What is it really like living in a Camper Van? Since You Asked...
- Melissa Meares
- Feb 17
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 18
What is living in a 54 sq ft van with your husband and dog really like?!
Last year, my husband and I flipped a Mercedes Sprinter van that had been used by a concrete flooring company into a camper van with a queen bed, shower, toilet, and kitchen with a stove and sink. You can watch the entire build on our YouTube channel or just see the photo tour on the blog.
We don't live in our van full time, but we do travel in it for extended trips, our longest being about 5 weeks! Here are some of the most asked questions by our followers:
What type of van do you have?
We have a 2013 Mercedes Sprinter 2500 cargo van with a high-roof. This means that it is tall enough that we can stand up in it, but it is the shorter van that will fit in a normal parking space. It is 2WD.
How much did the build cost?
The van cost us $10,700 and the renovations were around $15,000. Some of the items were sponsored so what we paid was a little less than that. The most expensive items were the electrical system, which was around $5k, and the roof rack, which was around 2k.
What was the longest stretch of driving you've done in a day?
Probably 14-16 hours? Since we can cook and go to the bathroom in the van, we don't need to stop very often at all! In total honesty, Kyle almost exclusively drives unless we are getting drone shots of the van on the road. He just puts a podcast on and can drive for literal hours. I think he might have a superpower?
How many nights do you usually stay in one place?
To be honest, we rarely stay in the same place for more than one night! This would be different if we lived in it full time, but we are usually eager to move on to somewhere new.
Dream locations?
We want to take the van to Alaska this summer! I'm still trying to convince Kyle that we should move there, but he isn't going for it for some reason! We would also love to take the van to Europe someday for an extended trip!
Is a van better than a camper? Why?
It truly depends on your family situation and what kind of trips you want to do! Our van only has two seats, so anyone with kids would not be able to travel in a van like ours. Compared to an RV, vans get better gas mileage, can fit into more wild campsites, and blend in better if you need to park in a city. RVs typically take much more time to set up in each place, and usually require hookups. On the flip side they are much more spacious in pretty much every way! There's definitely pros and cons to both.
Favorite national park you've visited?
It has to be Yosemite! At this point, I think I've been to around 15 or 16 national parks and Yosemite still cannot be topped!
How do you manage without electric hookups or water?
Managing without hookups requires strategic planning, and we have run out of both water and power a time or two! Our van has a 33-gallon water tank, which lasts us a week or two, depending on how often we are cooking or shower. We use the iOverlander app to find places to fill up water.
We also have an electrical system that is powered by solar panels on the roof. In a pinch, it can also be charged by the van's engine, and you can plug the batteries into a regular wall outlet as well. The only time we ran out of power was when we were stuck at the mechanic for 4 days (and parked under a tree so no solar!). We have since bought an adapter and extension cable so we can plug the van into a building if needed.
Is it hard to plan/ cook meals when camping?
It's funny because at home I meal plan religiously, but when camping, we usually just buy lots of fresh fruits and veggies, garbanzo beans, tofu, and chicken to make random stir-fries every night. Lunches are either leftovers, hummus, or salad, and breakfast is either a protein bar or oatmeal.
Washing dishes isn't too bad, except for when we went to New England and Canada and didn't have our water tank hooked up so washing dishes was pretty miserable (it wasn't hooked up because our water tank froze and started leaking so we drained it for the remainder of the trip!) We may have eaten off of paper plates on that trip.
How do you decide what to take with you?
We try to pack very minimally because it can be overstimulating if you pack too much in such a small space. Typically, I will pack all of the underwear and socks to cut down on having to do laundry as often, and then pack a capsule wardrobe for pants and tops.
How do you figure out where to park/ stay for the night?
We use an app called iOverlander. We toggle for "wild camping" and "informal campsite" to find free spots. Informal campsites are places associated with a business like Walmart parking lots, or other city or street parking. Wild camping is usually in state parks, national forests, grasslands or pull-offs on roads. In the western US, there is a lot of BLM land (Bureau of Land Management) that is free to camp on. If you are in Utah or Arizona, you can pretty much throw a rock and hit a free campsite. In the Northeast spots are a lot harder to find. The South has the most rest areas which are very convenient but not very glamorous.
How do you find campsites that feel safe?
Do you ever feel scared when you are sleeping?
This might seem counterintuitive, but I usually feel the most safe when I am in spots that are completely isolated in BLM land or a state park or national forest. We have had to abandon a site before that felt sketchy (it was a Walmart parking lot). We try to avoid areas where people wander around at night (ie. casinos or dense cities).
A few safety tips though: we always park facing the exit so a quick getaway is possible. We also have a camera on the outside of our van so we can see outside if we need to check anything at night.
What is the morning and nighttime cleaning routine?
We don't have much of a routine other than that whenever we drive we clear everything off of the counters or bench and put them away in drawers since things tend to fly around that aren't secured.
We have a small broom and a vacuum that we use on the floor daily and we always take our shoes off before entering the "living" are of the van.
What's the best way to manage clothing/laundry in such a small space?
The best thing we did for the van was add a clothing rack for jackets and sweaters. They are so bulky in drawers! We each have one drawer for clothes and the headline shelf also holds clothes as well as our dirty clothes bag. Underneath the bed is our storage garage and that holds our lesser worn shoes.
Do you book places to stay in advance or more of a loose itinerary?
We absolutely do not book anything. We usually have a predetermined route and a list of activities to do at each place. This way, we have flexibility if we we decide we want to spend more or less time at a particular spot.
How do you find community while traveling?
This is not something we have prioritized to be honest, because we rarely stay in one place more than a few days. Finding other VanLife friends to do trips with is something we would love to eventually do one day.
How does the A/C and heat work in the van?
We do not have an air conditioner, but we do have a vented fan that keeps things very cool. The heater is connected to our diesel line and there is a thermostat so we can keep it turned up just like a house heater would be!
How do windows and insulation work?
The van is insulated with about 400 sq ft of havelock wool. It keeps us really toasting during the cold nights! We installed 3 additional windows, one on the sliding door and two on the back doors. They do get pretty cold but we have window covers for them!
What do you do for using the bathroom and showers?
We have an OGO composting toilet inside the bench! The "pee jug" has to be emptied about every 2 days and the "ahem" solids go into a lovely bed of coconut coir and only needs to be emptied every few weeks. The toilet is vented to the outside and temperature-controlled so that the composting will work. It was a very expensive toilet!
How does transitioning from driving to cooking and sleeping work?
This is actually one of the main reasons we decided to switch to a camper van from camping in our Rav4, because converting the bed every single night was so annoying. In the van we actually don't have to do anything! The biggest job is just putting the window covers on at night. Our routine is usually to swivel the passenger seat to the back, pull out the top drawer and add the extra counter space insert in, and then cook!
The best and hardest parts?
The hardest part is probably the feeling of having no clean clothes and needing to shower but being in the middle of nowhere!
The best part is getting to hang out with Kyle and Dolly 24/7 and explore the world together. It is truly such an incredible experience.
If you have any other VanLife questions don't hesitate to send me a DM or leave a comment below!
xoxo,
Melissa
Comments