Does a Weekend Warrior Lifestye Suck This Much

Andy Novak wrote: Yeah man, the answer is to spend 110k so you can take a hot shower. Jesus Christ.

And live for extended periods at ski resort lots. Live downtown Crested Butte in the summer for riding, and the next week, but living in J-hole. Stealth camp in parking lots for dawn patrols.

But, I see that the price and ability to shower has offended you. We put in our years sleeping in the back of our wagon. We work hard, play hard, and buy things we like. g'damn right we're getting a badass van!

Wrinkledpants wrote: At first, it was hard to comprehend that price, but after realizing how much it'll change our life - it seemed like a no brainer. #vanlife

Not that it matters for you, but a sprinter van doesn't change much of anything except your comfort level. No matter how sweet your rig, there are still only so many hours in a weekend and a sprinter is no different logistics wise than just crashing in the back of a Toyota sienna. If your issue is time then it will continue to be an issue.

One positive thing that can be said is that your gear is always ready to go and you are more likely to pull over and sleep when you get tired or in bad road conditions. Other than that, its a luxury as opposed to a solution to any specific problem.

I love my van though, for sure.

Wrinkledpants wrote: signal booster built-in so I can finish up work while cruising up I70

Hey can you tell me about this signal booster? What does it do? is it wifi, 3g-4g, some kind of tether or what?

Thanks

Jeffrey Dunn wrote: Not that it matters for you, but a sprinter van doesn't change much of anything except your comfort level. No matter how sweet your rig, there are still only so many hours in a weekend and a sprinter is no different logistics wise than just crashing in the back of a Toyota sienna. If your issue is time then it will continue to be an issue. One positive thing that can be said is that your gear is always ready to go and you are more likely to pull over and sleep when you get tired or in bad road conditions. Other than that, its a luxury as opposed to a solution to any specific problem. I love my van though, for sure.

I own a business and my wife has a fairly flexible schedule. So, conducting business out of the back of a truck doesn't work. We get cell service at the Loveland parking lots. So, for me to be able to keep a heated, quiet place to work between laps and my wife gaining a bathroom rather than walking out to the woods when it's -10 will be a benefit. She's gotten really good at using her go-girl, but a indoor bathroom is awesome. She's buying ear defenders and putting poop stickers on them so the person that's not taking a grump doesn't have to hear you doing your business.

I'm not trying to insinuate people can't do what we'll be doing in a Sprinter. There are dirt bags living out of civics that have a combined monthly expense that's a fraction of ours. And they're getting in more laps on the wall or slopes in a weekend than we'll get all month. We're mid-career, make good money, but like many people, are constrained by time. My wife can drive while I work in the back on our way to the mountains. We sit at home until I'm ready to leave currently.

No mortgage. No kids. A 100K home on wheels that we can live in anywhere. Seems like a win to me, but I know this is a tough crowd.

Wrinkledpants wrote: We're in Denver and feel your pain. It has become cumbersome to plan that far out, pack all the gear, get on the road, traffic, dry the gear when you get home, get ready for Monday, yada yada yada. We have a great apt downtown for a good price, we're not having kids. Last week, we sent our deposit check to Sportsmobile for a Sprinter 4x4 build. It's really the only way we're going to get out and and make the most of every weekend. Shower, pooper, signal booster built-in so I can finish up work while cruising up I70 (wife is off work at 2:15). Otherwise, we've made a habit of getting up *really* early to be at the crag at sunrise before the masses get there. We both walk to work everyday, but we're logging close to 20K miles a year in commuting to and from the mountains. We're going with a fully optioned Sprinter, custom layout, lithium batteries, the works. It'll be around 110K when done, but we'll be able to take warm showers at the TH after a day of BC skiing. At first, it was hard to comprehend that price, but after realizing how much it'll change our life - it seemed like a no brainer. After sending in the check, we're giddy like school kids at the thought of not having to find a campsite, and not having to deal with all the packing and unpacking for weekend trips. #vanlife

You're my hero! I have a tiny Nissan nv200 camper van but man.. a hot shower and standing room would be delightfull lol

mountainhick wrote: Hey can you tell me about this signal booster? What does it do? is it wifi, 3g-4g, some kind of tether or what? Thanks

I don't know too much about how they work, but in essence, they take a 1-2 bar signal and boost it to 3-4 bars. This is for some certain area around the van, or maybe just inside. I'm not too sure on that part.

We're an all-Apple family, so we just tether off our phones for internet. With a signal booster, I can get a little more work done in those mountainous areas where service isn't too great.

Seems like wrinkledpants hijacked this thread to talk about how awesome his life is because he has no kids, a slick city apartment, Apple everything and can afford a 110k van. Glad you found your bliss man.

To the OP, I hate the crowds too. My solution thus far has been to plan my trips for the beginning and tail ends of the climbing season and just get up early and plan on climbing local during the high season. I've also been going out with some people who do a lot of FA's to climb areas most people don't know of yet.

Like a previous poster mentioned, it really depends on what you're getting on the weekdays. If your job or place you live bums you out then it will suck. Everyone goes through times where they are living for the weekends, but if that becomes the norm then you may want to consider a change. One solution some hang glider friends of mine had was to live where they play instead of where they work. Sure they commute a little more, but it takes way less effort to get to the cliffs and they don't have to camp out with the masses.

I'm sharing what we did since we seem to be in similar situation to the OP, and he did mention an RV. Maybe he was kidding, and in that case, I'll happily delete my posts.

I appreciate not everyone can afford a 100K van. You can do a $500k earth roamer. You could do a $7K Ford Van. You could buy a $300k home closer to the mountains and spend more money each year commuting to work. I really don't care how you spend your money. Just providing a different perspective for the OP, ma' man, and maybe that will trigger some ideas for him within his own budget, which could very will be bigger or smaller than ours.

Jeffrey Dunn wrote: Not that it matters for you, but a sprinter van doesn't change much of anything except your comfort level...If your issue is time then it will continue to be an issue.

Comfort level, at least up to a certain point, allows for higher quality sleep/faster recovery. Even if I have the same amount time, I'd much prefer being able to perform my best than dragging my work week headaches thru the weekend (or my weekend aches back thru the work week).

psakievich wrote:Seems like wrinkledpants hijacked this thread to talk about how awesome his life is because he has no kids, a slick city apartment, Apple everything and can afford a 110k van. Glad you found your bliss man.

Isn't 95% of MP (or any other forum) posts just spraying? If not how hard core you are, then how smart your choices are or how valid your opinions are?

yes. being a weekend warrior sucks.

I think it's a combination of things that get shittier and shittier as time goes by, and this makes some folks' admonishments of "YER just not TUFF ENUF, back in ma day..." e-t-fucking-c. completely asinine.

First of all, all camping areas and climbing areas are getting busier by the year. The sport, and "outdoor activities" in general are exploding, making it harder to find places to camp, and often requiring that warriors stay farther away.

Secondly, time-off from work is becoming less and less generous as labor gets its teeth knocked out again and again by a chummy regulatory climate between governments and corporations. So, harder to get multiple 3-days, etc. (if some engineer busts in here and bitches about how much a pussy everyone is because HE makes all this money and has all this time off and everyone else is just lazy to not have the same salary.... fuck that guy). To compound this, wages have not kept up with inflation or the CPI, so in total warriors have less money and less time.

The lack of time forces us to somehow get in good enough shape to push harder for our objectives, which is hard with a 40+ hour job (and I'm single; forget about it if you're married and/or have kids). The less money makes everything less comfortable, the fact that everything is so busy can make both camping and then the climbing less pleasant.

But hell, climbing is so cool, even with this, it's worth it every time you grab that peak or send that climb. Sometimes even when you don't.

Working all week, especially unpredictable hours, can make getting out on the weekends much more difficult. I'm single with no kids and I still have to work my ass off just to figure out how I'm going to spend a weekend in the mountains. After doing this for a few years I have some tips.

- Embrace familiar places. For me, I don't have a problem finding places to sleep in Yosemite or JT -- you just have to go a few times and work out a system (sleep in the back of my car on BLM land Friday night, get a walk in/BLM Saturday). When you find a system that works stick to it. Yes, it does kind of suck not being able to go to "new" places on the weekend, but that's what my vacation time is for.

- Piggybacking on the above, find out where the BLM/Forest Service land in your area is.

- Be persistent. If I know I want to be in Yosemite for the weekend a month from now I can always find campsites -- I just have to check all the major Yosemite campsites every morning for availability. Things always open up. You just have to be persistent in checking up on their availability (and flexible in moving from campsite to campsite).

- Don't drive when you're tired. I don't think this gets enough attention, but when I first started balancing my job with my hobbies I would find myself waking up at 5am for work on Friday, working until 6pm, and then driving 6 hours up to Tuolumne with droopy eyes. I once drifted off the road only to be woken up before it was too late. Don't underestimate the need for sleep, and pulling over and crashing for 2 hours at a rest stop isn't going to ruin your climbing weekend.

Hey Mike ^^^ , have you tried getting up super early on Saturday morning and doing the Yosemite commute ? By leaving the Bay Area around 4am on Sat. morning there is zero traffic , and I can be at Five and Dime or Reed's in 3.5-4 hrs...(coming from the Peninsula)

And lemme just quickly advocate for weekend warrioring . Steady employment , an IRA, a child's college fund , and a neighborhood community you enjoy being part of , all go a long way to easing the transition from the dirtbag/vagabond lifestyle . Besides, how long do you really want to call yourself a "dirtbag"?

s.price wrote:So much complaining indeed. If you are a weekend warrior you alone put yourself in that position by the choices you have made. Going through life bitching about your self induced situation is no way to live. Being able to climb when you want has nothing to do with being a dirtbag and everything to do with living your life on your own terms.

Wait...aren't you complaining.

I could see using that 110K Sprinter in the winter to get more skiing and or climbing done IF that rig has a propane or gas heater. I really don't like sleeping in sleeping bag on top of an air mattress when it's 20 degrees unless I'm far away from a parking lot.

I could also see heading out more weekends if you knew the bed you're sleeping on Saturday night is comfortable. You save money cooking a hot meal too.

Mike Brady wrote: Wait...aren't you complaining.

Another vote for dispersed camping on National Forest land. We do the weekend warrior thing from the Bay Area, and we don't even check for campgrounds anymore since they're all taken anyway. We have a few favorite dispersed camping spots near all our favorite climbing areas and just aim straight for them every weekend. Bonus: You can be as loud and drunk as you want! No quiet hours.

Bill Kirby wrote: I could see using that 110K Sprinter in the winter to get more skiing and or climbing done IF that rig has a propane or gas heater.

A $110K sprinter most likely has multiple Espar diesel heaters (coolant, air, water & maybe a hot plate) tapped directly into the fuel tank. You might just be the right clientele. But be warned, I'm not responsible if your wallet ends being $110K lighter.

Bill Kirby wrote: I could see using that 110K Sprinter in the winter to get more skiing and or climbing done IF that rig has a propane or gas heater. I really don't like sleeping in sleeping bag on top of an air mattress when it's 20 degrees unless I'm far away from a parking lot. I could also see heading out more weekends if you knew the bed you're sleeping on Saturday night is comfortable. You save money cooking a hot meal too.

It'll be fully insulated and use an Espar hydronic diesel furnace/hot water heater. Fresh water will be internal so it doesn't freeze. Winter and AWD/offroad use are the two biggest reasons we went with the Sprinter. Otherwise, we were heavily leaning towards a tear drop or getting a 2nd vehicle that would be outfitted with a rooftop tent, or some type of small van like the Ford Connect. Something we could keep in the parking garage. We didn't want any propane for a variety of reasons.

Even if you don't go a full-blown sprinter build, there are so many good ways of living comfortably in a van. You can pick up a small Ford Connect for under 10k, insulate it, porta potty, sleeping, gear storage, and heat for not much money. There are a few companies out there that will do a full buildout for a couple grand. They drive nice, good gas mileage, and it's easy to stealth camp in them if they don't have the back windows. Get an ARB fridge, 200 Ah battery, and you're good to go. Those Connects drive nice and get good gas mileage.

One of the things we've realized is that even after long trips, you just get mentally tired of packing unpacking, long hours on the road, less than awesome meals, days between showers, etc. I'm not complaining, that's just the reality of living any active weekend warrior lifestyle. I'm part-time military, so I'm already giving up 1 weekend a month. We like living in the city, but it's also oddly stressful. Combine that with typical career stress, and we often find the need to get out on the weekends and climb to be our stress release. However, fighting for camp space, crowded crags, weather, forgetting things, etc - it sometimes makes the weekend more stressful than the week. With the Sprinter, or any full-kitted out van/RV, much of that stress is taken out of the equation. It's hard to put a price on the comforts of home while not being at home, and for us, that price was quite a bit.

So many good DIY build outs in cars, vans, SUV's, and tear drops that if your goal is off-grid weekend living, there is a solution for most budgets and storage situations. Little Guy teardrops can be had with heaters and a small shower/pooper. They're nerdy as fvck, but it was high on our list.

reboot wrote: A $110K sprinter most likely has multiple Espar diesel heaters (coolant, air, water & maybe a hot plate) tapped directly into the fuel tank. You might just be the right clientele. But be warned, I'm not responsible if your wallet ends being $110K lighter.

110K is on the very high side for a buildout. You can get brand new base Sprinter, standard buildout from SMB, and be in the 60-80K range. Not a small chunk of money, but financed as an RV, and the monthly payments are pretty reasonable. Anything with a Sportsmobile badge will have really good resale.

Or buy a used sprinter for cheap and do the build yourself.

reboot wrote: A $110K sprinter most likely has multiple Espar diesel heaters (coolant, air, water & maybe a hot plate) tapped directly into the fuel tank. You might just be the right clientele. But be warned, I'm not responsible if your wallet ends being $110K lighter.

Haha.. Thanks for the info reboot! Sounds like a solid night's sleep. I drive a big diesel truck so I would probably buy a trailer. My wallet would do just fine. A company work van is a write off :)

Wrinklepants,

My wife digs Sprinters. I'll try not leave this page on the home CU!