how to live, travel and explore the world from your van

Critics Thoughts on Vanabode

Visit Readers Opinion of Vanabode if you want to read what customers say about the book: This page covers what critics and those who do NOT want this information given out had to say. When developing this page I decided to do something extremely risky. There is a number of smaller groups on the Internet that operate using some of my strategies. I have done two things that have made them even madder than those that already hate me. One, I published Vanabode exposing many of their ideas thus taking business from their websites; and two, I provide many additional ideas, and more modern strategies for dealing with big city camping instead of just hanging out in the wilderness.

You will see how each critic "attacks the ideas I propose" so they can protect their interests (they make a lot of money from companies advertising on their websites so they don't want you getting all their ideas PLUS all my ideas in one easy step by getting a copy of the book). Remember what William James said "the new idea is first condemned as ridiculous and then dismissed as trivial, until finally, it becomes what everybody knows." My critics are at this moment trying to do this very thing, dismiss me and make sure that Vanabode does NOT become what everybody knows. Well, I am not going anywhere. I have lived this life or some version of it for a long time and traveled 700,000+ miles in 16+ years. Vanabode is fresh and new and will restore control of your life and your time to it's rightful owner. You!

I won't use their real names for legal reasons but these criticism's came from travel web site owners that I gave a FREE copy of Vanabode to so they could critique it. When I did this I had no idea how ungrateful and jealous they would be.

Anonymous Critic "I was hoping to get info on some good camping spots..."
My Answer - I provided links to hundreds of unique camping spots with pictures that I have personally traveled to and lived in for months at a time. But the point of Vanabode is NOT where I have been. The point is YOU can camp ANYWHERE in this country using my stealth Vanabode methods so you do not need me to tell you where I went, or where you should go. PICK a place, any place and test the strategies I employ. The entire country is yours, you hardly need a list from me telling you where you have to go. Explore. It's all yours.

Anonymous Critic "There is extremely limited information on the use of solar panels, no mention of a dual battery system, very limited mention of gas stoves (just a passing reference to gas canister
stoves, no mention of gas plumbing except for use of a toilet, no mention of water storage".
My Answer - Vanabode shows you how and why solar panels are unnecessary, troublesome, and expensive. You do not need a custom dual battery system so why should I mention it? Installed gas stoves are dangerous and can kill you in an enclosed vehicle so the book shows you 5 other ways to cook. We use simple 1 gallon jugs for water storage and that is stated in the book.

Anonymous Critic "Some of the advice is not good either. Take for example this from page 83 of the book: "Roof vents are a specialty item that not everybody will want or need. We had ours installed at an RV Motorhome dealership and wired directly to the 12 volt system. This allows us to run it without the key being in the van ignition for up to 10 continuous hours". Well, good luck with your flat battery after you try that."
My Answer - You don't know what you are talking about. We have run this vent from the van battery just as I stated for up to ten hours without the van running and we have never run down the battery.

Anonymous Critic "there is the very dubious reference to a "Secret NASA report" on page 110. The link contained goes back to another of Jason's web sites where there is a statement that "This chart came directly from a secret insurance document I acquired while working at NASA". The chart could have been produced by anyone using a basic spreadsheet package.
My Answer - I used to work for NASA and this is factual information. You can still see my name at the bottom of the now closed NASA website I ran for them for 5 years at http://weboflife.nasa.gov

Anonymous Critic "there is a whole chapter on Sex that consists of anecdotes about him and his wife having sex, a quote from the bible, some poetry, and other "details" on the practical issues of outdoor copulation...nothing about the difficulties of attracting a partner to your van.
My Answer - Sorry sir, if you bought Vanabode to help you pick up women you bought the wrong book. My chapter on sex is important to long term travel and the chapter explains in great detail why. It is a healthy and normal part of life and cannot be skipped on a one year journey as you might do during a week long camping trip. The chapter provides strategies for reviving romance and maintaining a great sex life while traveling. And YES since you are at times hiking and camping in the wild outdoors there are some practical down to Earth nitty gritty details to help folks pull it off rather than get frustrated.

Anonymous Critic "Speaking of Jason Odom's other web sites. Google his name. They are all about making money.
My Answer - Most all my websites are centered around long term travel and I get as many as 3-9 emails a day from folks asking me "how do you make money to travel WITH?" "how do you pay for it all?" So I gratefully tell everyone how to make enough money to live on the road for as long as they want just like I have been doing for 22+ years. Sorry if telling people how I pay for a permanent vacation offends you.

Anonymous Critic "He says he invented Vanabode. Not true. People have lived in vans for years".
My Answer - To Vanabode is NOT to simply "live in a van" or "van dwell" but rather encompasses how to TRAVEL forever and live ANYWHERE you want from big cities like Las Vegas and San Francisco to National Parks like Zion and Glacier. It is NOT limited to staying put in one or two backcountry places a year "living out of a van like a hippy" but rather includes strategies for a complete life that includes these chapters: Essentials of a Great Life shows how to satisfy all your life's needs while traveling: Great Food covers food storage, purchase strategies, choices, budget, cooking, eating out. Good Sleep cannot be emphasized enough, here's how to have the best sleep you have ever had. Good Personal Hygiene covers bathing, showering, shaving, toilet time, while on the road. Sex provides strategies for reviving romance and maintaining a great sex life while traveling. Finally Protection from the Elements demonstrates why a Vanabode can be much better better than a house for protecting you from the elements and natural disasters.

Anonymous Critic "there was a racist use of the word "Abbo" which is a completely offensive term used to denigrate and insult Australian Aboriginals.
My Answer - You are misreading the paragraph and missing the point of this text which covers how so many of us are suppressed by our jobs, employers and debt. To clear this up I have included the text straight from the book: "By contrast observe my early American Indian relatives perspective on life: Before white's came the Indians had no criminals because they had no jails. You can't have a criminal without a jail. They didn't have locks and keys, so they had no thieves. If anybody was poor and needed a horse or blanket, someone owning an extra horse or blanket gave it to him. They didn't have money, so a man's worth couldn't be measured by it. They did not have any written laws, which meant no attorneys or politicians, so they couldn't cheat." They lived a simple life unencumbered by much of the toil, stress and life sucking responsibilities that we push on our present day Americans. White somewhat racist Australians have used the term walkabout. . ."That lazy Abbo just up and left his job and went walkabout" to describe the Aborigines who are so suppressed by the white mans 9-5 grind that they literally just walk away. To keep from going stir crazy at the white mans manual labor jobs they find themselves qualified for, they simply put down their tools and walk into the wilderness. Sometimes they are not seen again for a year or more. This is the power behind being able to "walk away" or in my case Vanabode travel forever without an employer, boss, or job.

Anonymous Critic "The links to your 'cool destinations' page is just places you've been, but not where you stayed or how to get there.
My Answer - Are you kidding? How can you say I don't tell you how to get there when I provide maps, directions, state identifications, and in some cases even GPS coordinates? I don't tell you how to get there? Drive. That should be obvious.

Anonymous Critic "One of the ways you say you can make money while traveling is to make a web page, put ads on it, does that really work?"
My Answer - YES! Have you ever looked at the Internet? Do you think there are hundreds of thousands of pages of information put there for FREE and not one of those people putting those pages there is making money? I have done EXACTLY that (make money writing simple web pages) and explain how to make money from websites in the book. That's hardly a crime. Honestly that is one of the many legitimate ways to pay for a mobile lifestyle. If you are not at least mildly Internet savvy then I suggest you try one of the other many ways I provide info on in the book like where to find seasonal jobs that require little to no resume and where they only need you 6 months out of the year. They pay you enough to travel the other six months without a job at all.

Anonymous Critic "The chapter for poker players and your method of winning a $100 per day but only spending $20 day sounds great. But if it were that easy everyone would be doing it.
My Answer - Sorry but that chapter was for successful small stakes poker players wanting to live in big poker hubs like Las Vegas. Not everyone can even play poker, and only some of them play well. THAT'S the reason "everyone can't do it". The point is you can put away a lot of money and build a large nest egg playing an average game of poker in Las Vegas IF you can keep your overhead (food, lodging, transportation) down to $600 a month. That is exactly what I show you how to do. It works. That's a fact.

Please send me your criticism of Vanabode and I will publish your thoughts here.

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