Adjusting to a completely different way of life, such as living in 60 sq. ft, is a difficult process for all of us. There will be mistakes along the way and we just have to live and learn as we go. But the least I can do is share a little bit that I’ve learned on the road in hopes of helping you avoid the same mistakes!
Some you may think are obvious and some you may have never considered, but here are mistakes you can avoid making while learning your new van life on the road! If you would rather hear first hand what advice I have and what it’s really like on the road, check out my podcast where I have multiple episodes all about van life and thing’s I’ve learned.
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ALL ABOUT SOLO FEMALE VAN LIFE
DON'T PAY FOR CAMPSITES
There are too many free campsites out there to be paying every night for a good spot. Every once in awhile, I might pay to stay somewhere if it has an incredible view that you just can’t get anywhere nearby for free.. But that’s rare. There are so many great sources out there (freecampsites.net) for finding campsites that there’s really no reason to waste money all the time on sleeping somewhere expensive. I recommend just getting a cheap card table because free campsites don’t always have a picnic table outside. Other than that, free is always better and ALWAYS much less crowded and more spaced out.
DON'T TRY THE DRIVE THRU
This may seem obvious but uh, it was not to me. I had not been on the road longer than 5 minutes before I thought getting coffee for the big adventure sounded great.. As soon as I pull in, I hear something dragging across our BRAND NEW solar panels up top.. Yeah that clearance bar was 8′ 6″, and I had never paid attention to it so I didn’t even know it was there. My van is almost 9 ft tall which is too big for basically every drive thru. Thankfully, I just busted the lid of my roof vent and fixed it for $30 dollars a week later. This is easy to forget in the moment but make sure you start paying attention to clearance bars everywhere!
DON'T OVERSPEND
When you first hit the road, it’s really easy to buy coffee every day, get lunch on all the long driving days from nearby restaurants, and just not care too much about money because you’re adjusting! I spent twice as much in my first month as I do now because I just wasn’t paying attention to what I was buying. Use GasBuddy each time you fill up, make your own coffee in the van, and grocery shop instead of eating out all the time! Do yourself a favor (if you’re on a budget) and be smart with your money from day one. Instead of buying coffee, use this pour over coffee maker. I use it every day with this teapot and it’s the best coffee I’ve ever had. Maybe because I also get to enjoy it with a view!
LOCK YOUR DRAWERS
In my first van, I had 4 drawers installed. Three in the kitchen on the left side of our van and one on the floor under our table. Looking back, it seems like such an obvious bad idea not to have any closing mechanisms for them. Of course every time I turned left, the drawers in the kitchen flew open, and anytime I slammed on the breaks, the one on the floor flew forward. It only took about 3-4 days for this get real old so I immediately came up with a solution. Gate hooks. You can use child locks if you don’t want them to show. But I liked the gate hooks and they were only $5 per two hooks.
Other options include: the push buttons that you push in and lock, push again and it unlocks. OR simple child locks that I have in the new van! Super simple and pretty cheap.
Get a National Parks Annual Pass
One of the best parts of van life (if not thee best) is getting to see all the incredible places you wouldn’t otherwise get to! I only made it to 1 or 2 national parks until realizing how fast it adds up. There is a per person fee plus a vehicle fee. However, the annual pass is only $80 and covers all fees! Now I get to hold up the pass and drive right in. If you are planning to visit more than 3 national parks in the year, you will already be making your money back and chances are you will want to go to even more! Save ya money and get the pass.
Rocky Mountain National Park!
Don't Fill Every Ounce of Storage
During your build, it makes sense to see how much storage space you can possibly create in the van. But this typically causes us to cram that storage space full before we hit the road. You’ve already downsized the majority of your life to fit inside less than 100 sq. ft. So of course, it seems like the only option to pack your van full of everything you have left. But I really recommend leaving some empty space for the things you’ll accumulate along your journey.
I filled every ounce of our storage space before leaving and shortly after realized I didn’t use half of what I brought. So I sold even more and dropped the rest off at my family’s home before hitting the road feeling much lighter. I highly recommend these packing cubes because they keep your clothes so much more organized in the van and really do take up way less space than everything just loosely thrown in a cabinet.
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ALL ABOUT SOLO FEMALE VAN LIFE
Learn Your Mechanical Basics
I was told several times to learn some mechanics before leaving or at the very least, learn to change a tire and jump the battery. Needless to say, I did not. It wasn’t until I was being towed to a dealership and had absolutely no idea what could be wrong that I very much regretted this lazy decision. I got the van back after being fixed and it sounded like a whole new car! The exhaust system was replaced but I had no idea what it was supposed to sound like. I may have been able to catch the problem earlier had I learned more before leaving and paid closer attention.
Do yourself a favor and learn any mechanical basics you can. Now I know what to listen and look for, how to change the tire, jump the van, etc. It will be worth it! Here are all of my current van’s details with all the build information!
I found this post helpful. Currently living in a motorhome with my partner but I am ready to set out on my own in a van. The nomad bug has hit me hard.
I’m 63. Quite honestly a person can come up with a million versions of van life (trans, lesbian, with partner, without partner, with pets, without pets, working, retired etc, etc, etc). This post is not meant to address each person’s individual situation. It is general good advice, not specific to your situation advice. Take it as what it is; helpful. Or don’t take it at all. Your choice but please be kind. We all need a little kindness in this life especially if we are simply trying to help other people out.
Good for you for living a life that suits you and providing a little friendly, helpful advice along the way!
I enjoyed this pin. Thank you for posting. Saw some good things on here to remember.
Trying to research all ups and downs before committing to this. Already sleep 2-3 days a week in vehicle, but wish to do more steadily and more comfortably. With gas prices and oil wars not sure if really a great idea right now. My sister came across a town that hold sold out of gas a couple of weeks ago, June 2022. If your entire home on wheels what then? A whole different situation……
Are you kidding us. Stop brining attention to yourself and live life. No one cares, its your attitude that needs an adjustment.
Wow that’s not nice Vicky 🙁
Vicky, maybe not bother to read the article if you don’t care. And stay off the comments. Go live YOUR life.
Vicky if you are not interested in van life maybe you should not read articles about van life.
This is fantastic, thank you for writing this! It’s a one-day dream of mine to do this. Sharing your personal experience and tips helps me get closer ( hoping to be on the road before 40). Please don’t mind peoples aggressive comments on here. I think they forget everything isn’t about them.
This is a transphobic comment. Michaela is asking for advice on places to travel. It is VERY important to include being transgender because not all places treat trans folks the same. They probably added that so ppl can recommend lgbtq friendly hostels/ campsites/ bars etc. Please, step outside your bubble and realize that not everyone can get the same travel experience as you, that trans people especially need to be extra cautious when planning trips and need to have more support down the line. Trans people, especially trans women, have a higher rate of being murdered than cis people because of transphobia! So stop spreading hate and just be accepting of other people and how they choose to identify.
You can tell it’s 2021, it must be exhausting and very time consuming finding articles to comment on. Get a van, get a life.
She’s speaking about HER experience. It’s not going to relate to everybody but it’s helpful for some.
Why do you even care what they choose to put about themselves! Transphobic much. Being transgender may change something about their van life experience! They may want to avoid certain areas due to more transphobic people like you or may want to find more lgbtq friendly areas. Think about it!
I’m 66 yo woman, I am soon to embark on living in a small shuttle bus; Ford E350 diesel. I wanted a high van with windows & a diesel; this fit all I wanted. I know a lot about automobiles, but not big diesel engines. I’m excited about this new venture. It will be me and my 2 dogs. Ut was born out of necessity to make my retirement check cover monthly expenses. Now it will be traveled with enthusiasm and joy.
Thats so awesome!
I am 60 and finally have my van 2013 Grand Caravan. I am still in process of converting it. Did several short 1 week trips to State campgrounds with facilities to dip my toes in van life.
I found out pretty quick that if I could have I would have made head room more of a priority when choosing my van. I am learning the value of space and how to prioritize what I can get to daily items quickly, at first it felt like everytime i want something I was tearing everything apart the whole van!
I have my travel companion Max ( fur baby maltese). My don snd I are doing some work on van tomorrow. Can’t wait to get back on the road! My plan is Blue Ridge mountains. Really happy to connect with other women who are like me do are adventurous to go it alone.
Hoping to make friends with other ladies who have chosen to live the vanlife!
Really helpful, thank you. I haven’t got my first van yet so I’d welcome more on what you learned about van layout.
The best webpage about vanlife . You are mention several obvius things that I have not thought about. The best advice was to not fill the car. To leave space for bringing things along the road
hi i’m a 63 yrs old female and am very interested in this van life i don’t want to build my own, can you recommend a build site i can use, i live in Brooklyn, NY. i am tried of this concrete jungle. looking to retire soon an travel an i would like to do that what my home in toll. any infor you can give will be great.
thank you.
https://vanlifetrader.com/
I live in Scotland, and have just finished my self build (I’m 70 years old on 10/15/2018) and am about to embark on a one year travel around Europe, some of your suggestions will come in handy thank you. (I am transgender)
Why add that you are transgender? Who cares? This site is about van travel and enjoying life. You don’t need to mention anything else at all.