Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

5-MINUTE EXPERT:

Home is where you park it: #Vanlife attracts modern-day nomads

van life

Shutterstock.com

A mobile way of life has always captured the American imagination, with the first RVs appearing on the road more than a century ago. And after more than eight months of restricted travel due to the pandemic, the call of the open road feels stronger than ever. Some people are heeding it—and making it a full-time lifestyle, for both work and play.

Van life (or #vanlife, as the kids on social media say) is attracting a type of workforce known as digital nomads—millennials and Gen Xers able to work from anywhere and seemingly unattached to the idea of homeownership.

Van life is the Tiny House movement on wheels. Van lifers manage to pack their entire lives into 60 square feet or less, always prepared to move at a moment’s notice. Devotees claim the lifestyle provides the ultimate form of freedom, unshackled by the twin commitments of a brick-and-mortar job and a mortgage. It attracts people from all walks of life, even young families who raise their kids with an eye for adventure.

While the van life movement is several years old, having been propelled to niche appeal by Instagram and YouTube, it’s now attracting more people, who see the pandemic and various natural disasters limiting their choice of domicile. Plus, most office jobs can now be done remotely, so why not use Anytown USA (and seemingly endless BLM lands and national parks) as a home and an office?

Before you dive into this lifestyle, here’s a primer in what it takes to live it.

Is van life for you?

There are two types of van lifers: full-time and part-time. Full-time means your van is your only place of residence, with everything you own inside. You park in any city or out in nature. Full-time van lifers also work in their vans. Drawing electricity from solar panels installed on the roof, and installing a signal booster means there’s always Wi-Fi and power.

Part-time van lifers, meanwhile, use their van for weekend trips and boondocking (going off the grid).

The majority of van lifers are outdoor enthusiasts who embrace camping, climbing, hiking, surfing and traveling. Some even drive as far south as they can in the Americas. Van life is also very popular in Europe, where open borders allow for endless travel options.

While nature plays a major part in van life’s appeal, many van lifers prefer urban stealth camping, choosing to park in cities rather than in the great outdoors. They try to blend their vans in with city streets, making them look like ordinary cargo vans—no windows, blackout shades in front, high roofs to obscure solar panels up top. (Cargo vans are classified as regular vehicles, similar to an SUV, and require no special parking permits.) Urban stealth van lifers who opt not to install showers or toilets in their van might make use of gym facilities in each city.

Where to start

The three most popular cargo vans used in conversions are the Mercedes Sprinter, the Ram ProMaster and the Ford Transit Connect. You see them everywhere: Amazon Prime and FedEx use them, as do utility companies. These vans are ideal for conversion, because they’re essentially empty boxes in which you can construct any floor plan.

Seasoned van lifers advise buying a used van for your first build because the learning curve can be steep, especially for those going the DIY conversion route. Mercedes Sprinters hold their value well in the used market, but the maintenance is typically more expensive than for the American-made Ram ProMaster or Ford Transit. They all come in different lengths and roof heights, so be sure to pick one that suits your specific needs.

Primary components

The main components of a converted van are electricity, plumbing (including a shower, toilet and water supply), a kitchen setup, a sleeping area and cabinetry for storage.

The electrical system is probably the most daunting for DIYers to tackle, but YouTube is filled with step-by-step tutorials. RV dwellers get their electricity via shore power, either at campgrounds and RV parks or through generators. Van lifers do something similar, drawing solar panel-generated juice and running it through an inverter and batteries, allowing them to run small appliances, a heater and AC, and to charge laptops 24 hours a day.

A basic kitchen setup includes a stovetop run either by electricity or propane; a small, energy-efficient fridge; and a sink. Water supply is a key consideration for van lifers, since they can only carry so much water at a time. The sleeping area is often a convertible space, doubling as a dining area, office or lounge. A high-roof vehicle allows for cabinetry to be built for storage.

To DIY or not

Once you’ve chosen a van, there’s a critical choice to be made: DIY build or hire a conversion company, which can charge from $30,000 to upward of six figures (not including the cost of the van). That’s great, of course, if money is no object: You get top-notch craftsmanship built to your specifications.

For those who choose the DIY route, there’s a passionate community on YouTube sharing how-to conversion videos, so you need not feel intimidated even if you don’t have construction experience. DIY conversions can cost as little as a couple thousand dollars . Options include buying premade conversion kits for cabinets or kitchen galleys, or outsourcing part of the build—such as the electrical or plumbing—and doing the rest yourself.

This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.