Bob Wells

Bob Wells (born 1955) is an American YouTuber and author. Known for his advocacy of nomadic vandwelling as a form of affordable minimalist living, he founded the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, an annual gathering of van dwellers in Quartzsite, Arizona, and the Homes on Wheels Alliance, a charity that converts vehicles for needy individuals to live and travel in.

Early life Wells's father, who worked as a union clerk at a Safeway grocery store in Anchorage, Alaska, died two years after reaching retirement. Finding himself employed in the same store—and wanting to avoid his father's inability to enjoy retirement—Wells moved into a box van in 1995 purchased with his last $1,500 after working for 20 years at the store. The experience, which occurred during the aftermath of a difficult divorce with two children, After six years, he remarried, moved into a house,

Advocacy In 2005, after seeing a mother and her three children sleeping in a car, Wells created the website cheaprvliving.com to provide tips, resources, and strategies for living in a vehicle. He plays himself in the 2020 film adaptation of the book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.

Rubber Tramp Rendezvous , Wells organized a get-together of vehicle dwellers in Quartzsite, Arizona each January known as the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR). Attendees and other followers of the event are known as "The Tribe". repair and improvement seminars (e.g., installing solar panels),

Homes on Wheels Alliance In October 2018, Wells announced the creation of Homes on Wheels Alliance, a 501(c)(3) charity of which he is the president. Based in Pahrump, Nevada, the organization helps those with housing insecurity by acquiring vehicles and having volunteers convert them into a habitable space.

Works How to Live In a Car, Van or RV: And Get Out of Debt, Travel, and Find True Freedom, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014