Blog

I've Built Over 15 Vans...Here's What I've Learned

I've Built Over 15 Vans…Here's What I've Learned: Video Presentation ** READ THIS BEFORE YOU DESIGN YOUR CAMPER VAN ** This blog post contains everything I changed or would have changed after 3 years on the road in my first van. If you would like to view this post as a video presentation please see the video above. One of the most difficult parts of a van build is figuring out the right floor plan and fitting everything you want into that floorplan. A big mistake a lot of people make is thinking they can fit everything they have in their house or apartment into a camper van. There are going to be some sacrifices and things you’re going to need to go without. The problem is, if you haven’t ever lived in a van, how do you know what you’re going to REALLY need and what you can do without. There are going to be things you thought you needed that you actually don’t and there are going to be things that you didn’t even realize you needed. You can do dozens of hours of research and you can go down the Youtube rabbit hole, but everyone’s needs are different and you’re not going to be able to know what’s best for you until you actually live in a van for at least a year. I’ve lived in a van full time for three years and another two years part-time. I’ve participated in over 15 van builds and I own a company that specializes in the best vanlife products for DIY van builders. I consider myself an expert in camper van design and floor planning and I enjoy the challenge of maximizing the functionality of tiny spaces. In this blog post I simply want to share my experiences and thought process to give you food for thought so that you can take whatever nuggets that resonate with you and incorporate them into your van build. Full disclaimer: Not everyone is the same! Some people want a cook’s kitchen and some people barely cook at all. Some people want a luxurious bathroom and some people are happy showering outside, at the gym or a campground. After living in a van for five years here are some of the things that I want you to think about. Toilet The majority of people choose to do a composting toilet and that’s what I did on my first van. While I was happy with the toilet, I actually never (not a single time) went #2 in that toilet. I went #1 in it all the time, but honestly I could have just as easily just used a pee bottle. The urine tank on a composting toilet is annoying to empty every couple of days and spending over $1,000 on a glorified pee bottle felt like a waste of money to me. Sure it was nice to have the toilet for #2 in case of emergency, but I found myself using public bathrooms all the time (gym, campground, gas station, hotel lobby, grocery store, mother nature). For me the solution I came up with for my second van build was a cabinet with a toilet seat on top and inside the cabinet was a bucket and a urine diverter. The bucket was lined with a trash bag (for emergencies only) and it doubled as my cleaning supply storage since I never used the bucket. The urine diverter was routed into an 8 gallon blackwater holding tank under the van. I only needed to empty the tank every few weeks and it was as simple as finding a dump station and flipping a switch. Doing my toilet this way saved me about $900 and was way better for my needs because it provided an emergency #2 solution and eliminated the disgusting chore of emptying the urine tank on the composting toilet. Alert: I understand this option might sound ludicrous to some people and you might be saying to yourself “Hell NO” and that’s ok. This is what worked best for me and my preferences. Shower Showers are one of the hottest topics in the van build debate. Some people won’t do vanlife without them. People like me are perfectly happy taking an outdoor shower or showering at campgrounds, national gym chains like Planet Fitness or Anytime Fitness, truck stops, rec centers, the beach, friends houses, etc. The argument for a shower in your van is obvious. It’s easy, convenient and luxurious to have a shower in your van. You can literally shower whenever and wherever you want. A shower in your van also usually means a private place for your toilet which is an obvious added benefit. The argument against a shower is that they are limiting to the floorplan and visually make the van feel tight and cramped. Another drawback is that they use a ton of water which makes having to refill and dump your water more of a frequent occurrence. One thing I decided on my next build is to do a convertible shower, like this one, for those times when it’s too cold outside, or I’m too tired to go to the gym or an available shower is just too far away to bother. My plan is to shower outside, at the gym or at campgrounds whenever possible, but for that 20% of the time when those types of showers aren’t available I’ll have an indoor shower available to me. I’ll be combining the shower with this greywater tank, but more on that below. Shoe cabinet Many people don’t account for shoe storage on a van build and to me it is one of the most important things to think about when designing your van. In a house, you are usually walking over a lot of grass or concrete before you get to your front door, so your shoes are relatively clean by that point. In a van, you’re going to be doing a lot of outdoor activities and are usually walking over dirt, sand or mud (like at a trailhead) just before you step inside your van. The last thing you want to do is track all that stuff into your tiny sanctuary. The solution I incorporated into my second build was a rubber lined shoe drawer near my front door. I could sit in the doorway and take off my shoes and not worry about tracking all that nasty stuff in the van. In my first van I didn’t do that and I ended up having to stuff dirty hiking boots under my driver’s seat and in other places they didn’t belong. By just having a dedicated shoe drawer near your door, you will save yourself a lot of time cleaning and a lot of stress of figuring out where to put your dirty shoes. Charging drawer This one is all about reminding you that your home on wheels is always moving. If you have a lot of devices that need to be charged then you can’t just leave them on the counter like you would in a house. There have been many (too many to count) times, especially when I was a vanlife rookie, that I forgot to put something away upon taking off on an adventure. As soon as I turned a corner, everything I left on the counter went flying. Cleaning up the ensuing mess is never fun and paying to replace damaged electronics is even less fun. The solution I came up with for this is a dedicated foam-lined charging drawer. Inside the drawer is a 12v and 110v outlet. You can charge your GoPro, Garmin, cell phone, DSLR batteries, Drone, portable charger, laptop, etc without ever having to worry. I also installed a locking latch on this drawer to make it extra difficult for would-be thieves to steal my goodies. Fridge at Eye Level I don’t like to think of myself as an old man, but bending over or squatting everytime I needed to get something out of the fridge or put away groceries had my lower back begging for mercy. After 3+ years of an undercounter fridge, I decided enough was enough. If you can work an eye level fridge into your floorplan I highly recommend it. It will make your life a whole lot easier and it provides the familiarity of a house refrigerator. You can get an undercounter fridge and mount it on top of a cabinet or you can get a tall fridge. Either way you’re going to love not having to bend over everytime you want a beer. **Also, I recommend getting a fridge with a decent size freezer like these. I like to boondock and having a large freezer means you have a way of keeping food fresher longer. Throw all bin/cabinet I planned and planned my first floor plan and believed I had thought of everything. I thought wrong. Even though I thought I had accounted for everything I forgot about my backpack. When you get back from a long hike you can’t just throw your backpack on the floor…it will be in the way. You can’t just throw your backpack on the ground, you’re going to want to sit down and relax after a long hike. The backpack is always in the way! My solution for this was to dedicate a cubby specifically for my backpack. You could also add a hook and hang it up, but my backpack is heavy and it would bang around when driving. I suppose I could hang it up and strap it down, but it’s much more convenient to throw it in a cubby/cabinet.. I suppose I could also put it in the garage after each hike, but there are supplies that I frequently want to get in my backpack. To make matters worse, if you’re like me, you might have two backpacks! One for hiking and one for the gym. I use the gym backpack for workout gear, shower supplies, a towel and change of clothes. Thankfully my cubby fits both backpacks. Mattress Don’t cheap out on your mattress. Living in a van can sometimes be uncomfortable. But that’s ok because you’re trading comfort for freedom. The one thing you should splurge on is a nice mattress so that you can have a little bit of luxury and wake up well-rested for your adventures. I like the look of the and functionality of a dinette bed combo, but to me it’s not practical for several reasons. First, you’re going to lose most of your garage storage in the dinette setup. Second, when I’m done with a long day of hiking or kayaking, the last thing I want to do is build my bed for the night. Third, if I’m driving a long haul and want to pull off for a nap, I just want to jump in bed as soon as possible. Last, you can’t convince me that seat cushions that double as a mattress are comfortable. They might be fine for a month, but after a few months, you just can’t beat a well made mattress. **Also I highly recommend installing your bed as low as reasonably possible. It’s nice to be able to sit up in bed and makes the area feel a lot less claustrophobic. Quick Hits: Bug Screens Bug screens are almost a must have. I didn’t have one in my first build and I definitely regretted not having one. I was limited to my tiny windows for ventilation and it would have been nice to open my sliding door in some situations. Fortunately, Vanlife Outfitters carries some really good looking bug screens that are fairly easy to install and customized for Sprinter, Transit or Promaster. Quick Hits: Hot sauce/spice rack If you cook a lot, it’s really nice to be able to access all your spices and sauces rather than digging into a cabinet multiple times. You can also use part of the rack for storing other items that you need frequently Quick Hits: Pull out trash and laundry Don’t forget that you’re going to produce trash and laundry. Make sure that you’ve designated a place in your build for those stinky items. I highly recommend lining it with cedar. I like to have a small trash can so it forces me to throw out the trash before it starts to smell. Quick Hits: Larger sink or dirty dishes drawer I like a larger deeper sink than most people would put in a camper van. You can wait a little longer to do the dishes, you can wash clothes in the sink. I’m willing to sacrifice a few extra inches on my countertop for a larger sink. But that’s just me, you do you. Quick Hits: Larger Freshwater and Greywater Tank One of the biggest pain-in-the-butts of vanlife is finding spots to fill freshwater and dump greywater. This can especially be problematic for boondockers or urban stealth vanlifers. My first van had 20 gallons and that was a lot in comparison to some other van builds, but when planning my van builds from scratch, I don’t do anything less than 40 gallons anymore. It’s really nice not having to fill freshwater as often. On the flipside, my greywater tank was 7 gallons, and finding a place to dump my greywater was also an issue. Dumping your greywater on grass or the street, even if you use biodegradable soaps and toothpaste, is somewhat of a “grey area” (pun intended) for many vanlifers. I personally like to dump my greywater at an official dumpstation whenever possible and I never dump on public lands. Having a larger grey water tank like this one from Vanlife Outfitters really cuts down on the amount of trips to the dump stations. Quick Hits: Fixed dinette It’s nice if you can incorporate a fixed dinette into your van build. Some floorplans won’t permit this but I really wanted to be able to sit down and work or eat without having to enter into a process to transform my seating area. Quick Hits: 12v Air Conditioner I had the “Two MaxxFan Method” in my first van and that was fine for travel out West, mostly at higher elevations. If you’re going to traveling in the south, don’t have a high tolerance for heat or if you have fur babies, then you’re going to probably want to get a 12v air conditioner like this one. The downside is that you’ll also probably need a larger battery bank. As our climate changes and things really start to heat up, 12v Air Conditioners are quickly becoming a non-negotiable for some vanlifers. Quick Hits: Insulated curtain or wall Most of the heat and cold are going to come into your van through your cockpit. It’s good to have a plan to Quick Hits: Garage Drawer System On my first van I had the black rubber bins from Home Depot to store all my gear. No matter how hard I tried to organize my bins, based on how frequently I needed the gear, the item I needed always seemed to be in the back of the garage on the bottom bin. That meant I needed to take out all the other bins to get to the bin I needed. On my second build I added a large 42” long double drawer on 250lb drawer slides. Getting things out was so much easier. I also really like having this cargo pull out tray which is rated for 800lbs. I’ll never have 800lbs on it but it’s really smooth when I have all my storage containers with tools and heavy equipment on it. Vanlife Outfitters has been supporting DIY camper van builders since 2016. We have a large collection of blog posts, videos, tips, resources, information and products to help you on your journey into vanlife. If you got any useful information from our site please let us know and if you’re in the market for products to build out a van please consider supporting our store!

A Life of Vanlife - My Journey

A lot of people have encouraged me (Zach) to write a short post about the long strange trip I’ve had with camper vans and, well, the dude abides. Some people don’t believe me but I literally made “houses with wheels” with my Legos on a regular basis. The idea of a moving home intrigued me from a very early age. Growing up, my dad, who was always building and creating things (tinkering as he would put it) had a “VW phase” in which he restored countless VW vans including a few Westfalia campers. I think most of them were from the 60’s and were absolutely beautiful! If only he had kept a few of those. Maybe I can dig up some photos of those some day. Eventually, my family bought a nearly new 1989 Vanagon Westfalia in 1990. This is the car that I learned to drive with! We had a few family road trips in that van and a few more in my teens, including a very memorable excursion with my dad, brother and good friend to Vegas for a Dead show including camping at Circus Circus RV park on the strip. That was 1993 and, later that year, I would purchase my first camper van – a 1971 VW Westfalia. My girlfriend and I spent the next 6 months (or so) preparing that van to travel the USA for about a year (not just Dead tour). So, with the help of my dad – who was the only one of us who knew anything – we rebuilt the engine, updated the camping equipment/interior layout and painted the van red. My first build! Shortly before we hit the road, and without any consideration of the extreme law enforcement scrutiny we would encounter as a result, my girlfriend and another artist friend adorned the van with all manner of hippy/Grateful Dead art and stickers. We would quickly learn that smart hippies, who had been around the block a few times, drove mini vans with D.A.R.E stickers – flying stealth. Anyway, the van was named A Smile From Gondwanaland or just Gondwanaland for short (because that’s so short) and she took us across the country and back at the top speed of 55 mph when the road was flat or downhill. Uphill or on mountain passes we were lucky to get to 15- 20 mph. If you’re old enough, you may remember being stuck behind this red van on a one-lane road with about 65 other cars back in 1994. If so, my apologies. One thing I reflect on about this period of time is how primitive technology was. Nobody had a cell phone and, if you did, it was the size of a briefcase and rarely worked. There was no widely available GPS and certainly no apps. The internet and apps would be years away. I marvel at how simple things were. We had paper maps and our friends and family had no way of knowing where we were or how to get in touch with us. We would use pay phones at rest stops to phone home. Finding campsites was a real chore, sometimes driving down dead-end roads. Today’s vanlifers have literal miracles in their hands connecting them to resources, campsites, gas prices, their friends and family and other vanlifers! Learning About RV Systems We eventually settled in the San Francisco Bay area briefly and then Boulder, Colorado. Getting turned on to the van lifestyle and living on the road for about a year in a very (very) basic camper van combined with my sort of engineering and DIY streak led me to learn about “RV systems” while tinkering with my old Westy trying to upgrade things to be more like a fancy Vanagon Westfalia. I wanted a few more lights, I wanted to add some kind of heat (it’s awfully cold in Colorado), I wanted a refrigerator instead of an icebox. I found a beat up 3-way refrigerator that I could learn with, I explored RV salvage lots, I broke a lot of things, I tried to act like a legitimate buyer when pouring over RV dealership lots and I spent a lot of time at libraries so I could read Trailer Life magazine (again, pre-internet). I’m pretty sure that I was the only reader of that magazine under the age of 55! Over the course of a few years, I would completely transform that van into what was, essentially a new build. It was also repainted to reduce my run-ins with the police 🙂 Upgrading To 65 MPH (In The Right Conditions) Sometime around 1998 I was able to use my miraculous, newly installed “broadband internet” service (400 kilobits/second – less than half a megabit,) to locate a 1985 Vanagon Westfalia for sale nearby. The seller thought it was likely to need an engine rebuild so I got a pretty good deal and hoped I could figure that out when it blew up. I only had that van for about a year and a half, but I did a bunch of upgrades including adding a secondary (“house”) battery, a small inverter and a catalytic propane heater before someone slowly slid into my slider door at a stoplight on an icy road mid-winter. Winter sucks and I live in Florida now, but that van was “totaled” by the insurance company. I ended up keeping it with the salvage title and selling it to someone who parted her out. Here we are on a road trip to Lake Powell in that van. I think we had just cut out of there without getting stuck in the sands and I was pretty proud of myself or something. I do remember how hot that van was without air conditioning in the desert! Dream Van Sometime around 2003, I had enough dough to buy my dream van – a 1997 Volkswagen Eurovan Camper! This was pretty much the most awesome camper van of its day – well before the availability of the modern high-roof cargo vans like Sprinters and ProMasters. Travel back to the 90’s and join Mike, Kali and Tiger to tell you about the Eurovan Camper in this VHS-quality gem of a video. No longer a Westy, the Eurovan camper was a partnership between Volkwagen who supplied empty cargo vans to Winnebago who then upfitted them into surprisingly European-styled camper vans. This van could keep up with the speed of traffic, it wasn’t prone to perpetual mechanical failures and wasn’t older than I was when I bought it. It was much more like an RV with a real refrigerator, forced air furnace, modest house electrical system with shore power charging. It even had a fancy tank monitoring system, which is something I had long admired about “real” RVs. I did add an inverter and made a few tweaks. It was a great van and it started a tradition of me using my camper vans as cargo vans as well. I have so many great memories adventuring in that van. Here’s a shot of us caravanning with my dad who was driving the Vanagon Westy that I grew up with. Fun fact: he still has this van – it’s basically a part of the family now. Camping in Wyoming in 2007: Panamanian Moon In 2007, I moved to Panama, which is another story. So, I ended up selling the Eurovan Camper to fund building my house inside the crater of an extinct volcano in El Valle de Anton, Panama. Selling a camper van is nothing like unloading a car. First, they tend to hold their value much better and, emotionally, they’re more like a home or a pet. You have so many experiences in these vans! Miles Van Camper – My First Promaster Build By the summer of 2016, I was back in the USA, living in Florida (one avoids going too far north after living in the tropics!) and took a short trip to Colorado. My girlfriend and I borrowed the old family Westy from my dad and took it up to some of my favorite camp spots. True to form, the Westy broke down in a parking lot in Boulder at the end of our trip. Fortunately, Boulder is a great place to have a VW repaired and despite this, my girlfriend – who was brand new to vanlife, caught the bug as well and we talked about future trips. That short trip made me realize how much I missed having a camper van and I started scheming a DIY build. I had been wanting to do a DIY build for years (decades?) and the newer high roof vans seemed perfect for the conversion. There wasn’t nearly as much info out there on the internet and social media in those days, but I started diving into the research and design. I ended up trading in my trusty Honda CRV and buying a brand new ProMaster 2500, 159″ wheel base van. I had never purchased a new car before and I had no idea how I was going to pull of the conversion. I had plenty of doubts and was pretty sure I was getting more insane by the minute. But, I also had years and years of ideas from all of my traveling in vans and I was so excited that this gigantic ProMaster van was big enough for all the things I could only dream about in a VW van – things like a fixed bed, large galley and a shower. Oh my gods, a shower! Through continual persistence and occasional desperation, I figured out how to find the materials I needed and how to stumble my way through my first build – all in my driveway with pretty limited tools and a spare bedroom full of materials. Years of home renovations and learning about and staring at RV/boat systems definitely helped, but it wasn’t easy. My first project on the first build was removing the seats to install the swivel bases…and I striped the bolt. Each time I would learn something “the hard way” I felt compelled to share with the handful of other people I imagined might want to build their own campervan. I was thrilled with my first build and loved how it turned out. And despite how difficult it was, when the conversion was over, I realized how much I enjoyed the process. Toward the end of my first build a friend asked if I had heard of the vanlife Reddit. This was deeply confusing. What is vanlife and why would there be a Reddit for it? It wasn’t until that moment that I realized that there may be more than a handful of people doing these “builds” and I discovered that this stuff I had been passionate about for so many years was becoming an increasingly popular thing. So, I started a blog to share a few things and made a video about that first DIY build. Since then I’ve built out two more vans and now we are in the business of making a DIY camper van easier, faster and more enjoyable. What a long strange trip! Thanks To Everyone Who Forged The Way Some people might read this and think I was early to the “lifestyle,” but that’s far from the real truth. While I was “vanlifing” over 20 years before the term “vanlife” was coined, I was following in the footsteps of the hippies who where influenced by the beats who were inspired by the gypsies and the gypsies must have been turned on by someone else. I’m eternally grateful to everyone who forged the vanlife path for me (not the least of which is my dad) to find and so excited that I have so many more potential friends on the road. Oh, and that technology stuff is really cool too. I hope our blog and store helps others discover vanlife. As we say on our “about page“, there is real magic in the alchemy of adventure, discovery, freedom and challenge that you experience living on the road. With a van you can go just about anywhere – from culturally rich cities to wonderfully desolate deserts, enjoying both the excitement and novelty of travel along with the comfort and security of home.

How To Get Insurance For Your DIY Camper Van

In this post I’ll be talking about why you should have insurance on your camper van, how to get insurance on your camper van, how to title your van as an RV, who I ultimately chose to insure my van and why I specifically chose them. You’ve spent a lot of time and money building out your dream home on wheels; it’s only natural that you want to make sure all of that time and money wasn’t wasted should anything happen to your van along the way. One goal of vanlife is to maximize your adventures and experiences, so it’s important to be prepared for anything. Houses, cars and personal property are insured for theft, unforeseeable circumstances and accidents…so your van should be too! Let’s be honest, insuring your van isn’t exactly the most exciting facets of vanlife. However, getting insurance on your van is a necessary part of the process so you can hit the road with the peace of mind knowing your van is covered in the event that something goes wrong. I’ve seen a good friend total their van when they hit an elk and luckily they were insured for the full value of their van and build out. Insuring your vehicle in the event of a theft or accident ensures you will be able to continue vanlife, no matter what issues arise on the road ahead. Living in a van comes with a different set of challenges than a “sticks and bricks” home – whether it’s finding a safe place to sleep, seeking out a hot shower, repairs & maintenance, or simply finding wifi or cell signal to get some work done. One of the first challenges you might encounter is finding someone to insure your van. Unfortunately, most standard insurance companies haven’t really caught on to vanlife and don’t yet have solutions for self-built camper vans. At this point you might be asking yourself, what’s the difference between simply getting auto insurance vs. getting RV insurance or camper van insurance? The main difference between standard auto insurance and RV insurance is that RV insurance insures the build out of your rig in addition to the liability and collision coverage you’d get with a standard auto policy. In some cases an RV policy can even cover personal property such as furniture, camping equipment, and other belongings inside the vehicle. Technically a camper van is a “class B RV”, but the problem with RV insurance is that it’s usually only for RV’s specifically built by large corporate build companies like Thor or Winnebago. For custom built and DIY camper vans, you’re going to need something a little more tailored to “vanlife”. I recommend shopping around and talking to agents so you can find the policy that best fits your needs and “understands” the DIY camper van world. I’ve already shopped around and have found one of the best solutions for insuring your camper van on the market. Before I get into the boring steps of how to get insurance for your campervan, I want to save you a little bit of time and let you know why I ended up choosing Roamly, the company that I ultimately decided to insure my camper van with. Get a quote from Roamly Roamly is a subsidiary of Outdoorsy. If you don’t know about Outdoorsy, it’s an platform similar to Airbnb or Turo that allows you to rent your camper van or RV for extra cash. This is important to know because Outdoorsy (and thus Roamly) actually understands vanlife and the needs of vanlifers. I found that Roamly was the best insurance option on the market specifically for vanlifers and skoolies for a few reasons. First of all, Roamly’s policies were the most competitively priced (I also called Allstate and State Farm) but more importantly, they were the most flexible in terms of working with me on what they required to get the policy bound. Get a quote from Roamly Second, Roamly was by far the easiest solution and had the least amount of hoops I had to jump through. Roamly is the only insurance carrier in the country that is insuring self-built (DIY) vans* that aren’t built by a professional van building company. Every other insurance company that I spoke to wanted an invoice from a professional van building company or an established RV company. Other companies I talked to simply didn’t offer insurance (Geico & Progressive) for converted cargo vans or kicked back the policy when they realized that my van was a self-built camper van. Other companies, (Allstate and State Farm) wanted way too much in terms of paperwork and photos and they were only willing to insure vans built by professional, established van building companies. The process with Roamly was super simple and the agent Melissa was very sharp and extremely familiar with vanlife and had all the answers to my questions. Lastly, another huge bonus benefit of insuring through Roamly is that they are able to provide van/RV owners with a personal policy that allows them to rent out their van on a rental platform (Outdoorsy for example). Most personal insurance carriers have exclusions in the policy documents saying that you void your personal insurance policy if you rent out your vehicle even though the rental platform is what actually covers anything that were to happen during the rental. Important note: Roamly is currently live for self-built (DIY) vans registered in CA, TX, WA, OR, AK, NV, MT, ID, UT, AZ, CO, NM, SD, NE, OK, MN, IA, MO, AR, WI, IL, IN, OH, PA, VA, TN, NC, SC, MS, AL, & GA. However, they are still binding policies as a broker in all other states through their non-Roamly carrier partners. In all other states, you’ll need a build invoice from a professional van build company. Roamly assures me that they are working on bringing their insurance product for self-built (DIY) vans online nationally very soon. “Roamly currently has instituted a moratorium for fulltimer policies. If you are currently living in your rig for 5 or more months out of the year, Roamly will not be able to insure you with a Roamly policy, however, they may still be able to help you find a policy with one of their carrier partners. I still recommend giving them a call to see how they can help you find the best coverage for your van.” Get a quote from Roamly Generally speaking, there are a few things that are good to have when choosing insurance for your van. Those include: Learn About Laws in Your Specific Location. Some insurance companies require more details based on state laws such as the van’s weight, a statement on the vehicle conversion, or specific testing. Make sure to look up state laws or ask your insurance agent for a list of requirements. I hope to aggregate all of this into a another post blog post one day, but it will take a lot of time and may change too frequently to be worth it. RV title (Title your Van as an RV if possible) With your newfound knowledge on what your state requires, you will want to title your vehicle as a motorhome if possible. Although not every insurance company requires it, many do. As mentioned above, most states have hoops (procedures/paperwork/red tape) you must jump through in order to title your van as a motorhome. Each state varies in regards to the amount of hoops you need to jump through to title your vehicle as a motorhome. Some states require a statement, an inspection, photos, a weight slip or all of the above. You’ll need to do research on your specific state, here are some examples. In Florida for example, you need to submit proof of insurance and a “Conversion Affidavit” that certifies that you converted (or had your vehicle converted by someone else) into a motorhome. The letter states that you added a 110v electrical system, a plumbing system OR propane system. You’ll also need to bring the original title, your driver’s license and proof of insurance. That’s all you need to submit in addition to paying Uncle Sam his money and you can walk out the same day with a motorhome title. I did not need a weight slip or anything else! The details are spelled out in this form. My friend Ken has written a good post about how to register your van as an RV in California. At the end of this blog post, I have provided a link to each state’s vehicle registration authority to help you with your research. I also suggest a web search along the lines of “Your State RV or motorhome vehicle title” to find the the laws regulations pertaining to the licensing and registration of home-built campers or RV conversions in your particular state. Take Photos for Security and Documentation Take detailed photos all around your van including the exterior, interior, and your personal property. Most insurance companies will want to see these photos before binding your policy. Keep these photos stored somewhere you can access such as Dropbox or Google Drive just in case if you wind up needing them to submit a claim. Keep Your Build Receipts A good paper trail of everything you purchased for your build and, ideally, anything you store in your rig is crucial for documentation. Most insurance companies will want to see a list or invoices before binding your policy. The list of paperwork insurance companies ask for sometimes can be a little over the top. This includes invoices throughout the building process, labor hours, and a list with receipts of all belongings inside the vehicle. Luckily with the minimalistic lifestyle of vanlife, this isn’t as extensive as property in and stored in the cloud. Get an Appraisal Done In some instances, an insurance company or Roamly may want you to have an appraisal done by a third party. This could be a professional van builder or someone like Vanlife Outfitters. Having an appraisal provides the insurance company with photos as well as an assessment of all the components and features built into the van. It may also let the insurance know of the quality of the van build. An appraisal would be similar to a buildout spec sheet or final invoice that a professional builder would typically give you. Since yours is a DIY van, then an appraisal would be comparable. Your insurance company will most likely let you know if they need this. Consider Investing in an Anti Theft System I have an aftermarket anti theft system installed in my van for multiple reasons. In addition to the obvious protection against your van being stolen, it’s nice to have a “panic button” next to you in bed, in case you hear someone lurking outside your van. Also, in many cases it can reduce your insurance premiums enough to pay for itself. There are many options on Amazon and I recommend the Viper security system without remote start because it’s less expensive and less complicated to install. If you want a security system with a remote start or don’t want to install the system yourself, it might be a good idea to get it done at a local shop. Use a GPS tracker Having a GPS tracker hidden in your van and paying a monthly subscription might seem like overkill, but once you have one you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. You’ve invested thousands of dollars in your home on wheels, why not have something that lets you know where it is at all times. Imagine coming back to your van after a few days away and it’s not where you left it. How would you feel? Now imagine being able to look on your phone to locate it and letting the police know exactly where it is…sounds like a much better outcome. While not as stealthy, if you use a phone as a hotspot like our recommended Visible internet service, you can use the “find my phone” feature to also find your van! I do a lot of backpacking and often trek quite far from the van and it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to be able to look at my phone and know where my van is. I personally use the Tracki which is inexpensive and has great reviews. The monthly subscription is pretty competitively priced as well at around $12/month and it may pay for itself if your insurance carrier offers a discount on your premium for having it. Hopefully this blog post was useful to you. If you would like to reach out with questions or comments please do so. Email Josh List of Licensing Authorities for all USA States Alabama Alabama Department of Revenue–Motor Vehicle Division http://www.ador.state.al.us/motorvehicle/index.html Alaska Alaska Department of Administration–Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.doa.alaska.gov/dmv/ Arizona Arizona Department of Transportation http://www.azdot.gov/mvd/ Arkansas Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/Pages/default.aspx California California Department of Motor Vehicles http://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/home/dmv.htm Colorado Colorado Department of Revenue–Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.colorado.gov/revenue/dmv Connecticut Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles http://www.ct.gov/dmv/site/default.asp Delaware Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.dmv.de.gov/ District of Columbia DC Department of Motor Vehicles http://dmv.washingtondc.gov/main.shtm Florida Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles http://www.flhsmv.gov/ Georgia Georgia Department of Revenue–Motor Vehicle Division http://motor.etax.dor.ga.gov/ Hawaii Hawaii Department of Transportation–Public Affairs http://www.state.hi.us/dot/publicaffairs/motorvehicleregistration.htm Idaho Idaho Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.itd.idaho.gov/dmv/ Illinois Illinois Secretary of State–Vehicle Services Department http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/ Indiana Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles http://www.in.gov/bmv/ Iowa Iowa Motor Vehicle Division http://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/index.htm Kansas Kansas Department of Revenue–Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.ksrevenue.org/dmv.htm Kentucky Kentucky Transportation Cabinet–Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing http://transportation.ky.gov/mvl/ Louisiana Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles http://omv.dps.state.la.us/ Maine Maine Department of the Secretary of State–Bureau of Motor Vehicles http://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/ Maryland Maryland Department of Transportation–Motor Vehicle Administration http://www.mva.maryland.gov/ Massachusetts Massachusetts Department of Transportation–Registry of Motor Vehicles http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/rmv/ Michigan Michigan Secretary of State https://www.michigan.gov/sos/ Minnesota Minnesota Department of Public Safety–Driver and Vehicle Services Division http://www.dps.state.mn.us/dvs/ Mississippi Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission http://www.mmvc.state.ms.us/mmvc/MotorVeh.nsf Missouri Missouri Department of Revenue–Motor Vehicle Titling & Registration http://dor.mo.gov/motorv/ Montana Montana Department of Justice–Driver Services http://www.doj.mt.gov/driving/ Nebraska Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles http://www.dmv.state.ne.us/ Nevada Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles http://dmvnv.com/ New Hampshire New Hampshire Department of Safety–Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.nh.gov/safety/divisions/dmv/ New Jersey New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/ New Mexico New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division http://www.mvd.newmexico.gov/ New York New York State Department of Motor Vehicles http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/ North Carolina North Carolina Department of Transportation–Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.ncdot.org/dmv/ North Dakota North Dakota Department of Transportation http://www.dot.nd.gov/ Ohio Ohio Department of Public Safety ‐ Bureau of Motor Vehicles http://bmv.ohio.gov/ Oklahoma Oklahoma Tax Commission–Motor Vehicle Information http://www.tax.ok.gov/motveh.html Oregon Oregon Department of Transportation ‐ Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/DMV/index.shtml Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Department of Transportation–Driver and Vehicle Services http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/ Rhode Island Rhode Island Department of Revenue ‐ Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.dmv.ri.gov/ South Carolina South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles http://www.scdmvonline.com/DMVNew/default.aspx South Dakota South Dakota Department of Revenue and Regulations–Motor Vehicles Division http://www.state.sd.us/drr2/motorvehicle/index.htm Tennessee Tennessee Department of Revenue–Vehicle Title & Registration http://www.tennessee.gov/revenue/vehicle/index.htm Texas Texas Department of Motor Vehicles http://www.txdmv.gov/ Utah Utah Division of Motor Vehicles http://dmv.utah.gov/ Vermont Vermont Agency of Transportation–Department of Motor Vehicles http://dmv.vermont.gov/ Virginia Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles http://www.dmv.state.va.us/ Washington Washington Department of Licensing http://www.dol.wa.gov/ West Virginia West Virginia Department of Transportation–Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.transportation.wv.gov/dmv/Vehicles/Pages/VehicleLicenseInfo.aspx Wisconsin Wisconsin Department of Transportation ‐ Division of Motor Vehicles http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/ Wyoming Wyoming Department of Transportation http://www.dot.state.wy.us/wydot/

How To Level Your Camper Van

Let’s Talk Leveling… Some of the most beautiful and rugged wilderness camp sites are the most unlevel and often that driveway you snagged at your friend or family’s house has a pretty significant slope. So, in this short post, I’ll explore a few options for leveling your camper van. It’s worth noting that some people simply don’t care if their van is unlevel. I wish I was like them! But, for me, leveling my rig is important to be able to sleep well. Larger motor homes and trailers typically have some sort of leveling system included with the rig but, camper vans don’t so you have to bring something along. Stuff Laying Around Some folks swear by this method. They simply harvest rocks/etc. from the surrounding area, put them under the tires that need to be leveled and voila! The clear benefit to this approach is that it’s entirely free and you don’t need to carry anything with you so it doesn’t use any space inside your van. The obvious down side is that not every camp site is going to support this approach – particularly in urban areas. It’s also a lot harder than it seems to find just the right size objects for leveling and it can be a real hassle to drive onto some of these odd shaped things. Wood Bits You can cut some wood (such as 2″ x 6″ lumber) into short sections (think tire-length strips) and then lay those onto the ground near the tires you need to level and drive up on them. In my view this is the worst option. First it takes up too much precious space in your tiny van. Then it gets really dicey when you need to stack more than one “layer” of boards to level a really wonky camping spot. However, this approach does work for some people and you may even have the scraps of wood laying around ready to repurpose this way. Leveling Blocks The commonly used plastic leveling blocks are like oversized legos. They are 8.5″ x 8.5″ square and 1″ tall. The idea is that you build a sort of pyramid out of the blocks in front of the wheel(s) you need to level and then you drive onto this pyramid. When you’re done they (theoretically) stack up onto each other to stow away into a bag provided with the blocks. Until I discovered the Flat-Jack (more on that below), this was the actually the best option. They were the devil I knew but definitely a freaking devil. There are several things I hated issues with these things. First, camper vans are heavy and you’re using these on unlevel ground so, when you drive up onto them they twist and crack which means they only stack correctly for the first few uses. That makes them hard to set up because you’re trying to use the least damaged blocks on the bottom in order to build your pyramid of blocks. That initial problem is greatly exacerbated by the fact that it’s nearly impossible to drive onto these pyramids and then stop at the exact right space (remember only 8.5″ wide). You are basically juicing the accelerator to get up on the blocks while simultaneously slamming on your brakes. If you get that right – after ten attempts – there’s a good chance your van rolls slightly off when you put it into park! Each attempt to drive onto the blocks smashes them deeper into the ground which is often muddy or sandy while crushing their shape further. So, after you use these things, even a few times, they are so mangled and dirty, they don’t stack up anymore so they end up taking up way more space than they did when they stowed away fully stacked up. The Flat-Jack Cue the angelic music. After years of disappointing experiences with other leveling systems (see above), I discovered there was a thing called the Flat-Jack widely available in Europe but not available here in the USA. So, long story made short, we got in touch with the Flat-Jack folks and became the exclusive seller of these magic air leveling pillows in the US. So, I’m certainly biased, but I think the Flat-Jack is the way to go for camper van leveling. As the name suggest, they store flat so they take up very little space in your van. I have mine stored in mesh pockets attached to my rear doors but they can be easily stashed away in so many places. When you want to use them, you simply lay them on the ground in front of the tire(s) you want to level and then drive onto them. Because they’re flat, this is super simple – all that frustration trying to get up on sets of blocks (or rocks or wood or whatever) goes way. You just lay them on the ground and drive into place. Then you connect up an air compressor or hand pump and inflate to the desired height – all the way up to 4.75″. As you inflate, you can fine tune the leveling in a way that blocks/wood/rocks cannot begin to match. The only real “con” is that they’re expensive. However, if you take into consideration how valuable space is inside a small van and how much frustration they will eliminate I think the value starts to shine through. And, unlike the leveling blocks that essentially self destruct as you use them, these will last a lifetime if you treat them well (don’t overinflate and protect from sharp objects). We’ve only been selling them for a few months but we’ve already had very positive feedback from other vanlifers an we encourage you to check them out! A Sassy Video Comparing Leveling Blocks To The Flat-Jack

Camper Van Mobile Internet

We get a lot of questions on how to stay connected on the road. Internet connectivity is very important for most people and even more essential for digital nomads like myself. I’ve tried a number of things since I built my first Promaster camper van back in 2016 but haven’t been really thrilled about any of them. I started with a Sprint MIFI that featured unlimited bandwidth but was severely limited by Sprint’s lousy network coverage outside of densely populated areas. Later, in early 2019 I fell for AT&T’s bait and switch routine when I put the Roadlink Togo “bubble” on the roof of my van. It was actually a great system but then they jacked up the data plan prices crazy high in late 2019 like a strange precursor to the nightmare that was 2020. So, now that hardware is worthless roof clutter unless I use its WIFI extending capability which I have never done and probably will never do. The truth is that there are limitations and caveats to any mobile internet setup and the word “unlimited”, when used with mobile providers, is almost always “marketing speak” for “read the fine print to learn about the actual limits”. However, I’m pretty happy with the set of compromises in my current setup and I’m a heavy consumer of data that hasn’t run into any issues with this setup. Knocking on wood! Visible By Verizon My setup centers around Visible service which uses the Verizon network – including their new-ish 5G speeds where available – but offers “unlimited” data plans starting at only $25 per month total – without any taxes, fees or other nonsense. More on pricing below. It’s well known that Verizon has the best coverage in the USA followed by AT&T. The other carriers seem to lag far behind in coverage. So, there’s a real advantage to being on the Verizon network with Visible – particularly when you’re outside of urban areas which is often the case with vanlife. Visible Pricing The base plan with Visible is $40 per month but if you join a “party” of 4 or more people the price drops to $25 per month. There’s an entire sub-Reddit dedicated to finding Visible parties and, importantly, you don’t need to know the people in your “party” since every party member pays their own bill. The primary thing to look for is a party large enough to support some of the members dropping off. One of the great features of Visible is that there are no commitments so a larger party helps ensure that you’ll stay in the preferred pricing bracket with 4 or more members. One example is the Technomadia party that has 60 members as I write this today. Visible also has a referral program. If you use a referral code (like mine which is 3lSHB6) when signing up, you’ll receive $20 off your first month service and I will get a $20 credit for your signup! How It Works When you sign up, Visible will send you a SIM card that must be used in a smartphone that is compatible with their service. You cannot use the Visible SIM in a hotspot – it must be used with a phone. I wanted a dedicated phone for this purpose so the internet connectivity would be constant and I could use my “real” phone as I normally would, so I purchased the ZTE Blade A7 Prime phone for $79 from Visible when I signed up. When the SIM card arrived up I had no trouble inserting it into the phone and activating the service. My Setup I use the WeBoost Drive Sleek signal booster that utilizes a small, magnetic rooftop antenna to pull in and “boost” wireless signals. It has a “cradle” that I’ve mounted just behind the passenger seat. Whatever device you put into this cradle gets the signal boosting. So, this serves not only as a booster but a handy mounting point for the phone I’m using. As I mentioned before, I use a teeny-tiny Mango router that has a USB connection to tether to the phone via USB. This becomes the “single” device that the phone’s hotspot allows and it creates a WIFI network inside the van much like a router at a home or office that I can connect all my devices to (other phones, laptop, security devices, etc.). The entire setup with the phone, router and WeBoost signal booster was right around $300. My Experience I’m writing this post at the end of March 2021 and I’ve been using the Visible system in my van since early February. In that time I’ve traveled from Colorado to Florida and, overall, I’m really impressed with the setup. In my experience the service is truly unlimited. There are no speed limitations when using mobile data on the phone itself but the hotspot functionality (when tethering) constrains the bandwidth to about 5 Mbps (megabits per second). While this sounds crazy slow, I find it adequate for most things including video streaming, Zoom calls and working from the road. According to Zoom, for group calls you need 1 Mbps upstream and .6 Mbps downstream bandwidth for “high quality video”, 2.6 Mbps/1.8 Mbps for 720 HD video and 3.8 Mbps/3.0 Mbps for 1080 HD video. So, the “throttled” 5 Mbps should be good enough for even the highest quality video. For some real world context, I just completed a one-hour Zoom call with two other people from the van where I had “3 bars” of signal in an urban setting. During the call there were two brief periods of time, each about 15 seconds in length, that I saw the dreaded “your internet connection is unstable” message appear. Another limitation is that there can only be one device connected to the phone’s hotspot. However, if you add a router to your setup, as I did, you can get around this limitation since the router is considered the single device but provides a WIFI network that all your devices can connect to. In all cases it appears Visible traffic is a bit slower and has higher latency than plans using Verizon directly and are subject to “network management”. In my first three weeks I used over 44 GB of data! Perhaps even more impressive is that I have had a strong signal literally everywhere I have camped so far. I don’t expect that will always be the case but I’ve covered a lot of ground without any signal issues whatsoever. The Mango router is also impressive and the USB tethering has been super reliable. So far I’ve only had to “reset” it’s USB tether connection twice in many months and thousands of miles across the USA. In other words, the USB tether between the Mango router and the phone was stable for weeks at a time and, if it did stop working, I simply unplugged the USB connection from the phone, reconnected it and then went into the phone’s settings to “turn on” the USB tether again. So, the bottom line is that this is a very affordable and solid solution for people who need regular, reliable data connections in their van and are willing to take the “slow but steady” route where the speeds are capped but the total bandwidth is not. It’s also a good idea to have your personal mobile phone service be with a different provider so that you have that secondary network as a backup that you can use if your primary option (Visible in my case) isn’t working in your location. Eliminate Throttling? In this video created by Jake & Heather, they discuss a way to use Visible from a hotspot by “repairing” the IMEI number on the device which, apparently removes the bandwidth speed throttling on the hotspot, and allows multiple connections like my router that is tethered, because it’s treated as a “phone”. I have not tried this but it just might work! Update – September 2022: some folks on the Promaster Forum report that some changes to the computer you’re tethering or the router that you’re using to tether can be used to work around the bandwidth throttling. If you want to dive deeper into mobile internet, the Mobile Internet Resource Center website is fantastic and their post on Visible is worth a read.

Why You Should Download The Vanlife App

There are lots of great apps for vanlife that I have recommended but the Vanlife App is becoming my favorite and may replace them all soon enough! It’s free and available for iOS or Android devices. The Vanlife App has been around for a few years but has really hit its stride recently with the latest versions, offering tons features and a great user experience. Many of the other similar apps out there tend to be more targeted to RV’ers and most have outdated-feeling user interfaces. I’ll share a few things that I love about the app and why I think you should download it and sign up! By the way, this is not a sponsored post. I am genuinely excited about the app and its potential to get even better. Everything In One Place As you read through this post you’ll see all the things the app can do – from finding a campsite to messaging people to making connections on the road. Having all this functionality in one single app is a game changer and so much easier and more fluid than jumping around a bunch of different apps. Community-Centered The Vanlife App is designed from the ground up to support the vanlife community. It was founded by Breanne Acio (@theladiesvan) and Jessica Shisler, Ph.D. (@van.there). Yup, it was literally created by vanlifers for vanlifers and you can see this DNA reflected in the app as you use it. So, while you can certainly use the app just to find a place to camp or fill up your water tank, the real magic is how it allows you to make connections on the road. Connections Using the connections feature you can search for people you might know and add them as a connection. Once you do (and they accept), you can message them from the app or even create “groups” of people similar to how you might with other messaging apps like WhatsApp. Every user can add things like their interests, social media links, vehicle type and even travel style (part-time, full-time, dreamer, etc.) to their profile. Near Me One of the most unique features of the Vanlife App is the ability to find other vanlifers in the area and, in turn, allow yourself to be “discovered” by others. By default, when you create your account you’re only discoverable to your connections (the people you’ve already connected with) but you can adjust this to be completely private or discoverable to anyone on the app. Your initial geography is set to your current GPS location but you can search/browse other areas. If you’re in an area with other “discoverable” vanlifers, you’ll see an orange button at the top right of the interface that shows the number of these individuals (“3 People Nearby” for example). If you press on that button it will list those folks and you can review their profile, send them a message or request to add them as a connection. Best of all, this feature isn’t limited to your present location. Most of us are on the move so it’s great to see who might be around where you’re heading. As you explore areas on the map for camp sites or use the other features, you also have the ability to see who else is vanlifing it around there. For many of us, meeting interesting, like-minded people is a highlight of the lifestyle and this feature creates tons of opportunities for that. Gatherings Another community-centric feature I’ll highlight is the ability to add a “gathering” and promote it through the app. Unfortunately, we’re still in the midst of a historic global pandemic so this functionality doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of use but I can imagine it being amazing in the post-Covid future – from small impromptu gatherings for vanlifers who find them in the same place around the same time to epic gatherings where the larger tribe comes together. In the ghastly meantime, they are organizing virtual meetups on the first Monday of every month. Finding What You Need Of course, finding a place to camp is an essential feature and the Vanlife App does this very well. In most places I’ve searched there were at least a few spots and the majority of them were free overnight boondocking spots, which is my preference. Camp sites are identified on the map view with clear icons that vary based on the type of spot (overnight parking, free camps, paid camps, etc.). You can get a quick overview of the spot by pressing on the icon or dive into the full details by pressing on the overview bubble. The details for each listing include the features such as water station or showers as well as reviews and, in many cases, info on the all-important cellular data connectivity/strength. You can also save/bookmark listings for easier access or trip planning. Any saved listings appear along with places you’ve reviewed or have history with when you press on the “saved” button. I also love that when you press the “get directions” button it gives you a choice of which app you’d like to use (Google Maps, Waze, Lyft or simply copying the GPS coordinates). I often find myself preferring Waze in some areas or circumstances and Google Maps in others. Finally you can “share” the listing with others through email/etc. that includes a special link that will open that listing if they have the Vanlife App, which is really helpful when planning camp spots with others like your traveling companions. Not Just Camp Spots In addition to places to camp, you can use the Vanlife App to locate all sorts of other things you might need on the road including water fill locations, propane, dump stations, trash/recycling areas and more. Each of these types of listings have their own icon so it’s easy to scan the map or you can filter what appears by type (i.e.: free camps only) or by the specific utility you need (i.e.: wi-fi, laundromat, dump station, etc.) and more. Camp Shares Another really awesome feature of the Vanlife App is the Camp Share directory. If you have a place to host someone (your driveway, etc.), you can add that spot to the directory as a Camp Share. When you add your listing you can describe the place, what types/sizes of vehicles it can accommodate, add photos and you can even choose to charge a fee for that listing similar to listing your house on Airbnb. The app takes care of all the reservations and payments making it super easy for a host to monetize their spot if they choose. This feature is very new at the time I’m writing this post but the Vanlife App crew tell me that over 70% of Camp Shares are free! I love the Camp Share feature because it opens the door to so many more camp sites in interesting places where there may not normally be much available and it’s yet another opportunity for building community and meeting each other. Sustainability I am grateful that the creators of the Vanlife App share my values of vanlifing respectfully, sustainability and leaving no trace. In their own words they are committed to “making vanlife synonymous with sustainability through education, financial contributions and action” and “as a Public Benefit Corporation, a portion of all sales are donated to non-profit sustainability initiatives.” In my opinion these values are critical to the vanlife movement and all the amazing people in the community. We hope to support their efforts and continue to work toward these common goals. So, Please Sign Up & Share The Love One last thing… all the “data” in the app is user generated. From your individual profile to the camp spots and reviews all the way down to where to find a toilet or some water. Because of this, the more we all use the app and contribute the better it will become. So, I encourage you to check it out and share!

Vanlife Respectfully

There’s Nothing Like Traveling In A Camper Van For the most part, I’m thrilled to see vanlife becoming increasingly popular. There is nothing like traveling in a camper van! There is real magic in the alchemy of adventure, discovery, freedom and challenge that you experience living on the road and deep in the wilderness. With a van you can go just about anywhere – from culturally rich cities to wonderfully desolate deserts enjoying the excitement and novelty of travel right along side the the secure comforts of home. However, I’m one of many people who are deeply concerned about how some vanlifers are behaving and the consequences of that for all of us. Camping Respectfully We all need places to camp. That is the most fundamental requirement of vanlife – even more so than the vehicle itself! If we are not respectful of where and how we choose to camp we will no longer be welcome. The potential combination of increasing numbers of vanlifers with a reduction in available places to camp is a catastrophe in the making for all of us. So, this post is going to dive into some things to consider when camping. These are just my thoughts which are centered around respect. Ultimately, how you live and your decisions are entirely yours. The storyteller makes no choice soon you will not hear his voice his job is to shed light and not to master – Robert Hunter, Terrapin Station Advocating for Vanlifers We hope to help galvanize the vanlife community around these issues and also advocate for more places to camp with Together We Van, the non-profit we’re starting up. For instance, we think it’s time to make public lands public again – even after dusk! There are tens of thousands of public spaces that “close” at night despite being paid for and maintained by public funds. These range from beach parking lots to recreational areas to hiking trailheads to marinas and more. In many cases these “closed hours” are established specifically to prohibit overnight camping in what would otherwise be a perfect place to overnight. However, it’s essential that, as a community, we don’t trash the places we’re asking to be welcomed into. By the way, if you’re interested in helping to get this effort off the ground, we’d love to hear from you. Don’t Camp Where You’re Not Welcome So, We’re Welcome More Places There are great apps like the Vanlife App and iOverlander that can help you find places to camp just about anywhere – from paid campgrounds to reliable boondocking spots. I wrote another post about these apps and others. And, the longer you live vanlife, the better you will become at spotting potential campsites. The key is to only camp in places where you’re welcome. I certainly struggle with this as you can see my earlier “rant” about making public spaces public again. But, the bottom line is that we have a better chance of advocating for being welcomed into more places if we only camp in places we’re already welcome. Be A Good Neighbor The Golden Rule applies here. Wherever you camp treat it as if it was your town, your lake, your driveway, your parking lot or your anything. Also, try to fit in. Don’t be loud when everyone else is quiet. Don’t put out an awning and camp chairs in the Walmart parking lot. Definitely don’t leave any trash or, eh, fluids of any kind (grey water or worse). If you have a generator, only run it when it seems appropriate. Be kind! Support Businesses That Support Vanlife It’s well known that many businesses are welcoming to RV’ers and, by extension, vanlifers. Unfortunately, many of us have sort of taken this for granted and some of these stores are being forced to put up “no camping” signs because of people leaving trash and being disrespectful. Others are overstaying their welcome. A Walmart or a Crackle Barrel is a great place to camp overnight but it’s not a place to stay for many days for you or the store. If you do find yourself overnighting at these businesses please consider going into the store and purchasing some things. Leave It Better and Leave No Trace Whenever possible and ALWAYS when I camp in the wilderness, I try to leave the camp spot in better shape than when I arrived. It’s easy to pick up any garbage that is laying around or to address any damage any previous campers have done. When I’m doing this I often imagine what an impact we could have as a group if every vanlifer did this simple thing. I encourage you to learn about the seven principals of Leave No Trace which provide guidance to enjoy our natural world in a sustainable way that avoids human-created impacts. The principles have been adapted so they can be applied in your backyard or your backcountry. Matty Van Halen Talks About What Happens If We Don’t Get Our Act Together

My Favorite Vanlife and Travel Apps

Great Things for Vanlife. Stuff That's Worth the Space It Takes Up!

One of the more popular, and presumably useful posts on this blog is the list of parts and materials I used for my DIY Promaster camper van. So, I figured I’d write another post about the things that go inside. There isn’t a lot of space in a tiny home on wheels so the things that you take with you must be awesome and useful. Below is my list of things that I think are worth the space they take up in the van and do the job well. If you have suggestions for this list, I’d love to hear them so feel free to shoot me an email! Flat-Jack Air Leveler It’s much easier to sleep and cook and generally not go insane when the van is reasonably level. For years I’ve used the (evil) plastic leveling blocks that stack up and pretty much hated them. They were hard to set up, even harder to drive onto and always got smashed up by the weight of the van making them even bulkier to store and harder to use. BOOO! The Flat-Jack solves all this! It is *flat* so it can be stored away just about anywhere without taking up space and also so much easier to drive onto. Then you just inflate it to the height you want. Check out our silly video comparing the Flat-Jack to leveling blocks! Kikkerland Rhino II Step Stool Great little step stool that folds up to take almost no space. We use it to get up into the bed loft, in and out of the van near the slider, to stay off the ground when using the outdoor shower, as a sort of chair up against the wet bath wall in the van and so on. Super handy! Bike Rack Unless you store your bikes inside the van (in the so-called garage area), you’re going to want to have a bike rack because bikes are the best way to get around when you’re van is at camp! I’ve researched this extensively and used many racks over the last 4 years and I can recommend the two that we sell in our store: The RockyMounts BackStage is perfect for your hitch. It’s a sturdy rack for two bikes plus a swing away mechanism so that you can open your rear cargo doors with the bikes on the rack. Great system! If you want something that attached directly to the van and doesn’t take up quite as much space, the Fiamma Carry-Bike is a great option. 8.5′ Aluminum Telescoping Ladder You’ll get a lot more juice out of your solar panels if you keep them clean and if you don’t have a permanently mounted ladder this thing will get you up there. It’s extremely small when collapsed (30.75″ x 18.75″) and versatile. Joseph Joseph DrawerStore Kitchen Drawer Organizer This is a really clever space saving organizer for your silverware. The knives, forks (and so on) slide into the various stacked compartments and there is a little icon next to each one so you know what’s what. BlueDriver Bluetooth Pro OBDII Scan Tool The nerd in me likes to monitor stats like engine load and coolant temperature – similar to the way I’m always looking at how much energy the sun is giving me through the solar panels or how much fresh water I have using the tank monitoring system. This gadget plugs into the OBDII port on the van (below the steering wheel) and transmits all kinds of data from the van’s computer to an app for your mobile device. It also allows you to read any “check engine light” codes. And, if you have a Promaster at least, you might notice that the engine temperature gauge in the van is always slightly below the middle. According to this video from an Promaster owner whose engine blew up, that gauge is only there to make you feel good and it’s not at all accurate. Casabella Dustpan and Brush Set When you’re living in a van you’ll be cleaning a lot. This is a broom and dustpan that is nice. What can I say, it does the job and doesn’t take up a bunch of space. OMNIA Stovetop Oven Kit Most vans don’t have an oven and sometimes an oven is what ya need for making delicious food. Think baked goods, nachos, pizza or garlic bread. Yum! This thing is an oven that work with most cooktops. However, since it’s make of aluminum it does not work with induction cooktops. The link is to the kit that includes the rack and the silicone “insert” which makes it way easier to clean. Collapsible Solar/USB LED Lantern This is the perfect camp lamp. You can charge it in the sun with the built-in solar or via USB when on the go (much faster). It collapses into a tiny footprint, is water proof and gives off a good amount of light without being overpowering (120 lumens). You can even have it flicker like a candle! 12V DC Portable Air Compressor Pump Super handy little air compressor. Can fill up your van or bike tires or any inflatable things like tubes for riving tubing! Sometimes it’s helpful to let some air out of your tires for enhanced traction and this pump can get you back to full pressure when you need to. Also recommend this digital tire pressure gauge. Thetford Curve Cassette Toilet Some folks don’t want a toilet of any kind in their van. I think it’s a worthwhile luxury (along with my shower). This is the unit I’ve used and it works great. It has a water tank at the top for flushing and a built-in “black tank” for your evacuations 🙂 You can empty it in a variety of ways and it’s not nearly as bad as you think. I wrote more about it and the wet bath in my van in this post. You should use special RV/dissolving toilet paper. This particular toilet paper is soft but, eh, sturdy enough for the job – highly recommend. Magma Nesting 7-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set I don’t have this set but if I ever upgrade my cookware this will be the one! They work with all types of cooktops – including induction stoves, they nest into a small footprint and appear to be really well made with non-stick coating. They seem perfect for vanlife. Ultimate Ears BOOM 2 Phantom Bluetooth Speaker A high-quality, durable and waterproof speaker really is an essential for vanlife. I have the “last version” of this and it’s awesome. I can only imagine they’ve improved it for the new version! Camco TastePURE Water Filter Many times the source of your “fresh water” is a little less fresh than ideal. This filter connects between the water source and your fresh water tank inlet and to filter the water as you fill up! 4-Way Multi-Functional Utilities Key Speaking of fresh water – sometimes it’s hard to find. Many gas stations, office buildings and other commercial structures have water connections that are hidden away behind access doors. This handy “key” opens most of those. A great thing to have in a pinch. 15 amp to 30 amp Adapter If your van has a 30 amp shore power connection (and cable), you’ll probably want this little adapter that allows you to plug into a standard 15 amp outlet. Of course you’ll have to be mindful of how much AC power you’re pulling but in my experience, 15 amps has been plenty – even when running the rooftop AC unit. USB-Powered Goosneck Light This tiny gooseneck light with an LED bulb and power switch can be plugged into any USB jack and provide a little reading light. It takes up no space and has a to of utility. I installed a USB power outlet in the headliner of my van between the two seats in the cab and routinely use this light to read maps/books/whatever while sitting up there. Rechargable LED Headlamp A headlamp is a true essential for vanlife. Great for camping, fixing things, finding things, lighting up things. I like this particular headlamp because it’s bright, fits well, can run of standard batteries or use it’s built-in rechargeable battery that charges from any USB jack. Bike Lock That Uses Your Van Key (Promaster) Less is more in vanlife. This bike lock uses your Promaster van key instead of a combination or separate key. One less thing.