Ebony and myself (Ivory) have owned two vans now and have travelled 3 different countries living in a van. Although we’ve had all this experience together I’d like to take you back further to where van life started for me and provide you with a real insight as to what it’s actually like to live the life of ‘home is where you park it’.
Van Life Truths
- My history with van life
- But what does it really take to live in a van?
- With more reward comes more risk
- A simple life is a happy life
- The ultimate freedom
My History with Van Life
Merry at the beach
All through high school I dreamed of travelling, and the first parentless trip came to me in the form of schoolies. [For those not from AUS this is the end of high school party break]. I decided to buy a 1995 Volkswagen T4 long wheelbase van which I lovingly named ‘The Going Merry’, or “Merry” for short [From OnePiece]. Together with my brother and two close mates we lived in Merry for five weeks.
This is an extreme version of van life and is not recommended but at the same time was one of the best adventures I’ve ever been on.
Merry was roughly fitted out with homemade bunk beds in the back created from a table, two cupboard door sized planks, and a badly made N bracket. This was ingenious at the time yet we soon came to realise whoever was to be on the top bunks had a much warmer night sleep.
We each took with us a bag of clothes, as well as a cooler (eski), chairs, camping gear, mechanical gear, a table, a guitar, two bodyboards and six surfboards. This was a lot of gear. The only way we managed to make it work was to move everything into a new area when it came to bed time.
There are always sacrifices to be made when transitioning to van life, and comfort or space are common examples.
To our great surprise Merry survived that trip and lived on for another six years. This van was my greatest possession, any chance I could get I would venture up or down the coast surfing and living in it. At one stage I even lived out of Merry in a different city managing a pop up shop.
But what does it really take to live in a van?
Covan on the East Coast of Australia
When you wake up at home in bed you no doubt have somewhat of a routine. Putting on clothes, going to the toilet, maybe exercising, eating, showering, etc. All of these kinds of mundane but necessary things, when you take your life and squeeze it into the back of a van, become more like tasks. What I mean by that is activities like getting dressed or eating breakfast, become not so easy anymore. Rather than doing these chores to get your day started, your day starts by trying to get these tasks done. They are not extreme challenges by any means but can yet take much more time and effort to fulfil. Now I know that might sound awful, but it can actually be an eye opening process that reveals the rewarding sensations that can come out of completing a task.
In this sense transforming your bedroom into your living room/kitchen/study space or getting ready for the day is an achievement in itself.
Now don’t get me wrong there are still plenty of days where I wish these tasks didn’t have to be met. But on these days remembering why I decided to live on the road gets me through, also the morning’s breathtaking sunrise or falling asleep to a spectacular sunset can also help.
On the same train of thought, the scheduling of your days and weeks have to change and adapt to what you may need at that time. For example if you’re in need of a shower, finding somewhere to do so will prioritise where you go. Likewise when the laundry bag is full, or the food is running low, or wifi is required to do work or research, and so on. In other words the facilities that are readily accessible to you at home can now dictate your plans and thoughts during the day.
Ebony and I can both attest to the greater satisfaction of having a nice shower nowadays as opposed to showering everyday or twice a day back home.
With more reward comes more risk
Merry at Crescent Head
What I mean by this is that by living out of a movable and breakable machine, inside of which you have all your possessions, you become a servant to the health of your vehicle. If something happens to the van, not only do you lose your transport, you lose your home and most of your possessions that you can’t carry on your back until the issue is resolved and you’re back on the road. A new category of stress can come into your life, yet again at the same time like I’ve mentioned about the taks, so can a new level of appreciation.
Every time the motor starts, a sigh of relief, a prayer of thanks, and a smile can be found my way.
A simple life is a happy life
Covan on the South Coast of Australia
A piece of enlightenment I found with vanlife is the easing of unnecessary belongings and concerns. I discovered what is really needed to live and be happy, and it’s not much. [Although I must confess with my interest in surfing, skating, snowboarding, and musical instruments I do have a lot more possessions than Ebony does].
The concerns of what I need to do each day, and whether I did enough has also disappeared. Now it seems like if I have survived the day, and continued my journey then that is satisfaction enough, on to the next day. Ebony and I focus on what we enjoy and what we want to spend our time doing more than ever while in van life.
The ultimate freedom
Covan at Curl Curl Beach
But the real truth is van life brings with it a sense of autonomy that can’t be taken in normal living situations. You can go anywhere the road can take you, see amazing sites, meet interesting people, adapt to spontaneous situations, and make the biggest concern of your life whether to turn left or right. Living on the road is addictive. You have all the comforts you need and more options with less stress, and it’s usually a cheap way to live and travel. When returning to rent, an address, and routine living, it almost feels like an entrapment.
I hope this has illuminated your imagination as to what living in a van feels like, or maybe it has brought back fond memories from your own trips.
Ebony and I will bring out van life tips and tricks for Australia, Canada, and the USA in the soon future so stay up to date here. There are a whole bunch of van life hacks we can’t wait to share!
