My kids step-dad converted a van (Wanna say a Ford Transit, but I could be wrong) to a camper van that sleeps 3. He did a lot of custom work, ripping out and putting in stuff in the interior, and added windows to the exterior and some solar panels, IIRC. Way cheaper, simpler, and they have actually gone camping with it. Ended up coating the whole thing in bed liner, which was an odd choice IMO, but I guess it is durable.
A network is always stronger than an individual. That is why a lot of rural communities are fairly tight knit, because everyone has helped someone else through “6 degrees of separation”, and so if you need to do XYZ you know that Bob down the road knows how to do that.
IMO, how to instill this in kids is to let them DO things. They want to read early? Teach them. They want to make their own food, show them and let them. They want to build something, give them some wood, a saw, and some nails and hammers. Don’t micromanage and make it YOUR project. Let them do what they want and you interject when safety is an issue, or if they ask for help on how to do something. In some cases it might be “making them” do self sufficient chores vs doing everything for them. But then you don’t end up with a 19 year old at college who doesn’t know how to wash clothes.
