r/VanLife

im so tired of pretending that sleeping in a target parking lot while listening to street sweepers at 3am is somehow living the dream

Spent like three hours last night just driving in circles trying to find a decent dispersed spot that wasnt either gated off by angry locals or completely sketchy. My battery bank was sitting at like 12% and I literally just wanted to boil water for pasta without feeling like I was actively trespassing

Finally caved and just paid for a spot at camp happy grounds because I was completely losing my mind. Just being able to plug into shore power and not have a mini heart attack every time headlights sweep across the van is so worth it sometimes.

instagram really makes you feel like a failure if you aren't always finding these majestic secret free spots but honestly the daily stress just isnt worth it every single night tbh. kinda thinking I might just stay plugged in for the rest of the week and actually get some real sleep.

Cooking some delicious Bánh Xèo for the night and trying to keep it stealthy

Thank you!

Hello,
I'm looking for a useful nomade battery that can handle a heater all night for an every day living in a small van.
But I need it to be not too heavy (so I can move it outside to charge and take it back inside) and that can charge with solar pannels.
Would someone have some advices please ?
Oh and I think I would be using a oil heater that use 500W.
Thank you !

A unique modern app for van lifers: beta.ugo.camp

Introductory info https://www.youtube.com/@ugo-camp/shorts

Hi. I’m looking at getting a LiTime Mini for my set up. Mostly, initially, I will need an electric hookup to charge the battery. I don’t drive enough to use the alternator.

In a few months I may add solar but we have a lot of cloudy weather in the winter plus charging the battery inside would be optimal during temps that restrict charging my battery inside cold temps.

One of the reasons I like the mini is that it doesn’t weigh that much and is much more portable than a large power station.

Could I unhook it regularly and take into a house to charge? Is unhooking it bad for the system or will it shorten the battery life?

Looking to buy a van and have seen many on marketplace in the last little bit. There’s a great looking 1985 VW Vanagon Westfalia for $9000 Canadian, which is a great deal from what I’ve seen. The specs are all great, but it has close to 420,000km on it. Is it just foolish to buy a van with that much mileage? I’m car-dumb and clueless, so genuinely asking what the limit should be for mileage if I’m looking to buy.

I recently made the jump to a new country and am enjoying van life for a few months to a year. I am hoping to be able to work 4-5 hours a day on my laptop with my starlink mini but need to figure out the best way to bolster the setup to make it functional for me. I’m extremely new to solar so all suggestions are helpful.

 

Current specs:

3x 150W solar panels

2x 6v 225Ah lead acid batteries (wired in series for 12v)

2000W inverter

40A MPPT charge controller

Auxiliary batteries also charge off alternator

Do have a 12v DC cigarette lighter port I think I could potentially use for the starlink mini if needed (to avoid inverter power loss)

 

Power draw:

Fridge – 60W

Interior lights – unsure, only using in the evenings and early morning

Laptop – ave about 100W (only need to use about 4-5 hours per day)

Starlink mini – 40W (only need to use about 4-5 hours per day)

Small device charging – 30W (maybe an hour or two each day)

Occasional use of extraction fan, etc - ???W

 

Thoughts on most cost-effective and simplest way to solve this problem? Add another solar panel and battery? Just another battery? Get a separate portable solar battery for the starlink?

Hi all,

I spent the past few weeks building a bed frame into my RAV4. My partner and I just went on a little trip to test it out and realized that our hips, butt, and shoulders get pretty sore after a few hours of sleeping on it.

Ideally, we would love a proper spring mattress, but we are on a tight budget, and the mattress absolutely needs to be able to fold up so we can transition from sleep mode to drive mode.
Right now, we are using a 10cm Giselle foldable mattress with a 3cm memory foam layer on top. The memory foam is nice, but it compresses completely under weight and isn't fixing the "bottoming out" problem against the wooden bed frame.
I think adding a firm layer of foam under the mattress could help, but I'm having trouble finding a suitable solution.

Does anyone have ideas for a cheap, firm, springy material to put under the mattress to stop us from bottoming out? We'd prefer something we can buy in a physical retail store rather than ordering online.

Alternatively, if there is a budget-friendly replacement mattress that folds and won't break the bank, I’m all ears!

Thanks in advance!

If you are a couple doing vanlife full time, how long does a water tank of 120 liters (31.7 US gallons - 26.4 UK gallons) lasts you?

This includes: cooking, coffie, drinking, dish washing, hand washing, teeth brushing, hair washing, showering anything really.

And I'm more interested in what people who do vanlife full time have to say more than anything.

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased a 2004 GMC 3500 4 window short bus. Mechanicaly it is in excellent shape so I want to move forward with the next major step of exterior painting, exteriorly there are some obvious rust spots, but no actual panel damage. Everything should be sandable and then primered.

My main questions are, I got a quick quote from a local guy and they said $7500~, that is wayyyyyyy outside my budget. Is that remotely accurate?

I have watched a decent amount of YouTube videos on this subject but so many of them are the streamer types with what feels like unlimited budgets, which is not me, I have a fully remote job, but right now I am working on my bus paycheck to paycheck with a lot of elbow grease involved.

Does anyone have a good step by step low budget guide/video they have seen?

From everything I have read and watched, I can take some 220 grit and scuff everything up then roller paint, but how shoddy looking is that and how long would that last?

What is the application process? From what I understand, I sand first, then wash down with degreaser, then???? Rust coat>primer>paint layerx2???

When doing the painting, I can't afford new windows, so the stock bus windows will still be there, but I would like to re-caulk all the edges, should I paint first, then strip out the old caulk and redo or should I do that in reverse, strip>caulk>paint?

Once I am actually full time living inside I will be able to budget more accordingly, but for right now I am just trying to make it look presentable and be livable for the first year.

Again, thank you for any input, this has been a dream of mine for a very long time, been stuck in my current location for over 25 years and it is getting to late in life.

Hi,
I’m tired of cheap kettles that only last a few months. And, im tired of having to get them out and put them away every day.
Has anyone found an electric hot water dispenser that runs on 120v at 3-4000 watts?
I know the flow rate would be low, but it would still be faster than breaking out the kettle.
I have a little space under the sink and think I can live with 205f water.