Try Vanlife Before Spending Money

Brooke from my TikTok account asked me for tips on how to get started in Vanlife. You might be surprised by the advice I gave her.

I think Brooke was in her 20s but I would give the same advice to someone in their 80s.

Do you have a car? An SUV or anything with wheels? (Lawnmowers don’t count) Grab a couple of blankets

and a cooler full of sandwiches, find a place to stay, and see how it feels.

When you do this, you will discover if Vanlife is for you. Trust me.

Here are some things to consider. You will need more than a couple of blankets and a cooler full of sandwiches. Although, that would be a great experience!

Window Shades

You probably have a sunshade for your front window but maybe not for the rest of your windows. You will likely feel more comfortable if you can cover your windows at night.

Approximate the size of your windows and find things from your house to cover them with. You can use sheets, pillowcases, towels, blankets, or an apron. It doesn’t matter. Remember this is an experiment and it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Grab some Velcro and go to work!

Lights

You may or may not want lights in your car at night. If you do, here are some ideas.

See what you can find for solar lights or battery-operated lights. If you use solar, then the sun will need to be out. Battery-operated fairy lights have been a favorite for some of the car campers I have seen.

You may already have something you can use. If you just want to use your phone, that is great. Just make sure you have a way to keep it charged.

Bathroom Facilities

This one might take you out of your comfort zone. Vanlifers (and other car campers) that don’t have bathrooms have the almighty Pee Jug. This can be a big old empty Tropicana container or anything like that. As the name suggests, this is where you can pee. You might need to practice this a bit. You will need to be a good shot and remember you don’t have a lot of room in your car. You can discretely empty your jug as needed. Have fun.

If you have to do #2 then you will need a bigger container. I would suggest that whatever you choose you put a garbage bag in the bottom for obvious reasons. Then maybe put a little sand, baking soda, or wood chips in the bottom.

After each use, you have 2 options to empty it. You can take it with you to dispose of later. The other option is to dig a cat hole 6-8” deep and bury it. Not the garbage bag. Just the poop.

It doesn’t matter if you car camp, have a van, an RV, a travel trailer, or anything else, this is the least fun thing to do. As we all know, however, it has to be done. Have more fun.

Where To Stay

I would suggest you download the IOverlander app onto your phone. It is free. Once you do that you will notice that you have two options to search. Nearby places or a map feature.

Since this is an experiment, you don’t have to go too far. You will notice as you click on each place, someone else stayed here and gave you some details. Some may even have pictures.

Choose something that sounds safe to you. You can also go on google maps and go to the location using your satellite view and check out what is around you.

Remember to leave a review before you leave to help the next person decide if they want to go there.

What To Do When You Get There

It doesn’t matter what you do when you get there. You may want to park at a trailhead and go for a hike. You may want to go to a lake or river or pond and just sit around and read a book. It may be nap time for you.

The whole idea is to feel what it is like to spend the night in your car in a strange place. You don’t need to be scared. Just do it.

Leave No Trace

Learn to do this on your first trip. Leave no trace is a principle we should be living by. Don’t leave anything behind. That means a plastic bag, dog poop, or an orange peel. Leave everything undisturbed. If someone else didn’t follow this etiquette, grab trash that is lying around and take you with it.

If we treat the places we like to stay like a garbage dump this privilege may be taken away from us. Do your part.

While you are relaxing in your makeshift bed at night, write down things that you would do differently or other things that you would or wouldn’t do. That is a good exercise to get your juices following.

If you just want to cry and go home, then you probably have your answer. If you are writing page after page of ideas, that tells me your experiment is on track with Vanlife.

The next thing to do is to keep on car camping at different places while researching vans or other RV options. Decide what you want and why you want it before going to the expense of buying your new or used van. Talk to people. Watch YouTube videos.

It is like house or apartment hunting. You don’t buy/rent the first one you look at.

I don’t know if Brooke will ever read this but maybe this will help you decide if you want to join VanLife!

Pam and Coco

BoondockandBeyond

Off the Grid

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