Living The Van Life - The Basics
I lived in a van for four months and they were some of the best months of my life. They were the most stressful, frustrating, adventurous, carefree months where I learned to trust in humanity again.
Living the van life is not easy, especially if your van is mechanically falling apart every other day. But this blog is not about that. It is about the best parts of van life and why it's a lifestyle I can highly recommend, especially if you're travelling on a budget.
So, breakdowns aside, let's assume you've bought yourself a sturdy van with an engine that purrs, as they say. Although I'm not entirely sure why there's a cat under the bonnet.
Let's say your van has a battery that charges when you drive the car, giving you electricity to charge your devices and indoor lighting for cooking. You have a little gas bottle for the gas burner you use daily to cook breakfast and dinner. You have plenty of comfy blankets, kitchen appliances and utensils, and a bed that sits up high to fit your belongings and clothes underneath. You're ready to go.
What Makes Van Life So Cheap?
When you live and travel in a van, you only have some minor expenses.
1. Petrol
2. Food
3. Maintenance
4. The occasional caravan park
5. Gas
When we lived in a van, we didn't have any other housing expenses like a mortgage or rent to pay. The van was the only roof over our heads; our address was wherever the van was. Your situation might be entirely different. So, for the sake of this article, let's say all you have is the four wheels underneath you and the chunk of steel above your noggin.
Running Water Isn't Essential
Depending on where you are in the world and how fond of the outdoors you are, nature is your shower or bath. You don't need running water, and if you stop at a caravan park once or twice a week, you'll learn to really appreciate hot showers—I mean truly, genuinely appreciate them.
Of course, if you're doing the van life thing in a destination where sweat is a daily hindrance, like Australia, for example, you'll probably want daily showers. Fair enough.
But to keep things cheap, instead of forking out at a caravan park every night, I recommend:
Extra jerry cans (The big 10 – 20lt water cans you get from places like Bunnings, Anaconda and BCF)
A 2lt Coke bottle with holes in the cap – no, I'm not joking.
A small tub
Wet wipes
Eco-friendly wash products that won't cause any additional detriment to our planet
Also, there is such a thing as solar-powered camp showers – I haven't tried them myself, so I can't exactly vouch for them, but hey, now you know they exist, and if you prefer your water warmer than cold, it might be worth giving a solar-powered shower a shot.
Most caravan parks have water re-fill stations so you can fill up all your water bottles and jerry cans at no extra charge.
We didn't have running water, and we never needed it. On average, twice a week, we stopped in at caravan parks or friends' houses just for a hot shower (you try living in a van that doesn't have heating in the middle of winter in Scotland… I dare you). On other days, we used an app called "Park 4 Night" to find drinking water and public showers.
Yes, we also used a Coke bottle with holes poked through the lid and tied it to the top of the van's back door to act as a showerhead. It worked surprisingly well.
Buying Food For Less
Again, this depends on where you are in the world. Lidl was our go-to for all groceries because we were living in a van in the UK. We had a cooked breakfast most mornings and a cooked dinner every night and spent about £40 - £50 on groceries every 7 – 10 days.
In Aussie dollars, that's about $80 - $100. We did not starve, we ate very well, and because we saved so much on groceries, we could also eat out a few times a month.
If you're living in Australia, Aldi is your new best friend. OR search local farms in your area and order your fruit and vegetables directly from them. You won't have an address, so find a farm you can pick groceries up from on your way through.
Buy foods that last a while, like:
Canned goods
Long-life milk
Fruit and Veg
Nuts
Rice
You might have to change your diet slightly, but having breakfast, lunch or dinner with a different view every day is worth it.
We cooked a lot of broth (I know what you'll say: soup isn't a meal, but hear me out). Our broths turned into feasts. We added vegetables, ham or chicken, noodles, spicy sauces, and a side of bread. In fact, now I'm so hungry just thinking about those delicious broths; that's what I'm going to have for dinner tonight.
But Petrol Is So Expensive
Yes, I won't lie. Petrol is pretty expensive, especially in the UK, where it's almost double what we pay in Australia. So, be smart about it. Never fill up on a Wednesday. Even the employees at our local petrol stations say Wednesday is the day petrol jumps, and they'll always fill up on a Tuesday. Call it cheap-ass Tuesday, if you will.
Also, keep in mind that petrol is still cheaper than a mortgage, so you're already winning—unless you have a mortgage, too. But hey, you're still saving on utility bills!
Download some petrol finder apps, and without going crazy, find the nearest one for the cheapest price. When I say "without going crazy" I mean, don't drive an extra 50kms to find the cheaper petrol. That's just a waste of time and money.
Oh and remember, a lot of petrol stations have toilets too!
Speaking of Toilets…
Port-a-loos are also NOT an essential for living in a van. Okay, everyone has their own opinion on this. I'm against portaloos in the van home for a few reasons:
Ever heard the saying "Don't shit where you eat?" – I know it was never intended as a literal saying about going to the toilet where you eat, but when it comes to van life, it most certainly rings true. I don't have a toilet in my kitchen in the house, why would I have one in the kitchen in my van?
They take up space that, let's face it, you don't have much of when living in a van. I'd rather use the space for something like a small refrigerator.
Have fun finding somewhere to empty your toilet, and when you have found somewhere, have fun emptying it.
I've never had a campervan toilet, but I imagine they don't smell nice, especially in a small, confined space.
So, in my opinion (IMO), download a toilet-finder app, get comfortable with nature, pop a few spare toilet rolls in your van storage, and go whenever you pass a public restroom. On that note, don't forget that sanitiser IS a necessity.
Of course, if you're on the other side of this argument, maybe you'll find the convenience of a campervan toilet more appealing. The choice is yours.
Finding Space In Your Van
Lastly, on the basics of living in a van - get creative with utilising space in your van! No matter what kind of van you have, you are downsizing from a house. A house that probably fits proper human-sized couches and a dining table you can serve a wealthy-looking spread on. Your van will not have this. Your van will limit your comforts, and your van will restrict you to a minimalistic lifestyle.
Use every bit of space in the van; don't leave any corners untouched. You can build or design the seating areas to have storage underneath them. The same can be said for the kitchen table, the bed, and under the driver and passenger seats. Everything and anything should have access to accessible storage.
The best part is that you can do it all yourself and don't need an expensive tradie to rip a giant-sized hole in your pocket. Get inspiration from van-life tutorials on YouTube and Pinterest!
Build your own wall shelves (I promise it's pretty easy)
Use Velcro to keep things from flying all over your van home
Consider space for hanging storage baskets
Have your bed built higher so you have a "garage" space under your bed
Use the ceiling (Get some rope or bungee cords to hang things like surfboards, Tupperware, coats, jackets, etc.)
Hammock nets come in handy too
Honestly, it's like a game of Tetris.
Handy Apps for Living In a Van
I've mentioned apps a couple of times throughout the article. Apps for vans are your allies. Some phone apps for van life will come in handy for all sorts of things.
For the UK and Europe, I recommend campers use the app Park4Night.
For Australia, I recommend the campervan app WikiCamps Australia or CamperMate.
You'll also want something like Fuel Map Australia or PetrolSpy to monitor reasonable petrol prices while travelling.
Once you've found a good spot to park for the night, you might want to use an adventure-seeking app like AllTrails to plan a fun hike the following day.
The Fundamentals of Living in a Campervan
If you're preparing to live in a van or build yourself a campervan for holidays, etc., you have a lot to look forward to. Yes, it will be stressful, but when the van is ready to go and you're out on the wide open road, the adventures are worth any pain getting the van sorted may have caused.
Remember to keep up with van maintenance regularly, like checking tyre pressure, coolant, oil, and water for your windshield. Shop around for cheap groceries, get as cosy with nature as our great-great-great ancestors would have been, use every available inch of space in the van for storage, and accept you will be living life as a minimalist.
Living in a van might be the best time of your life if you do it right. Oh, and a pro tip from a gal who lived in a predominately self-built van (by my partner): Pack yourself a little medical kit and a little tool kit. You never know when you will need a bandaid or a screwdriver.
Safe & happy travels,
Bridie
Comments