Starting van life can be a daunting experience. I want to help out where I can for those interested in full-time, part-time or party-time van life. Here are some tips and tricks to help you get started:
Van Purchase. First, you’ll most certainly have to figure out what rig to get. My post How I Chose Vanna White has some things to consider when thinking about your van purchase.
The Socials. Determine if you want to create a brand or social media presences around your van life. It was all the rage in years past, but now is becoming more of a community. There are several Facebook groups (including those just for ladies), you can blog (like me!) or develop some other content strategy. I’m not the expert in this area but certainly have started to target my Instagram and blog towards my van life dreams. I’ll be starting to engage with TikTok soon, so stay tuned. Maybe I’ll have more tips in the coming months?
Internet! For those working van lifers, having access to internet is a key component. I will be publishing a blog on how I chose Starlink Roam and what I would do differently next time. TLDR: The Starlink Roam is great because you mount it, forget it, and just roll on with your life. Cons: it’s expensive and does pull a lot of energy until you unplug it or get a sleep cycle that is on point. Update July 2023: I would 100% go with the Starlink Roam again, for driving and getting on calls. When I don’t have cell service – the internet of my Starlink kicks in. No stress about no LTE bars.
Water Management. On my first off road trip, I learned a lot about water management (both having fresh water and managing waste water in the grey tank). Mainly because we ran out of fresh water and got full in the grey tank two days into the trip (SMH). Lesson 1: water in a van/RV is not like water in a home. Kind of a duh but had to be said. Lesson 2: always have a backup plan for where to get more water. I use the Overlander App and when that failed, we stopped by a Ranger station in town. Lesson 3: Dump clean-ish grey water outside to conserve grey water tank space. This would include things like pasta water, mouth swishing water, etc.
Waste Management. Yummmmmmmmy topic, I know. But real. So so real. I have a cassette toilet, which I highly recommend because you can dump it into any pit toilet – often found in state parks, national parks and at trail heads. I clean mine out with bleach in between trips to keep the kooty smell down. Also, again probably a duh moment, but you need special RV toilet paper. None of that Charmin Extra Soft can go down there, sorry.
Garage Storage. I just spent a full ass Saturday building my own storage shelves for the garage of my sprinter. Step by step instructions, lessons and a materials list can be found in my blog: Measure Twice, Cut Once.
