#Vanlife is Booming: 5 Truths Living and Working from a Camper Van
By: Selina Speaks
Tags: Vanlife Stories, Vanlife, Travel Writing, Lessons Learned, Traveling Tips

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a new survey conducted by SkiDriven.com of U.S.-based respondents has found that 72 percent of Americans still plan on traveling in 2020, whereas 91 percent are more likely to travel domestically than internationally. Given the current bans on American visitors in the European Union due to the persistent surge of cases in the U.S., more citizens are exploring states they may have overlooked or shoveled into their low priority list of seeing one day.

In addition, the New York Times discusses the booming business of vanlife, asserting how dozens of new companies are selling and renting sleeper vans, “some now with yearlong wait-lists.” Apps are emerging to help van habitants find parking and R.V. parks are figuring out new ways to capitalize on this sudden trend. Leland Gilmore, the founder of Benchmark Vehicles which makes custom vans, tells NYT:

“What we say is: We build your escape. These are little escape vessels, escape pods.”

Photo by Nicole Geri on Unsplash

My boyfriend and I recently joined the #vanlife movement as well. He bought a used cargo van and we hit the road, starting from Washington DC, and made our way out west. Although our precious van truly does feel like an ‘escape vessel’ (especially nowadays), the fantastical image of freedom and simplicity that the internet sells of living from out of a van is not quite accurate.

If you Google “vanlife” you’ll come across a sea of Pinterest photos, often showcasing young (white) couples with dogs or blonde-haired bloggers, sipping tea with their laptops resting on their thighs, brainstorming the next version of “how-I-quit-my-9-to-5-and-blog-full-time” blog post — and that’s terrific. However, these images contribute to the deception of the burden-free lifestyle the #vanlife movement perpetuates.

As Nellie Bowles eloquently puts it in the article, The #Vanlife Business is Booming:

Vanlife is an aesthetic trend, closer to the tiny-home movement, yet even richer, lusher and typically sexier.

The images we see of vanlife is utopian; a minimalist reverie. Nonetheless, the truth behind this nomadic trend is that well, it’s nomadic. Just like backpacking, vanlife is tiring, you learn to live with a little, and you adapt to things like not always having an accessible toilet or sleeping in casino parking lots so that security won’t kick you out (we’ll get to that later).

Thus, I’m going to provide you with honest insight of my experience living and working out of a camper van by presenting some challenges, especially having a minimal conversion, and how we’ve worked around them. Therefore, here are five truths I’ve discovered living and working full time from a camper van.

Death Valley, California

1. Beware of Boondocking

A lot of people assume that having a van entails being able to sleep wherever they want, when I assure you, that’s not the case. Before my partner and I approach our next destination, we search for areas that allow boondocking. Boondocking simply refers to camping for free, which excludes all of the amenities that a developed campground offers, like bathrooms, showers, wifi, etc. Yes, this means you have to pee outside and wash up with baby wipes.

Somewhere in Idaho

A lot of cities throughout the U.S. have created anti-camping laws to discourage the homeless from sleeping in parks, sidewalks, or high-income neighborhoods according to Steve Johnson in Boondocker’s Bible, while rural areas tend to have more relaxed laws, enforcing rules only when there are complaints.

Nevertheless, Overlander has significantly helped with finding free places to sleep. Overlander is a website and app designed to help people find their next destination or campsite. You can see all of the amenities, descriptions, and reviews of each place and can even add new places to the database, including photos. On our first night sleeping in the van, the app lead us to an overlook on top of a mountain in Park City, Utah. The following morning, woke up to snow. What a welcome!

2. You Have to Bring the Gym to You

Exercise and finding recreational centers has become an essential component during our travels. Constantly researching for places to sleep, preparing food in a small space, working, and doing it all over again can take a toll on you and consequently, exercise has helped us remain a calm and efficient team, and maintain a healthy, driving stamina. However, since the pandemic, some gyms aren’t accepting out-of-state residents. Moreover, some towns simply don’t have gyms. With that said, sometimes, you’re going to have get creative and bring the gym to you.

Umpqua National Forest, Oregon

We’ve used a combination of tools like resistance bands and TRX straps for resistance training as well as workout apps. So far, we’ve worked out at rest stops and gas station parking lots, which have been significant energy-boosters for those grueling 7 and 9 hour trips.

Michael Otto, PhD, a professor of psychology at Boston University, claims that the connection between exercise and mood is strong. “Usually within five minutes after moderate exercise you get a mood-enhancement effect.” The effects of physical activity surpass the short-term, however. Research shows that exercise can help reduce long-term depression too. Although some of this evidence comes from broad, response-based correlation studies, James Blumenthal, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Duke University tells the American Psychology Association (APA) that:

“There’s good epidemiological data to suggest that active people are less depressed than inactive people. And people who were active and stopped tend to be more depressed than those who maintain or initiate an exercise program.”

For $20 a month, I use the Stretchy Fit App, which gives me access to unlimited barre, yoga, meditation, strength, and cardio classes taught by trainer and former, professional ballerina, Action Jacquelyn. It may seem like you’re losing an hour to stop and work out at a rest stop, but it’s absolutely worth it when you’re able to drive safer and have a positive attitude for longer throughout the day (especially when traveling with someone else).

3. Investing in Noise-Cancelling Headphones & Reliable Internet is a Must

So far, I’ve worked in Walmart parking lots, resort lobbies, tundras with the van doors open and flies gathering inside — anywhere where our router can pick up a cell phone signal, I make it work. One time, I even worked from my airbnb host’s cold kitchen.

Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico

Now clearly, flexibility of environment depends on your occupation. I am an online teacher and my students love all of the cool locations they get to experience me teaching from. Given all of the different environments I’ve worked from, I’ve realized the two most essential and uncompromisable items any remote worker needs to have: noise canceling headphones and Wifi backup.

Headphones: I have a Logitech H390 computer headset which has a noise canceling microphone that decreases unwanted ambient sound. This has been my salvation because it increases the clarity of my voice so that my students hear me well, in which I can sustain a structured learning environment.

Internet: As for Wifi, you always have to think a step ahead about connectivity. I’ve been at several places where they claim to have wifi but the bandwidth is low, and it’s difficult to stream videos for my classes. Consequently, I’ve had to use my partner’s hotspot as a backup more times than I can count. What’s my advice to you? Get a hotspot for your phone (which is what has mainly worked for us) and purchase twenty gigs of data for a router (we bought a verizon hotspot on a prepaid plan). Don’t simply rely on a cafe or airbnb’s wifi speed because they might disappoint, especially for video streaming.

4. The More Minimal the Conversion, the More Strategic Packing Becomes

How do I put this? You can’t live in a camper van and have a lot of sh — . It simply won’t work. Although a lot depends on how your van is constructed, generally, a minimalistic lifestyle is adopted simply because you don’t have the space for a pantry full of food or an entire shoe collection. We have a Ram Promaster City, whose features include a bed, mini fridge, ceiling lights, and a fan. To give some context, it’s a slightly bigger than a minivan. Given our small amount of space, the most complex part of packing for us was what clothes to bring.

After considering all of the different places and people we would encounter though, we found that roughly three tops and three bottoms that can be interchanged for various looks is enough. It didn’t make sense to bring a lot of clothing when no one would know what we wore the day before.

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Moreover, it’s important to bring clothes that are suitable for layering because the climates vary, and the van’s insulation isn’t enough to keep you from freezing. As my partner says, “Think of it as a metallic tent on wheels.” Once you turn the heat off at night, like metal, the car gets cold and there’s no going back. Overall, less clothes creates more space for crucial items and you can use those articles of clothing for layering up at night.

5. Consider Your Lifestyle, and Purchase Accordingly

The biggest and certainly most obvious advantage of having a van is the ability to get up early and sight see. With the Ram Promaster City, we were able to park and sleep almost anywhere we could boondock, and be closer to the places we wanted to explore, whereas if we had an RV, we would’ve been confined to an RV Park or a campground.

Death Valley, California

Here are some things to consider, however, when deciding on what kind of van you want and what type of conversion will work for your lifestyle.

1. How many people are going to be in it?

Are you going to be with a significant other? Our van, which is smaller, is more geared towards a solo traveler. This makes a huge difference with packing and storage. As a result, we both have had to downsize our belongings tremendously.

2. What’s your price range?

What are you able to pay for maintenance costs and upkeep? A perk of having compact cargo van is that we have significantly better gas mileage and was a more cost-effective purchase. We get about 24 miles per gallon on the highway, after adding the rooftop cargo box. Also, we found that buying a used van with low mileage and having it converted is all possible to get under 20k. The cost of bigger vans and grander conversions goes up infinitely from there.

3. Where do you plan to go?

Are you going to more rural, off-the-grid places or cities? It’s not sustainable to have an RV in the city. Parking is hard to find and parking garages have a height limit. Even with our modest, compact cargo van, it was challenging to park in some garages because of our storage box on top.

4. How much of a ‘minimalist’ are you?

If you’re accustomed to sleeping in the back of your car on road trips then you’re probably a good candidate for a minimalist conversion like ours. If you grew up camping in your dad’s RV with a kitchen and shower, you’ll probably want to look for a more comfortable, luxurious conversion. Cooking macaroni and cheese in parking lots and washing dishes in public bathrooms isn’t for everyone.

5. How long are you going to be gone?

If you’re going to live in a van, then the compact cargo van is a more challenging approach because storage becomes more difficult. If you’re using the van for frequent road trips, maybe a minimal conversion with a bed and mini fridge is enough. If you’re planning to live primarily out of the van, investing in adequate kitchen space, a comfortable working area, and a water dispenser for showers may be worth the extra money.

Consider your lifestyle, and purchase accordingly.