13 Hidden Costs of Van Life That No One Talks About

Van life is painted as the ultimate dream. You get the freedom to live wherever you want, it simplifies your life, and (supposedly) cuts down on living expenses.

But, in reality, the hidden costs of van life can end up being the same as leasing an apartment! 

That doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. I’ve lived in vans since 2018, and I can assure you that it is worth every penny. 

It’s just not as cheap as people make it sound, and that part of the story doesn’t make it into the captions of those dreamy Instagram post captions. 

My goal is to shed some light on the biggest hidden costs of van life so you know exactly what to expect! I’ll also share some of my favorite tips and tools to avoid these expenses and live frugally on the road. 

Let’s get into it! 

1. Depreciation

Depreciation is one of the most overlooked costs of Van Life. 

Whether you’re converting your own van or buying a pre-built model, you’re likely putting $50,000-$100,000 into the entire van build – and the van certainly doesn’t GAIN value over time, so you’d be mistaken to think of it as an investment. 

The average cargo van depreciates by 5-15% every year. 

But the nature of van life expedites the wear and tear on your vehicle. Most people travel across the country, spend 12+ hours per day in the van, take it offroad into more remote areas, and operate the vehicle extremely close to its maximum payload at all times. 

This doesn’t come without a cost: the average depreciation of a converted van will be about 15-20% per year.

2. Campground and Park Fees 

This isn’t really a ‘hidden cost’ because you probably expect to spend at least some money on campsites.

However, it’s much more expensive than I ever expected, especially if you stay in more popular areas or inside U.S. National Parks. You also have to account for the cost of getting into national parks/state parks. 

On the California Coast, I’ve seen beach campsites go for upwards of $70-$80 per night! 

These expenses all add up VERY quickly.

There are some ways to help offset this part of our budget. One option is to use a platform like Harvest Hosts. 

With Harvest Hosts, you pay a one-time yearly fee (less than $100), allowing you to stay at awesome places like local farms, wineries, or even golf courses! 

Another option is boondocking. 

Boondocking is the practice of finding free camping (typically on federal land operated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It’s totally legal to park in these designated areas and camp for a few days, but there aren’t any facilities or traditional campgrounds, so you’re totally off-grid. 

We’ve also found success parking at rest stops, 24-hour Walmart parking lots, and even residential areas as long as there are no signs stating otherwise (a.k.a. stealth camping). 

3. Increased Maintenance

Living in your van means constantly putting wear and tear on the vehicle, and that means more frequent maintenance and repairs. 

Of course, there’s standard vehicle maintenance, like oil changes and tire rotation. But you’ll also have to replace your brakes, tires, battery, and suspension components more often when your van is both your home and your vehicle. 

These aren’t negotiable expenses, either. 

Putting off routine maintenance will come back to bite you down the road and cost even more in repairs. It’s always better to replace something too early rather than too late. 

However, I should note this will be less of a thing if you’re buying a brand-new van.

Our Sprinter Van is only a couple of years old, and we spend just $200-$300 annually on maintenance for things like oil for oil changes and air filters. I’m also very fortunate because Tom (my partner) is a mechanic and can fix almost anything that goes wrong with our van. 

4. Living Expenses While the Vehicle is Under Maintenance

Paying for maintenance and repairs might be one of the most expensive parts of Van Life, and not just because of the cost of parts and labor. 

If your van breaks down, there’s a good chance you’re very far from home (and any major city), meaning you’ll have limited options for a mechanic. The chance of them having the parts you need on hand is also slim. 

This is especially difficult while living in your van full-time since you’ll have to find (and pay for) a place to stay while you wait for them to repair your vehicle. 

If you have a Mercedes in the U.S., getting the proper parts in stock can take days or even weeks. Then, you’ll likely pay a premium for the service. I was just skimming through Reddit and saw someone in this situation was forced to pay $14,000 to fix their transmission. 

If they’d had time to shop around for a mechanic, I’m 100% sure they could have done it for half the cost!  

5. Fuel

Fuel is another huge cost of Van Life. I’ve often heard people joke that any money you save on rent goes straight to paying for gas. I’d argue it’s not quite as much (depending on where you live), but it’s certainly more than the average person spends on fuel. 

Typically, filling up my Sprinter van costs me $100-$130, and we move around quite a bit. 

During summer, we’re driving somewhere new almost every day to visit family or find a new hike, lookout, or windsurfing spot. We typically have to fill up our tank 1-2 times per week, totaling between $400-$800 per month. 

It also depends on where you are and what kind of coveted van you’re using. Sprinter Vans uses diesel, which I saw hit $6.00/gallon last summer in California! 

If you’re looking for a way to save a few bucks on gas, try Upside or Gas Buddy.

Upside is an app that lets you earn cashback at certain grocery stores, gas stations, and restaurants. I’ve gotten about $50 back this year just from using this app!

Gas Buddy is slightly different, and you’ve probably heard of it. It’s an app that shows you the cheapest gas station near you at any given time.

6. Laundry

Laundry on the road is way more expensive than at home. Most of the time, you’ll use local laundromats, but I’ve also found laundry facilities at RV parks, campgrounds, and truck stops.

The cost varies, but assuming you need to do laundry once a week, you can expect to spend $10-$40 monthly on laundry services and detergent.

We love the Scrubba wash bag to do laundry on the road.

7. Eating Out More Often

Food is another part of your budget that depends on your eating habits. 

Most campervans have a small kitchen pod, but to be completely honest, it’s not the most comfortable place to cook. It’s cramped, requires clean-up afterward, and makes your van smell like food in the winter.

This makes it tempting to start eating out just for convenience, and you can eat away at a huge portion of your monthly budget if you aren’t careful!

Buying your own groceries will always be cheaper, even if you’re like me and want to buy organic produce, love craft beer, and enjoy trying new recipes. 

One of my favorite ways to save money on groceries and take the guesswork out of it is with this $5 Meal Plan. 

It’s a subscription for just $5/month and gives you a complete, affordable meal plan for every single day and a printable grocery list. This makes it much easier to shop and cook on a budget without stressing over figuring out all the details yourself. 

Anytime I’m signed up and using Erin’s meal plan service, I’m way less likely to eat out.

8. Vehicle Insurance

Car insurance is more expensive if you have a converted van. Its value increases exponentially, and most people want to cover their belongings inside your van in addition to the vehicle itself.

Insurance companies also don’t like to cover DIY conversions. I actually got dropped from Geico the minute they found out I’d upgraded a few of the features inside and raised its value. This was a complete surprise, and I had no clue what to do. 

I frantically started calling insurance agents until I finally found a policy that covered me… for a whopping $329/month! I don’t know about you, but that’s significantly more than I’ve ever paid for car insurance.

But recently, I stumbled upon Roamly, which covers converted vans for about $50/month. 

I do have a $1,000 deductible, which isn’t ideal, but my policy covers any damage to the contents outside AND inside my van. 

9. Health Insurance

Another question I get all the time is about health insurance. It’s hard enough to get quality health insurance when you’re self-employed, and the ACA Marketplace isn’t helpful for people who are constantly crossing state lines. 

So, I actually get healthcare through Zion Healthshare ($165/month). 

It’s important for me to disclose what is NOT health insurance to you. It’s a ‘healthshare,’ and a lot of people aren’t comfortable with that, but since I don’t go to the doctor ALL the time, I just want something there as a safety net in case of an emergency. You can read more about it here. 

10. Amenities

Living in a van means taking care of almost all the typical amenities you’d have in a house but scaled down to a van. 

This includes heating, cooling, electric, propane tanks, and clean water, which all require their own maintenance.

The constant bumps and swaying from side to side are like a mini earthquake inside your van, so these systems also wear down and have issues faster than normal. 

So, you should set aside an emergency fund for whenever these systems inevitably have issues or need maintenance.

11. Connectivity

Data plans and wifi are a little bit more expensive without a traditional ethernet cable hookup. 

Many people living in their van full-time have switched to Starlink (roughly $150 per month), but if you need a slightly cheaper option, you could always get a hotspot from your cell phone provider. 

For example, the Verizon Jetpack (one of the most popular hotspots) runs about $40-$80 monthly. 

12. Storage Unit

Unless you plan to sell everything you own, you’ll have to find somewhere to put all your stuff while on the road. 

I’ve met people lucky enough to have a family with enough space to house their belongings, but most people have to rent their own storage unit. 

These run about $80-$100/month for something large enough to fit a two-bedroom apartment or small house, but if you have a second vehicle, it will cost even more. 

For example, I still have my first build – a Chevy Astro – so I need an ‘RV storage unit,’ which runs me closer to $140/month. 

13. Mailing

The last hidden cost is something 90% of people don’t think about until they actually get on the road – mail and deliveries. 

It’s a little easier these days since you can schedule to pick up your package in-store or at an Amazon Locker.

But for traditional mail, you’ll need to reserve a USPS P.O. Box. 

It’s not that expensive ($4.83-$24.00), but it’s still one of the hidden costs I didn’t think of before setting off in my van years ago! 

Check out our post on How to Get Mail on the Road.

How to Safeguard Against Hidden Costs

Obviously, we can’t predict the future, but there are some specific ways to put safeguards in place to better handle the hidden expenses of Van Life!

Have an Emergency Fund

The best way to safeguard against unexpected expenses is to set up an emergency fund from the beginning.

Something WILL go wrong, and you should be prepared for the unexpected. 

This doesn’t mean just having access to credit. Before starting your van life journey, you should have enough to set aside so that a $500-$1,000 surprise won’t force you into credit card debt.

$1000 is an excellent place to start, but I’d even encourage you to work up to an emergency fund of $3,000-$5,000 so that you can cover something as serious as a new suspension system, your transmission going out, or losing your primary source of income. 

Have Solid Roadside Assistance (AAA)

Another hidden cost I didn’t mention before is towing fees. I didn’t include it in the list above because everyone I know who has a converted van also has roadside assistance. 

The American Automobile Association (AAA) is the most popular roadside assistance company covering towing expenses, lockouts, and tire changes.

But another option (if you’re planning to go off-grid often) is Good Sam Roadside Assistance, which covers RVs and other Class B cargo vans. They also have a better network of service providers, whereas AAA can be limited to more remote areas. 

Get some DIY Knowledge

Having extensive DIY knowledge while living in a converted van is incredibly beneficial. 

Understanding how your plumbing, drains, electrical systems, and appliances work and how they are installed and routed can save you both time and money when things go wrong. You should also keep general tools stored inside your van for these instances.

If you’re the one who did a DIY conversion from the start, you’ll learn enough throughout the process that you can do most repairs on your own.

But if not, watch a few complete van builds on YouTube to become familiar with how things are installed, routed, and integrated.

This also applies to the vehicle itself. For simple repairs (brakes, oil change, tire rotation, dead battery, etc.), you can buy the parts yourself and fix the issue in less than 30 minutes! 

Know the Real Costs of Van Life

Van Life offers incredible freedom and adventure, but it’s essential to be aware of the hidden costs that come with this lifestyle. It’s not always as cheap as it’s made out to be. 

The total monthly expenses will vary greatly from person to person, and while it’s possible to spend less than $1,000 per month, that requires significant effort, planning, and compromise. 

Zero Cost Van Life is also a new(er) thing that’s great for people on a tight budget! 

But I would say a realistic estimate of your monthly expenses will be $1,500-$4,000, so make sure to budget enough for your living expenses AND navigating any unexpected bills!

MORE ARTICLES TO READ:

• Want to Live Zero Cost Van Life? Here’s How
• Can You Budget for RV Life? 10 Costs to Consider
• 11 RV Maintenance Blunders That Can Lead to Big Problems