After a year of dreaming of life after corporate career and 7 months of research & development we finally have taken delivery on Curiosity. Since we had it custom fabricated in Los Angeles we flew down to bring her home. This is an exciting event for us as the vehicle will be key in the next season of our adventure and our pursuit of minimalism. The idea of a tiny home on wheels was to become untethered from a fixed real estate and have the freedom to go wherever the Lord calls and stay there for as long as needed. We intend to downsize from our family home and reduce our possessions so that everything would fit in the van. We plan to launch out sometime in June, after Stephen graduates from high school. I know this all sound rather crazy and sometimes I am not even sure how all this will turn out. All I know is that it's a journey that started when I asked myself the question, "What would I do or attempt if I weren't afraid?"
I just finished Joshua Becker's "The More of Less", a book I'd highly recommend to anyone who wants to understand a rational version of minimalism based on Biblical worldview and consider the benefit of adopting a version that fits your situation. In fact, of over a dozen or so books on the market on the modern day minimalism movement this is the only one with the kingdom perspective. I love how he ended with the Parable of the Merchant who sold all that he had to get the one pearl of great value. Mr. Becker used this as the basis to call us to own less in order to find our fulfillment in that one thing God has prepared for us. I also recommend his blog on the 21 benefits of minimalism.
Back to Curiosity. Let me describe this new addition to the family and how we plan to live and travel in it in the coming months. This is a 80 sq ft tiny adventure van built on a Mercedes Sprinter 170" wheel base cargo van. We started the selection process by asking the question what is the smallest vehicle we can live with and help us accomplish our mission. We didn't go with a larger Class C RV or tow behind trailer because we want something that Ro feels comfortable driving and that the vehicle can maneuver well in urban areas. Curiosity can park in any normal full size car space and handle narrow Seattle streets with poise.
We ended up with the very popular Sprinter chassis for the fuel efficient V6 diesel and all the safety features such as lane keeping, blind side monitoring and collision avoidance. Ro and I were teasing each other on who got the most warning beeps from going out of lane on our drive back. We should be equally comfortable driving Curiosity in the National Parks or downtown Los Angeles.
Curiosity's interior features two work areas with adjustable Lagun tables so that Ro and I can each have our own "space". My work area can be seated at the swiveled driver seat or as a standing desk. The front table is beautifully hand-crafted with two pieces of reclaimed wood cast in a blue translucent resin. The meaning of it is that Ro and I are two rough individuals held together by the vast ocean of God's love.
The counter space area beneath my standing desk can open up to reveal our porta-potty which can be removed to become our shower. The two tables can be combined in the back to accommodate six people at the dinette which also converts to a queen bed. As small as the van is we would like to host people in the dinette area for a cozy meal and fellowship. We hosted our first guests for breakfast the morning after we picked up our van. These girls whose house we stayed at the evening before were more excited than we were!
We picked the blue and white color palette based on our love for the Greek island of Mykonos which we visited at the start of our sabbatical year in 2013. We have a galley area to prepare food, a two burner induction stove, large sink, a good sized refrigerator, and convection microwave. For hygiene we have the shower and toilet combo supplied by a 35-gallon fresh water and 40 gal grey water tank. Two ceiling fans, a diesel powered heater and AC handle year around environmental comfort.
Everything is powered by 300 watt solar panels and 200 Ah Lithium (LiFePO4 ) battery bank running through a 2000W 12V inverter. We designed it to be capable of staying off grid (boondocking) for a couple of days, in between camp sites, or even an occasional overnighter in a Walmart parking lot. The only issue we have yet to figure out is how to get consistent and fast internet on the road. I ordered it a Weboost cellular signal booster and will let you know once I have it installed and working.
In the next few months we will make small excursions to learn how to live and work out of Curiosity. We had a great time yesterday working out of Alkai on a rare sunny day with a million dollar view. When spring comes we will start to declutter and reduce our stuff in earnest to prepare for a simpler life starting this summer. Please follow us here and on social media as we share our journey and catch us if we are in your area.
Instagram: @unceasingwonder
Facebook: Rossana Lin
Youtube channel: Simple Delight
Upcoming speaking and travel engagements:
April 5-7: Los Angeles area
April 8: Bay Area
April 9-13: Northern Calif to Seattle coastal drive. Patrick's Point, Cape Lookout, Nehalem Bay. Portland.
May 3-5: Montreal area
July 23-30 Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper
Tentative:
July-August: Pacific Northwest, Vancouver, BC.
Sept: California.
So excited for you! Blessings on your new adventures!
It's quite incredible seeing you pursue your dreams far outside of the comfort zone! I can't wait to see the souped-up van in person. Your experience is definitely testament to the question: Why bother saving up to become a millionaire when you can live your ideal 'millionaire lifestyle' off of much less?