And my ski season comes to an end. 8,500 miles and 122 ski days later!

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CarGuyJohnOnRoute66@reddit

This is SICCCCCKKKKKKK. Express cutaway is slept on as a platform in general

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aycarumba21@reddit

Best ski setup I’ve seen. Well done. Really nice.

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Tavo_Tevas3310@reddit

That looks so cozy. Looks like that thing costs more than my apartment haha

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SanDiegoMitch@reddit (OP)

Good chance 😉

I used to be a ski bum and camped in the back of my Honda Element with a heavy sleeping bag and pee bottle.

For my job, I built high end houses (I even won kitchen of the year in San Diego home and garden magazine once!).

I realized that I didn't want to work just to pay rent anymore and I wanted to ski and I could cut a lot of costs by moving into a vehicle.

I started upgrading my van every year as I got more into skiing (and I enjoyed building), and slowly improved my builds for what I needed (kitchen, bathroom, shower, icy road capabilities).

Eventually I realized I could make just enough money to get by, by selling my van at the end of the season.

if something breaks, I'm the one that gets to deal with it and I can make it better the next year, so my builds have started to get a bit of a reputation in the ski community.

At the end of the year, I sell it for just enough to buy my annual ski pass and a bunch of top ramen so I can ski as much as I can while living as cheap as I can to keep my lifestyle going.

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Haha damn, sounds amazing, not gonna lie. I have camped a decent amount in the back of my first car - lifted ‘99 Subaru legacy. And I keep dreaming of going on extended trips with a similar maybe now a slightly better setup. Really nice to hear about people actually doing stuff like this, thanks for sharing!

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yycTechGuy@reddit

So jealous, so many questions. I'd love to see a bigger write up on what you did.

What did the skiing/camping part of this trek cost ? Were you buying day tickets at full price at each resort or season passes ?

Were you able to camp in ski resort parking lots ? Were you mooch docking ?

I definitely want to do this. Any and all advice, ideas, thoughts is welcome.

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SanDiegoMitch@reddit (OP)

Forest land and BLM land for the most part. I bought an ikon pass. Roughly $1100 for unlimited skiing.

Not paying for rent/apartment, but right increase with gas although people underestimate what they drive to work everyday

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El_Sheepo@reddit

That is a beautiful setup. What a fuckn good amount of ski days! Did you have a favourite spot / experience ? Any pitfalls in your setup? Sounds fairly solid.

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SanDiegoMitch@reddit (OP)

Thanks! My favorite this year was definitely Revelstoke in Canada. This ski season was so weird with the snow, that I ended up staying in Mammoth Mountain for a very good chunk of the season.

I'm really starting to get my builds down (number 6!).

I learned that the higher ceilings (6'6"), makes the room quite a bit colder so I swapped the diesel heater out for a larger one.

I also made my shower curtain too short. Apparently the ripstop nylon shrinks a bit after drying the first couple of times so I had to order more fabric and add on about 3" more of length.

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blaircook@reddit

What's the texture on the wall behind the bed?

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SanDiegoMitch@reddit (OP)

3d PVC lightweight panels. One of the hardest things to cut 🤦‍♂️

I might buy a hot knife/wire this year if I do the same thing

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mimosaholdtheoj@reddit

Haha I feel like I’ve definitely seen you on the road somewhere at some point. Sick build!

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nagnini@reddit

Saw you parked at mammoth a couple weeks ago by the mill. Great rig!

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SanDiegoMitch@reddit (OP)

My fully off grid blizzard proof van 🙂

Chevy 3500 12' box van, 750watts of solar, Self heating lifepo4 batteries, Diesel heater, 72"projector and starlink Internet, 34" tires on a 5" lift, Shower heated by a calorifier (the engine) that works in temps down to -25°f, Ski box on the back that holds 5 pairs of skis!

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dasmineman@reddit

Is it by chance 4wd?

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SanDiegoMitch@reddit (OP)

2wd actually!

I swap and gear down the open differential to positrac/4.10, and add all my water and batteries to the back corners of my van for great weight balance, bigger tires, and high ground clearance to not high center.

All I do is drive on snowy/icy/blizzard roads in mountain towns and forest land and I haven't put chains on in the last 3 years.

The Ford Econoline and Chevy Express vans never came 4wd but there is lots of aftermarket upgrades.

I don't have a big enough use for it being I haven't even used chains, and I don't want to drive the sticker cost up for someone else when they can do the same after market upgrade later

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Klutzy_Concept_1324@reddit

I'm surprised you did it w/ BFG's, i take it you're a good driver. I have winter tires on my 2wd truck, but climate change has really effected our winters here, southern rockies area

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wilderadventures@reddit

Is your truck bed empty? Because he's sitting on like 6-7000lbs on the rear axle and that makes a pretty big difference.

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PearlClaw@reddit

2wd trucks are just miserable in winter weather. Feels like you can never get enough weight on the axle.

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Klutzy_Concept_1324@reddit

Toyota T100's are not that bad in snow, If it isn't the snow that froze over. Not that I drive very spirited in it

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PearlClaw@reddit

I've yet to find a car that's good in ice tbh, best is probably my wife's little Prius, it slides very predictably and has good traction control and not a ton of momentum.

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ITFOWjacket@reddit

I’m fond of my wife’s Subaru crosstrek in snow with new tires and AWD. Its overall size, geometry, and drivetrain reminds me of driving a Polaris razor. Light weight and plenty of traction to float over deep snow and plow through

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Klutzy_Concept_1324@reddit

I've driven in blizzard conditions and iver 6 inches of snow, it was ice mainly that stopped my truck in the mountains where i was stuck in about 14 inches of snow on one side of my truck, ice in the other. I still got out of there with no tools or help that sane day but boi was i prayed up

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