ecuador ocean kelli van How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
| |

How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps

Please note that some links on our site are affiliate links. If you choose to purchase through these links, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Refer to our Privacy Page for more information.

How to Start Van Life in 10 Steps

  1. Give it a Whirl: Try before you buy
  2. Create a Van Life Budget: Work out how much van life will cost you
  3. Choose & Buy a Van: Decide on the vehicle that’s right for your adventure
  4. Design and Build Your Van: Consider carefully how to use your space
  5. Equip Your Van: Create your essential van life packing list
  6. Understand Van Life Safety & Security: What are the risks and how can you mitigate them
  7. Adjust to Van Life Cooking: Get used to cooking in the confines of a van
  8. Get Comfy Sleeping in a Van: Feel at ease in your home on wheels
  9. Get Used to Working from a Van: Discover how to work effectively from the road
  10. Embrace the Van Lifestyle: Stay happy and healthy and develop good routines in the van
  11. Bonus Step Van Life Abroad: Research and plan for van life in a foreign country

Dreaming of Van Life?

Are you thinking of chucking in your nine-to-five for a life on the road? Have you spent hours ogling over #vanlife photos on Instagram and feeling inspired to take the plunge? Are you unsure exactly how to start van life? Well, you have come to the right place.

We have traveled by van through nine countries and across three continents over three years. Our first van life adventure saw us driving the length of South America (and back again). We purchased a tiny converted van in Santiago de Chile and set off into the unknown. Within the first few weeks, we experienced some of our most challenging travel moments, but we also experienced some of our most exciting and liberating moments. We were hooked. We made the decision then and there to see how far we could take this van life, and three years later we are still hooked.

Since then, we have purchased and built two different vans (without a single bit of experience). We aren’t carpenters and we weren’t particularly handy. We didn’t (and still don’t) have an unlimited budget, far from it. Yet, we have built two homes on wheels that we can proudly say we designed and built ourselves. We have lived the vanlife on three separate continents. And if we can, you too can embark on this incredible self-guided adventure too.

We are here to help you start out on your own van life adventure with our beginner’s guide to van life.

The Vanabonds Road Map to Van Life How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps

Check out our new ebook

The Vanabonds Road Map to Van Life – a 140-page resource to help you start living your best van life

How To Start Van Life: A Complete Van Life Guide

The reasons for people to start van life are incredibly varied. For some, it is a purely economic decision. For others it represents a choice toward a more minimalist lifestyle, reducing the amount of stuff in our lives and giving a new sense of freedom. For many, like ourselves, it offers an opportunity to travel in a different way. A slower and more deliberate approach to travel, providing a new way to reach and experience destinations and cultures in a meaningful way. But embarking on such a radical lifestyle change requires some serious thought and planning. This step-by-step guide to starting van life will help inform that process.

Planning Your Van Life

Preparation in life is key and planning for your own van life adventure is no exception.

Step 1: Give It a Whirl

There is a saying within the van life community, that the best vehicle for van life is the one you have. This adage is true to an extent in the beginning. You should use the vehicle you have or can borrow to do some practice road trips and discover if this lifestyle is something you really want to pursue. 

Van life is amazing but it simply is not for everyone. Give it a test run to see if this lifestyle is something that you think you could enjoy.

Do you enjoy long days of driving? Be it, alone, with your significant other, or the whole family?

Will you rise to the challenge of finding a camp in the middle of a busy city? Of dealing with breakdowns far from civilization?

Can you handle shakedowns from unscrupulous police and desperate locals in developing countries? Perhaps a language barrier on top of everything else?

These are things you should be sure you relish or can at least tolerate before embarking on this sort of adventure. However, once the time comes to graduate to living out of a van for any significant period of time it’s time to start thinking about what vehicle is best suited to your purpose.

10844 735596 How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps10844 How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps

Step 2: Create a Van Life Budget

If you are considering van life then you probably want to know a little bit about the numbers. In fact, not having enough information about the cost of van life may be one of the things holding you back.

While we can’t tell you exactly how much your idea of van life is going to cost, we can tell you how to work it out.

Van life can certainly be cheaper than more stationary lifestyles. But, you will need to be disciplined or costs can easily blow out. One way to help manage your finances on the road is to maintain a budget.

Like anything else, your van life budget will be completely dependent upon your own financial situation and personal aspirations for van life.

A van life budget should include three major costs, start-up costs, recurring annual costs, and costs of living.

Start-Up Costs

Nowadays, vans and van builds are wildly variable and can range anywhere from $5,000 to $250,000+ at either extreme.

More likely your start-up costs will come in between $10,000 and $100,000 depending on your financial situation and specific needs and wants in a vehicle.

It doesn’t matter if you do not have a large budget to start vanlife with, you can enjoy all of the great things about Van Life even on a tiny budget.

Screenshot 2023 08 25 at 5.43.21 pm How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps

Recurring Annual Costs

The next costs you are going to want to plug into your spreadsheet are your recurring annual costs. These are costs that will crop up each year.

Adopting van life often comes with a reduction in many costs like housing and accommodation, but may include some new costs you hadn’t accounted for.

Some examples of annual costs associated with van life are camper van insurance, vehicle registration, and maintenance costs.

Here is a list of common recurring annual costs. It is by no means exhaustive but it gives you an idea of the kinds of costs to consider.

  • Health insurance
  • Travel Insurance
  • Vehicle insurance
  • Vehicle registration (depending on your location)
  • Vehicle maintenance
  • Storage
  • Travel costs (flights, shipping costs etc)
  • Clothes
  • Business expenses
  • Savings/investment/retirement
  • Emergency Fund

Cost of Living

The final cost that you will need to consider is your day-to-day costs of living.

Like the other expenses, cost of living can vary wildly from person to person and is largely dependent upon how much money you have coming in or how much you have already saved.

Maybe you already keep a budget or maybe budgeting is completely new for you and you don’t even know where to start. Heck, how do you even create a budget for how much it is going to cost you to live especially in a different way than you are familiar with?

Knowing where you will be traveling seems obvious but it is an important step in budgeting as living costs vary significantly from place to place.

You can make your pennies stretch a lot further in Peru than you can in Northern Europe.

How much money you have to spend and how you want to spend it is a personal choice, but knowing where you are going is the first step to creating a solid and realistic budget that will help you anticipate how much money you will need for your van life adventure and allow you to plan accordingly.

Research the cost of Living in the area you plan to live or travel. Find out costs for:

  • Groceries
  • Eating out
  • Entertainment / Activities
  • Fuel
  • Mobile / Internet
  • Other / Miscellaneous

Take an honest account of your spending habits, and extrapolate these to life on the road, will give you the basis for your budget and is not something that you can glean from external resources.

Set aside discretionary money for things that you want to see and do that do not fall into your normal day-to-day costs of living.

Things like local tours or activities or blowing out the budget for special occasions like birthdays.

Now you have all the tools to make a budget. You have already worked out how much you need for start-up costs and recurring costs and have done the research to determine your cost of living costs.

After establishing what you think you will spend, take another look at the budget and trim the fat. In our initial budget, we typically allocate far too much money (money that we do not have) to some categories.

Step 3: Choose and Buy a Van

Van life chile in the Atacama Desert
Van Campsite in Colorado How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
Kelli camping outside karijini How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps

Van life can come in many different shapes and sizes. In South America, we traveled in a tiny Suzuki APV. In the United States and Mexico, we traveled by Chevy Express. And, in Australia, we travel with a 4wd Landcruiser Troopcarrier allowing us access to remote locations with our off-roading capabilities.

Consider Where You Will Be Traveling

Finding a rig best suited for where you will be traveling is important.

Are you planning on spending time in the mountains? You probably need something with a bit of power. We watched a couple in their classic kombi try for 30 minutes to drive their van up the Andes one day, unloading people and baggage until the car could chug its way up to the steep slopes.

Will you be spending a lot of time in cities where you will need to stealth camp? If so, you will want to get something less conspicuous to help you fly under the radar.

Will you want to camp on the beach? Or perhaps you plan to travel to far-flung destinations via off-road tracks and dirt roads. In this case, you will probably want a 4WD.

Consider How Much Space You Will Need

Space is limited in a home on wheels but it can be vastly different depending on which vehicle you choose.

If you are an avid mountain biker, climber, surfer, fly fisherman, or snowboarder you need to consider the space you’ll need to cart your gear around. And you will likely need to consider something bigger than your standard van.

Perhaps you work remotely and need a serious indoor computer setup.

Or maybe you will be headed somewhere cold and will need a propane heater which will require a bit more space.

All of these things should be considered before heading out to find the perfect van.

By taking your personal requirements into consideration you can better hone in on the perfect vehicle and choose the vehicle that is best suited for how you plan to travel and live.

Here are the common options that you can choose from.

Converted Van

The converted van is probably the first vehicle most people think of when they imagine this sort of travel. It is one of the most popular types of overland travel for those living on the road for extended periods of time.

A converted van is a passenger or cargo van that has been adapted for the purposes of travel and camping. It should have at a minimum a bed. The conveniences you can add to a van are only limited by your imagination and budget.

With the rise of van life and van dwelling movements, companies specializing in van conversion equipment and aftermarket van fit-outs have rapidly expanded. Vans range from the tiny but fashionable Kombi to the massive Mercedes Sprinter and everything in between. Converted vans can suit the most minimalist of individuals, from extreme sports enthusiasts, loaded up with equipment to families traveling with children.

Mechanical adjustments such as raising the vehicle for extra clearance or other upgrades such as all-terrain tires can be used to improve the off-road capabilities of a van. It is even possible to find four-wheel-drive vans or convert a two-wheel-drive van to four-wheel drive with an aftermarket kit.

The upsides of a van (especially one that hasn’t been too conspicuously converted) are that it allows a lot more freedom when it comes to camping in public. Without a rooftop tent or the bulky size of a camper truck, it is possible to camp in many more places. Be it shopping centers, gas stations, parks, and streets, a converted van allows you to go more places in developed regions. If you plan to balance your time between more remote destinations and visiting and exploring new cities, this may be the way to go.

The downside of the converted van is that it can’t go as many places as a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Trust us we know from experience. I have managed to bog our two-wheel-drive vans everywhere we’ve been.

If you do settle on a van, be aware that not all vans are created equal. Know exactly what you need and want from a van (in that order) and understand what each type and style of van can offer. Have a look at this article comparing the driving experience of a modern van vs a classic VW to get an idea of some of the nuances that you may not have even considered while perusing the classifieds.

Four Wheel Drive Vehicle
What is vanlife? Some consider 4wdriving and overlanding to one and the same, I disagree.
Our most recent vehicle, a Landcruiser, allows us to get off the beaten path

Best for people who will spend most of their time outside of cities and in less populated areas. Areas with space, national parks, and or fewer regulations regarding public camping. Think Australia, Africa, and Central Asia.

The benefit of this style of vehicle is that it allows you to more comfortably navigate backcountry roads of less developed areas of the world from outback Australia to the plains of Africa. It also gives you access to off-road locations, allowing you to travel further from civilization than a standard two-wheel-drive car would.

The main downside of this style of vehicle is it limits your ability to overland closer to civilization. Local police and government seldom allow people to set up a rooftop tent in the middle of a town or city. If you plan to spend time in cities, towns, or generally in populated places, this vehicle may not be suitable or travel will have to be supplemented with other accommodation.

Converted Truck / Expedition Vehicle

From light trucks like Ford’s F150 with a pre-fabricated camper attachment to six-wheelers with custom-designed tiny homes mounted to the back. These ‘expedition vehicles’ are designed to offer space, and comfort as well as off-road and off-grid capability.

A serious overlanding truck
Expedition Vehicle. Image courtesy of Klaus Nahr

The obvious downsides are that you are much less inconspicuous. The vehicle cost, especially at the high end, can be prohibitively expensive. Fuel and maintenance costs can also be incredibly high. Finally, the number of places you can travel may be impacted by the size of the vehicle.

Converted Bus or Skoolie

Maximum style, comfort, and size, but expensive and not particularly practical.

A converted bus has a large living space, such that you can comfortably live in it without ever having to check into accommodation. They can accommodate showers, toilets, ovens, couches, and various other comforts that may not fit in other vehicles.

Bonus style points if your bus is an ex-school bus. The most fashionable type of bus for any Van Lifer, the ‘skoolie’ is the holy grail for the Instagram arm of the van life movement.

Downsides include the cost of the vehicle. Costs of fuel. Cost and difficulty of maintenance and upkeep. A large bus will also hamper where you can go. Not designed for off-road use you won’t be able to get everywhere four-wheel drives or vans can. Moreover, a bus is conspicuous limiting your ability to stealth camp in populated areas without tipping off local police and rangers.

Don’t Forget to Make Sure Your Vehicle is Mechanically Sound

Ideally, you should get a pre-purchase inspection before you buy the vehicle of your dreams.

If not, head to the nearest and most trusted mechanic to give you a rundown of what you just purchased before you put in the effort to convert a vehicle into your home on wheels.

You would hate to put in all the effort of a DIY conversion only to find out your vehicle isn’t going to make it past the end of the driveway.

It is also a good idea to create a list of known weak points for your specific vehicle and to collect the necessary spare parts to travel with. Ask your mechanic or research your vehicle online. This simple tip can help save money and time down the road when you find yourself far from specialist mechanics.

Step 4: Design Your Van

Choosing a van is only the beginning of the many choices that you will make along the way. For many of us, designing a van is part of the fun of van life. Deciding on the layout is something you will think and rethink over and over again. We have completed two van conversions and after each time we walk away wishing we would have done some things a little bit differently.

If you plan to buy a van that has already been converted, you need to think about what type of conversion and layout will best suit your needs and budget.

Ultimately, your van build is entirely up to you. Vanlife can be as bare-bones as you can tolerate or as luxurious as your budget allows.

You will need to continue to carefully consider what you need in your van and what you could live without.

Once you have decided on the basic layout and design of your van the next step is to decide whether you will convert the van by yourself or use a van conversion company

If you decide to go it alone, the next step is to start planning what materials and tools you will need to complete the job. We completed our first build with only a handful of basic tools including a drill, jigsaw, wrench, hammer, and a screwdriver.

So, let’s jump right into the basics that you will definitely need to consider in your outfit.

Things to Consider While Choosing Your Van Conversion

Space is Finite
finished van inside How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
Space comes at a premium in a tiny van

No matter what vehicle you choose one thing is for sure, space comes at a premium in a van or any other overlanding vehicle. Designing a layout is personal and should be specific to you and your proposed trip. The most important aspect of the design is planning carefully for the style of travel you anticipate and your specific needs while traveling.

A fold-up bed that turns into a dining table sounds great, but be honest with yourself are you going to put that up and down every day or will you end up just eating in the bed?

Do you need to work on the road? How will you design your vehicle around this requirement?

How much will you cook? Will you spend the majority of your time inside or outside the van?

Think long and hard about how you see a normal day unfolding for you while you travel and plan accordingly. Even better, get out and do a couple of trial trips and figure out the way you are likely to use a van most of the time. The key is to make the most and best use of the finite space.

Create a list of needs, wants, and could do withouts, and then start creating a floorplan based on your requirements. Chances are if you are imagining it, someone has done it and shared pictures on Instagram or another social network like Facebook or Reddit. Join online van life communities for further design inspiration and information and ask members about how they achieved their perfect set-ups.

Electrical Set-ups Are Critical and Complex

Having electricity is not a requirement per se. However, for serious long-term travel, off-grid electricity can make the journey significantly more comfortable and viable, especially if you plan to work on the road.

Low-cost setups require little more than hooking up an extra battery to your car’s alternator that will power low consumption devices like LED lights and recharge portable devices. More complex electrical setups include multiple batteries that can be recharged by an alternator, main’s power, and roof-mounted solar panels.

Alternatively, generators can be a simple energy solution with low cost to set up, however, generators can often be noisy, smelly, and require fuel to keep them going.

In our opinion, a solar setup is the best way to make sure you can keep all of your gadgets charged while on the road.

To give some perspective we spent $2,000 USD on our solar and battery set-up which can provide enough power to run a small fridge, extraction fan, lights, interior fans, and a small inverter to charge laptops whether we are driving or not, (as long as we get some sun each day).

We aren’t electricians by any means, so if we can do it then so can you. Check out our step-by-step DIY van conversion article for more information on our electrical van build.

You Can’t Survive Without a Water Supply

Purifying and storing water is important for any self-sufficient journey that will take place away from a public water supply or in regions where the water supply is tainted.

Water purification options include

  • Boiling water – time-consuming and it burns fuel,
  • Using purification chemicals – an ongoing expense and organizational chore
  • Filtering water – time-consuming

In our opinion, the one-time purchase of a portable filtration system is the best option. Depending on how you design your van, these can be part of the kitchen outfitting or can be something more portable.

A filter is great for overlanding remote places
Platypus Gravity Work Water Filter

We use a Platypus GravityWorks Filter. As the name suggests it uses gravity, which means no water pressure is required. It takes five minutes to filter four liters of water. The filter and bags roll up to the size of a pencil case. This filter costs around $100 USD, which pays for itself quite quickly if you are buying pure water or using purification tablets or chemicals.

There is a range of water storage options available from permanent onboard tanks that connect to onboard sinks and showers to simple plastic water containers from the hardware store.

Currently, we use an Ironman 60 liter / 15-gallon onboard water tank to store purified water for drinking. We use a large twenty-four-liter jug to collect unpurified water for washing or purifying.

Insulation Matters

We spent a month in the north of Colombia in a small cargo van without windows or an extraction fan. It was here we learned the true meaning of sweltering heat.

Unless you plan on going somewhere that is the perfect temperature all year round, you will probably need some way to help maintain a comfortable temperature in the van.

It is important to prepare for the climate or climates you plan to travel in. There are plenty of modifications you can make to your vehicle that will make it if not comfortable then livable from sub-zero temperatures through to the heat of the tropics.

Diesel heaters, air-conditioning, extraction fans, custom windows to promote airflow, and insulation are some of the things you can implement to prepare your vehicle for different climates.

In our first van build, we use an extraction van, two onboard 12 volt fans, and screened windows to help keep cool in Mexico. Our van is also insulated and we make use of window coverings.

Our current vehicle relies on 12-volt fans, a pop-top with plenty of ventilation to stay cool in the heat of Australia, and window coverings, and insulation to help keep some of the chills out in the cooler months.

Our preparation has meant we have been able to work inside the van even on the hottest days and we can always get a comfortable night’s sleep.

Learn the lesson we did in Colombia without sweating through it. Prepare your vehicle adequately for the climate you will explore.

Design for Safety and Security

Van life security comes with planning and preparation. How you design and equip your van can have a major impact on the level of security. By focusing on van life security during the design phase you help create a safe, secure environment and give yourself peace of mind in your van.

If safety and security are a top priority choose modern secure van models and features that deter theft and break-ins. Modern vans have a range of effective security features. Additionally, many van designs, specifically cargo vans, have limited points of entry which can be more secure and less conspicuous.

Many newer vans come with security systems, but these can also be added after market. When choosing and designing your van, consider alarm systems, GPS tracking devices, and immobilizers to enhance security.

Toilets and Showers for Van Life

Many large vans, buses, and truck conversions are equipped with onboard toilets and even showers. For many, it’s a non-negotiable. For motorcyclists and people using smaller vans or four-wheel-drive vehicles, tiny portable toilets, a plastic container, or simply ‘the woods’ fill the gap between public toilets and showers.

Three vans later, we still don’t have an onboard van life toilet, and it doesn’t often bother us (although there have been some scenarios involving suspect street food that have been deeply inconvenient).

If you can’t afford a loo or if you just simply do not have the space, toilets at gas stations, restaurants, shopping centers, and parks are the best places to head. If you plan to travel primarily in your home country, having a gym membership is a great alternative for staying clean and fit while on the road. If you are using nature, remember to keep it clean. No one wants to see your old shit tickets in the nearby bushes at epic campsites. It really ruins it for yourself and the next visitor.

In emergencies, we recommend having a plastic water bottle onboard, which can be used in a pinch when going outside isn’t feasible or if a toilet is nowhere in sight.

Overlanding is washing when you can.
What is vanlife? Bath time in nearby creeks and rivers!

Likewise, we have not ever had a permanent shower onboard. We have traveled with a portable outdoor shower. But for the most part, we bathe in the ocean, rivers, and waterfalls that we love to visit.

Occasionally we shower at truckstops (depending on which part of the world we are), or we shower when we check into accommodation every now and then.

In the past, we have used baby wipes to stay fresh in between these bathing opportunities, but in an effort to move toward less waste, we don’t buy them anymore, opting to use the portable shower more instead.

Your Van Life Kitchen

Part of being self-sufficient is being able to go places where there aren’t any restaurants or supermarkets. To this end, you will need to be able to store food with you and have some way of cooking it.

Overlanding means cooking for yourself

From a basic butane camp stove to a full-size oven and kitchen setup, only imagination, space, and budget will limit you in what kitchen setup you take on the road.

We find a two-burner gas stove and cast iron pans our most essential cooking tools along with a couple of pots and a handful of utensils and of course a 12-v compression fridge. There are also small luxury items that can really elevate your vehicle’s kitchen and make life on the road feel a little more like home.

3 Van Life Kitchen Essentials We Can’t Live Without
No products found.No products found.
No products found.No products found.

Click here to find out what other kitchen items made it on our list of the van life kitchen essentials!

Don’t Forget About Your Outdoor Patio

One of the first things you will realize about living on the road is that the outdoors becomes an extension of your home. One of the best things about van life is that you get to explore some pretty incredible natural wonders and camp in some pretty epic locations. Make sure your van is equipped to take advantage of the incredible places you will visit.

So, how do you set up your outdoor patio?

Overlooking our campsite in Monterrey. Overlanding Mexico.

First, we recommend buying a quality awning. A quality awning that is easy to set up and pack down will help you make the most of your time outdoors. We highly recommend awnings manufactured by ARB, as we have found these to be durable and easy to set up and dismantle.

If you don’t plan on using a roof rack to attach your awning, check out our guide on how to attach an awning without roof racks. If you are permanently attaching an awning to your vehicle, this should be one of the first jobs you do, as electrics, insulation, interior cladding, and furniture installation will all make this job more difficult down the line.

Other things that you may want to purchase to make sure your outdoor patio is perfect for those cool, starry nights or warm coastal mornings are

These few basic additions can make your tiny, livable space seem a whole lot bigger.

Step 5: Equip your Van

For many the move toward van life is driven by an intent to live a more minimalist lifestyle, for others, this will be a beneficial by-product. But before you go ahead and sell all your worldly possessions, there are going to be some key items that will elevate your van life experience.

Deciding on what to take, however, will be challenging. We have lived in three vans, all of varying sizes, but every time, we always seem to have to decide what will make the cut and what will be left behind.

From bedding to clothing and portable projectors to fishing rods, you will manage to fill each and every free space with something, thinking that you will need it along the way.

Here are a few of the items that you may not expect to need but you will absolutely want to bring along on any extended van life trip.

No products found.No products found.
No products found.No products found.
No products found.No products found.

Prepare for the Worst, Hope for the Best

Sometimes shit happens. Making sure you are prepared on board will go a long way to keeping you and your home on wheels safe. Before you set out on any van life adventure, you should make sure you are well prepared with a few simple and basic safety items.

Fire Extinguisher

A fire extinguisher is a good thing to have on in any vehicle and is actually mandated in many countries, some of which will routinely inspect it.

It is essential if you are living in your car, and most importantly, living in your car with cooking and electrical components.

No products found.No products found.

Breakdown Kit

Again, a legal requirement in many countries around the world, a breakdown kit with hazard signs and a high visibility vest are sensible things to carry. This is especially true when traveling on narrow backcountry roads with blind corners and no shoulders.

No products found.No products found.

Recovery Kit

A recovery kit comes with equipment to pull your car free should it become stuck or bogged. Recovery equipment is essential if traveling off-road but also recommended if you are taking your car into regions with poor road quality, camping in national parks, or wild camping with your vehicle.

Recovery kits should include a small shovel, snatch straps, a winch, and shackles.

No products found.No products found.
Pablo Bogged How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
We managed to get our little Suzuki APV van stuck several times refusing to admit it wasn’t a 4WD

Tools

What is van life without some basic tools? Life on the road means sometimes things rattle, shake or jostle themselves out of place. Any overlander, van lifer, or van dweller should travel with a basic tool kit to help you deal with minor repairs to your vehicle and home.

At a minimum, we recommend:

Other good van life tool ideas include:

Tire Repair Kit

A tire repair kit and tire pump is a cheap and simple solution to get you going again if you puncture a couple of tires far from a garage or mechanic.

Man changing tire
Two punctured tires far from a mecanico, near Santa Theresa, along the alternative route to Machu Picchu

Safes and Lock Boxes

Traveling with all your belongings in a foreign country, you should take extra precautions to secure your valuables. A safe or lockbox in a hidden location in the vehicle is an easy solution to keeping your expensive and most important belongings safe on the road.

Fake Wallet

We always travel with our essential documents, cash cards, and wallets stashed and only photocopies of our required documents and a fake wallet with older canceled cards and a small amount of cash with us in the glove box. The original motivation for this was in case we were ever held up by criminals demanding money.

While this hasn’t happened, we have been pulled over and shaken down for a bribe countless times by the police. While we generally try to avoid paying anything in this scenario, if we do decide that paying is the best option, only having a small amount of cash in our fake wallet helps.

Personal Locator Beacon

A Personal Locator Beacon is an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon. It is an emergency distress beacon monitored by search and rescue worldwide. It pinpoints your location and alerts authorities using a global constellation of satellites.

A PLB is cheap and offers peace of mind if you plan to venture away from civilization for any period of time. Rescue response procedures and rescue times vary depending on the group monitoring the channel in the area you are traveling in, and you should research the use of PLBs in your destination before you set off.

No products found.No products found.

Car Key Safe

We have a spare key in a small car key safe magnetically attached to the underside of the car. We have only had to use it a handful of times, but it has paid for itself many times over not having to organize a locksmith to come out to the middle of nowhere to retrieve keys in the event we lock them inside the car.

No products found.No products found.

First Aid Kit

We keep:

  • Spare needles (some developing countries do not have sterilized needles)
  • Bandaids
  • Imodium
  • Bandages
  • Anti-Itch Cream
  • Benadryl
  • Epipens
  • Rubbing Alcohol
  • Neosporin
  • Panadol

Download the Right Travel Apps

Surely, one of an explorer’s most essential pieces of equipment is a map. Today’s maps fit neatly in the palm of your hand, cover the entire globe, and are hooked into GPS and the internet to provide far more information than location and topography.

While some of the maps, apps, and equipment you need for your vanlife adventure will be dependent on your destination, vehicle type, and travel style, there are two key maps that no overlander should leave home without.

iOverlander

This mapping app was founded in 2014 and has since become the number one free tool for van lifers and overlanders traveling locally or far from home.

Like the original vagabonds that used to carve symbols onto doorways to convey information and warnings to other travelers in their community iOverlander is a way to leave a trail for your fellow van lifers. Using this app, a global community of travelers submits coordinates and details to this map-based database of overlanding locations.

Categories include wild campsites, water, petrol, checkpoints, warnings, accommodation, restaurants, and many more. Users leave a description and rating of each location to let those who come after them know exactly what to expect. Users can also update existing entries so that information stays up to date. As the project continues to grow so too does the usefulness of this fantastic tool.

iOverlander How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps

iOverlander is an incredibly useful community-based project that takes a lot of the guesswork and uncertainty out of overland travel.

WikiCamps

WikiCamps is a paid product similar to iOverlander, a map that relies on user contributions to provide information on campsites and other resources.

WikiCamps is available in five countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. There is a separate app for each country. Each app costs a one-time payment of between $1 and $8.

We have used it in Australia, where it has been an invaluable resource for discovering the best campsites and other resources. In Australia, iOverlander is virtually unused, so WikiCamps is our go-to map. The one-time payment of $8 AUD has been well worth it!

Maps.me

It allows you to download compressed map files of various regions to make a map of the areas you will be traveling for as long as you are offline. The functionality offline is also increased including, among other functionality, offline routing and navigation.

Maps.me offers offline functionality and community input above and beyond Google Maps.

It also draws data from OpenStreetMap, a community-based map that runs on user submissions like Wikipedia. This can provide another layer of insight and information unavailable on other mapping apps.

These are just a few of the basic van life apps needed to get started, but there are several more that will make your life easier on the road. Head over to our article on the 25 must have van life apps before you hit the road.

How to start van life and camp in epic spots like this van camped on a beach with a fire.
Living in a van means lots of epic campsites

Living in a Van

So now that you are all set and ready to hit the open roads, you may be wondering what is van life like. And how you can prepare for it?

How do you start van life once your van is ready to go? What will full time living in a van actually look like? Where is that perfect guide on how to do van life?

Before we set out, we had no idea how to live in a van, how to live on the road, or what our life would be like living in a small space. In fact, we had only been dating for three months before we dove headfirst into van life; how’s that for a start to van life?

From van life cooking to working from the road to camping and finding the perfect campsite, these things make vanlife what it truly is. So, if you are wondering how to start van life now that your rig is fitted out, then let’s hop right in!

Step 6: Understand Van Life Safety & Security

Van life comes with its unique challenges, and one of those challenges is security.

Let’s talk about van life security, understand the potential risks, and explore effective measures to ensure a safe and secure van life adventure.

The Risks of Van Life

Theft and Break-Ins

Camper vans can be an obvious target for thieves. The vehicles themselves can be more conspicuous and valuable than other vehicles, but more than that, they contain within them a lot of valuable items, as van lifers are often traveling with, if not all, their worldly possessions, then at least their most prized.

Another risk for vans is that they often are used to travel to areas where they become more conspicuous. A freshly converted Mercedes Sprinter with a bright paint job will certainly be noticed if you drive it through Nicaragua, for example.

Moreover, thieves can systematically target vans by focusing on locations where campers congregate, such as campgrounds or national parks.

We awoke one night in Mexico to a man rustling around in our front seat while we were in bed at the back of the van. I don’t think the thief realized anyone was in the car, but suddenly, he locked eyes with Kelli. She started screaming, and he took off running, leaving only with a camera lens. Nevertheless, the incident left us shaken for a few days.

Click here to read more interesting tales from living out of a van.

Van Life Personal Safety

Van life can also pose a risk to personal safety when you travel and camp in remote or unfamiliar areas.

Camping overnight in your van can sometimes be an unnerving experience. New places, new sounds, your camp might be too dark or perhaps too light and exposed, and the unfamiliarity can be unsettling.

While the real risks are often not as dramatic as some of the threats we might imagine in the dead of night, it is worth being on alert to the potential danger of van life. Firstly, if the wrong people realize you are alone and vulnerable, you may make yourself a target. Secondly, if something does happen, you may be far from assistance and sometimes cut off from communication like mobile and internet.

Talking to local people in the area when you arrive at a new campsite in the daytime, using proper security products and procedures, and trusting your instincts are three examples of ways to mitigate the risks of camping alone.

Van Life Personal Safety & Security Procedures

Security and safety procedures and practices may seem like common sense, but making a basic checklist and following it when camping in unfamiliar territory will ensure nothing is missed and provide not only security but peace of mind. Examples of safety strategies include;

  • Research the Area
  • Check Local Regulations
  • Avoid Isolated Areas
  • Use Mobile Apps and Websites
  • Talk to Locals
  • Arrive During Daylight
  • Be Discrete
  • Trust You Instincts
  • Prepare for Emergencies
  • Secure Personal Belongings

Staying Connected & Aware

Today, being safe means often means being online and connected. Maintaining connection with family and friends is an easy way to stay more safe and secure when traveling by van. Making sure someone knows where you are and checking in regularly will allow them to sound the alarm should anything happen to you.

Another way to leverage the community to help keep you safe is to plug into van life communities. Facebook groups and community-based apps like iOverlander allow members of the van life community to travel in the same area to swap information about safe places to camp and places that might be a bit sketchy.

Traveling far from home in unfamiliar territory also means staying informed and aware of weather or other developing situations such as social or political upheaval is your responsibility.

You should monitor weather services like Meteoblue, local news, and when overseas, information from your foreign affairs department.

Van Life Security Essentials

There is a range of products that you can buy and use to enhance the security of your van.

Essentials include:

  • Van Life security camera
  • GPS tracker
  • Van life safe
  • Fire extinguishers
  • Motion sensor lights
  • Spare key box
  • Digital copies of your important documents on your computer, phone, and in the cloud
  • EPIRB / PLB
  • CO2 detector

Insurance and Legal Considerations

Being safe and secure in your van also means staying on the right side of the law as well as having the proper insurance coverage. As a van owner, you need to make sure you have the proper insurance. This is for two reasons. One, you can feel secure knowing that in an emergency, you, your vehicle, passengers, and any third parties are covered financially secondly, you can meet your legal obligations.

Camper van insurance often differs from regular vehicle insurance as underwriters take into consideration the specific use of camper vans. Be aware of what different policies will and will not cover, and select a policy that is right for you and the area where you will be traveling.

Additionally, make sure you know the legal requirements (documentation, safety equipment, etc.) for van life in all of the different regions and countries you plan to travel to avoid foul of the law.

Step 7: Adjust to Van Life Cooking

When you picture van life cooking, you might picture some pretty grim meals. Packets of freeze-dried foods, eating meals out of a can, or, perhaps, cereal for dinner. But van life and good home-cooked food are not mutually exclusive. It may take a small adjustment, but plenty of delicious meals can be cooked on the road.

Overlanding kitchen
What is vanlife? A truly open plan kitchen

One big adjustment we have made on the road is to shift from cooking meat-based meals to vegetable, egg, and dairy-based meals. This is because these foods are less perishable and better to travel with. Additionally, the way meat is prepared and stored in many of the countries we’ve visited is below the standards we are accustomed to.

Our favorite van recipes are quick, easy, tasty, and using as few perishable ingredients as possible. They also rely on only one or two pots or pans.

Some of our go-to meals include burrito bowls, vegetarian chili, chickpea masala, pad thai, frittatas, quesadillas, potato and lentil curry, huevos rancheros, and shakshuka. When we have more time, we like to get a bit creative and try our hand at local dishes.

Van Life Vegetarian Recipes How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
Seafood Recipes How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
Van Life Simple Recipes How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps

We are both pretty passionate about meal times. We both love eating and enjoy cooking. Therefore, we look forward to designing our menu for the week, visiting a local market for ingredients, and spending time cooking good food together.

Step 8: Get Comfy Sleeping in a Van

Van Life camp in Mexico
What is vanlife? Finding the perfect campsite!

It can be hard to imagine before you set off on your first trip just where you are going to find somewhere to sleep each night while you are overlanding.

The key to making your nights as relaxing and stress-free as possible is careful planning.

Depending on where you travel, your camp could be anywhere from a deserted beach or national park in the mountains to a gas station or shopping center parking lot.

The greatest resource when it comes to finding campsites is iOverlander or WikiCamps, which, as described above, provides submissions from other users on places they have stayed and what to expect.

We usually use iOverlander and WikiCamps to find a couple of options for camps. If we have time, we will explore these options and look around ourselves to see if there are any other options.

Feeling At Ease Sleeping in Van

Regardless of your vehicle, the feeling of sleeping in a car park, street, or remote national park can be disconcerting if you are not used to it.

On our first trip van life trip in South America, it took Kelli several months to get used to the idea. I remember her waking me up one night when we were camping alone in the desert. Around three in the morning, she shook me roughly, whispering, “Does that sound like murderers outside the car to you?!”

“No. Go back to sleep.” I mumbled, and she rolled over and fell back asleep. I, however, stayed up for a few hours wondering if that was, in fact, murderers outside the car and not just the wind. The reality of van life is that it can be quite an adjustment.

Taking proper safety precautions is one way to feel safer when camping. Carrying the proper safety equipment, researching the area you are staying in, and talking to locals are three ways to feel a little more comfortable sleeping in your car.

Van Life Tips for Camping on the Road

Check Regional Rules and Customs

Every region has its own view on wild camping. In many places, it’s totally normal for people to camp in public places. In other regions, governments may even provide facilities for the traveling public, including toilets, trash cans, dump points, tables, barbecues, and even occasionally showers! Then other places actively discourage camping, with rangers moving campers on or issuing fines. Rules and regulations can change from one local area to the next.

Ensure you know the local laws and customs when it comes to free camping.

Gas Stations and Supermarkets Can be Great for An Overnight Stop

Sure, they might not be the picturesque places to stay. But they are generally well-lit, sometimes staffed twenty-four hours, often with security and cameras, as well as toilet facilities; these places can be a great stop-gap. Make sure you ask someone if it’s okay to stay overnight before you set up camp, and (obviously)don’t use an open flame at gas stations.

Consider Temperature Regulation in Your Van Build

One thing that will make or break your sleeping experience on the road is temperature regulation. Do not underestimate the importance of being too hot or too cold in your sleep. See our advice for preparing your vehicle for specific climates in step 3.

Circadian Rhythm

Vehicle-reliant travel, often away from the bright lights of civilization for us, also meant a return to a much more natural sleep pattern. Our day winds down with the sunset and starts again as the sun rises to warm the car.

Talk to the Locals

It doesn’t get much shadier than an unmarked van pulling into your neighborhood and camping out for a few nights. Put minds at ease by talking to the locals.

Aside from making people more comfortable with your presence, asking whether a place is safe and cool for you to stay at will help you feel more comfortable. You can also get the local info on what to do, see and eat nearby. You may even make a new friend.

Step 9: Adjust to Working From the Van

Working from the road is a great way to pay for overlanding.
What is van life? Working from cafes while on the road!

For the people we speak to, those who say they wish they could take a year or more for long-term travel, the biggest hurdle in their minds is often employment. How will I pay my bills? I can’t leave my job. I’ve worked too hard to get here! My job or company will fall apart if I’m not here to manage it.

If you are at this hurdle, there is nothing we can say to convince you; only you can take the leap of faith. But, if long-term travel is something you are dreaming of doing, then you cannot afford not to take the risk. You gamble so little; the financial costs of traveling for one year are generally much less than living in a major city.

And right now, there has never been a better time to work from the road with the number of opportunities to work remotely these days.

Working on the Road

Van life no longer means an unemployed life. Most jobs can now be done remotely. And if yours can’t, there is a job for you that can. You may need to do some convincing to get your employer or clients to see it, or you may need to get creative to find a new job, but there are zero reasons why you can’t work while you travel in this day and age.

Kelli and I both work from the van and have done so throughout South America, Mexico, the United States, and Australia, using only our smartphone with a local sim as a wifi hot spot (see more on staying connected). I teach English online via video conference, and Kelli is an accountant. We plan to be somewhere with service from Monday morning until Thursday afternoon, and then we wrap up for the week and can get off-grid for a few days.

We have both traveled full time and worked full time in the past, and what we find that works best for us now is a lifestyle with a balanced approach to both. The ability to work part-time from the road, to have time for passion projects, and time to live and travel.

Working Remotely Insights How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
Things to Know Before Working Remotely How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
Remote Working Tips 1 How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps

Remote Work Equipment for Van Lifers

Working from the road in your van life office means you won’t have the most ergonomic setup. You probably won’t have a standup computer desk, and you may not have double screens. I know, for some, that thought alone is unthinkable. But for many of us, you can get by in remote work with just a few basics that will make working on the road significantly more comfortable and healthy.

A keyboard, laptop stand, and mouse go a long way in your physical health and are easy things to pack away in your van without taking up a lot of space.

Must-Have Remote Work Equipment

No products found.No products found.
No products found.No products found.
No products found.No products found.

Step 10: Embrace the Van Life Lifestyle

Living the van life lifestyle takes some getting used to. Van life means a whole new approach to routine, socializing, entertainment, and fitness.

A Van Life Routine

Without a 9 to 5 job, a regular schedule, or even any reason to differentiate your weekends from your weekdays, it is important to maintain some semblance of routine.

We find that van life introduces a much more natural sleep cycle back into our lives. We tend to wake up with the sun in the van and fall asleep not too long after sunset.

We try to plan our days out in advance with a mix of work, study, play and exploration, and exercise. One way we can hold ourselves accountable for this planning is to use a diary or organizer, which has definitely helped us build good habits on the road.

Van Social Life

Before we set off on our first trip to South America, where we started our van life adventures in Chile, we imagined that our van life would entail spending most nights with new van life friends singing kumbaya around a campfire. Perhaps conveying together for a few weeks before our paths diverged. Kelli and I both have a lot of experience backpacking in our twenties. We both fondly remember making firm friends with new people all over the planet, only never to see them again.

Our experience as a van life couple has been very different. We are older. We have each other. We are less interested in meeting new people everywhere we go. Without the forced interaction of shared spaces like a hostel, we don’t really have to put ourselves out there to meet people and make new friends, and so, for the most part, we haven’t.

That’s not to say we haven’t shared a campsite or a meal with more than a few van lifers or made friends along the way, just that it has been far less frequent than we imagined. And we have come to find that we are totally comfortable with that.

For others, the experience could be totally different. If you travel to places where van lifers congregate, if you join online Facebook communities or crawl coming apps for social campsites, you could easily make van life a social lifestyle.

The point is in van life; you will need to seek out a social life if that is part of your lifestyle goal. It won’t come to you.

Our social life tends to be muted on the road. Spending time with each other, occasionally making a new friend here or there and doing our best to stay in touch with friends and family at home.

Entertainment Living in a Van

If you are considering this sort of trip, you likely already have an appetite for travel. Our entertainment is hiking to a viewpoint for sunset, finding the best local bar for live music in a new city, making a campfire to sit around in the evening, and discovering the best coffee in a new town.

We are never bored, and if we are, we can always just move on. And, of course, where there’s a cell signal, you always have Netflix.

Stay Fit While Living in a Van

Exercising in Huanchaco Peru How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
What is van life? Exercising beach front every day!

The need for gym memberships, protein powders, and weekly spin classes is greatly overstated by a hundred billion-dollar fitness industry.

Walking or running every day, stretching, practicing yoga, doing push-ups on the beach, and using the calisthenics equipment in parks around the world, we make an effort to exercise daily.

And, with more time up our sleeves than we ever had working nine to five, we are fitter than we ever have been, all without gym memberships, weekly classes, or diet supplements.

Bonus Step: Prepare for Van Life in a Foreign Country

Traveling around your own country is markedly different from traveling to other places. In a foreign country, you not only have to contend with a different language but also a different culture.

Things that may have been safe in your home country may not be safe in the country you plan to travel to by van. Buying can present more challenges as different countries have different regulations and processes when it comes to foreigners purchasing vehicles.

Stay Safe While Traveling by Van in a Foreign Country

Some parts of the world are less safe than others. That is a fact. But we often generalize whole regions, countries, or continents as unsafe.

The reaction we get from many when we talk about traveling through developing regions is that it ‘sounds’ extremely dangerous. Usually, the same people have trouble identifying the specific countries that they think are dangerous or articulating why.

By researching the specific areas you are visiting, traveling only in areas where it is safe, and taking basic precautions, you will find risks can be managed and mitigated and that travel through developing countries can be done quite safely.

Understanding a region’s political, economic, social, and military situation is important but easy to do today.

Do your research and stay informed because there are regions all around the world that are dangerous to travel to. Moreover, situations can develop quickly. This is true even in developed countries. Natural disasters, pandemics, and civil unrest may be exacerbated in developing countries, but they do not discriminate.

Stay Informed

One source to begin your research is government foreign affairs agencies. Government websites offer travel resources, up-to-date information, and travel warnings. We use the US Bureau of Consular Affairs site travel.state.gov and the Australian DFAT website www.smartraveller.gov.au.

These are great places to research known travel warnings and issues. It is also a good place to research countries and regions that your government has deemed high-risk and will not offer consular assistance in.

You should also familiarise yourself with local laws, especially those regarding immigration and customs, road rules, and wild camping laws. Wikitravel and WikiOverland are two online resources where you can find this information.

The second tool we use for local research is iOverlander. This mapping and travel app uses community contributions to provide up-to-date travel information and warnings from other overlanders. This resource is helpful for issues at a local level that might escape the attention of Government websites.

If you do find yourself in a localized emergency situation, local online news is the best place to get information. You can also get in touch with the government tourism agencies for the country you are traveling in. Finally, your own country’s consular service in the region can help you stay up to date with situations as they unfold.

Talk to the Locals

Talk to locals in areas where you plan to camp. Not only will this make you more comfortable, but it will make locals more comfortable about the strange foreigners camping nearby. We speak to gas station attendants, local residents, or guards to ask them permission, get an idea of the safety of an area, and ask them to keep an eye out for us. This tip has made the most important difference in making us feel more comfortable camping in our vehicles.

Know the Local Emergency Numbers

Make sure you avail yourself of contact numbers for local police, preferably tourist police.

Keep Friends and Family Posted

Keep friends and family up to date on where you are traveling and when you’ll next be in touch. Give them a timeline on when you expect to be in touch, especially if you are traveling to remote, off-the-beaten-path destinations where cell service could be non-existent.

How to Buy a Vehicle Abroad

Van making tracks in Paracas Peru How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
How do you start van life in a totally new country?

The laws that dictate a foreigner’s ability to buy and sell vehicles in a foreign country are often complex and difficult to navigate, doubly so in a country where you don’t speak the language. Like any bureaucratic exercise, rules and processes are constantly being changed. Often, not even the officials in charge of administering them are one hundred percent informed of current legislation.

For example, it is legal to purchase a Chilean vehicle in Chile, but the rules regarding foreigners taking a Chilean vehicle out of the country are confusing, ever-changing, and often dependent on the border agent you deal with.

The process of administering titles and legal documents for the car was also cumbersome and disorganized. We were stranded in the Atacama desert for three weeks waiting on the title to be transferred.

When the title was finally transferred, customs officials initially refused to let us take the car out of the country. We had a similar experience coming back into the country when we spent the day arguing with officials who insisted that we had never got the vehicle properly stamped out of the country.

Thinking of heading to Mexico? Check out our Vanlife Mexico FAQ guide which includes details on how to purchase a car in Mexico!

Importing a Vehicle to a Foreign Country

Getting a foreign vehicle into the country, we have found to be a more straightforward process when compared to buying vehicles as a foreigner. Again laws are ever-changing and can be complex, however, generally, importing is a more common practice than buying vehicles as a foreigner. As a result, the process is usually more straightforward.

While the process can be challenging, generally, where there is a will, there is a way. We have met overlanders who have leveraged, dodged, or circumvented rules and regulations through loopholes, clever planning, and careful research. WikiOverland is a good place to begin your research. Other resources include blogs, asking locals, and Facebook groups and communities that relate to overland travel in your chosen destination.

Proper research means you can be armed with up-to-date information before you turn up to buy a vehicle. It can also be helpful to travel with copies of the relevant legislation or other research to help state your case when officials are unclear on or have a different interpretation of procedure and law.

Another option to circumvent this process is to buy a foreign-plated vehicle in the country you are traveling to. Ideally, this vehicle would be plated from an unrelated country (as in a country not sharing borders or even a continent with your destination country).

How to Drive in a Foreign Country

Van making tracks in Ecuador How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
Which side of the road should we be on?

Licensing and documentation requirements, road rules, driving culture, and road quality are all good things to understand before you drive in a foreign country.

Examples of questions you should ask and answer before driving in a new country or city.

  • Is an international license required?
  • What side of the road do they drive on?
  • What everyday driving rules are different (for example, turning on a red light)?
  • What should you expect from traffic police? – Bribe solicitation is extremely common in developing countries.
  • Are there any restrictions on foreign drivers or foreign-plated vehicles? – For eg. in many large cities battling traffic and pollution problems, there are times and days when driving is restricted due to their traffic policies, such as Hoy No Circula in Mexico.
  • How do the locals drive? In many places, people learn to drive differently or don’t learn to drive at all, meaning rules that seem obvious to you would not be considered by drivers in some areas. In some places, the driving culture is more aggressive than others. People are not expecting defensive driving, and if you drive the way you do at home, you may become the problem.
  • What is the general condition of the road network?

Wikitravel and WikiOverland are two good places to begin researching driving in your chosen destination. Government and tourist sites, blogs, and overlanding and travel communities on Facebook and other social media sites are also good sources of information.

How to Camp in a Foreign Country

Eddie Making a Fire for Camp in Colombia How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
Some places take a very liberal approach to campers, others…not so much

Like everything else, rules, regulations, and customs vary wildly from country to country.

While some countries legislate free camping throughout, others restrict it to certain regions, others begrudgingly allow it, and some (often developed countries) take disappointingly hardline stances to camping outside of designated campgrounds and national parks.

The iOverlander app, Wikicamps, blogs, and WikiOverlander are good places to discover just what to expect in your destination, and it’s worth researching. This information will help to inform your plan and budget of where you can free camp and where you may need to pay for camping or accommodation.

It’s also important to note the customs, culture, and attitude around camping. Locals in areas and regions that are not used to campers and overlanders may be wary of people setting up camp nearby, and a quick conversation to ask about camping nearby can set your mind and the local communities mind’s at ease.

How to Stay Connected in a Foreign Country

Kelli working How to Start Van Life in 10 Simple Steps
What is van life? Adapting your kitchen to a mobile home office

Before we first traveled to South America to overland and work remotely, we were worried we would need quite specialized equipment to make this happen. I teach English via video call, and Kelli is required to attend meetings remotely as well, so a stable, fast, and reliable connection is essential.

Equipment

We spent time researching internet dongles, signal boosters, and aftermarket antennas. It turns out that, given the state of cellular data connections and modern smartphones, you will only need a modern smart hone and local prepaid sim to effectively stay connected and even work in most countries around the world.

In every country we have traveled, we have been able to easily obtain a local SIM card, activate it, and learn to recharge data, often online.

4G and 5G data coverage are available throughout even undeveloped countries, though it may only be available in areas close to large populations.

Planning

For us, who have scheduled work hours this means forward planning. We usually spend Monday to Thursday afternoon in an area with good cellular data service. Once we finish work for the week, we are free to travel into areas without service if we wish.

Resources

Two important resources to help you stay connected are NPERF and the Prepaid data sim wiki.

NPERF is a company that measures, records, and provides up-to-date information on connections around the world. One service available on their website is a network coverage map that provides information on the level of coverage throughout more than 100 countries. This map-based tool shows the coverage of each telecommunication company in a country and what connection is available (2G – 5G+).

One way to maximize your coverage is to travel with two (or more) sims from different service providers so you can switch to the provider with the best coverage in a certain area.

The prepaid data sim wiki from Fandom provides user-submitted information on data SIM cards available all around the world. Discover which companies have the best coverage, how to purchase, activate, and recharge sims in a given country, and the costs involved.

The cost of prepaid sims and data varies from country to country. Prices are constantly becoming cheaper around the world. To give an example, we found prices throughout Central and South America to be between $1 and $2 USD per gigabyte of data depending on the country and amount of data purchased in a transaction.

*

The good news is you’ve already taken the most important step in beginning Van Life the first step. From here, it’s just about continuing to put one foot in front of the other.

*

Hopefully, you have found some helpful information or inspiration on how to start van life for yourself. If you have a question or a comment, please let us know below!

Don’t forget to download a copy of our ebook – The Vanabond’s Road Map to Van Life.

*

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *