My Tips on Living the #VanLife

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts” – Foster Huntington

Imagine a world where you don’t have to be confined to one home, one location, or one address. A world where you can be free to drive anywhere you want and have all of your belongings with you at all times. Where adventure hums at your feet, wind blows through your hair, and dream catchers bounce in the corner of your eyes along the open road. I joined this world about 10 months ago and haven’t looked back since.

I joined the van life because I wanted to embrace freedom, adventure, and tranquility of simple living. Below I share answers to FAQ's about being a woman living in a van and my tips if you are interested in joining life on the road.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Our Beach Front Neighborhood! Caleb and Chris' van! January 2018.

1) Why did you decide to start living the van life?

The idea of living the van life sparked in college after my boyfriend, Chris Farro and his friend, Matt Cook bought camper vans. I remember thinking that it was the smartest thing in the world because it allowed them to save money on the crazy expensive rents in the Bay Area and it gave them the freedom to sleep wherever they wanted with their belongings on them at all times. And for Matt and Chris who are always chasing natures changing conditions; pumping waves, howling wind, and snow storms, having all their toys with them at all times is crucial.

I lived with Chris in his van the summer going into my senior year of college and looking back it was the best summer of my life. Some of my best memories have been behind the wheel with Chris, driving up and down the coast between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay looking for wind and waves.

When Chris decided to make his big move to Hawaii, I fully jumped on the opportunity to live full-time in his van and hold down the fort on the mainland! I decided to move into the van because it saved me money on rent, which allowed me to have the financial freedom to travel more frequently. I also loved consolidating and stripping down all of my belongings to the essentials. And finally, living in the van gave me freedom! I always have everything I need close by, and now I can even have a beachfront home!

2) As a woman, do you feel safe living in a van?

I feel 100% safe living in the van. However, I take caution when parking at night. I usually try to find safe neighborhoods, friends' houses, and/ or places that exude, "not-sketchy". I also love parking along the coast! To be honest, my biggest fear as a van-lifer is scaring or making the community members feel uncomfortable by having my van parked outside their home. Sometimes I wish I could just put their worries at ease by blowing up a photo of myself on the van and including a quote, “Hey, it’s Erin! A 24 year-old, female adventurer, just passing through!” But please, don't do this if you get a van.

3) What kind of van do you have?

I have a Dodge Ram 3500 Van with a Sportsmobile conversion inside! My boyfriend, Chris, bought it from a New Zealand couple that was traveling The United States about 5 years ago. Our van’s name is “Pokie” because he is old, slow, and kind of just pokes along on all of our adventures. The inside is the coziest little 18 x 6 ft area you could ever imagine and has quite the array of amenities. We have a twin XL that folds out into a full-sized bed, fridge/ freezer, propane stove and fridge/ freezer, sink, solar panels that connects to our Goal Zero Battery, and tons of storage for surfboards, kites, food, and our clothes! It really is a fully equipped house on wheels!

4) What has been your favorite adventure in the van?

This one is tough. There are too many amazing VANventures! A few of my favorite road trips that we’ve done in the van are Burning Man (4 years strong), Baja, and Hood River, Oregon. But even the simple trips of traveling up and down the backyard, the Northern California Coast, on the weekends with Chris in the driver seat dropping a beat to old 90’s songs, surfing and kiting, and stopping at our favorite pie shop, Swanton Berry Farm, in Davenport, CA are my favorite! The van makes every road trip whether short or long a blast!

5) Where do you shower?

Having a gym membership is 100% recommended! I would either shower at the gym after a great work out or at GoPro’s showers which I had access to 24/7.

6) What are some hardships you face living the #VanLife?

With all the freedom and adventure that van life brings, there also come a few small hurdles and inconveniences. To start, you always feel like you are shuffling things around. While I was living in San Francisco, I kept my small Toyota Corolla because 1) it is nice to do smaller city missions and 2) the Corolla is my little storage unit on wheels! Having two vehicles is not mandatory but it did help keep the van (my bedroom, living room, and kitchen) as empty as possible. The reality of shuffling your things between vehicles was a small but necessary inconvenience!

Participating in van life while having a 9-5 job and trying to shower, do laundry, and you know, actually fit in with society rather than just traveling, surfing, and letting your hair dread out on the road (which is what I do now), requires a lot more planning. For example, where the eff do I do laundry and shower? For showering, I’d recommend getting a gym membership or making sure your office has showers. Make sure you take into consideration your gym or office’s open hours. Thankfully, I had access to the showers at GoPro 24/7 so showering was never a problem! Laundry is another story. Every 2 weeks basically as long as I could stretch my laundry bag and have clean underwear, I’d head to the local Laundromat (we called it a "Party of 25th Street"). Again, not everything about van life is as glamorous as social media plays it out to be but I’d say it’s still worth every moment!

The hardest thing about giving up my apartment and moving into the van was not being able to host friends for dinners or parties. One of my favorite things to do is have my loved ones over for dinner, or a movie, or for a pregame before going out! I’ve had to compensate by going on van dates with my girlfriends. Instead of dinners and parties, we take the van to the beach and have a picnic while watching the sunset. A fun van hack is getting a mifi pack. I bought a mifi pack so every once in a while when my girl friends sleepover in the van, we’ll turn on the LED lights, light a candle, turn on the diffuser, and watch Netflix.

Van life has its frustrating moments; moments where you can’t find a place to shower, moments when the van breaks down on your way to burning man and you have to hitch hike in, and moments when your life feels unorganized and in a bit of disarray. But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t keep living the van life if I didn’t feel that it was the best way to live my life right now!

7) What are 5 Tips you can give to someone who is interested in joining van life?

Tip #1: Buy a Van with Amenities

If you are looking to buy a van that you want to live in, make sure you find one that has at least a bed, cabinets, and a permanent pop up top. These are the 3 essentials. If you were to ask Chris and I what we can’t live without on top of these 3 essentials here goes:
- Solar Power! Having our Goal Zero battery that runs off our solar panels on the roof is critical for lights, music, charging phones/ laptops and any other power needs. And hey, it's also eco-friendly!
- Food Storage - Propane fridge and freezer keeps all the goods happy and fresh!
- Propane furnace - Leeps you warm on the coldest nights!
- Sink/ Water - Always keep at least 2 gallons of water in the van at all times for cooking, hydration, cleaning, etc.
- Storage - Bungee your surfboards to the top, skis go under the bed, and kite gear + wetsuits go in the back!

Tip #2: Sleep Safe

Find a safe place to park. Especially as a woman, do your research, and park in safe neighborhoods or in front of friends' houses. If you are pulling up to a new area try to find an open parking spot in front of a gated house. Bushes can also be your friend so you can be a little discrete. Also, keep pepper spray or if you are me, bear spray in the van for protection.

Cozy as it gets! Add all of the fun amenities: LED lights, Essential Oil Diffuser, photos, and fuzzy pillows and blankets!

Tip #3: Decorate!

Make the van functional, cute, and cozy! My favorite thing to do at night is turn on my LED lights, light some candles, get my diffuser going, and cuddle up on my cozy tempurpedic mattress topper and fluffy pillows! If you’re living in your van you can go a little crazy with the fluffy and furry accents that make it that much more hospitable and fun!

Tip #4: Be Incognito

Get black out curtains! This is necessary when you are trying to be incognito at night. You never want anyone thinking you living in your van!

Tip #5: Find a Partner in Crime!

Get a VANventure buddy! My buddy is Christopher of course! Adventures and experiences are better shared with loved ones. That doesn’t just mean significant others. If you don’t have a significant other, grab your best friend for the weekend and hit the road!

Xx, Erin