Does anyone have any experience living inside a Jeep gladiator?

[thetruth1983]

8 days straight? Jesus I would lose my mind I can barely do a 48 anymore lol where are you working that allows 8 days straight? they cap us here at 60 hours straight.

As far as living in the truck I think you would get tired of that sooner than later. I like your idea of a small camper.

-Ryan

I'm in Houston. We were capped at 36 hours straight but since we're so short. We can work as much as we won't. We're still short about 400 firefighters. I won't lie though, 8 days was pretty tough and by day 5, I was ready to go insane. That's nothing though. Another guy in our department worked 21 days straight last year. That's 504 hours at the fire station making calls without going home. He did pull in 260k last year.

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[USMC_1Wire6337]

I guess it really depends on if you would use the travel trailer after you get the house built. If not, then buy a good used one that has a good A/C unit. Heck buy a cheap used one and put a new A/C in it. would still be cheaper than new and could turn around and sell it once the house is built. I would get one without slides if you are going to live full time. Less chance for leaks.

 

[FloridaMan655321]

Seriously buy some land with the money. Build a shed to keep your things in, and possibly get out of the elements to sleep. Get a well dug to get some water, and also build an outhouse. By this time you have the necessities. Get some electricity, then a nice garage for your vehicle(s). By this time you should be set to get a house built. Then that shed can be a nice woodworking shed. You can do all of this slowly and fairly cheap (until you build the house).
Good luck with everything.

 

[Hootbro]

I would almost say look at some budget hotel/motels for the couple nights you may be off. Quick look of Expedia show some relative decent ones in the $60 a night range that do not look like in the hood.

Living out of vehicle gets old quick and sucks ass. Never mind having to do it stealth mode so as not be bothered by cops or neighbors/passerby's

 

[Trout Safari]

Well there is a family of three traveling around the world on a 10 year trip living out of a gladiator. If the three of them can do it for 10 years, I guess it is possible. https://hourlesslife.com/

 

[skiptheroad]

Keep your house. It is an appreciating asset as long as you keep it maintained. Sell the Gladiator as it is a depreciating liability. Buy a well maintained used pickup truck from the 90's, midsized or full sized pickups both came with beds long enough to sleep in. Bed caps or toppers provide inexpensive shelter. Slide in campers are much more expensive but have most of the emenities you mentioned. Ford and GM 90's era pickup trucks are very affordable, easy to maintain and repair, and parts are available at any auto parts store or junkyard across the U.S.

If you decide to sell your house, understand that it will cost more money to build your new house in two years than if you built it today.

 

[Barnaby’sdad]

I feel for you OP. Buy some land and a travel trailer in the meantime.

I just put an Alu-Cab on my JTR (not cheap) and I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to make it work for me for weekend camping and dive trips. I can’t wrap my head around attempting to live in it full-time.

There’s not a lot of space and that seems like an exercise in misery and attempting to convince yourself and everyone around you that you’re comfortable.

Regarding the family that’s going to travel and “live” full-time in their Gladiator…there’s a big difference between doing something for funsies on an (essentially) unlimited budget and doing it on a shoestring budget out of necessity in an area with a perma-shitty climate.

 

[same_O_G]

Hell, I might be in the minority, but I'd say go for it! Get a good air mattress (like an airbedz) and sleep under the stars. Grab a bed tent for if it rains and a pop up shade structure for shade and enjoy an extended camping trip! You could use a tent or something for storage.

If it sucks after a month or two, you could always get an apartment and you at least saved a couple months rent. Just post pictures of your setup!

 

[Blizzard]

Find a local stripper who's looking for a room mate.

so where are you planning on sleeping after the divorce?

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

I appreciate the replies. In my city, housing is expensive. A one bedroom in the hood is 1100. The nice areas start at 1500. Not to mention utilities. I'll look at cheap trailers as well as Airbnb's. The goal is to keep my living expenses low so I can save the max amount of money.

Dude…. I wish we had a hood that rented at 1100… ? things are so backwards up in the PNW it’s unreal. 2k? Solid starting point for a studio in the city easy. ?
I completely understand and get what you are doing. ???

so I cannot recommend any particular brand style whatever…. But I would do something small, something the gladiator can pull with ease…. Something you might even be able to find an ad for on Craig’s list allowing you to park on the side/back of someone’s house with…..

Check out this 2016 Forest River Rv Cherokee Wolf Pup 13CJ shared from the RVTrader iOS App.
https://hr4kf.app.goo.gl/ewcag

You need a place to S.Shower, Shave…..

 

[fun2drum]

Buy a trailer without slides that has a bathroom, bed, refrigerator, and Range. You’ve gotta have those things. Don’t live in your truck just to save a few bucks. In the words of Dan Lok, “A penny saved is still just a f*****g penny.“

 

[Blizzard]

for the couple nights a week, kodiak bed tent and a couple of jackerys should work. they sell a portable ac unit that can vent out and drain, just stick it in the tent with ya on the bad nights and boondock.

best sleep i've had was out away from town.

 

[dcmdon]

I love it. With all the people who spend money like drunken sailors on this site, its great to read something posted by someone cheaper than me.

When I read the subject line I thought you were nuts.

But being a fire fighter makes it a real possibility. You could save some big coin if you can pull this off.

I think the key would be to sleep in the truck when you can, but not be afraid to rent a hotel room once a week or so.

If you could find a place for $100/night, that would knock about $6000 off your savings for the year, but would be a nice luxury.

One other thing to do is get yourself a $10/month Planet Fitness membership. Then you have a place to shower for $10/month. Or the $20/month membership gets you into any Planet Fitness in the country.

Someone mentioned possibly buying the land for the house sooner then setting up a home base. That makes sense.

Here's a scenario. You buy the land. Then buy a $5000 shed from Home Depot. You spend $500 insulating it and put a window AC in it.

Now you have a place to sleep at nigh in the heat. You set it up like a dorm room. Run a 2000 watt inverter generator and you will burn about 1 gallon of fuel per night that you leave it running.

So you have a cool place to stretch your legs and sleep on your own land for $5 per nigh in fuel.

Just spit balling. I hope this helps.

 

[thetruth1983]

I appreciate all the replies. I'll look into getting the land earlier than expected. It makes sense since I'll have the trailer and instead of paying to park at an RV resort, I can be making payments on my land. My only gripe about the gladiator is the rear seat. When I had my F-150, I could raise the rear seats and had plenty of room to sleep. It's not possible with the Jeep without mods.

I might be crazy doing this but as i get older, I've realized that i don't need as many material things as I've once had. Being newly single, this is a good opportunity to live minimally and save some cash.

*Edit: I just checked interest rates with the Texas veteran land board and it's 6.95%. yikes!

 

[USMC_1Wire6337]

I appreciate all the replies. I'll look into getting the land earlier than expected. It makes sense since I'll have the trailer and instead of paying to park at an RV resort, I can be making payments on my land. My only gripe about the gladiator is the rear seat. When I had my F-150, I could raise the rear seats and had plenty of room to sleep. It's not possible with the Jeep without mods.

I might be crazy doing this but as i get older, I've realized that i don't need as many material things as I've once had. Being newly single, this is a good opportunity to live minimally and save some cash.

There's living minimally, and then there's living exactly how you want for a change. Don't lose sight of that and short change yourself on some enjoyment for once.

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