r/VanLife

been going back and forth on this for a while now.

the case for lithium is pretty clear on paper. better depth of discharge, lighter, longer lifespan. but the upfront cost is significant and I keep hearing mixed things from people who've actually lived with both in real boondocking conditions, not just spec sheets.

AGM has been the reliable workhorse forever and there's something to be said for a technology that's proven itself across thousands of rigs in every condition imaginable.

Max and I do a fair amount of boondocking and i'm at the point where i need to make a decision rather than just researching indefinitely 😅

So i'm curious , if you've run both, what actually changed day to day? And for anyone who made the switch to lithium, was there a moment you wished you'd stuck with AGM?

Or is this one of those things where lithium is just obviously the answer and i'm overthinking it.

I’ve thought about living nomadically for some time now. I just wonder about the logistics a lot. I’m wondering how others have planned for this kind of transition.

I accidentally found myself settled into a job, but I’m not very satisfied. I miss traveling and feeling free. I’ve considered trading my car in for a van, and I’ve been thinking a lot about what I would do for work. Seasonal jobs and move around during / in between gigs?

I’m based in the US. Any experience or advice would be amazing to hear!

about six months after moving in, I was trying to tighten a wobbly handle on one of my birch plywood cabinets. To get a simple phillips head I had to drag out my massive plastic tool bin from under the bed. it was heavy and still covered in sawdust from a year ago, taking up an insane amount of storage. That's when I realized my tool situation was completely backwards.

I didn’t realize how attached I was to my tools until I had to decide where they were actually going to live.

during the build keeping all the heavy-duty stuff close made total sense. My Makita drill, DeWalt impact driver, circular saw, clamps, and a huge socket set... they were out every day when I was doing the framing and putting up shiplap. You really do need them when the place is still basically a project.

but once the space was finished and I was actually just living in it, the jobs changed. I wasnt driving 3-inch screws into studs anymore. i was just dealing with the tiny annoying realities of small space living (and road vibration if youre in a THOW). A cabinet pull getting loose, a fold-down table screw backing out, adjusting a curtain rod bracket or fixing the latch on the bathroom door. The tools I needed every week were definitely not the same tools I needed during the build.

the embarrassing part is how long I kept the big tools inside anyway. Getting rid of my main tool bin felt like handing over my self-sufficiency badge. I was keeping half of it because it made me feel prepared, not because I actually used it. some of those tools were basically just emotional support items eating up prime under-bed real estate. Turns out a finished tiny house does not need a construction site living inside it.

I finally had to be ruthless. the compromise has been keeping a hoto tool kit in one of the kitchen drawers for the small stuff (mostly loose hinges, flat-pack adjustments and tiny screws). The big Makita and DeWalt stuff finally had to stop living in my actual living space. theyre still good tools and I moved them to an external storage box for the rare times I need serious torque, but they don't need to live under my mattress like a second roommate.

I’m a 38M, single with a small dog, minimal debt, and a fully remote job. Because my parents' health is declining, I want to relocate closer to them to help out.

My ideal setup (I think) would be converting a van and splitting my time: spending 1–2 months on the road (national parks, hiking, small towns) and then returning to my parents' place to check on them and help out.

My biggest fear is that I’m romanticizing the lifestyle and might sink a ton of money into a conversion only to realize I hate it. I thought about renting one for a week, but I worry a short trip will give me a "rose-tinted glasses" experience rather than showing me the actual reality of living in it.

• Is it worth just taking the plunge, or is there a better way to test the waters?
• For those with dogs and remote jobs, how manageable is the day-to-day?
• Am I overlooking any major logistical nightmares here?

Would love any advice or reality checks you can throw my way.

Does anyone have suggestions or recommendations for vans?

So I'm still in the looking/ saving stage. I was wondering if y'all could help me decide on the best vehicle. I'm looking for something easy to maintain/ repair (as close to idiot proof as possible), reliable, isn't a known lemon ( we've gotten a few vehicles in the past that we didn't research properly), affordable to someone low income, and with enough space for a person under 5'6" to stand up in. Prefer good gas milage, of course, but am willing to sacrifice that for ease of repair. Oh, and it would help if it could still be used for cargo on occasion, but I figure that's going to be more an interior build thing. Been looking into vans, small RVs, ambulances, and box trucks, but I'm indecisive as hell, and need some outside opinions. Thanks for any help you can give!

Hi everyone,

This might not be the right sub, but I'm fishing for cool short-term jobs to give me some direction going into the next year. I plan to save and build out a van/bus/camper and travel while picking up fun jobs for a few months at a time.

I'm interested in learning new skills mostly and I'm in Pennsylvania for reference. I'm interested in museums, history, cool culinary skills like smoking, sausage making, etc.., conservation, land management, trail maintenance, picking up construction skills like carpentry, masonry or preservation/restoration and baking especially. I know it's all pretty unrelated. I have a lot of interests, and my thought process is that if I'm not tied down geographically and don't have to worry about rent costs, then I can really focus on developing and exploring new skills and interests. I want to prioritize being outdoors, exploring trades I'm interested in (cooking and baking included) and lightly exploring career avenues like museum work, history, work in civics/planning.

If anyone knows of short-term employment opportunities, seasonal gigs, programs, internships or anything that might fit into this loose plan, please feel free to share!

Thank you!

It’s almost 2am and I’m in an apartment complex dosing off. Next thing I know. Flash lights and cops knocking telling me to leave. The thing is my family stays there I just came to use their shower and sleep for the night but the cop wasn’t hearing it.

Scared the heck outta me. I was in my tighty whities too.

This isn't necessarily an RV living question but I think that the people in this sub would have good insight to share.

I'm in need of an electric cooler that has refrigeration and freezing capability but I'll gladly take one or the other if I can't have both.

I work long hours and I have a long commute and so this has me eating at fast food joints and convenience stores regularly. I tried meal prepping but the problem that I run into is that my workday can be erratic and if I don't get an opportunity to eat my food that day, (or before the ice melts) it goes to waste and I end up eating out anyway.

So I figure that the solution to my problem would be to have a way that I can just keep a enough food in my service van to last me a few days without having to replenish the ice and/or dump the water out. That way if I get too busy to eat my food, it'll keep until tomorrow or the next day. Heck, it would be great if I could just buy a week's worth of groceries and turn the back of the van into my personal kitchen. 😀

I drive 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening and then my van remains parked all other times so I'm not sure if a standard 12V RV fridge would work for my situation. After doing some research I discovered that they have a few battery powered coolers on the market but I don't know if they could passively keep my perishables fresh and frozen for the 12-hour period that my van is parked for the times when I'm at work and at home. Or if I parked my van on Friday night after work, is there something that will keep running on its own (without depending on the van's battery) for the 2+ days until Monday morning when I'm back to driving for 2 hours again?

The 12V outlet only works while the van is running so the fridge will need its own power source that can keep it running cold for several hours during the week and 2 or more days over the weekend. I'm open to any and all suggestions. Thanks!

I’m 18 and have been living in my car as I finish up high school out of necessity. I recently got my EMT certification, and am planning to work as an EMT where the starting salary is around $30k a year.
I don’t know much about finances, but is this enough to live comfortably?

Thanks for any help!!

2008 Dodge Sprinter 2500

Hi everyone, I had a mechanic come out and take a look at my van, and unfortunately he determined the engine is damaged beyond repair.

I’m now trying to find a used engine (even high mileage is fine) that I can possibly finance, since I’m a student working with a very tight budget. I’m really just trying to get the van back on the road as affordably as possible.

I also need a right side mirror and rear blinkers, so any recommendations for cheap aftermarket parts or places to look would really help.

If anyone has leads or advice, I’d really appreciate it.

I posted here a while ago on another account but I can’t get into that account. I bought an old van 1984 for $1000 because it’s all I could afford and I needed a place to stay. It was good for a few months low miles but I had to spend $400 dollars to replace the alt after a year, $280 for a new battery and today $300 for a new water pump.

I remember there were ppl saying it’s gonna cost more in the long run to maintain. I concede. You guys were so right. Hopefully I’ll be able to save up for a more recent van if nothing else goes wrong.