7 Unexpected Truths I Found Through Full-Time Van Life
Living the van life can transform you in unexpected ways. For the past five years, I’ve been traveling as a nomad with my dog and cat, exploring 48 states in three different vehicles.
Van life can change you in ways you never thought possible. I’ve lived nomadically for the past five years with my pup and my cat, and have traveled in three different rigs while traversing 48 states.
I’ve explored over half of our National Parks and Forests and slept in some of the most serene hidden gems that exist in the US. I’ve always been considered handy and independent, but embracing full-time van life has sure brought some new lessons my way.
Here are some of my top takeaways.
1. Don’t Wait Until It’s Perfect
The perfect rig, the perfect time, the perfect travel partner—there are plenty of reasons to wait until you hit the open road, but I’ve learned that if you sit around waiting for someone to join you, life will pass you both by. Go enjoy it while you can, and let those who are meant to experience it with you find a way into your life organically. Simply making the memories will be more important than the little details you stress over along the way.
2. I Trust My Gut More Than Ever
No site or adventure is worth your safety. I have come into some gorgeous areas across my travels, but there have been times where my intuition is screaming at me from the second my wheels hit the dirt road into camp.
I never feel bad about turning back, and never question my own judgment.
I will never ignore my dog’s alerts or tells either; he knows what a secure camp is supposed to smell and look like and has let me know multiple times if something is off.
3. I Learned How to Find Peace
A lot of people are under the notion that you either have to stay in a parking lot, or pay for a crowded campground. I’m here to tell you that these free sites with luscious views, starry night skies, inviting rivers, and whispering trees are real and in every single state.
Learning which apps, research tools, and methods lead you to them will yield endless nights of fresh air, peace, and fond memories. I don’t pay for any of my camping, and spend probably 80% of our nights somewhere alone, down by the water, with no city lights to be seen.
A little pro tip: arrive at your campsite early in the week- not on weekends, and always early in the day. NEVER risk arriving near dusk. The local crowds and weekenders will beat you to the best spots nearly every time, and arriving late anywhere can put you and your belongings in danger in multiple ways.
If you want to learn more about finding safe and beautiful campsites, check out the Van Life Parking Playbook.
4. I Am Capable
Learning to trust my capabilities and limits has been a huge factor in making it this far into van life. Admittedly, I’m quite savvy with working on my own vehicles as I grew up with a mechanic for a father.
I’ve taken what he’s taught me, along with all the information and practice I’ve learned on older diesel engines so that I can do my own work on the road.
I always encourage others to learn their vehicle- fluid requirements, how to change a belt or tire, how to read voltage, and how to check fuses.
The same goes for using tools, understanding First Aid basics, and knowing how to navigate without Apple Maps in your face telling you where to turn. The more you prepare for tough situations, the better equipped you’ll be to handle something that may have otherwise made you want to throw in the towel.
With YouTube University and our other ever-increasing technological capabilities at our fingertips, the resources are there for those who want to learn.
5. I Am Not Alone
“Aren’t you scared to be doing this alone?” This is easily one of the top three questions I have received over the past five years. The answer is always nope- because I’m not alone!
Even if I weren’t comfortable with my own company and easily able to keep myself entertained, I have my pup, his cat, my intuition, and an entire community of van lifers and nomads that would give the shirt off their back or their last meal up for anyone without question.
If anything ever becomes too much, there isn’t just a huge online community to reach out to, but also a great chance that you are near someone that you either know, or is able to help get you to a safe place to park and find your feet.
With our homes being on wheels, we are never too far away, and always ready to help one another. Whether I need help getting back on the road, am looking to attend an event, or just looking for friends to caravan with, I know the nomadic community will always have my back.
6. I Figured Out My Travel Style
It can be hard to keep a sense of direction if you don’t have a physical job location that keeps you anchored in an area. I started out moving from place to place quickly, jam-packing every day with miles of hiking and hours of exploring.
It was wonderful, but boy, did it have us exhausted after a straight year of that.
Figuring out how to go where and at what time can be a bit of a doozy, and I found it helps to keep some goals to keep you on track.
Whether it be a bucket list trip, hiking the tallest peak or longest trail of each state, the desire to find the best Mexican restaurant in all of the U.S., a goal to find the most tucked away campsite in each passing town, or whatever else your heart may be seeking, don’t be afraid to travel with intention.
I constantly remind myself I’m moving at my pace, I’m not ahead of nor behind anyone, and I’m in no rush to enjoy life as it comes.
7. Being Kind is Key to Everything
You truly get back what you put in with this lifestyle. Unfortunately, there is a lot of negativity around vehicle dwellers right now and we have more of a stigma to reverse. Familiarizing yourself with and practicing Leave No Trace Principles is a great way to ensure our environment is ready to welcome us back for years to come.
Picking up trash at parking lots that allow you to stay overnight shows we aren’t the ones leaving it, and that we are grateful for a kind community.
Leaving campsites cleaner than we found them and learning/executing proper camp etiquette around other campers will encourage them to do the same. Be respectful, kind, and open-minded on this journey, and you will be rewarded tenfold.
See you Down the Road!
Van life is just another type of lifestyle, full of subcultures and different ways to make your own. While it doesn’t look the same for everyone and isn’t the most normal or easy way to live, it certainly has changed who I am for the better.
I owe the peace and tranquility I have found to living in less than 100 square feet. Even in such a tiny space, I always say we now have the biggest backyard to explore- full of endless lessons and memories that will continue molding me into a happy, barefoot, weird, nature-loving dirtbag for years to come.
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