Vanlife seems to be all the rage the last few years on social media. Here are my tips and tales on vanlife, drawn from decades of experience on the road in North America in a variety of vehicles.
I’ve played and experimented with, and lived out of, a variety of vans over the years. Many years. Longer than most #vanlifers have been alive.
This part of ROADDUDE.COM will include various things I’ve learned about vanliving over those years, how I’ve rigged up my vans in the past, and why I’ve settled on “simple and flexible” as best for the way I work and travel these days.
Clean and easy is the way to go. The more you live and work out of a van, I mean, if you use the van for work as well as living in, the more you’ll realize not to restrict yourself with too much in the way of built-ins. Vanlife in general is a lifestyle change, and many seem to think they need all the accoutrements of home like cabinets and shelves to be comfortable.
Through several different interior layouts, some with overhead cabinets and a pull-out desk and built-in bunks, my needs have encouraged me to have an interior I can empty out quickly if I want, so I can haul cargo like building and landscape materials, or help someone move.
Organizing oneself for vanlife, for me, is all about living light, making better sense of what you use regularly, and letting your stuff tell you where it wants to live. Then everything knows where to go.
Really. It works. I’ll show you 😎
First up:
- How To Install A Roof Vent – I installed a Fantastic Roof Vent in my GMC Savana in May of 2013. As of this writing, six and a half years later, I haven’t had a single problem, leak, or any issues at all with the installation. Read the article to find out how to install your own.
- Keeping Clean – Tips on keeping you and your camp clean, with links to the products I’ve tested over the years and now use daily.
- Composting Toilet – How to make a simple composting toilet.
I’ll be writing and posting images about other aspects of vanlife, too:
- SUV = Stealthy Urban Van: How to keep a low profile when urban camping
- APPS: What apps I use on a regular basis, and which ones I use for finding campsites
- Maintenance & Upkeep
- Van Interior: Keeping It Simple and Flexible
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~Road
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