There are so many advantages to van life. It’s more convenient to pack up and go to the vacation spot of your dreams when you’re ready for a long road trip at any point in time. By having all of your belongings on wheels with you, there’s total freedom to travel to any location your heart desires.
However, some significant lifestyle changes have to happen when you live life on the road. Here are some things that travel vloggers Kara and Nate learned about van life after living out of their converted sprinter van for a year.
Adapt your daily routine
Living a travel-friendly lifestyle requires adaptability. Times that you shower, brush your teeth, prepare a meal, and clean your space depend on water availability and energy usage. You may need to develop a new routine adapted to the resources available when living in a converted van. There’s not the same access to utilities in a house, so you’ll need a little bit of flexibility in your day-to-day activities.
Know your specific needs
A big aspect of successfully converting a van for permanent living is personalizing it to your needs. Since youtubers Kara and Nate both need frequent access to cameras and laptops, they have a safe inside of their van with a charging station that keeps all of their batteries full and their belongings safe. List out things that you need frequent access to for your job or hobby so that your van experience is custom to your needs.
Keep the bad smells out
A lot of converted vans include toilets and uncovered trash cans. However, this may not end up being useful in such a tightly packed space. Kara and Nate learned during their year on the road that they much prefer to use established bathrooms so that they don’t have to store their waste in the compost toilet. Any sort of smell can overwhelm a compact space, so it’s important to be aware of what you’re bringing in.
Multipurpose Items
When you live in a traditional home, you might have different items for different occasions. For example, there might be one mug that you like to use for your morning coffee, one mug that you take on the go, and another mug that you use when there’s company over. With van life, you can’t afford to take up so much space with redundant items. It’s important for all of your belongings to have as many functions as possible so that you don’t waste scarce storage space.
