetching water.


    Alternative pot handle rest may be old metal fishing rod rest,they used to be just two strips of metal fixed in middle like scissors two ends stuck in the ground and upper end formed the fork.

    Long metal tent peg or piece of angle iron with a loop or bracket. I find nature tends to provide perfect tools if you look around bushes and trees.

    If you lookon bushcraft sites or youtube theres plenty of cooking tool ideas.

    When the damp wet miserable weather is starting to make things in your van a bit moist, leave engine running, pull up bulkhead blanket and leave engine heater blowing hot and low down ,in half an hour all is dry and toasty!

    If you have to park up on damp or wet mud or grass it is always worth while parking on four off cuts of plank and putting a bit extra or a few stones in front of the wheels that drive the vehicle so that you can get traction to pull off rather than spinning the wheels and risking getting stuck :-)


    If it is dry when you park up and you hear the rain or snow coming down and that may cause problems to getting out in the mornoing,deal with it straight away and find more solid ground rather than waiting until morning :-)


    You gettting stuck or messing up the park up can make it next to impossible for others or oneself to park up there in the near future. xxxx

    Quote from Boris the Bold

    When the damp wet miserable weather is starting to make things in your van a bit moist, leave engine running, pull up bulkhead blanket and leave engine heater blowing hot and low down ,in half an hour all is dry and toasty!

    Quote from Boris the Bold

    Cold feet in van? Found a pair of new hospitality slippers (£1) in charity shop, cut around the sole,put sole into my old slipper socks worn over woolen socks,checkmate Mr Frosty!

    I use offcuts of carpet as insoles.

    Get yourself a set of snow chains.Theyre not that expensive and get you out of tricky situations without help.

    Likewise if you have a tow bar get a cheap portable winch that hooks on the tow ball.Or alternatively a Tirfor style ratchet winch.Gets you right out of the shit and also perfect for winching in some firewood.


    Carry a few essential spares..lightbulbs,fanbelts,clutch/throttle cable, hoses,starter motor,alternator,filters,fuses,wire,clips,some tools,silicone sealer,paracord and a manual for your vehicle.Non of it takes up too much space or weighs a lot but will get you out of waiting hours or days for spares and recovery.

    Sainsburys own brand wet wipes kill the competition.


    I don't shop there usually but was in a pinch and out of baby wipes.


    These own brand wipes are wetter and better fragranced (more citrus than baby oil smell) than competitors offerings and priced the same.


    Even the very last wipe was truly wet.

    Quote from rhythm

    No mortgage to worry about and if you don't like the neighbors you can move. :D

    All true but i dont want to emcourage more people living nomadic lives because it will ultimately spoil it for those of us who already are.... Ill happily encourage them to stay as they are in a house and tell them of the awful hardship of living in a van or trailer.:D

    Not everyone does. Plenty of mainstream lemmings have no clue what is possible or want the hassle.


    Its like the curse of tourism. Someone finds a lovely idyllic spot no one knows about and tells everyone else and then travel journos splash it all over the pages of their glitzy magazines and suddenly the idyllic spot is like every other fucking tourist dump.

    Quote from NomadicRT

    Not everyone does. Plenty of mainstream lemmings have no clue what is possible or want the hassle.


    Its like the curse of tourism. Someone finds a lovely idyllic spot no one knows about and tells everyone else and then travel journos splash it all over the pages of their glitzy magazines and suddenly the idyllic spot is like every other fucking tourist dump.

    Ramblers popping by for a cuppa :D