What's Your Intention For Van life?

“Why?” and “For how long?” are two essential places to begin before embarking on van life. Only you can answer those questions. Check out Expedition Happiness – a documentary about a young German couple who set off on their van life dream across North America only to find that they missed their family and home comforts (including caring for their very large dog), and end up heading back to Europe earlier than expected. Be aware that if you’re considering van life to “fix” a problem; it may create more in the process.

There are conflicts and dilemmas within any action and being clear about what you want to get out of the experience could be integral to your sanity. It also makes the next step much easier.

Start Incrementally

If you’ve never slept in a van before, that might be a good place to start. Sleep is integral to our wellbeing so if you don’t manage to snooze comfortably, van life will lose its shine pretty quickly. Are you able to function in small spaces and feel confident at the wheel of something larger than a mini? You don’t have to go from zero to a hundred in one step, in fact, that’s usually quite stressful. Give yourself time and space to get used to van life, you can always work your way up.

Figure out the “non negotiables” that will build the foundations of your physical van existence. For me; it was a queen-sized memory foam mattress, homely feel, and plenty of space for surfboards.

Conversion

If you want to do a conversion on the cheap, just do it yourself. It’s possible to source materials from the scrapyard, second hand stores, and charity shops. Reusing and repurposing materials intercepts them heading to landfill, which is much better for the planet.

A great resource is Van Dog Traveller. Mike Hudson who has written “From van to home” explaining every part of converting a second hand LDV van into a mobile cabin. Nate Murphy’s youtube channel has various nuggets of information including “How to convert a van into an off-grid camper in 17 days“. From someone who has converted their first van with no skills whatsoever: it’s fun and empowering, and way more satisfying than paying for a conversion. However, you need the tools, time, space, and support to make it a job that doesn’t put you off vans for life.

Food, Water and Essentials

We need water to survive, so having a clean and freshwater source is essential to living on the road. Buying heaps of bottled water is not doing the environment any good – or your wallet – so download the refill or tap app to find out where you can get free top up for your water bottle. For larger quantities head to campsites or petrol stations to fill up. If you’re somewhere a little more remote, invest in a water filter. Water is also needed for washing so rigging up a solar shower, finding a laundrette, installing a pump action tap for your sink are all things to think about.

Follow the “seasonal, local and organic” mantra and you’ll also be able to eat healthily, economically, and keep plastic packaging to a minimum. Going zero waste is the ultimate goal so finding a bulk buy store is a good shout when dry goods are needed. Thankfully there are many cropping up in towns all over the world, check out Zero Waste Near Me for your nearest or if you are passing through an address you can get a delivery from the Zero Waste Club. For all unavoidable packaging, be sure to recycle.

Finally, when roaming foreign lands, it’s all too easy to forget about living sustainably. So, we've drawn up a full list of must-haves in our sustainable travel essentials guide.

Energy

Solar is a great source for electronics – from 12v fridges to laptops; providing you’re somewhere sunny of course. Having energy systems in place allows living to be thriving rather than just surviving, but keeping things minimalistic is the key. Enjoy rising with the sun, going to bed when its dark, and reconnecting with nature’s circadian rhythms. Opt for watching the skies and listening to the waves, rather than other forms of entertainment. And keep sharing the good vibes by joining the responsible van movement, maintaining an eco-friendly van life, and inspiring others to do the same.

Van life is certainly one based on experiences, rather than routine, which only happens when you’ve cut the shackles of the daily grind, but remember to enjoy responsibly and leave the places you visit better than you found them.

Community

Van life can be a solitary, couple or family affair but let's be honest, it’s rather like glorified camping so despite how many people you have inside, you are still likely to have neighbours inside.  This requires being respectful to others and on the other hand high levels of tolerance.  

Make sure children and animals only roam free if it's safe and appropriate to do so.  Van dogs are an additional radiator for warmth and a good alarm system if they are well trained but also come with their own needs, which involve water, food and exercise.  If you decide that you’re more of a cat person, don’t worry because cats like vans too!  Van life veterans the Indie Projects have been travelling with their Ginger moggy since 2014.

If you’re less inclined to swerve towards pet life in a van, why not revert to van plants or even kombucha as green travel buddies that require less maintenance.