Get in the van man!!!

[68 Valiant]

Tell me more about the India experience (offline if you want). My wife is from India and I really enjoyed/appreciated my time there.

If you have been there, or anywhere different culturally, you know what I mean about the sounds, smells,etc.. I was in Arizona for the first time this summer when it was 120F. The heat feels different then a hot day in India. Arizona heat would be described as an oven. India heat was more of a suffocating heat. Obviously due to the different levels of humidity but unless you have felt it most people just think "oh its hot there"



This is what I worked on in India. It was a single that could drill to depths of about 2500 meters we always drilled to 3K and broke things. I worked 35 days and then had 35 days off. For the most part we were in the NE province of Assam. A major producer of tea.

This was what we called a 7-11.


They sold some sweets and snacks but the big money maker was beetle nut (sp?) and tea. I drank the tea from this 7-11 and never got sick! That happened working in Mexico. 5 days in the hospital with a stomach virus. I missed a chance at a job in Columbia (one of my friend's/co-worker got to go) and am now back working in Canada.

I'm not going to write much tonight but will expand later. I have more pictures that I can share. If anybody has specific questions fire away. I'll try my best to answer.

[68 Valiant]

This what I found behind one of the drawers. I hooked the vent back up and taped some of the seams I could reach. There is no insulation on that wheel well folks! So I gave everything a layer of mono foam and then filled the rest of the dead space with bats of insulation.

I forgot to take an after picture but this is the area I was working under:



In other news I pulled the bed down from over the front seats to see what was up there. I like to look for treasure. There was none but I think it might be way warmer to sleep up there. I might have a new bedroom! I guess heat does rise, also its away from the cold floor.

[Huskinhano]

The oilsands of Fort McMurray (aka Fort Crack, aka Fort McMoney) I like the second alias!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_McMurray

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/20...ds/kunzig-text

Move to Wyoming county PA and frack the gas wells there. Man there drilling like there's no tomorrow. Got 4 of them right by my house...oh yeah, it's not 40 below in the winter either.

http://geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml

[68 Valiant]

Move to Wyoming county PA and frack the gas wells there. Man there drilling like there's no tomorrow. Got 4 of them right by my house...oh yeah, it's not 40 below in the winter either.

http://geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml

I'm actually trying to avoid the oilfield now. In Canada there is a big difference in mentality between the mining industry and the oilfield. The oilfield is pretty "Cowboyish". Its a good place to get started but I am looking to become more rounded. I'm looking forward to a new environment. With my experience I feel confident that with 24 hrs I could have a job in Spain, Iraq, or Thailand if I was interested in working in the oilfield.

That being said if I was a U.S. citizen who was: Young, untrained, unemployed, or struggling what so ever financially. I would be in PA or north Dakota in a heart beat. There are so many good jobs that are created by oilfield activity: electrician, plumber, mechanic, welder, etc.. Hell, strippers make well over 100 grand around here! It might take a year to get going really good but if you have ambition its a lot easier than struggling in have-not provinces or states.

[68 Valiant]

I cut some reflective insulation for the square windows then painted one side black. Hopefully when its pressed against the window it just looks like limo window tint. I don't want to advertise that I am sleeping in my van. Hopefully people just think I'm too poor to afford a truck.

I'll do the "bay" window and the "upstairs bedroom" the same way. I can't believe I'm calling the pull down bed an "upstairs bedroom"! lol

I turned the electric heater on when I went to get my measurements. It was -9C in the Vamper and within 5 minutes it was on the plus side. I even had the door open briefly. Its encouraging that this might actually work!

[68 Valiant]

This is a brick plant in northern India:



All the younger Indian folks were so happy to have their pictures taken, the only way to get a bigger smile was to pull out a cricket bat. I think this particular crowd was a little nervous for taking 30 seconds of work. The only way to get a bigger smile was to pull out a cricket bat.



Imagine if this was your job to put food in your belly. Makes me thankfull for what I have.

[DanStokes]

Yeah, we have little to gripe about. I haven't worked for about 7 years now and still live a nice lifestyle. Not rich but comfortable. I sure wouldn't want to be old in much of the rest of the world.

Dan

[1931s/x]

thats like the brickyard in colonial williamsburg, the people look a little different though. a boomer from lousianna was asking me if i knew of any work for an offshore oil rig welder here in nj just last week. everything is pretty slow in construction here. he traveled up the east coast looking for work. i told him to head to ND. he wanted more info, i didnt know much but it sounded like there is plety of work for welders there. if i didnt have a wife and kid, id check it out.

[DanStokes]

The title of this thread reminds me of the Tammy Wynette song.........

"Stand by yer van......"

I don't follow country music but even I know that one.

Dan

[68 Valiant]

I found a George Jones cassette in there but no Tammy Wynette

[CTX-SLPR]

This is a brick plant in northern India:



All the younger Indian folks were so happy to have their pictures taken, the only way to get a bigger smile was to pull out a cricket bat. I think this particular crowd was a little nervous for taking 30 seconds of work. The only way to get a bigger smile was to pull out a cricket bat.



Imagine if this was your job to put food in your belly. Makes me thankfull for what I have.

My wife's father works with the Gypsie colonies across India (mainly South though) to get the kids out of work like that and into schools. The first fruits of his work have started graduating college a few years ago and thier success is making the ministry almost grow faster than he can keep up with it! Amazingly he keeps getting picked up by the police since Hindu fundementalists keep telling them he's bribing the Gypsies to convert to Christianity. Most of the time the Cops let him go after hassling him but sometimes the police inspectors give him some heafty praise for his work despite being Hindu themselfs.

[A/Fuel]

I woke up to more than a few nights with my hair and pillow froze to the window when I worked up at Phrdhoe Bay.
I spent months and months without sun light, the summers were spent experimenting with misquito spray!
I made tons of dollars, but I never once thought of living in a van.

[DanStokes]

CTX - cool that the FIL does that and a shame that it's needed. It's good that at least some of the cops understand that those young people need help.

Dan

[Monk]

One the more interesting threads........cool pics

[68 Valiant]

This was a multi use facility. You would honestly see a person standing in the water brushing his teeth, 5 feet from him another person taking a poop, and then somebody having a bath. Kinda sad,kinda funny. I have no idea what they were trying to do with the JCB.



This picture was taken in southern India. I spent 35 days there. About twenty minutes south of Velankanni. There was a beautiful church there that I wish I would have checked out better. There was a pilgrimage happening so it was a busy, busy place when I went to check it out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velankanni_Town