From the Introduction:

People seem so surprised when I say I would rather live in a van than a house. For myself, the times I've spent on wheels have been the times I have truly felt at home. Unless you're retired and driving a 30' Chinook, people will think you're out of your mind. But if the majority of people who lead 9-to-5 lives, with credit cards and mortgages and debt they'll be lucky to dig out of by the time they're retired or dead; people rigidly set in their schedules and activities, so booked they can't do anything but work and think about work; people who have long ago abandoned the youthful spark of adventure to what they're sold as "security" and "being respectable" and "the normal, right way to live"; people on course for the big mid-life crisis; if these people think I'm nuts for wanting to have the time to dance under the sun and live life as I go, then I must be doing something right.

It's the road less traveled, and its hardships are payments on a life full of excitement and change. Both good, positive things which scare the phooey out of those who think security comes from doing the same thing for 30 years and the big bank account. It helps, sure; but we're going to redefine security as "The independence and ability to withstand change which is going to happen anyway."

Though purely instinctual, the cat's ability to almost always land on its feet is the perfect metaphor. There is no such thing as a secure job, unless it's something you do because you love it and manage it yourself. Then it is not a "job" but your calling, your dharma, your life's work. Even then though, we're all beholden to somebody and at any point circumstances can change. The security is within yourself, filed under "self confidence." Understanding this is the key to maintaining your balance as you walk the fine line between serving and selling one's soul. Hone it to an instinct; the roads we choose determine where we go.

1. Cheap to operate. 
2. Easy to work on.  
3. Dependable.  
4. Comfortable to drive. 
5. Highway-worthy.  
6. Self contained.
7. Inconspicuous.
8. Comfortably livable inside.
9. Maneuverable.
10. Efficiently designed in & out.

I encourage you to consider an old vehicle, pre-'80. You have to search for a clean one that is mechanically sound, at this point most are either worn out or have been partially rebuilt. Some of the parts (exhaust crossover pipe, some suspension bushings, etc.) are getting hard to find. But GENERALLY they're built better, more rugged, simpler to work on and cheap to buy and fix. PLUS in this age of ever-tightening emissions testing, they are EXEMPTED. Not that I'm against efficiency and clean air, but the fewer regulations involved in my path the smoother it seems to go. I lived in a 72 Ford and house-to-house I'd square off with anyone as far as "how much energy my house uses compared to yours" and "how much impact and pollution building mine had than yours" etc. So while it maybe could be a little cleaner purely as a vehicle, as a house it's VERY low impact and uses very little resources. Combine this with its use as a vehicle too and it even looks MORE efficient.