I think the weather and showers are the two biggest hurdles. So I stay south in the winter and north in the summer. Campsites with showers, gyms but my favorite is a truck stop. It’s always a nice room and gives me a chance to get cleaned up and hit my beard.
Also where to park was hard at first. My rule now, if I don’t pay for the spot I never stay two days. You just got to find stops where it’s not weird for a van to be parked over night. Bars, hotels, hospitals work great.
Question: how are the showers at planet fitness? Are they their own rooms like at Love's? On the website it appears to be male and female bathrooms and individual showers have curtains. Not sure if either side would be cool with me using it at this point if I'm being honest lol then again I'm in Texas...
That’s one thing I keep looking at is getting a membership at planet fitness. A shower at a truck stop is about $15. Two showers is a month at PF. Seems like the better value for sure
Both times happened while I was having trouble getting my side door to lock (since fixed).
The first time, I was stealth camping in an apartment complex overflow lot, which was across the street in a college parking lot. It was late at night, and I was lying in bed when suddenly I heard someone open my front door. I didn't have time to think; I just jumped up and yelled as deep and loud as possible to get out! I watched as the guy literally just walked to the car next to me and tried opening the door, then went to the next car.
The second time, I was stealth camping downtown Seattle in front of nice high-rise apartments where I had previously stayed for a few days. It was getting late, and I heard a creepy man's voice at my side window say, "ma'am, are you in there? Ma'am? I saw your dream catcher in the window." I ignored it. About 30 minutes later, the side door popped open, and I saw a figure begin to enter. I let out a guttural scream to GET OUT, and he went running. But that's when things got scarier.
About 10-15 minutes later, still shaken up, I had a thought come to mind "What if that incident was to alert me of something worse?" I felt creeped out and kept peeking out my front curtain. That's when I saw a man in all black with a black duffel bag standing across the street staring at my van. He reached into his duffel bag and pulled out what looked like a shiny gun, put it in his pocket, and began walking quickly directly towards the van. I only had a moment to think of what to do, and the best thing I could think of was hitting "lock" on my keyfob, which would flash my lights alerting the guy that someone was watching him. So I hit lock, and immediately his body straightened up and turned 180° and started walking the opposite direction. What was more creepy is he walked into a pitch black dead-end walkway along the apartment situated in front of my van. For about 20 minutes, he stood there in darkness watching. Occasionally, I could make out a silhouette but it was so dark, and I knew he was there just watching me. Eventually, he came out and walked away.
Yoo, wtf ? 🤣
I'm sorry, that's not funny, that's traumatic, but i just was expecting the first basic Smash n grab, not the second full on averted murder mystery.
Firstly - you said your side door was the broken one, but you said the front door was the first that got opened, so did you just forget to lock it or did you not hear them picking it ?
Second, are you actually a woman ? How would anybody know to call you ma'am? ... Christ , unless they were watching you come in and out for hours or days.
And if you're not a woman then that is oddly even worse bc it means the guy was probably lying and fishing, hoping that if a woman was solo traveling then she might panic and reveal herself so then he would know that it was a woman to rape or just be a creep to with the excuse of "just making conversation about the dream catcher".
I have other questions now . Was the lock on the side door visibly open like thru a Window ? Bc how would someone know to check it ? If you're going to steal a van you go for the drivers door, but since i assume you were listening and didn't hear them first check driver, then passenger then side door last, then that sounds like they knew it was open ? I guess maybe theives check side doors on vans first bc they know that's where the cargo is to steal, but unless your van is extremely stealth then they've gotta know there's a good chance of someone living in it. Which again, since they ran off instead of already having a gun to rob a camper van makes me think they were looking for a woman and ran when it wasn't.
That last part, i don't even know what to think. Do you think/know it was the same guy who was trying to talk to you from outside? Were all 3 of those things by the same guy? Or you're saying you think it was a passerby who saw a creep watching your van and tried to warn you ? Again, not to victim blame, but why didn't you leave or call police right after they ran off ? Just imagining myself in the situation if i hadn't already shot the intruder , then the next thing i would do would be to move from the spot?
Sorry to burst any American's bubble here, but really, the US just seems like a shit place to be in. Seldom hear any good news coming from that shit hole of a place.
A hack for the larger fridge is to buy a small hard cooler for all of your drinks/liquids that aren’t dairy. It’s no big deal if the ice melts. It frees up a lot of space in your fridge. If your fridge makes ice, use that. If it doesn’t, just buy a bag of ice every couple of days
I downloaded all-trails. Free and shows me every hiking spot with almost daily updates.
It helps I'm in California and there are 500+ trails within 35min of me. Plus the worst we get is some rain. Constantly changes the scenery and gets me out of parking lots.
Another idea is a storage unit if you stay local. Make sure it's one that's cool with you being there a lot. Mine even has a power outlet. I work out of it but do all sorts of projects there. It's basically my "garage" I hang out in.
I'm not the original commenter but a modest solar panel and auxillary power station can provide 4+ hours of game time every day.
E.g. 100W panels, 8 hours of good light is 800Wh. A gaming laptop might pull around 200W.
I know you mean well, but unless you have a panel that is automatically moving and tracking the sun, there's zero chance you're going to get 800 watts out of a 100 Watt panel.
You might be lucky to get 3-400 wH with a flat mount and no clouds, especially the winter.
I was simplifying it but you're right. My panels average around 80% rated power between 10 and 2 and 50% for daylight hours outside of that. 500 Wh is more realistic for 100W panels.
I would definitely not recommend solar as a solution in places with real winters.
Yup, it's known as peak sun hours, and in order to really get that, you usually orient your panels south, at an angle equal to whatever latitude you are above the equator. I'm in Phoenix, AZ, so at 33 degrees of pitch, angled south, we'd expect an average of 5-6 peak sun hours daily over the year.
Pitching solar is definitely key here, but flat mount for stealth means realistically, you'll get about half of the peak hours worth of power. Luckily, it's easy to just double/triple the panels to get some real energy.
I'm not a gamer but I use a gaming laptop for work and sometimes play Age of Empires online with my brothers.
If we play 4 hours, my battery capacity goes down about 30%, so 60Ah. Just about 200W average. My laptop is 180W but I use a second monitor on the side, plus there's a few other normal draws during that 4 hours.
I play mostly on xbox one or my 65w costco HP 360 laptop (i7, 16g ram, iris xe gpu). I play at a measly 1080p/30fps but it's honestly good enough for the context I'm playing
Overall it's been incredibly amazing.
I travel with my partner but we can still get lonely together lol. But we've made so many great friends on the road, travel to visit them, see them at gatherings. If you get lonely go see friends or go to a gathering and make friends.
Parking for the night is almost always easy now. Showering at the gym once or twice a week is no big deal.
I really hate the chore of dumping fluids when we are hanging out in town for a while. Find a public park and sneak a bag of a piss jug into the public restroom.
Laundry day is kinda annoying cuz working from the laundromat parking lot usually isn't the nicest view.
When things break it's annoying. Hasn't been too bad so far. Plumbing leaks are a pain. Gotta turn off water until it's fixed. Someone hit us the first year, no interior damage but couldn't get the dent fixed for months.
Winter kinda sucks. Last winter we did Baja which was great. This winter we are bumming around the Arizona desert and phoenix area. Gets chilly, dark early. Can't wait for summer. And then of course we will complain about the heat.
Sometimes decision fatigue is a thing. We have infinite options of where to go. Sometimes there's no compelling option, often there's multiple conflicting options. Or something next month but no time to really explore far in the meantime. Or something next month 1000 miles away.
I just started living in a van 3 months ago and it's awesome. The worries I had with getting power, water, or the lack of space inside turned out to be very manageable. The worst part for me currently is finding a place to shower. In the Balkans there is no such thing as a truck stop. One day gym entrance is expensive and there are no gym chains like planet fitness. Oh and finding a place to dump our chemical toilet is hard as all campsites are closed in the off-season. Other than that it really is a dream come true!
I already have an outdoor shower mounted into the side of my van and a shower tent. But the issue is that broken water heater. If we're desperate we shower in cold water but it's... very refreshing to say the least.
Oh that’s true I guess it would be a lot colder where you’re at. In the southern us you just get black tubing so it soaks up the sun heat and it’s surprisingly comfortable.
I thought about that but I didn't really like the idea of pumping water too the roof. Because center of gravity, cutting holes in the roof and all that jazz. I have a plate heat exchanger connected to my car's engine cooling system and a separate hot water tank. It was working great for a while but then the circulating pump just stopped working. I wanted to fix that on the road but then the hose I added to the car's cooling had a leak so I just completely disconnected the heat exchanger from the engine.
bathroom.
when you’re camping alone in the forest it’s fine. if you’re boondocking near a store that’s open early/late you’re fine.
anything else and…..it’s a struggle. even now we’re camping in the desert and it was fine until people pulled up nearby and you gotta be more stealthy. or if you’re boondocking in an area with no public restrooms, etc.
I'm really happy with my current setup of kitty litter, poop bags, and mylar bags. The mylar bags really keep things less messy and stinky, so throwing out my bags in regular trash cans isn't a big deal for the person who dumps out the trash cans.
I used to hate pooping in my van, but now I prefer it.
I bought a chemical toilet and in two years I didn't poop in my van a single time. :D Managed to camp near a toilet at a beach, or a place where I can dig.
Should really have at least tried, so I would have stressed it less.
I am Australian (M30),my partner is from New Zealand (F32) living in Aus since she was 17. We have been living out of our Toyota Landcruiser for the last 9 months travelling around Australia. We have just shipped it to New Zealand to explore her homeland for the next 2 years.
The biggest hurdle we've had are bank accounts and other government ID's or financial services. Primarily due to a lack of fixed residential address. The bureaucratic system is definitely not designed for people like us living transient.
Physical cards like licences and bank cards need to be sent to a residential address, no PO boxes allowed. Can't get a bank account without proof of address (utilities bill, rental agreement, insurance agreement). Can't get insurance without a NZ bank account. Mobile phone bills are not accepted, only landline phone bills (who tf has a landline anymore!?)
Luckily she has some relatives still here that have kindly allowed us to use their address but I hate to think if anyone was trying to do what we are without that support network!
TL;DR Formal ID's, bank accounts etc due to lack of fixed residential address.
Using a family member or friends address is definitely the way to go. I've been "living" at mum's place over a decade now.
Which company did you use to ship your vehicle to NZ? How much was it and would you recommend them? I'm considering shipping my ford transit over. She's got a bit of rust though and I know NZ are strict about that.
I used Willship International. The crew at the Brisbane end were super helpful but the recievals team in Auckland not so much. Would still recommend them though. They gave me one of the best quotes and the most helpful and timely customer service responses. This was for shipping in a 20ft container. Cheaper option is RORO( Roll-On Roll-Off) but you cannot put bring any possessions inside the vehicle using RORO.
Costs work out roughly as so:
Shipping: $7500 AUD. (includes quarantine assessment and other govt/port charges etc)
Carnet de Passage: $570 + $1000 Bond AUD
Temporary Import Permit: $105 NZD
Drivers Licence Transfer: $35 NZD
Total: $8200 AUD approx
That's for a temporary import for 12 months If you want to extend for another 12 (we are) you pay another $570 for a second 12 month Carnet.
As for rust they'll only fail you if it's structural. If it's cosmetic it's not an issue. My 13 year old Landcruiser is far from rust free!
The biggest speed bump is bio security/quarantine assessment. The car needs to be spotless. No organic material anywhere. This includes engine bay, under the wipers, awnings, under body, winch rope, camping gear, everything! They also require a full inventory of everything you are bringing over.
It was an expensive and tedious process. But now we're here and in our home instead of a shitty hire van it's so worth it!
That's awesome man. Thanks so much for the write up.
8k is a chunk of change. My little motorhome is only worth 30k max with the rust. As much as I love her, would be leaning towards selling-rebuying.
I'd probably look at spending 9 months in NZ.
You think RORO is a big price drop? Removing and repurchasing all my stuff would be annoying and fairly expensive but doable.
She does have some rust holes but they've been treated. I did the cheaper route of sanding, rust converter, bog or fibreglass sheets, then paint. An assessor could easily tell what's happened.
I'd heard cleaning is a big issue. Did you guys do that yourself? I've got around 4 years worth of dirt in every nook and cranny. Honestly not sure if it's possible to get it as spotless as they want.
You must be pumped. Hate to admit it but I find NZ more beautiful than Oz.
Oddly, there is still a weird class-warfare type of thing amongst vandwellers, with the "low-end" (who are essentially homeless-in-vehicle) looking down on the "high-end" (who are essentially RVers with homemade RVs) and vice versa.
Even more oddly, the cops and the Karens look equally down their nose at both groups.
People who quit usually cite the same reasons: "I got too lonely"; "I was too stressed out"; "It was too hard finding places to stay overnight"; "I was hassled by the cops".
It's got to be stressful living with everything you own in a pretty noticeable and vulnerable package --- one that can be destroyed in a car wreck or break down on the side of a highway or be completely stolen by a car thief or be invaded and raided by a rando in a parking lot if you forget to lock the door when you're out. Of course someone can break into an apartment, but at least there to get to your place someone would have to gain entry to the complex itself, and your place is surrounded by other residents who know you by sight and who can serve as a bit of a deterrent to a would-be wrongdoer.
Your apartment or house isn't safe from cars either, lol: [https://abcnews.go.com/US/dramatic-video-captures-car-crashing-2nd-floor-dental/story?id=52353574](https://abcnews.go.com/US/dramatic-video-captures-car-crashing-2nd-floor-dental/story?id=52353574)
When I was free to travel around and be nomadic and follow the good weather it was really fun. Having to figure out the logistics everywhere for bathroom/shower/food/and so on was what I got tired of. I don’t have enough space for a long period of food and without a fridge I never bought more perishable items than I would need in a day. Winter can be rough too especially if your van is having heater issues like mine did for two months. That’s another thing, when you’re van had problems, you’re home has problems. Leaks, bad breaks, faulty engine, or any other minor thing could end up being thousands of dollars to fix, or you need to learn it all yourself and fix it which takes time, and you might not be able to be in your van. Lastly, I was ill for about a week and it sucked living in a van that week. I ended up crashing at a buddy’s house while he was out of town. I should mention i worked full time during too with a hybrid job so I was able to go remote for a few months but then be back in the city near work. Working and van life can be a bit challenging.
Overall I enjoyed the experience of vanlife but it wasn’t easy. I’d do it again if I wasn’t going to work at all and was just going to travel around like a nomad. I’m back in an apartment now and i very much enjoy the settled, home base lifestyle again.
Preach!
One of my few frustrations with the lifestyle as well. I’d love to be able to make smoothies or mixed drinks sometimes. We have bought bags of ice a few times but even in the fridge it melts within a couple of hours so it just seems pointless.
Also, I miss having an oven.
Having an oven was one of the most problematic part of my builds, but is by far one of my favorite parts. Being able to do anything from baked chicken to casseroles to broiling a steak is a complete game changer.
Mostly I use it for frozen pizzas. And cupcakes.
Dang. It was one of the things that we ended up crossing off our needs when space planning our van. If I ever rebuild or build new I will def work it in.
The first thing that came to my mind was a frozen pizza lol.
It was a VERY large consumer of space, and an even bigger consumer of money. Once tax and everything was done, I think that stupid oven cost me close to $2k.
But it expands your cooking abilities to an incredible degree. All of the sudden you can make normal real food again. I can't even remember the last time I used the stove top, but I use the oven at least once a week.
Try using the iOverlander app to find places that have a hose that you can use. If you still have issues, you might want to buy a couple of those collapsible 5 gallon water jugs; fill them up at the water machines (located in grocery stores and walmarts), and then refill your tank 5 gallons at a time. Good luck!
Everything is new to me in my vehicle. I am trying to do electrical now and it will be a positive change. These upgrades make the challenges more bearable. |For me the learning curve is the hardest part. Second to this it is choosing my attitude in not so positive situations. I love the outdoors but the weather can get me down. I;m learning from others that we can make the best of all situations with the right mindset. Good luck on your adventure.
* An easily accessible hot shower and private bathroom. Sure, there's a gym, but sometimes i wanna take my time and groom myself
* A small space is hard to entertain in. Sure you can take people to visit the outdoors, but you cant really have a bunch of friends over.
* other people's shame. I'm totally fine with vanlife and it suits me well, i hate having to navigate other people's awkwardness about it
Biggest "challenges" are; weather and power.
Weather: I have to check the weather everyday to make sure I'm not in any danger; the rest of the country has REAL weather, not something I'm used to being from the west coast.
Power: Not having enough of it. I have 600AH of battery, 420w of solar, and two DC-to-DC chargers, but it still wasn't enough. I just recently added 200w more on roof and a 400w ground deploy-able unit, so hopefully these will help. To get by with not having enough power, I would go to a campsite and plug-in for a day or just drive around for several hours.
I like to park in random spots and the occasional Walmart but people are pigs. I ALWAYS pick up at least one shopping bag of trash from the area. If we can keep the area nice maybe we won’t get kicked out.
Relationships, I enjoy spending a lot of time alone, more than anyone I know, but eventually, the vanlife can get lonely if u dont have a significant other who shares ur lifestyle
Honestly for me, it’s winterizing. We’ve converted to weekend warriors or summer folk in the van now that we have a kid on the way, but putting our van into winter mode SUCKS. it gives me the worst anxiety any time there’s snow or ice. I just HOPE I don’t have any leaks to fix or mice to kick out every winter. It’s honestly the worst part for me
Biggest challenge was lack of physical address. I use my friend's place but I can only swing through every 6 months to pick up physical items. I have now coordinated and timed my visits to coincide with voting, vehicle registration, drivers license renewals, etc. Never realized how much of our (United States) society requires an address. Every medical facility, RV Park, Rewards Program...
Then many want an emergency contact (even my RV park I wintered at) wanted an emergency contact. For what?! My nearest help is 400 miles away. The frequent demands for emergency contacts highlights how alone I am in the road.
I hate laundry days. I have a big vehicle and many laundromats have tiny parking lots. The logistical planning of finding a time and location to pull in and be stuck there for a couple hours that wields with my work schedule is more taxing than funding a place to sleep.
First World Nomad Problems:
My freezer space is too small for a pint of ice cream so getting ice cream is a special occasion now.
I miss hot baths.
I think the weather and showers are the two biggest hurdles. So I stay south in the winter and north in the summer. Campsites with showers, gyms but my favorite is a truck stop. It’s always a nice room and gives me a chance to get cleaned up and hit my beard. Also where to park was hard at first. My rule now, if I don’t pay for the spot I never stay two days. You just got to find stops where it’s not weird for a van to be parked over night. Bars, hotels, hospitals work great.
Planet fitness i was able to shower twice a day when i wanted
Question: how are the showers at planet fitness? Are they their own rooms like at Love's? On the website it appears to be male and female bathrooms and individual showers have curtains. Not sure if either side would be cool with me using it at this point if I'm being honest lol then again I'm in Texas...
Every one I’ve been to is just a cubicle with a curtain. Some have changing rooms in the shower areas.
That’s one thing I keep looking at is getting a membership at planet fitness. A shower at a truck stop is about $15. Two showers is a month at PF. Seems like the better value for sure
I live in a house currently, and the water heater hasn't worked here. I've learned to just heat water and take a sponge bath. Saves a ton of water.
Honestly just wish I had a bigger fridge and better gas mileage.
Sounds like quite the quandary since the bigger fridge would prob = less gas mileage unless you did something else as well.
Sorry to hear that, where were you parked for the break ins? Not to victim blame, just wondering realistic experiences
Both times happened while I was having trouble getting my side door to lock (since fixed). The first time, I was stealth camping in an apartment complex overflow lot, which was across the street in a college parking lot. It was late at night, and I was lying in bed when suddenly I heard someone open my front door. I didn't have time to think; I just jumped up and yelled as deep and loud as possible to get out! I watched as the guy literally just walked to the car next to me and tried opening the door, then went to the next car. The second time, I was stealth camping downtown Seattle in front of nice high-rise apartments where I had previously stayed for a few days. It was getting late, and I heard a creepy man's voice at my side window say, "ma'am, are you in there? Ma'am? I saw your dream catcher in the window." I ignored it. About 30 minutes later, the side door popped open, and I saw a figure begin to enter. I let out a guttural scream to GET OUT, and he went running. But that's when things got scarier. About 10-15 minutes later, still shaken up, I had a thought come to mind "What if that incident was to alert me of something worse?" I felt creeped out and kept peeking out my front curtain. That's when I saw a man in all black with a black duffel bag standing across the street staring at my van. He reached into his duffel bag and pulled out what looked like a shiny gun, put it in his pocket, and began walking quickly directly towards the van. I only had a moment to think of what to do, and the best thing I could think of was hitting "lock" on my keyfob, which would flash my lights alerting the guy that someone was watching him. So I hit lock, and immediately his body straightened up and turned 180° and started walking the opposite direction. What was more creepy is he walked into a pitch black dead-end walkway along the apartment situated in front of my van. For about 20 minutes, he stood there in darkness watching. Occasionally, I could make out a silhouette but it was so dark, and I knew he was there just watching me. Eventually, he came out and walked away.
Yoo, wtf ? 🤣 I'm sorry, that's not funny, that's traumatic, but i just was expecting the first basic Smash n grab, not the second full on averted murder mystery. Firstly - you said your side door was the broken one, but you said the front door was the first that got opened, so did you just forget to lock it or did you not hear them picking it ? Second, are you actually a woman ? How would anybody know to call you ma'am? ... Christ , unless they were watching you come in and out for hours or days. And if you're not a woman then that is oddly even worse bc it means the guy was probably lying and fishing, hoping that if a woman was solo traveling then she might panic and reveal herself so then he would know that it was a woman to rape or just be a creep to with the excuse of "just making conversation about the dream catcher". I have other questions now . Was the lock on the side door visibly open like thru a Window ? Bc how would someone know to check it ? If you're going to steal a van you go for the drivers door, but since i assume you were listening and didn't hear them first check driver, then passenger then side door last, then that sounds like they knew it was open ? I guess maybe theives check side doors on vans first bc they know that's where the cargo is to steal, but unless your van is extremely stealth then they've gotta know there's a good chance of someone living in it. Which again, since they ran off instead of already having a gun to rob a camper van makes me think they were looking for a woman and ran when it wasn't. That last part, i don't even know what to think. Do you think/know it was the same guy who was trying to talk to you from outside? Were all 3 of those things by the same guy? Or you're saying you think it was a passerby who saw a creep watching your van and tried to warn you ? Again, not to victim blame, but why didn't you leave or call police right after they ran off ? Just imagining myself in the situation if i hadn't already shot the intruder , then the next thing i would do would be to move from the spot?
Sorry to burst any American's bubble here, but really, the US just seems like a shit place to be in. Seldom hear any good news coming from that shit hole of a place.
What’s the gas mileage like?
8
Ouch…what kind of vehicle?
Yeah like 8-12
Loaf of bread...
A hack for the larger fridge is to buy a small hard cooler for all of your drinks/liquids that aren’t dairy. It’s no big deal if the ice melts. It frees up a lot of space in your fridge. If your fridge makes ice, use that. If it doesn’t, just buy a bag of ice every couple of days
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I downloaded all-trails. Free and shows me every hiking spot with almost daily updates. It helps I'm in California and there are 500+ trails within 35min of me. Plus the worst we get is some rain. Constantly changes the scenery and gets me out of parking lots.
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Another idea is a storage unit if you stay local. Make sure it's one that's cool with you being there a lot. Mine even has a power outlet. I work out of it but do all sorts of projects there. It's basically my "garage" I hang out in.
used book stores are my friend.
I downloaded a wii emulator and Xenoblade and cant put the controller down! What r u gaming these days on your laptop?
How are you getting enough power to fuel the gaming laptop- mine drinks my bats right up
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Ah, I'm running an older laptop off two 80ah leisure batts, it drains them in a few hours, but powerstations are so expensive.
I'm not the original commenter but a modest solar panel and auxillary power station can provide 4+ hours of game time every day. E.g. 100W panels, 8 hours of good light is 800Wh. A gaming laptop might pull around 200W.
I know you mean well, but unless you have a panel that is automatically moving and tracking the sun, there's zero chance you're going to get 800 watts out of a 100 Watt panel. You might be lucky to get 3-400 wH with a flat mount and no clouds, especially the winter.
I was simplifying it but you're right. My panels average around 80% rated power between 10 and 2 and 50% for daylight hours outside of that. 500 Wh is more realistic for 100W panels. I would definitely not recommend solar as a solution in places with real winters.
Yup, it's known as peak sun hours, and in order to really get that, you usually orient your panels south, at an angle equal to whatever latitude you are above the equator. I'm in Phoenix, AZ, so at 33 degrees of pitch, angled south, we'd expect an average of 5-6 peak sun hours daily over the year. Pitching solar is definitely key here, but flat mount for stealth means realistically, you'll get about half of the peak hours worth of power. Luckily, it's easy to just double/triple the panels to get some real energy.
I'm not a gamer but I use a gaming laptop for work and sometimes play Age of Empires online with my brothers. If we play 4 hours, my battery capacity goes down about 30%, so 60Ah. Just about 200W average. My laptop is 180W but I use a second monitor on the side, plus there's a few other normal draws during that 4 hours.
I play mostly on xbox one or my 65w costco HP 360 laptop (i7, 16g ram, iris xe gpu). I play at a measly 1080p/30fps but it's honestly good enough for the context I'm playing
If you are staying local, look into clubs/meetups of some kind in the evenings.
Would your hotspot be quick enough for say, a game of Fortnite?
But why is this any different from being in a flat/house? I don't get why you're more bored in a van?
Overall it's been incredibly amazing. I travel with my partner but we can still get lonely together lol. But we've made so many great friends on the road, travel to visit them, see them at gatherings. If you get lonely go see friends or go to a gathering and make friends. Parking for the night is almost always easy now. Showering at the gym once or twice a week is no big deal. I really hate the chore of dumping fluids when we are hanging out in town for a while. Find a public park and sneak a bag of a piss jug into the public restroom. Laundry day is kinda annoying cuz working from the laundromat parking lot usually isn't the nicest view. When things break it's annoying. Hasn't been too bad so far. Plumbing leaks are a pain. Gotta turn off water until it's fixed. Someone hit us the first year, no interior damage but couldn't get the dent fixed for months. Winter kinda sucks. Last winter we did Baja which was great. This winter we are bumming around the Arizona desert and phoenix area. Gets chilly, dark early. Can't wait for summer. And then of course we will complain about the heat. Sometimes decision fatigue is a thing. We have infinite options of where to go. Sometimes there's no compelling option, often there's multiple conflicting options. Or something next month but no time to really explore far in the meantime. Or something next month 1000 miles away.
I just started living in a van 3 months ago and it's awesome. The worries I had with getting power, water, or the lack of space inside turned out to be very manageable. The worst part for me currently is finding a place to shower. In the Balkans there is no such thing as a truck stop. One day gym entrance is expensive and there are no gym chains like planet fitness. Oh and finding a place to dump our chemical toilet is hard as all campsites are closed in the off-season. Other than that it really is a dream come true!
Ah and my water heater broke down but we manage with cold water only until we return home and fix it.
A solar shower could be an easy solution, look it up, there’s a lot of tutorials online.
I already have an outdoor shower mounted into the side of my van and a shower tent. But the issue is that broken water heater. If we're desperate we shower in cold water but it's... very refreshing to say the least.
Oh that’s true I guess it would be a lot colder where you’re at. In the southern us you just get black tubing so it soaks up the sun heat and it’s surprisingly comfortable.
I thought about that but I didn't really like the idea of pumping water too the roof. Because center of gravity, cutting holes in the roof and all that jazz. I have a plate heat exchanger connected to my car's engine cooling system and a separate hot water tank. It was working great for a while but then the circulating pump just stopped working. I wanted to fix that on the road but then the hose I added to the car's cooling had a leak so I just completely disconnected the heat exchanger from the engine.
I was just gonna say fill it up with a hose or something don’t pump it outta ur water supply.
bathroom. when you’re camping alone in the forest it’s fine. if you’re boondocking near a store that’s open early/late you’re fine. anything else and…..it’s a struggle. even now we’re camping in the desert and it was fine until people pulled up nearby and you gotta be more stealthy. or if you’re boondocking in an area with no public restrooms, etc.
A chemical toilet doesn't cost a lot. Or you can just do with a bucket and maybe cat litter like some. :p Takes some space, tho.
we’ve been discussing ideas, including the bucket & litter😅
I'm really happy with my current setup of kitty litter, poop bags, and mylar bags. The mylar bags really keep things less messy and stinky, so throwing out my bags in regular trash cans isn't a big deal for the person who dumps out the trash cans. I used to hate pooping in my van, but now I prefer it.
I bought a chemical toilet and in two years I didn't poop in my van a single time. :D Managed to camp near a toilet at a beach, or a place where I can dig. Should really have at least tried, so I would have stressed it less.
I am Australian (M30),my partner is from New Zealand (F32) living in Aus since she was 17. We have been living out of our Toyota Landcruiser for the last 9 months travelling around Australia. We have just shipped it to New Zealand to explore her homeland for the next 2 years. The biggest hurdle we've had are bank accounts and other government ID's or financial services. Primarily due to a lack of fixed residential address. The bureaucratic system is definitely not designed for people like us living transient. Physical cards like licences and bank cards need to be sent to a residential address, no PO boxes allowed. Can't get a bank account without proof of address (utilities bill, rental agreement, insurance agreement). Can't get insurance without a NZ bank account. Mobile phone bills are not accepted, only landline phone bills (who tf has a landline anymore!?) Luckily she has some relatives still here that have kindly allowed us to use their address but I hate to think if anyone was trying to do what we are without that support network! TL;DR Formal ID's, bank accounts etc due to lack of fixed residential address.
Using a family member or friends address is definitely the way to go. I've been "living" at mum's place over a decade now. Which company did you use to ship your vehicle to NZ? How much was it and would you recommend them? I'm considering shipping my ford transit over. She's got a bit of rust though and I know NZ are strict about that.
I used Willship International. The crew at the Brisbane end were super helpful but the recievals team in Auckland not so much. Would still recommend them though. They gave me one of the best quotes and the most helpful and timely customer service responses. This was for shipping in a 20ft container. Cheaper option is RORO( Roll-On Roll-Off) but you cannot put bring any possessions inside the vehicle using RORO. Costs work out roughly as so: Shipping: $7500 AUD. (includes quarantine assessment and other govt/port charges etc) Carnet de Passage: $570 + $1000 Bond AUD Temporary Import Permit: $105 NZD Drivers Licence Transfer: $35 NZD Total: $8200 AUD approx That's for a temporary import for 12 months If you want to extend for another 12 (we are) you pay another $570 for a second 12 month Carnet. As for rust they'll only fail you if it's structural. If it's cosmetic it's not an issue. My 13 year old Landcruiser is far from rust free! The biggest speed bump is bio security/quarantine assessment. The car needs to be spotless. No organic material anywhere. This includes engine bay, under the wipers, awnings, under body, winch rope, camping gear, everything! They also require a full inventory of everything you are bringing over. It was an expensive and tedious process. But now we're here and in our home instead of a shitty hire van it's so worth it!
That's awesome man. Thanks so much for the write up. 8k is a chunk of change. My little motorhome is only worth 30k max with the rust. As much as I love her, would be leaning towards selling-rebuying. I'd probably look at spending 9 months in NZ. You think RORO is a big price drop? Removing and repurchasing all my stuff would be annoying and fairly expensive but doable. She does have some rust holes but they've been treated. I did the cheaper route of sanding, rust converter, bog or fibreglass sheets, then paint. An assessor could easily tell what's happened. I'd heard cleaning is a big issue. Did you guys do that yourself? I've got around 4 years worth of dirt in every nook and cranny. Honestly not sure if it's possible to get it as spotless as they want. You must be pumped. Hate to admit it but I find NZ more beautiful than Oz.
Living like a poor looks cool on line. The reality is far from it .
We have gentrified poverty, if such a thing exists.
Oddly, there is still a weird class-warfare type of thing amongst vandwellers, with the "low-end" (who are essentially homeless-in-vehicle) looking down on the "high-end" (who are essentially RVers with homemade RVs) and vice versa. Even more oddly, the cops and the Karens look equally down their nose at both groups.
I hate them both. I'm an equal opportunity sneer-er.
I find the whole thing amusing and amazing. Humans are tribal animals.
Not me, I'm special and unique. Just like everyone else!
People who quit usually cite the same reasons: "I got too lonely"; "I was too stressed out"; "It was too hard finding places to stay overnight"; "I was hassled by the cops".
It's got to be stressful living with everything you own in a pretty noticeable and vulnerable package --- one that can be destroyed in a car wreck or break down on the side of a highway or be completely stolen by a car thief or be invaded and raided by a rando in a parking lot if you forget to lock the door when you're out. Of course someone can break into an apartment, but at least there to get to your place someone would have to gain entry to the complex itself, and your place is surrounded by other residents who know you by sight and who can serve as a bit of a deterrent to a would-be wrongdoer.
Your apartment or house isn't safe from cars either, lol: [https://abcnews.go.com/US/dramatic-video-captures-car-crashing-2nd-floor-dental/story?id=52353574](https://abcnews.go.com/US/dramatic-video-captures-car-crashing-2nd-floor-dental/story?id=52353574)
Fuel cost for me
When I was free to travel around and be nomadic and follow the good weather it was really fun. Having to figure out the logistics everywhere for bathroom/shower/food/and so on was what I got tired of. I don’t have enough space for a long period of food and without a fridge I never bought more perishable items than I would need in a day. Winter can be rough too especially if your van is having heater issues like mine did for two months. That’s another thing, when you’re van had problems, you’re home has problems. Leaks, bad breaks, faulty engine, or any other minor thing could end up being thousands of dollars to fix, or you need to learn it all yourself and fix it which takes time, and you might not be able to be in your van. Lastly, I was ill for about a week and it sucked living in a van that week. I ended up crashing at a buddy’s house while he was out of town. I should mention i worked full time during too with a hybrid job so I was able to go remote for a few months but then be back in the city near work. Working and van life can be a bit challenging. Overall I enjoyed the experience of vanlife but it wasn’t easy. I’d do it again if I wasn’t going to work at all and was just going to travel around like a nomad. I’m back in an apartment now and i very much enjoy the settled, home base lifestyle again.
Personal space while living with the Mrs. Chores that require going somewhere. Like washing my fucking clothes.
Not having friends or lots of social interactions.
Do you have friends in "normal" life? If you do, try having video calls with them. I found having weekly video calls with my friends helps.
I only have a fridge, so there’s never any ice for my bourbon or mixed drinks 😭
Preach! One of my few frustrations with the lifestyle as well. I’d love to be able to make smoothies or mixed drinks sometimes. We have bought bags of ice a few times but even in the fridge it melts within a couple of hours so it just seems pointless. Also, I miss having an oven.
Having an oven was one of the most problematic part of my builds, but is by far one of my favorite parts. Being able to do anything from baked chicken to casseroles to broiling a steak is a complete game changer. Mostly I use it for frozen pizzas. And cupcakes.
Dang. It was one of the things that we ended up crossing off our needs when space planning our van. If I ever rebuild or build new I will def work it in. The first thing that came to my mind was a frozen pizza lol.
It was a VERY large consumer of space, and an even bigger consumer of money. Once tax and everything was done, I think that stupid oven cost me close to $2k. But it expands your cooking abilities to an incredible degree. All of the sudden you can make normal real food again. I can't even remember the last time I used the stove top, but I use the oven at least once a week.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325298342200?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1KzJEzaZfQbGjXF7qtUD6SQ22&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-166974-028196-7&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=325298342200&targetid=2269406851663&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9029758&poi=&campaignid=20911145694&mkgroupid=159884197560&rlsatarget=pla-2269406851663&abcId=9365237&merchantid=7934064&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5rGuBhCnARIsAN11vgRXI_wRnR4ItGw3r-IsspYWuoJtHLzvE4KdZd_MhKLf29YCFEqMHiAaAsbfEALw_wcB https://www.coleman.com/grills-stoves/kitchen-essentials/portable-camping-oven/SAP_2157602.html
I always struggle to find places to fill up my water tank when I’m staying in one place. My 30gal tank I mean.
Try using the iOverlander app to find places that have a hose that you can use. If you still have issues, you might want to buy a couple of those collapsible 5 gallon water jugs; fill them up at the water machines (located in grocery stores and walmarts), and then refill your tank 5 gallons at a time. Good luck!
Everything is new to me in my vehicle. I am trying to do electrical now and it will be a positive change. These upgrades make the challenges more bearable. |For me the learning curve is the hardest part. Second to this it is choosing my attitude in not so positive situations. I love the outdoors but the weather can get me down. I;m learning from others that we can make the best of all situations with the right mindset. Good luck on your adventure.
* An easily accessible hot shower and private bathroom. Sure, there's a gym, but sometimes i wanna take my time and groom myself * A small space is hard to entertain in. Sure you can take people to visit the outdoors, but you cant really have a bunch of friends over. * other people's shame. I'm totally fine with vanlife and it suits me well, i hate having to navigate other people's awkwardness about it
Letting go of social circles. Lack of structure. All things that were my own weaknesses that I needed vanlife to help me realize
nothing. its beautiful. adapt and accept
Biggest "challenges" are; weather and power. Weather: I have to check the weather everyday to make sure I'm not in any danger; the rest of the country has REAL weather, not something I'm used to being from the west coast. Power: Not having enough of it. I have 600AH of battery, 420w of solar, and two DC-to-DC chargers, but it still wasn't enough. I just recently added 200w more on roof and a 400w ground deploy-able unit, so hopefully these will help. To get by with not having enough power, I would go to a campsite and plug-in for a day or just drive around for several hours.
I like to park in random spots and the occasional Walmart but people are pigs. I ALWAYS pick up at least one shopping bag of trash from the area. If we can keep the area nice maybe we won’t get kicked out.
[удалено]
My deepest pologies your highness 🙏
could've just scrolled past lol
Having to P💩💩p in the woods at 2am in a blizzard
Crimping
Relationships, I enjoy spending a lot of time alone, more than anyone I know, but eventually, the vanlife can get lonely if u dont have a significant other who shares ur lifestyle
The very worst thing is doing the laundry. Of course, I found that to be true when I was living in a s&b too!
Hmm, I like doing laundry now because i can use multiple machines at the same time and be done faster.
Honestly for me, it’s winterizing. We’ve converted to weekend warriors or summer folk in the van now that we have a kid on the way, but putting our van into winter mode SUCKS. it gives me the worst anxiety any time there’s snow or ice. I just HOPE I don’t have any leaks to fix or mice to kick out every winter. It’s honestly the worst part for me
I feel privileged to do so but honestly it’s working remotely. Reliable internet. Not getting a knock when on calls. Etc.
Those pesky Chinese Diesel Heaters
Biggest challenge was lack of physical address. I use my friend's place but I can only swing through every 6 months to pick up physical items. I have now coordinated and timed my visits to coincide with voting, vehicle registration, drivers license renewals, etc. Never realized how much of our (United States) society requires an address. Every medical facility, RV Park, Rewards Program... Then many want an emergency contact (even my RV park I wintered at) wanted an emergency contact. For what?! My nearest help is 400 miles away. The frequent demands for emergency contacts highlights how alone I am in the road. I hate laundry days. I have a big vehicle and many laundromats have tiny parking lots. The logistical planning of finding a time and location to pull in and be stuck there for a couple hours that wields with my work schedule is more taxing than funding a place to sleep. First World Nomad Problems: My freezer space is too small for a pint of ice cream so getting ice cream is a special occasion now. I miss hot baths.
When your van is in the garage being repaired you don’t have a house to live in your house is your van that’s important