Years in the past, the considered somebody residing in a van would immediately make folks consider the notorious van down by the river SNL skit the place falling on onerous occasions was the one cause for residing in a automobile. Now, society has flipped this notion on its head and van life has turn into a cool new development for folks searching for journey and freedom.
With photographs of dreamy vans and picture-perfect van life moments plastering Instagram feeds in every single place, the life-style is portrayed as a magical expertise with seemingly no worries in sight. Is that what residing in a van is basically like?
After spending a number of months on our personal van life journey, we’ve come to understand that the reality lies someplace in between. This way of life does ship a good few “pinch me” moments, however it additionally comes with a variety of onerous work behind the scenes.
To share the reality about residing in a van with you, we’ve put collectively this text answering your most ceaselessly requested query: we dive deep into questions like “the place we go to the toilet” to “how we survive residing with one another 24/7”.
Let’s put the insta-perfect photographs apart and dive into the nitty-gritty of van life!
What’s van life?
Past the fundamentals of truly residing inside a automobile, van life is a social motion that’s rooted in touring, residing with much less, and connecting with nature. Individuals everywhere in the world are leaving their desk jobs and mortgages behind to dwell a lifetime of nomadic journey and minimalism.
For us, van dwelling is an extension of our touring way of life that enables us to have our residence with us whereas embarking on every kind of latest adventures. We’re not tied down to 1 location and we’ve the liberty and adaptability to roam at our personal tempo and on our personal path.
Why do folks select to dwell in a van?
There are a lot of the explanation why folks select to dwell in a van and there’s nobody cause that applies to everybody. For us, it’s all in regards to the freedom to journey whereas with the ability to “keep residence” on the similar time. It’s the good steadiness through the pandemic since we’re capable of spend time in nature and discover the nation whereas nonetheless retaining ourselves distanced from others. It’s superb having a comfy residence to return to that’s just a few steps away from wherever we’re.
In regular occasions, residing out of a van means with the ability to journey to distinctive locations in locations which might be off the overwhelmed path in each nook of the world (which might be road-accessible, after all!). The worldwide van life group consists of individuals from all walks of life who collectively share a number of the similar values and starvation for brand new experiences.
Other than journey, residing in a transformed van can also be a means for some to personal a house that’s utterly their very own and free from hire or mortgage funds. A van is usually a cell surf wagon, a climbing hub on wheels, or a conveyable mountain biking storage—no matter you love to do, your tiny residence shall be there ready for you as a result of your own home is the place you park it.
Residence within the Rockies!
The place do you park in a single day?
Discovering locations to park in a single day could be hectic however is a giant a part of the journey that’s van life.
The simplest place to park up for the evening are campgrounds and RV parks. These are plentiful all throughout North America and provide a secure spot to park up, be in for 1 evening or for 1 week. We’re capable of plug in, hook as much as water and sewer, and reap the benefits of amenities like sizzling showers and laundry. Parks and campgrounds normally have WiFi too so settling into our website after a street journey means we are able to keep related, make amends for work, or simply lay in mattress and watch Netflix—a blissful a part of the van way of life. Campgrounds and RV parks in Canada value between CAD $30-$60, so whereas it’s low cost in comparison with the price of a lodge room, it’s removed from free.
When we aren’t in a Nationwide/Provincial Park and don’t want a hookup, we use web sites like freecampsites.web or iOverlander to seek out tenting spots outdoors of campgrounds. These are normally free or very low cost tenting spots the place “boondocking” (dry tenting with out hookups or amenities) is the secret. Free campsites on crown land have been a few of our favourites – we love waking up tucked away within the forest with wildlife round it.
We additionally love membership websites like Boondockers Welcome and Harvest Hosts the place you’ll be able to camp on hosts’ property for an annual membership payment. It’s an incredible alternative to remain in cool areas like wineries or farms and meet locals who can provide you journey suggestions. Harvest Hosts don’t normally provide way more than a parking spot, whereas Boondockers Welcome hosts go all out, usually providing energy, water and even wifi hookups!
Nice parking spot at Qualicum Bay First Nations Campsite on Vancouver Island
How do you prepare dinner in a van?
Cooking in a van could also be a lot tighter than most residence kitchens, however catching views out of the home windows as you lean over the range makes it that a lot better. Since our van is outfitted with 400A of energy, our kitchen seems to be fairly just like an strange home kitchen. We use quite a few applicances, together with our induction cooktop, convection toaster oven, InstaPot, in addition to devices like Ninja Blender and immersion blender.
We do most of our cooking on the induction cooktop and are huge followers of the InstaPot too. Our toaster oven is nice for making toast at breakfast, roasting veggies, cooking pizza and even baking dessert!
We additionally purchased a set of ceramic knives so we don’t have to fret about sharpening or rust and we’ve discovered a number of intelligent space-saving storage containers and organizers to profit from all of our space for storing and drawers.
Whereas we opted for all-electric cooking home equipment, a number of van lifers have a propane range or a conveyable camp range that they use to prepare dinner indoors or outdoors. These are helpful to have since they don’t require electrical energy, however you do must at all times be sure you have the propane crammed up and a carbon monoxide detector.
Cooking contained in the van
How do you get electrical energy in a van?
One of the best ways to get electrical energy in a van is with a photo voltaic system. Determining what you want and the way the whole lot works can generally really feel overwhelming, so beginning with a photo voltaic package, like this one from Renogy, is a superb place to start to take a number of the guesswork out.
We knew we needed a strong system earlier than we hit the street that may permit us to spend a number of days at a time with out being plugged in. Now we have 2 x 300W photo voltaic panels and 4 x lithium-ion batteries, plus an alternator charger that enables us to cost our batteries as we drive. We by no means have to fret about operating low on energy, even on cloudy days.
A generator is an alternative choice for off-grid energy that’s cheaper upfront however could be pricey and noisy in comparison with photo voltaic. Nonetheless, a backup supply of energy isn’t a foul thought to have once you don’t know what the climate goes to be like.
Our electrical arrange
The place do you discover water?
Now we have a 25-gallon freshwater tank inside our van and a plumbing system that pumps water straight to our sink or bathe. We refill our freshwater tank any time we keep at a campground or RV park. A lot of fuel stations even have water spigots that you should utilize when you ask, and wherever that has an RV dump station at all times has a water hose. As a result of we’re filling up from so many alternative sources, we’ve a filter system to guarantee that our water is at all times clear and chemical-free.
It’s also possible to luck out at some public parks or relaxation areas which have a public-use spigot. Dwelling the van life is all about being resourceful. When water just isn’t simply obtainable, we’ll hop on our trusty iOverlander app, and search for water sources shared by others by way of the app. There may be normally a supply in each city!
How do you bathe whereas residing in a van?
Life in a van could be messy and having a built-in bathe was necessary to us in finishing our residence on wheels. Scorching water is incredible, however considerably restricted with our 4-gallon electrical sizzling water heater. Our showers could also be a bit shorter, however they’re nonetheless a lot appreciated after a protracted day.
We even have memberships at Anytime Health, which has areas everywhere in the US, Canada, and numerous different international locations. We attempt to hit the gymnasium each 1-2 days and use their showers afterwards. Truck stops and public swimming pools are additionally choices for street showers that normally solely value a couple of dollars.
When it’s heat out, photo voltaic showers or propane-heated moveable showers are superb for rinsing off outdoors. You possibly can even put up certainly one of these bathe tents for privateness and revel in a makeshift cell spa wherever you go!
The place do you discover bogs whereas residing in a van?
Going to the toilet is at all times everybody’s favorite query and it’s not one thing you ever see within the glamorous social media photographs. Travelling in a van means a variety of time on the street and due to this fact, loads of alternatives to make use of public bogs at fuel stations and trailheads, for instance.
Campgrounds and RV parks at all times have bogs, together with the native espresso store the place we could be stopping to get a tea within the morning anyway. For conditions after we don’t have entry to a public rest room, we’ve our moveable rest room. We use it each day and whereas it’s not a brilliant enjoyable job to wash it, the comfort of getting a rest room on board is definitely price it.
How do you discover the very best van to dwell in?
Shopping for a van to dwell in is a lot greater than purchasing for a automotive or trying to find an condominium. We put collectively this in-depth article about how to decide on the very best van for a camper conversion the place you could find the whole lot it’s essential learn about what to search for and why it issues, together with a listing of the very best vans for van life.
Discovering the right van requires a variety of analysis and is a distinct course of for everybody. We spent a month researching earlier than we selected Benji and that point was tremendous precious to get a really feel for what we would have liked to dwell full time in a van comfortably. Enthusiastic about your way of life and on a regular basis actions will allow you to determine and plan out your residing house. In any case, the very best vans to dwell in are people who work along with your wants and finances.
What do you do for medical health insurance?
Fortunately, medical health insurance isn’t a fear or a further value for us Canadians however for others within the US or these residing in vans outdoors of their residence nation or province, we suggest Security Wing. Their plans are reasonably priced and are catered to nomads like us who’re not often in a single spot. They’ve even bought you coated for Covid-19 insurance coverage, which is nice peace of thoughts throughout these unsure occasions.
How are you going to make cash whereas residing in a van?
Making a living on the street is a vital a part of residing the van life. If you happen to’re already arrange at a job that permits you to work remotely, you’ve gotten the liberty to work from wherever so long as you’ve gotten web and electrical energy. One optimistic end result of the pandemic is that an increasing number of persons are capable of work remotely, opening up the likelihood for transformed van residing.
You can begin a YouTube channel or a van life weblog to chronicle your travels and probably make revenue via partnerships or affiliate internet marketing. You possibly can work freelance utilizing platforms like Upwork or Fiverr the place you’ll be able to full duties for folks everywhere in the world. You possibly can even train English to children abroad when you have dependable web and are pleased with uncommon work hours.
For individuals who aren’t as computer-savvy or want to work with their palms, you’ll be able to look into doing seasonal work like fruit choosing within the Okanagan or turning into a camp host. Packages like Workamper permit nomads to work in campgrounds in change for a campsite and a few money. If you happen to’re shopping for a van for journey and journey solely, you’ll be able to save up cash forward of time and maintain a finances for street journeys.
Since we’ve been touring full time for the final 5 years, transitioning to residing in a van was simple. Our weblog, social media channels, and different revenue sources can simply help our full-time van life.
Working within the van… nicely at the very least certainly one of us is
How do you keep heat whereas residing in a van within the winter?
Dwelling in a Sprinter van in Canada just isn’t as simple as it will be to do van life in say, Australia, or one other heat nation. To organize for the cruel temperatures, we invested in good insulation and a strong warmth supply. Throughout our construct, we made certain to insulate our partitions and flooring as a lot as doable so we are able to effectively warmth our van.
We put in a diesel heater to pump out good, dry warmth with out placing an excessive amount of of a drain on our battery financial institution or creating extra moisture like propane does. It has stood the check of -20°C temperatures within the Rocky Mountains and at all times retains us heat and cozy.
Some vanlife suggestions for staying heat within the winter are to at all times have heat blankets and further socks round and to cowl up your home windows when doable to forestall any drafts. Utilizing a cloth like Reflectix will block drafts and forestall warmth loss so long as you’ve gotten a little bit of air house between the insert and the window. They’ll additionally double as warmth shields in the summertime when the solar is baking via the home windows.
Cozy blankets are a should!
How do you keep cool in the summertime?
Even with a sturdy photo voltaic system, operating an air conditioner in a van isn’t sensible until you’re plugged in. In Canada, we’ve far fewer sizzling days than chilly days, however we nonetheless thought-about beating the summer season warmth after we had been doing our construct.
To maintain air circulating, we put in two MaxxAir followers that maintain air circulating in our van and maintain us cool on sizzling days. We put in one over the mattress and one over the kitchen so we are able to at all times have recent air shifting via the van and never simply in a single spot. We are able to maintain the vents open even when it’s raining and so they create an incredible cross breeze!
How a lot does it value to dwell in a van?
The price of residing in a van has three features to it: the price of your van, the price of your construct, and the price of your day-to-day bills. Whereas discovering a superb van to dwell in and constructing it out to your wants is step one, your month-to-month bills fluctuate largely primarily based on how a lot you journey.
Shopping for a van for touring means a number of fuel fill-ups and the price of campgrounds will change your hire or mortgage fee, together with the recurring prices like insurance coverage and automobile upkeep. For some, van life could be an effective way to save cash and dwell rent-free, however it’s not as low cost as you could assume once you’re doing a number of actions and city-exploring.
Dwelling within the van has decreased our month-to-month journey bills since there’s no want for inns and rental automobiles, however has elevated different areas like groceries as a result of extra frequent journeys and never with the ability to fill up or purchase in bulk. Issues like cooking your personal meals and using free campsites wherever doable are good methods to save cash, together with opting without spending a dime leisure like mountaineering. No matter your finances, it’s essential to have some cash put aside for emergencies since automobile repairs and surprising bills are all a part of residing the van life.
How do you pack for residing in a van?
With such restricted house, there may be actually solely room for issues which might be helpful and necessary—aka no room for “stuff.” Slicing down your clothes assortment to a minimalist wardrobe means ditching that prime you’ve solely worn as soon as and solely retaining the items which might be versatile and straightforward to deal with.
We’ve been residing out of our suitcases for years, so we didn’t must downsize any additional to accommodate our treasured space for storing. We did add possessions to outfit our kitchen and switch our van into a house, however we purchased consciously, sticking solely to the naked necessities and choosing objects which might be purposeful and long-lasting. Take a look at our record of the 52 Greatest Van Life Necessities to seek out a few of our favorite van-friendly objects.
Whereas we had been already well-versed with minimalist residing, many individuals coming from giant properties or flats could have a variety of downsizing to do. This course of is usually a problem however leads to an extremely liberating feeling when you understand how little you really want. Plus, you’ll be able to promote all of your possessions and use that cash to fund your first vanlife street journey!
How do you keep organized whereas residing in a van?
Staying organized in such a small house is essential. Fortunately, Oksana is a little bit of a neat freak and runs a decent ship in terms of group within the van. When the whole lot is nicely organized, even the smallest of areas have loads of room for all your issues.
Our van stays good and tidy with the assistance of dividers, storage baskets, and further cabinets. It’s actually necessary that each merchandise has its place with a designated storage space for all of our clothes, kitchen necessities, and outside gear.
Sprinter van life could also be tiny, however correct group permits us to maximise the entire house that we do have.
How do you keep related?
Getting access to the web permits us to work, keep in contact with family and friends, and plan our subsequent street journey. We use WiFi at campgrounds at any time when we’re staying at one and have a WiFi vary extender for occasions when our sign is weak. Many locations on Boondockers Welcome additionally provide free WiFi, which is a big perk!
Once we’re not at a spot with WiFi, we use our cellphone’s 4G hotspot that helps us keep related in locations the place there isn’t any wifi. We simply pay a month-to-month payment, like a cellular phone plan, and may entry the web wherever there’s cell service. It’s a terrific various to hopping between espresso outlets or staking out a car parking zone the place you could find a sign.
How do you get mail?
With no fastened handle, getting mail means having to get somewhat artistic. We ship issues to family and friends’s homes throughout Canada after we know we’ll be heading that means, however for different occasions, there are a number of completely different choices for nomads like us.
Getting a P.O. Field is an efficient place to begin, with Canada Submit providing Flex Supply so you’ll be able to choose your parcels up at put up places of work throughout the nation for no further charges. The draw back to a P.O. Field is that you would be able to’t use this as a legitimate handle for any official functions like a drivers license or submitting your taxes. The UPS Retailer has postal containers that provide you with an precise avenue handle for about $200/yr which might be good for van life.
Amazon packages are simple to choose up on the street via Amazon Lockers, that are everywhere in the US and are beginning to pop up in Canada too. Dwelling on the street has its hurdles however fortunately, getting mail just isn’t certainly one of them.
How do you determine the place to journey?
Touring the world is a distinct journey for everybody. You would possibly wish to strive vanlife to take a look at each Nationwide Park or to go to your distant family members all throughout the nation. Some folks journey searching for heat climate or to seek out wherever the waves are the largest.
For us, when the pandemic occurred and our journey plans all got here to a halt, we thought it will be a terrific thought to lastly discover our personal yard. We researched the entire locations that folks from different international locations come to Canada to go to and deliberate our journey round ticking these distinctive locations off our record.
Climate can also be a giant issue, which is why we left Ontario for the west coast to avoid wasting ourselves from the snow and frigid temperatures. We’re targeted on discovering what makes Canada so particular and wish to try all of the cool locations that Canada is legendary for after which some!
The place do you do laundry?
Similar to utilizing public bogs, life on the street could have you passing by laundromats on a regular basis. Whereas doing laundry at a laundromat isn’t as handy as having a washer and dryer in-house, you are able to do all of your laundry directly and take these couple hours to make amends for cleansing or organizing.
We additionally take the chance to make use of laundry amenities at any time when we’re staying at a campground or RV park so we all know we’ll be able to go as soon as we set off for our subsequent vacation spot. If you wish to have a backup system for days the place you solely have a number of issues to scrub, strive a Scrubba Wash Bag for an eco-friendly and moveable answer that permits you to do laundry wherever. Simply ensure that to make use of biodegradable laundry detergent, we significantly like thsi plastic free selection!
How do you keep match?
In the summertime, the open air is your personal multi-purpose gymnasium. Whether or not you’re mountaineering, swimming, climbing, or doing one other outside exercise, retaining match open air is enjoyable and free! Dwelling the van life means you’ll spend heaps of time outdoors so staying match is simply a part of the bundle. For plenty of van lifers, having space for storing for bikes or surfboards is crucial as a result of many journey plans are primarily based solely on outside actions.
Within the winter, staying match is usually a little bit tougher. Whereas our Sprinter is spacious sufficient to prepare dinner and hangout, it’s a bit too tight for exercising and stretching. We placed on our considering caps and determined to get gymnasium memberships to Anytime Health so we’ve room to work out and can take limitless sizzling showers—strategy to kill two birds with one stone!
What do you do on wet days?
Whereas being open air is a giant a part of the van dwelling way of life, residing in a van full time means having to cope with wet days spent indoors too. These are the times the place we’ll make amends for work or cleansing, or prepare dinner a very nice meal that we wouldn’t have time to make in any other case.
Sitting within the van with a pleasant, sizzling cup of tea whereas curled up with a ebook is tremendous cozy and listening to the rain hit the metallic roof is definitely fairly peaceable. Van life is about having fun with your environment and making day-after-day depend, whatever the climate. Some days we’ll take a nap or watch Netflix marathons, whereas others are spent across the desk with our laptops and a bottle of wine.
Having fun with a comfy day contained in the van on a wet day
How do you reside along with your companion 24/7?
We thought we had been used to being collectively 24/7 whereas touring full time, however shifting into an 80 sq. foot house is an entire new degree of residing carefully. The tiny residing facet of van life makes it more difficult, however we do nonetheless want some alone time to remain sane and revel in our personal house.
We struggled at first, however have managed to incorporate alone time into our journey plans at any time when we are able to. Often, that is when Max goes to the gymnasium and I select to forego a exercise in favour of some me-time. Let’s face it, it’s a sacrifice I’m very happy to make!
To present us a break from van life and make amends for some much-needed showers and laundry, we’ll hire an Airbnb for a number of days or keep at a lodge each few weeks and recharge. Regardless that it’s only a few days, having the additional room to dwell with out continuously bumping into one another is an efficient means for us to get some house and stretch out a bit.
Is it secure to dwell in a van?
Van life, on the whole, is as secure as residing wherever so long as you’re acutely aware of the place you’re parking and should not counting on staying on a metropolis avenue in a shady space. We select to remain at a variety of campgrounds and RV parks the place security isn’t a difficulty as a result of the grounds are non-public property with loads of different folks round.
We’re at all times acutely aware to not depart any valuables out within the open wherever we park, particularly if we’re leaving the van to go on a hike or do laundry. Some folks select to have additional safety measures like alarms or deadbolts, however these items are higher fitted to these residing in cities who haven’t any alternative however to park on the town.
What’s life actually like in a van?
Actual vanlife is a lot greater than what you see on Instagram. There are many messy flooring, popped tires, and emergency rest room breaks that simply don’t make the lower into the superbly staged photographs and tales.
The fact of residing in a van is life within the gradual lane. You’re by no means dashing to get to the workplace on time or sitting in rush hour visitors after an exhausting day. As a substitute, you’re taking the whole lot in the future at a time and shifting at a tempo that feels best for you, whether or not that’s primarily based on how shortly you wish to get to the subsequent Nationwide Park or what number of hours you are feeling like driving that day.
Whereas the tempo is beautiful, the whole lot else strikes somewhat slower too. Easy issues like preparing or cleansing all take that for much longer within the van since you’re continuously placing issues away and attempting to remain organized whereas doing so.
Cooking, washing the dishes, and even simply getting ready to drive all have a laundry record of issues you need to verify and safe earlier than setting off. There isn’t any definitive information for the way to dwell in a van so it takes a variety of adaptability and preparedness to determine issues out as you go.
Last Ideas
Whereas vanlife isn’t all fairly views and wild rides, it’s an incredible expertise that has formed a lust-worthy way of life for these wanting the liberty to journey with all of the comforts of residence. We’ve managed to create a house for ourselves that may be something from an journey cell to a café on wheels and the whole lot in between.
There are much more issues to consider when doing even essentially the most menial of duties, like going to the toilet or brushing your tooth, however all of those each day challenges are what make van life attention-grabbing. In any case, the place’s the enjoyable in realizing that there’s at all times going to be water once you activate the faucet or energy everytime you wish to flip a lightweight on?! Van residing isn’t at all times glamorous, however it certain is an unimaginable strategy to dwell.