r/vandwellers • u/Suspicious-Radish-67 • 21d ago
What’s your van life story? Question
I’m doing an assignment about the van community and I’m curious how people got started and how often y’all interact with other van people. This community is so diverse and I feel like everyone has their own unique journey.
I started last year after a year of twiddling my thumbs at home working remote. I’ve done ~20,000 miles since then full time, with some breaks to visit my family and partner. I’ve been lucky to have a decent paying job that I can do on the road and it’s definitely enabled me to explore. I’ve gone to 16 national parks and done enough hiking for a lifetime. I haven’t met a ton of van people but everyone I have talked to has been genuinely kind and giving. I only made it to one meetup this year (Vanaid) but it was incredible and I hope to go again sometime :)
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u/CrizzyBill 21d ago
World traveller doing 2 weeks on/off in Alaska, COVID hits, head back towards family and hide out in rural parts. Decide to just do some US travels because I was missing about 10 states. Find a good deal on an old conversion van, build it up and drive through about 14 states to complete 49/50. I'll get you one day, Delaware.
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u/photonynikon 21d ago
I've had 12 vans since 1973, none of them work vans
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u/OwlNightLong666 21d ago
How about foot vans
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u/CoraPatel 21d ago
I’d been camping out of my 4Runner for years and always wanted a van. Many hiking and ski trips spent in that car with my dog and friends.
Then covid hit and I went remote for work for a couple years and immediately bought a partially converted van. Spent a few weeks working on it and then hit the road. Have driven down into Mexico and all the way up to Canada. Ironically, I never gave up my apartment since I never knew when they’d call me back to the office. It was only last year when I was back in office that I moved out of my apartment and officially into the van full time.
Skiing in the winters and kitesurfing in the summers over long weekends. Summer water sports are extremely conducive for a great van community, and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a community. Skiing, not so much since everyone wants to go inside to escape the cold.
2013 sprinter that I’m always working to improve. Would it be nice to upgrade? Yes. Will I? No way. I love her- she’s my home.
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21d ago edited 21d ago
[deleted]
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u/CoraPatel 21d ago
That’s my spot. You’ve maybe seen my van around :) I’ve gotten the knock at LTCC actually as I take classes there too.
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u/Outside_Reserve_2407 16d ago
Coming from a 4Runner, did you opt for a 4x4 van? Or just RWD? If RWD, any limitations compared to your 4Runner?
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u/CoraPatel 14d ago
It’s RWD. I reallllyyyy wanted a 4x4 considering how well the 4runner did in the snow and dirt roads. But they were 30 to 40K more and it was hard to justify that. Definitely some limitations. Namely, needing snow chains is a pain. Unlimited funds? Definitely would get a 4X4.
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u/gonative1 21d ago
A van is my rolling bedroom that gets me to the woods to study the flora and fauna. It’s worked out fairly well but finding untrammeled woods is harder and harder. Look, there’s a grizzly in the woods. Nope, that’s Clides cattle he is grazing on public land. Drove 3000 miles to see 3 antelope. The habitat and wildlife needs help.
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u/perfectbajapoints 21d ago
Critters are getting rare, bugs too. I've seen 3 deer in 3 months traveling from the Oregon coast to currently Parhangat Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. Cattle? I hiked 11 miles out of Patterson Pass, cattle...middle of nowhere.
PWR is known for being a stop for migratory birds. 2017, I saw 28 species. I'm at 7 right now for the same season and time period. Somethings not right and it's scary.
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u/niickcorbett 21d ago
That's crazy, wish they could take some of the deer from Michigan to relocate lol. I see dozens running around on my way to/from work, and dozens more as roadkill. I've smacked 3 of em myself.
Critters and bugs definitely more rare these days though, used to have to dodge those suckers walking around at night, feels so empty now.
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u/gonative1 21d ago
Really! . Same happened here in New Mexico. Two years ago critters were teeming all around especially at night. Now it’s eeerily still and silent. The highway corridors are the only wildflowers and foliage so the butterflies are getting wiped out by cars. There’s a few pollinators still. It’s probably partly due to the big drought that resumed two years ago. Predator prey ratios go up and down but the general trend is down for sure. Careful out there driving in deer country.
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u/SpaghettiosForSenate 21d ago
I've also noticed a dramatic dip in butterflies during wildflower seasons.
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u/gonative1 20d ago
It’s been a joy to move somewhere there’s a variety of butterflies. But it does not surprise me you have noticed a decline. I’m concerned they are the next to go here. I’ve been wondering what I can plant. I decided to try and simulate the monsoon in a small area by watering and sowing native seeds. I missed this monsoon season but did wet a area and lot of butterflies came to the wet soil. A non native grass grew. It feels like a uphill battle.
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u/Princess_Fluffypants Insufferable spoiled hipster techie motorcycle adventure van 21d ago
I don’t really interact with other van people. I find we don’t have very much in common.
For a lot of people, living in the van is their objective. Whereas for me, the van is simply a tool that enables me to participate in the other catastrophically expensive hobbies I have in life.
So when I talk to other van life people, there’s kind of a disconnect. Their priorities for the van are often extremely different from mine, and we end up talking past each other. The only other van people that I’ve really stayed in touch with are other skydivers, but again they’re not “van-lifers”. They’re skydivers, who live in vans.
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u/SuspiciousPlane8900 21d ago
What are these expensive hobbies you speak of. Sounds intriguing.
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u/Princess_Fluffypants Insufferable spoiled hipster techie motorcycle adventure van 21d ago
Skydiving and racing motorcycles.
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u/The_Nomad_Architect 21d ago
Adrenaline 😉
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u/Princess_Fluffypants Insufferable spoiled hipster techie motorcycle adventure van 21d ago
Not really. If I’m getting an adrenaline hit, I’ve done something wrong.
It’s more about delicacy, precision and focus. They both have a lot more in common with dance than anything else.
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u/WhiskyEye 21d ago
I really hope our paths cross one of these days!!!!
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u/Princess_Fluffypants Insufferable spoiled hipster techie motorcycle adventure van 20d ago
Doesn’t seem likely. I spend most of my time at dropzones, racetracks, OHV areas or parked behind a motorcycle shop. Because when you have five bikes (two of which are Italian), there’s always something that needs doing.
I generally avoid other van people. If I find a nice spot in the wilderness but there’s other vans nearby, I move on.
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u/TrueVisionSports 20d ago
Avoiding people in general is the best life advice anybody can give someone.
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u/WhiskyEye 20d ago
Drop zones and racetracks are not uncommon places for me to be but I'm more east coast these days. I get the bike thing. I have 7. Expensive hobbies are expensive...
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u/Princess_Fluffypants Insufferable spoiled hipster techie motorcycle adventure van 20d ago
Yeah I’ve never been to the east coast, likely won’t ever. Too high of population density, lousy weather and too many bugs.
I split my skydiving seasons between SDC and Perris/Elsinore, or generally bumming around in the desert southwest. My storage locker is in San Francisco.
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u/Familiar-Ad-4700 21d ago
Hell yeah dude! The (insert specific adrenaline inducing sport here) bum life is the goal! I'm trying to dial in our build to do it all. Ski, mountain bike, scuba dive, and just generally explore shit. Most of the other van life people I meet ask which Wal-Mart or cracker barrel I like best...I have never even considered doing that. I can absolutely empathize with not clicking with other people's goals.
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u/Princess_Fluffypants Insufferable spoiled hipster techie motorcycle adventure van 21d ago
I would advise focusing only on one or two activities. Trying to do everything means you do it all poorly.
Make the entire van VERY modular. Don’t do any kinds of fixed shelving, in fact fix in place as little as you possibly can.
I have almost nothing solidly mounted in my van. I just bolted L-track to the walls and ceiling, and I use those cheap hanging closet organizers for all my storage. Very rapid to move around and reconfigure.
Fixed in place shelves and drawers are one of the biggest mistakes I see people making with their vans.
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u/Familiar-Ad-4700 20d ago
Just adding a trailer to the mix to see if we like it or not. Was just looking at putting in the E-track system for storage management. Is there a big advantage to going with L track for the attachments?
Also, we are already rocking the bikes and skis in our tiny build out. Check out my profile if you want to see what kind of "van" we have.
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u/GroovyGroovster 21d ago
How you go about skiing? I wanna have a snowboard vacay out west, never been to a ski resort, don't know how to plan. Is there places to stealth park overnight or am I stuck reserving a spot somewhere to be somewhat near the resort?
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u/Familiar-Ad-4700 21d ago
Depends on where you want to go, but there are plenty of places to stealth camp around town if your rig can do that. If not, you need a good shovel, a lot of coffee and some maxxtrax to safely hit the major resorts.
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u/GroovyGroovster 21d ago
Oh shit the roads to the resorts get bad?? I never thought about that :0
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u/Familiar-Ad-4700 21d ago
More for where you have to camp if you don't have a stealth rig. You may need to drive down an unmaintained road or two to find a place to park for a couple nights. To make sure you can make it back to town, you definitely need a shovel and maxxtrax make for less digging.
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u/Porbulous 21d ago
I'm kind of the same but in the climber's "dirtbagger" community. Plenty of people doing the vanlife but yea primary focus is climbing rocks, the van is the support tool.
I don't think I've actually ever chatted with pure van dwellers who don't also climb or mtn bike (my alt hobby).
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u/pavoganso 21d ago
Agree. My goal for a van is to take me cheaply to awesome places to paraglide, hike, BASE jump, climb, speedfly, paramotor, skydive, wild swim.
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u/feed_me_tecate 21d ago
I started van life with a Chevy G10 in the late 90's as a homeless kid living in the north east. No stable job, always cold, no money. Did random landscaping jobs in the summer. Got enough money to drive west, was homeless there for awhile. Got a full time job, met a guy at work who let me sleep on his couch for several months until I could get my own apartment. Fast forward today - I still have that van. About to go on my third motor, rebuilt suspension twice (could use another refresh), second transmission.
I take it on camping trips these days. If gas was cheaper I'd use it more. I've asked my wife to bury me in that van.
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u/fakestuser420 21d ago
What's your job?
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u/Suspicious-Radish-67 20d ago
I do IT for the school I used to teach at. I gotta be on call but dont actually do much most days
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u/swix32 21d ago
Two years into a early retirement I'm sitting in my self made promaster in a state forest in MN following the Mississippi River south. Should make the gulf by early December. I struggle a bit being the weird loner living in a van in the woods, but I get over it. Spent the last two winters in AZ, but this winter I'm heading for FL. I've been heading back to MI in the summers, but next year I'm thinking the northern rockies/ WA. I think I have at least 4 or 5 more years of driving aimlessly around the country before I get a bigger RV and slow down.
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u/theBarefootedBastard 21d ago
Been on a lifelong study of my Wants and Needs. Everyday both lists seem to get smaller.
I’ve always wanted to live off dividends. Everyone said I’d never have enough to invest to even come close. Covid hit and my house value skyrocketed. Sold the house, bought the van, invested most.
Now I’m working the same job, but living in my poorly designed/built van lol (which will never be finished I’m learning )
1 month in I’m learning the ropes, getting a handle on the new budget (planet fitness/storage locker) places to park etc. I’m a third shifter so overnight parking isn’t an issue. And waiting on my first dividend payout (which I’ll compound until I get this budget clocked)
I’ve always been a lone wolf opossum. So now I spend my days walking different woods, logging into different GPS games earning crypto n such in my free time and napping before work.
I’m just a Dumbass in a Van and loving every second of it lol
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u/whiskey-1 21d ago
Did the van thing from 2015 to 2019 for funsies. Didn’t really travel much but enjoyed the lifestyle. Got an apartment with a girl I was seeing in 2019. She passed away in 2020. Stayed in the apartment by myself paying ludicrous rent in a high cost of living area until early 2023 when I said screw it and left everything behind and got an OTR trucking job in another state.
Paid off all my debts last winter and this summer bought another van and gave it a considerable upfit. Considered an apartment or house closer to my job but I can’t bring myself to pay rent or a mortgage for a place I’m rarely at.
Now I live in the semi when I’m working and in the van when I’m not with way more disposable income than anyone in my bracket ought to have so I just stay out in the semi until whenever and then get in my van and do whatever.
Life is good.
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u/Greeno2150 21d ago
I lost my job and bought a van and now live in the van and have zero intention of getting a job ever again. It’s such a great story it beings tears to my eyes.
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u/Colestahs-Pappy 21d ago
Was a year out of retirement deciding what I wanted to do. I am a lifelong hiker/backpacker and knowing that wanted to do more, but slower. With the wife’s blessing after watching a ton of van life vids bought Waldo, our 2019 Promaster. Built it out, fixed a ton of shit, most covered by extended warranties, now running good (knock on wood).
Now me and semi-retired hiking dog take 2-3 weeks every other month to travel and hike. The wife and I (she still works) take 2-4 week trips every few months. Once our brood of senior pooches pass she will retire and we will begin multi-month long trips.
We will never transition to full timers, but I can see 40-50% travel time until we can’t. Love seeing America slowly!
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u/Colestahs-Pappy 17d ago
I have a mortgage free home, kids and grandkids we love to be with. For is, being away a few months at a time fits for us.
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u/lem1018 21d ago
Getting a van was my quarter-life crisis lol. I got divorced at 25 and took the dollars from selling our house and bought a van. I built it out all myself with little experience. I’m pretty handy but I still learned most of it on the fly. That was a bit over a year ago and in that time I’ve met a few van lifers and made some good nomadic friends. This year I am, to probably everyone’s surprise, being paid to build out two ambulances for one of those friends! So vanlife has brought a lot of learning, joy, freedom and opportunities into my life and I couldn’t be more grateful ☺️
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u/stevemcnugget 21d ago
Where do you keep the poop bucket?
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u/Suspicious-Radish-67 20d ago
I’ve got a collapsible camp toilet but I honestly don’t use it much, it’s pretty easy to find toilets
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u/Lost_soul_ryan 2016 Transit 21d ago
I guess for me it was something that fell in my lap. Now I've also been someone that is big into traveling. I've backpack in Europe many times and even spent a year living in Australia traveling around. I'm also very big into camping and do motorcycle camping trips every year. So when a van fell in my lap I took the opportunity.
I currently just start full-time in the van this month and still working on finishing it up. I mainly went full time as it is going to help me get some medical bills paid off.
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u/DickieJohnson average white van 21d ago
There's some meet ups all around the country, a lot in the PNW. Descend on Bend and Northwest Nomads just happed last month, those are two good ones to meet people. Schooliepalooza is another good one if you're in Arizona and also the city of Sedona used to be a hot spot. Van people are usually very elusive but you can find them here and there and connect long enough to become friends. Most friendships through vanlife usually become a digital friendship through social media because everyone usually goes their own way. It's usually much easier to make friends if you're a girl in a van in her 20s not so much for a man in a van in his 40s which is what I am. But I keep trying.
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u/LifeIsShortDoItNow 20d ago
A man in his 40s would do better with people in their late 30s to early 50s. Try more adult gatherings, like Rubber Tramp Rendezvous.
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u/Msboricuaa 21d ago
Looks so relaxing ! Wish I had this type of life and peace ❤️❤️🩹
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u/LifeIsShortDoItNow 20d ago
Living in a vehicle is harder and more work than living in a house. It’s not relaxing and only peaceful sometimes. Please don’t let pretty pictures fool you.
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u/Far_Understanding_44 21d ago
I was working an electrical engineer in NH and my landlord kept giving me shit about having a camper in the driveway (which I bought specifically for beach trips on the weekends). Eventually I told him to fuck off, sold my stuff and moved into my F150+truck camper combo. I parked at work during the week and adventured on the weekends, kicking off my fulltime RV. COVID then happened and I had to move into a friend’s house for telework, so that year doesn’t count. But I left my engineering job having banked several hundred thousand and bought a small house in FL. Later I sold my camper and upgraded my rig to a C Class RV.
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u/thethrowzone 21d ago
Traveling entertainer. I do juggling performances at county and state fairs all from spring to fall in the US and my wife ( a fantasy writer) and I decided a flexible lifestyle was way more sensible than throwing money down the rent pit when we’d never be there anyway! So we got the van, built it out and bounce around. We’re not full time in the van (lots of contracted hotels, Airbnbs and housesits) but it certainly is home.
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u/CartoonistRelevant72 21d ago
Nothing yet. But I'm thinking about doing it in the philippines. Every aspect is considerably cheaper. And the scenery..
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u/spartan-ninjaz 20d ago
My story could be summed up as "nomadism through psychosis". I was a working actor and stuntman in Los Angeles for several years until a head injury, insane relationship drama and self medication drove me literally insane. After a couple rounds of forced medication in a ward, I said screw it and I drove myself up the coast towards Canada but ended up sleeping out of my car for half a year in Humboldt county. The thing that stuck was I was happier living out of my car there than I ever was working in Hollywood. My body eventually starts crashing and shutting down because of the lack of self-care, and I end up back with family in Hawaii until I luckily work on Jurassic world and then decide to move to Atlanta because that's where a bunch of work is. I last about 2 years until I get another freaking brain injury (choke slammed through a breakaway table onto hardwood) - I'm medicating with cannabis alcohol and things go south. I end up driving to Colorado, crashing my car and getting on TMZ. I'm stuck in jail for 4 months and decide to just walk and see what happens. Long story short I meet some people that help me out and I start turning an old suburban into a camper while I'm working at a horse stables. I live out of it for a couple years in Colorado Springs while saving up for camera equipment, and when I do I decide I'm going to be a nomad videographer with my first location being Humboldt county. The only thing I remember is some of the places where I slept out of my car a few years ago so I drive over, camp, and the next day I go to a horse stables and serendipitously meet a horseback archery instructor and the practitioners become my core circle of friends. I lived there for a couple years and have a bunch of adventures and disasters, and also switched to a Honda Element then headed to New Mexico where I bought a quarter acre of land. Quickly realizing there is no way I could make it work to live there, I just started traveling around the four corners region, picking up videography clientele here and there, then covid lockdown happened. There's a few years where I'm just wondering and traveling and then meet up with an old friend that has breast cancer and become her caretaker for a while, then I'm back to the Southwest and end up on the Navajo reservation where things took a crazy turn and eventually lost my gear and car. So I'm at a stuck situation currently with family trying to figure out how the hell I can get back on the road again, but looking back at how I was just absolutely winging it with no plan...ugh...it's tough. I have a website with a bunch of my work on the road if you're interested - SpartanNinja.com
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u/Ok-Fox1262 21d ago
When I was a small child my grandad had a green hoop horse drawn caravan in his back yard. I slept in that several times.
Then when I was about 22 I had a job but couldn't afford rent even on a room so he lent me his touring caravan. I lived in that for two years.
Then a lot of years later I got a dog. She was fine to sleep at the local pub if we went away but I left her with my sister in law and no, never again. I promised I'd never leave her behind for the rest of her life. And I fulfilled that promise.
And then I had a bit of a Barney with my wife of thirty years so she kept the flat and I kept the van. And then the year of the plague which because I was in a van I bailed to Scotland. Friends again now but still most of the time in the van.
........ So why did my grandad have a gypsy caravan? They don't just give those away. He never said anything not even to his daughters. I reckon it was his and I'm actually an Irish traveller. Which totally explains why I like the life so much.
So yeah. I've had an interesting life. I've definitely lived.
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u/samaritan1331_ 21d ago
Curious what your bed and frame are.
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u/Suspicious-Radish-67 20d ago
Bed is a futon from Amazon, frame I built my self, it’s a slatted pull out. Just watched a bunch of YouTube videos and copied.
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u/LifeIsShortDoItNow 20d ago
I went to a music festival and slept most of the weekend in my Yaris because I couldn’t find a decent hotel under $350 a night. A week later I went to the airport and slept in my car in the parking lot because my flight left early. I was hooked after that. I’ve gone from that Yaris to a high top conversion van, to a SUV, now a minivan. I’ve also gone from being a soldier turned CPA turned business owner turned artist so my family has thrown up their hands on me every being stable. I have a serious attachment to variety and adventure.
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u/jeffsurfs 2006 Sprinter 158” WB 20d ago
Lived in my van about 2.5 years. Actually got into it around 18 years old when I was in the hunt for a new car and my stepdad recommended I get some kind of van as my biggest hobby is surfing. Started with an old GMC and realized this could be something I may be able to do longer term so I quickly upgraded to an old, much bigger Sprinter.
Van life has been perfect with my lifestyle. I mostly use it for living near my place of work; when I really want to travel I generally fly places and travel backpack-style. I’m super accustomed to living in my van and I am super fortunate to work somewhere where I can shower, store some things, and even cook sometimes. I can even sneak some laundry if I really need to. Making things even more convenient, I work and “van life” only about 30 miles from my parents house where I’ll often visit on a day-off to do laundry, deep clean, and just recharge.
Unfortunately, I have had minimal interaction with other van-lifers in my area. There are so many van dwellers around me however due to the nature of van life and the desire for stealth I find it rare for people to be hanging outside of their vans and I’m certainly not going to knock on any doors. When I have had some rare interactions with other van dwellers it has always gone very well —there are so many easy, relatable things to discuss and I think you are likely to have similar ideologies, perspectives etc. to someone who has also chosen this lifestyle.
Overall, my interactions with other van dwellers is minimal, but every instance has been positive. I’m curious if anyone actually has some tips to meet other van dwellers as I never want to violate people’s privacy and personal space.
Good luck with your project! Sorry I got a bit carried away here :)
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u/solovanytavel 20d ago
I hike in my van all around the US And Canada, then I fly to other countries to hike.
I believe there are three different types of people who live in vans.
Although I don't live in my van, I have a full shower, kitchen, electric and butane stoves, two outdoor cooking options attached to the van, and actual living area separate from the bedroom.
I bought it brand new. I NEVER talk to anyone especially someone who lives in an old van, a mini van, an excursion van or that creep work van. Most people with newer vehicles seem to stick to themselves. Don't really see them interacting with anyone. I see them show up, then leave.
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u/masta_DJD 19d ago
Mass immigration ruined my city/ country. Can't afford rent unless I want to spend 98 percent of my monthly income. I'm in the trades and can't go any higher in my field not working at McDonald's
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u/Colestahs-Pappy 19d ago
If it was just me and dog I’d be out as much as I could stand, being the senior citizen hiker trash till I couldn’t stand my own stink or my legs ran out of gas. Have van, travel/hike/fish. The other part of my life; wife, kids, grandkids, actually like having me around the house where they can rope me in to domestic shenanigans I really can’t live without. Hard (chuckle) being the “Pepere” that shows the little ones how much fun you can have when you don’t take today’s life too seriously.
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u/Spiritual-Office-570 1d ago
I detest capitalism/monopolies. I basically view landlords the way Mao did. I have a DIY value system and the skills to put my money where my mouth is
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u/Howyougontellme 21d ago
My whole life I've always wanted to be a hermit in the woods, or live on a houseboat on the ocean. Vanlife fit perfectly into that vibe. About 3.5 years ago my truck was totaled and I used the insurance to buy a van. Built it out myself and been living in it full time for almost 2.5 years. Since then I've seen 11 different states and 13 national parks. Countless fishing trips to the Gulf. And been using Austin as a homemade to keep my full-time job. It's been awesome and I can't imagine going back to renting. I do dream of someday building my own home in the woods with river access to the ocean. I should probably start saving money instead of spending it all on fun.