10 Tips for New Van Lifers
We set off on our journey to full time van dwelling in August 2021. As new vanlifers, we thought we knew what we were doing because we watched all the YouTube videos and followed all the Instagram accounts. But once we got in, we realized the learning curve was a lot steeper than we originally thought! If you are early on in your van journey or you’re thinking about doing it, continue reading!
Here are 10 tips we learned in our first week of our van life journey!
FLEXIBILITY IS KEY!
Be FLEXIBLE! Not only physically, but for your travelling. Having a plan is important, but if something comes up, be ready to adapt. You might hear about a cool spot from a local or fellow vanlifer. If you’re going to opt for having no plan and completely winging it (which is how we started), prepare to do a lot of extra driving then realizing you might have missed out on something awesome in the spot you just were! Your life is on the road now, ENJOY IT!
Also stretch! Driving takes a lot out of you physically. We like to do yoga and stretch daily, but also find a FOAM ROLLER* works wonders after a long day of driving.
SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS
Figure out where you’re going to sleep ahead of time - like when you wake up, have your cup of coffee, and plan ahead for later that night where you’re going to be. This is the #1 piece of advice we got from our OG vanlife friends after they travelled for 3 years. Don’t wait until dark to figure it out! If you get there before nightfall, you’ll be able to feel out the space. If it seems sketchy or someone is already where you planned to go (this happened for us when trying to find a campsite on a Friday night), you may want to or HAVE TO move on.
Here are a few resources we use to find a place to sleep if you live in a van:
Websites: Freecampsites.net
Apps: iOverlander, FreeRoam, Sekr
Subscriptions: Boondockers Welcome, Harvest Hosts
IN A PINCH OR JUST PASSING THROUGH: Cracker Barrels, Walmarts, Bass Pro Shops, and Cabela’s will allow you to sleep in their parking lot overnight. It is best to call while the businesses are open to ask first! Keep an eye out for any signs that may say “NO OVERNIGHT PARKING” You’ll obviously want to avoid those places or get the dreaded 2am knock.BUY TO EAT
If you are going to buy fresh produce, eat it right away. The variable temperature and humidity in the van caused us to lose different veggies on a few different occasions. Peppers and cucumbers seem to suffer the most. We’ve only been on the road in late summer so far, so we’re sure this will change in the colder seasons. Another thing, your produce hammock will turn your avocados into guacamole while you drive, use a fruit basket instead.
BUG SCREENS! GET THEM!
These are not only great for cleaning but also for getting rid of bugs!
Bugs will be the bane of your vanlife existence. Bug screens will make your life 1000x better! ALWAYS PUT THEM UP! YOU WILL REGRET IT IF YOU DON’T! You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on custom ones when you can buy them from Amazon and DIY it for significantly less money. You will want regular door bug screens in standard sizes then hem them to length. They attach with velcro so make sure you make note of where you want to attach your velcro when measuring. I️ measured from weather strip to weather strip and it was too short. Leave a little extra: Here’s what we have for our 2019 Ram Promaster:
Magzo Bug Screens:
Side door 60x80: https://amzn.to/3kDbjxm
Rear door 64x80: https://amzn.to/3BjUAWE
Tools You’ll need:
Seam Ripper: https://amzn.to/3sX44nF
Hot Glue Gun: https://amzn.to/3BhNbXKGET A HANDHELD VACUUM
These are not only great for cleaning but also for getting rid of bugs!
This is my ritual for getting rid of mosquitos at night:
Make sure you have your bug screens up all day (Remember the one you bought and DIY’d yourself?)
When you’re ready for bed, close the door.
Turn off all lights except one ceiling light.
Turn on your exhaust fan(we have a Maxxair Fan). Isolate the bugs to the light and suck them up with your handheld vaccum.
A COMPOSTING TOILET ISN’T BAD
Using the bathroom in the van isn’t really that bad. We use the Nature’s Head composting toilet. It’s expensive, but it really doesn’t stink. It has a small computer fan which vents outside the van. So you will need electricity if you choose this option. For us, it was a non-negotiable. We’re both waker-upper-in-the-middle-of-the-nighters, so digging a hole outside or running into a 24-hour Wal-Mart or gas station wasn’t ever an option. The manual says it’s good for 60-80 uses, so you don’t need to worry about dealing with the poop right away. If you do choose a cheaper method (think plastic bag in a bucket), you’re gonna have to deal with that right away. You’re paying for comfort and convenience with the Nature’s Head. And we like to be comfortable.
The smells aren’t the same as in a traditional toilet with water. We don’t know the science, but it’s true. We light a candle just in case. And if you’re wondering if it’s weird pooping in front of your partner who’s only 6 feet away, we got used to it, so will you.
COFFEE DRINKERS: DITCH THE FRENCH PRESS!
I know, I know, you saw the slow motion pours on YouTube, and the mountain backdrop photos on Instagram of that steamy cup of coffee poured from a French press but here’s the reality: It makes a HUGE mess and is hard to clean. Imagine coffee grounds everywhere and you need to run more water and risk filling up that nasty Grey Water tank sooner than you already planned for. We recommend an Aeropress. Quick to brew, even quicker to clean.
DOWNSIZE BEFORE MOVING IN
You don’t need nearly as much stuff as what you brought. Those “nice to haves” take up a lot of valuable space. Van life is a huge crash course in minimalism. What do you actually use and what do you actually need to survive? Only bring those things! Also, when building, you don’t need to account for more storage than you ACTUALLY need. So what we did was put our necessities on the floor, then built cabinets and modified storage space to make sure we can fit at least those things. Plan all you want, but you’ll never know what you’re really going to use until you move in.
CLEAN UP RIGHT AWAY
Cleaning dishes sucks but just do them as soon as you make the mess. We are two LAZY people! When we lived in an apartment, we used to stockpile dishes until the morning. Now, we HAVE to take care of it right away to mitigate smells, space and the possibility of attracting flies. It’s a good habit to get into anyways. Consider buying a dish bucket so you don’t need to constantly run your precious water.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY
If traveling with a partner, you need to be on the same page constantly. Don’t expect your fellow traveler to read your mind, even if you’ve been living with them for years. Everything is different now! There are so many decisions to make every day. It can get overwhelming but if you communicate and give a lot of grace, you will be ok!
Have more tips for van lifers? Comment below!
