Vanlife

[BartekD]

Ive been considering doing Van life for some months and on the verge of going for it, Im curious if anyone here has ever tried it. And if so, what are the pros and cons and what should I watch out for. Any resources that you all might have on this topic are also greatly appreciated! 

[Ethan1]

I've been doing RV life for the past two years & traveled from AL to WY. I mean, it's pretty similar yet not as flexible as van life.

Pros of Van Life : 

• Better gas mileage
• Flexibility to get into more places***
• Ability to mobilize - Leaving campsites
• Ability to meet more people being in smaller towns/ more social
• Easier to travel longer distances
• Less gross weight on the vehicle 
• A large community of people doing it
• Ability to cut costs on rent
• Ability to live extremely frugally (depending on your tolerance)
• Work in some of the most remote places
• Cut costs of visiting prime location / vacation locations 

Cons of Van Life:

• Can get expensive (without a plan)
• Can get super lonely***
• Can be taxing on yourself emotionally constantly moving to new places
• Can get in situations where things break and you're responsible to fix
• Juggling all the responsibilities
• Limited amount of resources ( water & electricity )
• Limited amount of space for storage 
• Frequent visits to the grocery store
• Showering & taking dumps in odd locations
• Not getting much sleep from outside noises
• Waking up in the middle of the night from sounds

Being away from family & friends



There's also pros and cons compared to vans vs RVs and other types of vehicles. Really just depends on how long you plan on doing it. Also depends on your budget with what you can afford. I have a 27ft RV which is way to big for one person. However it's really nice to be able to get up and walk around. Being stuck in a van would drive me insane after a few months. I'd highly recommend looking at like a smaller sized trailer that has a shower & everything built into it. Some vans get be stupid expensive unless you build it out yourself. Either a small pull behind trailer or a truckbed style camper. Those things would be a blend between van life & rv life. However, you're still dealing with limited space. I would highly recommend you look into getting an electric bike too. Look for a light weight E-bike. This would help on saving gas & you could get exercise. I've been able to meet a ton of people having an ebike.

Truly depends on your travel goals. Long term goals vs short term. Will you be staying in locations for a few days, weeks, months? Gets expensive constantly being on the move. For me I spent a few months driving & camping out. Then now I'm basically negotiating rent in prime locations for long term stays. Right now I'm in Estes Park which is near the rocky mountains. My rent is extremely low per month in a Prime location! However, in a van it would be uncomfortable with the extreme cold weather. 

In my opinion, if I were to do it again I'd go with a less than 20ft rv that has a slide out that you can stand up in. Shower in. Take a crap in. A nice bed. A stove. Propane connection. Water storage. A decent A/C system. Get the E-bike(light weight). An extra battery. A simple foldable solar panel system to charge the battery. LED lights. Call it a day. 

Then other than that download the app  ioverlander. By far the most useful app I have found yet. I basically travelled over a thousand miles and camped at hundreds of places for free with that app. Plus places that had water connections and 30amp hook ups. Plus some really awesome views. 

Edited March 28, 2021 by Ethan1

[BartekD]

@Ethan1 Whoah thank you for all this info. And i've been really thinking about going into it because I have to move out soon but don't want to rent since its expensive and you don't own the property you stay at which is kinda pointless. I like the travel parts of it but the truth is, id love to just not have to be worried about paying rent and having the freedom to quit a job if i'm ever dissatisfied without the worry of having to make ends meet or making a commitment to an apartment. In regards to the shower id be staying close to a gym since thats closely related to my LP but like you said the food part is also what ive been trying to figure out. Either way even though I would be living in a vehicle id be staying in one state for about a year, and still work my 9-5, do you think its worth it to do that? Mid term about 2-5 years I will be working completely remotely so this would set me up. I was thinking of renting first to try it out and see if I like this lifestyle but I know it takes time to adapt. How did you come to the decision to start doing this and what pushed you into it? Also RV life seems much closer to what im looking for as well so thanks for pointing that out. 

When you say it can get expensive what do you mean by that? What exactly are you spending money on? other then the general utilities/fixing RV

11 hours ago, Ethan1 said:

In my opinion, if I were to do it again I'd go with a less than 20ft rv that has a slide out that you can stand up in. Shower in. Take a crap in. A nice bed. A stove. Propane connection. Water storage. A decent A/C system. Get the E-bike(light weight). An extra battery. A simple foldable solar panel system to charge the battery. LED lights. Call it a day. 

This would be ideal 

[Ethan1]

@BartekD If your goal is to just cut rent cost.. First thing I would do is put an ad on craigslist about putting an RV on someones property Negotiate helping work around the property to help lower rent cost too. Best to find a place with all the utility hook ups. I've been hooked up with just a simple 15amp cord. And have a water connection too. 

That app I shared with you will save a ton $! I never stayed at a single RV site for a few months. Most rv sites are like $20-$100 per night. Whereas with iOverlander there's places where you can boondock for free up to a week. It's kind of a crowd sourced app where people share locations to stay at. 

Some RV sites do allow you to stay on their property for free if you are willing to work. Plus they will pay in addition. 

If anything, I'd recommend looking for like a website to rent a small RV for a week. Take it for a test ride and see if you can get acclimated to the lifestyle and driving. See what works best for you before pulling the trigger on a big purchase/investment. 

It would be a pain in the butt to live in a van for a year. A small rv is more realistic for a living situation in my opinion. The fridges are larger and can run off propane & electricity. Vans typically require a small ice chest size fridge & solar setup to keep running. Not to say it's impossible. I've seen people living out of their car while traveling which seems even more difficult to deal with. 

Again, if your goal is to cut cost on rent. It's best to find a place where you can negotiate the rent really low. I was able to get my rent down to $250 a month in Colorado Springs which is insanely low for the area. Most people would spend upwards of $700-$1000 per month. Plus, I have 2 bunk beds in the back. I could have easily allowed someone to stay in it to cut costs even more. It sounds all nice and dandy to travel but once you're on the road your living situation becomes less stable. For stability purposes a long time renter is better for cutting costs. 

How did you come to the decision to start doing this and what pushed you into it?

I came across the decision because I'm super frugal. I got out of the military and never traveled. Lived in a small town Alabama where I had very few social connections. I was ready to get away from family and be more independent. I was curious what was out there. I wanted something new. I was bored. To find a place that fit my personality and be around like minded people. Mostly personal reasons why I left. Took a lot of courage to pull the trigger because of fear. 

Either way even though I would be living in a vehicle id be staying in one state for about a year, and still work my 9-5, do you think its worth it to do that?

That's what I did. I stayed on my brothers property for a year in the RV. Spent most of the time fixing it up and helping him. Basically we found a RV that had water damage. Purchased it for like $4000. Removed all the water damage. Then I got obsessed with pimping it out to make it feel right. There's so much crap to buy for RVs its ridiculous. It's like owning a small apartment but you can take it anywhere. (almost anywhere)

 
Also RV life seems much closer to what im looking for as well so thanks for pointing that out. 

No Problem man, I wish I had someone give me advice when I was first starting out. What's nice is being able to disconnect the RV and leave it somewhere so if you ever decide to get out of camping in it full time you could easily store it on someones property for less than $100 month. Or lease it to someone in the worst case scenario. 

When you say it can get expensive what do you mean by that? 
 

Propane can get expensive in the winter time so get like an oil radiator heater. Yet a 1500W still will eat up electricity like crazy. About $80 in electricity. I'd recommend buying a wifi electricity monitor to connect to a 15amp wall outlet. I track my power usage every day. Device only cost like $20. Really depends on where you go and how far you travel. Mostly the upfront cost to get the appropriate travel gear. Whereas, on the road it's all dependent on a ton of variables. How big the RV or camper or whatever is. Just a ton of variables that come into play. It can be super cheap in some cases too. Gotta have a plan.

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by Ethan1