VanLife is fun to visit, but now I'm living here 

Just to let you know I watched your video. Reminded me of our road trip. So glad you are feeling better. Dad

You should really use tubing that is labelled as food safe. It's usually sold for use in caravans and motor homes (I think you call them RV's in the US). That tubing might be ok, hard to tell. I think California law pretty much means everything has that warning on it making the warnings less than useful.

before mounting any adhesive stuff (the plant box and the wire conduit), use some 91% rubbing alcohol to clean the surfaces first. Just wet paper towel with the alcohol and clean the areas first. You'll be amazed at the grime on the paper towel. It'll dry in 1-2 minutes, then do the adhesive stuff. Maybe you were doing that off camera, but it's a very important step so the adhesive doesn't work loose later.

This was some fun content. Reminded me of your content from the very early days, your normal average guy doing average people stuff. Just what I had been hoping for. Sometimes I feel like it's easy to loose interest when the youtube content creator becomes a RU-vid God only doing above average people things. Glad to be seeing more of you man.

Coming from a chemist.. Prop 65 warnings are for chronic exposure/long term toxicity. So the longer you use it for consumption the higher your risk is for chronic toxicity. Exposure also increases with temperature and duration of exposure/extraction to the liquid you plan to consume. The hotter the water and the longer the tubing is exposed to the water, the more it will extract from the polymer tubing. So.. the longer it sits in the container in water, the more you will extract into the container to then consume. Use the food grade materials. They are more expensive and difficult to find but at least you are doing your best to reduce your exposure especially if you have a genetic predisposition to cancer

You want NSF61 rated tubing. That’s the certification to be used with drinking water. Source: I manage and operate drinking water treatment facilities 😎👍

Living the MTB van life isn't always on a bike and smashing trails. Often times, watching 10 min of 1st person riding can be dull. It's this kind of content that makes your channel enjoyable over alot of other MTB channels because you share other parts of journey. Thanks man.

Appreciate your honesty about van-life. I have been thinking about doing it once I have paid off the mortgage and I have enough money saved for a van. I see loads of videos showing the best parts of that life but not the honest depictions of bad days and the struggles that people face everyday in living in their van. I hope you get back the buzz that you once had and start enjoying it again. Would be good to see a video about some of the negative aspects so people like me know what we're getting into.

Procrastination is totally a good thing. You always have something to do tomorrow, plus you have nothing to do today!

Chill fun video to watch man, I wouldn’t worry about that warning. Basically anything made from plastic has that warning for anyone buying it in Cali.

Turning chores and being sick into genuine entertainment. Well done!

Wd 40 silicon oil for the fan squeak. The bushings are soon going to sease up. I have lots of grow fans in high humidity environments and service them every few months because of this. I have a hurricane fan that's going on 5 years running 24/7 that would have died after the first year without service

The vinyl tubing I used here in the US for my van build was marked as “BPA free” & “food & beverage safe.” It also has a red line running through the tube to denote this. I’ve seen other brands that use a blue line to indicate it. Glad to see you back in sorta action my man! Hope you get over Covid without any long term issues 🤞🏼👍🏼

Having climbed on the top of a Ford Transit, we found the easiest way up there is if you have the windows rolled down, so you can put your feet on the door, and it won't move around under you.

The most satisfying thing is checking things off a to do list!

Alice and I came down with Covid while in NC. We headed back to Upstate NY in the van with just one overnight stop. We were so happy to get home and lie in our bed instead of having to sleep in the van again. Sucks to be sick on the road! Good luck with the rest of your journey! Love your videos Alex.

In future when cleaning your solar panels just open the window and you can step there, means you won't have to worry about the door closing

Reminds me of the Van life videos and vanbuilding videos you did. One of the major reasons I subscribed, glad to see a little bit of it! Regardless, I enjoy whatever you put out! You and Seth are the best!

Use hose that's labeled as safe for drinking water if you're concerned with chemicals leaching into your water supply

HOW TO GET ON A PROMASTER WITHOUT A LADDER. I have the same year and model promaster as you and no ladder. My bed is in a similar location as yours. Open the back door step on the bumper , then on the bottom hinge (the way the hinges are made there is a big enough gap between the door and the hinge to put your foot as long as you dont open the door ALL the way), then step on your bed then on the top hinge, grab the roof rack and put and knee on the roof. Its not ideal but its the best way that i have found and looks easer/safer than using the front door. You can thank me latter

The warning is just because in California most products have this, such as potato chips.

good to see you back on the road man. FYI, for the hose going into your grey water tank. I think you want to have a small s-curve in it, so that it "traps" some water at lowest part of the curve. This will prevent any bad smells from coming back up into your van through the drain. Just make sure the curve is low enough, so that water still drains out of your sink ok. Residential plumbing uses the same concept. Edit: Also wanted to say, your video editing skills have come a LONG way since you started the channel. Your videos are next level quality now, I really enjoy them!

Bro u can 100% have a REAL plant in the van! Look into 'ZZ plants'(they almost always have them at Lowes or Home Depot, -$20). They require basically no light and very minimal watering(literally once a month). Also, u can keep all sorts of small or vining plants alive in the cab of the van! Love the travel vids! Stay safe out there my friend!

I'm from Chattanooga and I've been living in my van for over 2 years. Chattanooga is the greatest outdoor city in the world outside of Oregon and Colorado

Also for an upgrade to your water system, get some quick connectors for a garden hose. You can find pretty simple instructions for it online. I have a garden hose connector on a pvc pipe that reaches to the bottom of the fresh water tank, then connects to the line to the pump. It will make switching your tanks way easier!!

Keep heading West Alex lets get some laps in🤘 it's always riding weather in SoCal.

Surface prep!! Always, always, always prep the surface(s) before you glue/stick anything - it makes a HUGE difference to the success of the job.

Amazon has a emergency "rope ladder" that works good for climbing up on your roof. You just hook it around your fwd. and aft. roof rack bar ends. I used one before I got my ladders on the sides of my van before I sold it.

I never use the water tank for drinking, only washing dishes and showering in my case. Always have a drinking water container for drinking and cooking, never connected to a power pump, just introduces too many potential problems.

Alex, feel better and you'll get the hang of vanlire again, just remember how fun it was to build and why you built it. Send it!

BRO YOUR VIDEOS ARE COMPLETELY SICK!! THE WAY YOU PUT IT DOWN IS REALISTIC TIME IN SERVICE NON POSERY. I APPRECIATE THE WORK AND VALUE OF YOUR CONTENT. IM HERE IN COLORADO SPRINGS I RIDE MY MTB IN RED ROCK CANYON ALL THE TIME. IVE GOT IT ALL TRICKED OUT. HOW TO MAXIMIZE MOST OF THE RUNS AND PUNCHY HITS. PASSING THRU WE CAN SMASH SOME RUNS.

Man I do the sketchy van roof climb up from the back and honestly on your own losing your footing feels like you are going to fall forever when coming back down!

FYI your grey water “fix” technically eliminated a semi functional trap. The trapped water prevented the smells from the tank going out into the van. You no longer have that. Might want to add an RV style trap or something to the sink (unless it already has one)

Alex! Can't wait to see where you go/what you do here in Colorado. Recently moved here from the midwest and finally started mountain biking, thanks to you, Seth, Brian, Eric, and others who've kept me inspired over the years!!!

Happy to see you back mate, there is a significant change in video style and quality when you are on the road and am excited for the content to come!

Definitely look into why you're having to add antifreeze.

This is the first video I've watch of yours. I popped over from Colorado to Switchgrass --> Bentonville --> Switchgrass about a month ago to ride after spending the summer in Gunnison. Also full-time in the van. Maybe we were there at the same time!? Excellent video; so well captures the mundane and rather annoying parts of living in a mobile vehicle! So sorry you got sick.

Get Well Soon!

The pipe warning probably isn't something you need to really worry about but it would be a good idea to get a water purifier. I ran into the same type of issue when I was looking to buy a large tank of CO2 for my home soda maker. Turns out industrial grade CO2 comes with trace amounts of oil and lubricants, I had to buy 'Food Grade CO2' which didn't have all that extra stuff in it.

You should get one of those ramped cord protectors that are meant for the ground instead of that one you bought which is for visually hiding cords on the wall rather than foot traffic over them. You can even get some double sided tape if you want to also secure it to the ground, but it's probably unnecessary. If I had that big square one I'd definitely end up kicking it and ruining it within a week. lol.

Just FYI, adhesives work much better if you clean the surface first. Wiping the floor with isopropyl alcohol would help.

I'd suggest looking at homebrewing sanitizers for cleaning your tubing every month or season or whatever. PBW and starsan are good choices, they'll be available in any homebrew supply store or online.

Sucks being sick! Glad though you're starting back in the adventures! Take care of your health, the trails will wait.

Met you at the bottom of Kitsuma a few years back, right before you got the van. Glad to see you’re back on the road again

I’m super glad you’re getting back into thing, but sorry you were downed by COVID. Here’s to some great adventures ahead. 👍🍻

Fully agree that putting in huge hours driving is a challenge best left for those few times when you “have to”. Struggling with fatigue is not a good feeling.

Just made the same trip across the country to Wyoming from Snowshoe WV stopping in Windrock, Growler bike park, Bentonville and Spider Mountain! Great fun but am glad to have some down time. Safe travels.

Good to see you again. Thanks for sharing about the van life.

Get well soon sir !!!!

For some reason this encouraged me to do all the random boring shit I needed to do

I still remember your road trip with BKXC in that small Mazda sedan!

You should use Sceptor Water Containers for your drinking water. I've been using some similar to the ones you are using and notice they build up slime so I bought a brown 2.5 gallon sceptor container from rei for drinking water and have not had the same problem with that container, even after leaving it with water in my car for months in the summer.

I appreciate the honesty with regards to van life. Get well soon mate!

The prop 65 warning is a big thing in California. I saw one on the window in a McDonalds drive-thru. I don't think you have anything to worry about with that tube

Just FYI, don't use Windex on a solar panel. You'll make it shiny, which will reflect the light. Just plain old water is all you need!

Alex, you should try out the moki door step to get up to the roof. Kinda pricey but cheaper than a ladder.

Hey Alex, you can buy a step for your van door to get up on to the roof. Temu makes a good one that I have.

Great job knuckling down on those chores and thanks for the cool video! Hope you're back to 100% again and am stoked for more riding!

welcome back to the van!

Hi from Australia ,just an idea. When traveling could you talk about time or distance. I / we have no idea where towns are in the US ..Indoor plants ,Look at getting some air plants .no pots or soil, (Tillandsia ). Just glue them to the wall, or anything. Spray with water sometimes. If your van is humid ,never water .

Moved to Golden, Co from Tampa, Fl last year. Good god is this state so much better in every damn way. Enjoy your time here, hope to catch ya on the trails.

Extend fridge cable with heavier gauge, anderson plug and fuse. Next time 😉

17:09 - The outro song sounds like "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" by Michael Bolton.

You should do a vid on how many bikes you have and their differences. I'm always interested in bike geometry!

Hope you are 100% again dude. Safe travels to ya!

There is a hook that you can put in the door latches on the frame side and use as a stepladder, that would make it way easier to get up in the roof, it also doubles as a window breaker and belt cutter in case of an emergency

That warning goes on most everything plastic. You probably have nothing to worry about, just don't get the tube all melty, that's when it will start releasing those toxins. If it isn't bpa free you might want to replace it sooner tho as that stuff can start to break down from fairly normal use over time and isn't exactly great for your health.

You represent some sort of ideal alter ego type person for me. Someone I wish I were more like

Hi Alex free advice. DITCH the Mr Buddy heater ASAP. Give it away if you have to, but do not use it in your van. EVER . Catalytic heaters produce loads of moisture. This can destroy your ceiling and wall insulation. As the moisture goes through the wall and ceiling finish material it will condense in the cold zone. Misery is in your future if you put too much moisture in the walls and ceiling. The best solution is to get a vented heater like a Webasto or Espar. Gas or diesel. Or a Chinese diesel nock off. About $150 to $200 compared to $1500 for an Espar or Webasto. There are some midrange gas heaters on the market for about $800. Planar is one brand. You have a gas engine Promaster so a diesel heater would require a special diesel fuel tank that comes with the Chinese heaters. Do not get an Olypian Wave cat heater same problem as Mr. Buddy. Have a great day. Tom in eastern Canada.

A telescoping ladder would help you tremendously! I have one for my van and use it frequently for the roof box. I recommend getting one

Roll your passenger window down and close the door. It'll be way more steady

Dang, sick on the road = not fun! Just got past a toothache issue in Durango, delayed a week getting appointments… (& pain management ). And, rerealized you’re 1 of 2 reasons I have that workbench in my van. Believe you and another both broke the keys so I’ve been super careful. It’s been working great w/ an occasional sticky locking mechanism. Nice repairs! We all have a “list.” Heading to a buddies in UT to work on a few. Appreciate your content and real vanlife views.

I am living in a van too right now, I built it out myself and I am absolutely loving it. I definitely don't think it's for everyone, if you can't be alone for extended periods of time then you won't enjoy yourself much. Also if I didn't mountain bike and snowboard idk what I'd do with my time. But ik how you feel it is always hard to get back in the van after staying somewhere for a while, like after holidays I'm a little hesitant. But once I'm out there it's always amazing

That procrastination for chores is recognizable. I just call it batching my tasks 😄

I just got back from a mob road trip and watching this gives me so much more appreciation for what he has to do! Kudos mate!

My homie just made it out to Colorado in his newly converted van! Hope you feel better!

Haha I feel you on the van plant. I had to get one to make it more homey in here too ☺️

Thanks for showing the reality of “Van Life”

Don't worry about the tubing. It causes cancer only in California. That's why I never drive my RV there, because it has a big warning on the window! :)

We have the same sink. Haha. PVC is some gnarly stuff. It's supposed to be OK as long as you aren't running hot water through it. I have a PVC cap on part of my water system, though, so I definitely feel you. Feels sketch. I use pex tubing for most of my stuff. Also, greetings from a van, parked outside of the library in Whitehorse Yukon. For the Wi-Fi, of course. Just made eggs and now it's boring chore time. On the other hand, it was -7f outside the other night. Heh.

nice snappy edit. Really enjoyed it.

Gaffer tape works really well for securing cables on the floor. I've put some down like 5 years ago that gets walked over daily that is still working.

Life is an adventure. Explore and Enjoy.

You should get one of those steps that locks into the door latch, would make your life easier, could even use the rear door latch. amazon carries them.

The double sided tape you used, I used it to hold my spice rack with spices for over a year and when I decided to move the rack it almost took my wall down with it lol. Should hold there forever!

Hope you better soon to carry on with your trip and videos.

Alex you have had a rough trot lately get well mate and keep the good vibes happening 🇦🇺😎🙏

Hope you feel better. Great to see your content again.

Cool man, just came back from Colorado. Once the snow fell heavy where I was I headed back south though. I was sick too, but just a weird sinus infection thing that seemed to have nailed everyone. Gong to do winter in Georgia, will prob go see your friends up in NC for a couple of weekends and ride the new parks. Btw, I know you've been resisting the ebike thing, but man sometimes it's the best tool in the box. There are sooooooo many miles of trails to explore, and only so many pedal strokes any one person can hammer out. I figured if I didn't do new trails because I was too tired from the last one, I was cheating myself.

Use food grade hose, usually blue in colour

nomad life is not for everyone, it takes a special mindset and being fine with being alone. most time its the cramp space you don't think about it but it gnaws at you slowly.

Good having you back

Nashville has a few newish trails worth checking out if your ever in town for a few days. Cedar Hill & Percy Warner specifically.

Excellent video! Rest well. Heal swiftly.🤘

California law basically makes it so that all products have to have that P65 warning on them. Even my Fender Telecaster guitar has one. It doesn’t really make much sense to be honest! 😂

Good stuff man. Love the road tripping vids. Get to live it through u. 👍😎😎😎

Older I get. I realize there is no need to rush things. Get well at your own pace!

You need one of those step things that attaches to the door latch for climbing onto the roof

Nice to see you back on the road. Weaco make some air conditioner that you can install on the van. Have fun and ride hard

I work for a phone company. That sticky wire track is often referred to as "roach track."