I was sitting on a curb eating stale fried potatoes initially when i first considered that sleeping at motels might be cheaper than traveling in my campervan. The alternator belt snapped approximately Portland and Seattle, and my battery was dead. It had been likely to cost me over $300 to fix, so I munched on the dollar menu snack while the mechanic done “Shirley.”
My 1986 GMC Vandura, named for her red bumper (like the cherry on the Shirley Temple) would be a Craigslist find. The inside have been converted into a cozy living area with a bed, a sink, and a bookshelf where I stored more books than anyone should keep in 50 sq ft of living space. But my books were area of the romance. I'm lured through the beautiful photos of #vanlife on Instagram, and that i wanted to visit all of those places and write stories about life on the road.
Traveling in a camper van can provide a refreshingly minimalistic approach to life. And when you're doing so right, it will save you cash on travel. But there are lots of hidden vanlife costs that can cost you if you aren't prepared. Here are a few which i discovered the hard way.
Camper van repairs
When you're driving not just a vehicle but a house inside of a vehicle, there are a lot of products that may break. If your camper van has custom components, like a solar panel that charges a battery that runs the lights and charges your mobile phone, malfunctions could be complicated – and therefore expensive.
If you do the conversion yourself, you'll probably know how to fix this stuff (or learn along the way). If you don't, play the role of as involved in the process as you possibly can and ask plenty of questions on the way. Either way, hopefully, you don't wind up overpaying when something must be fixed.
Understanding the basic mechanics of the camper van and possessing the knowledge to do basic repairs is incredibly valuable, out of the box regular maintenance like oil changes and tire rotations. There are many auto repair videos an internet-based classes to get you started. But you'll likely learn through trial and error, becoming accustomed to the different noises your van makes – and those it shouldn't.
My biggest money-saving move was an AAA membership. My old camper van had a tendency to collapse, and their free tows were a side-of-the-road lifesaver, repeatedly. Note that you'll need RV insurance if your van has living area – I had the standard membership initially and when a AAA mechanic saw the bed within the back, they told me I had to upgrade.
Campground and Park Fees
Driving something which doubles like a home is a terrific way to reduce rent or hotels. But when it comes time for you to park for that night, there's some strategy involved in doing the work free of charge. Established campgrounds, particularly at popular nature, can easily cost over $30 a night – a vanlife expense that contributes upright.
There are essentially two methods to parking your camper van overnight free of charge. The very first is to park inside a neighborhood, a side street, or a busy hotel parking area where you hopefully will not be noticed. You will want to keep the windows covered and your lights dim so nobody suspects the van is occupied. The 2nd approach is to legally camp in locations that don't charge a fee, like free campgrounds or national forests where dispersed camping is allowed as long as you're off course. Freecampsites.net and iOverlander are both popular tools for locating free campgrounds.
I live in Oregon, where most highway rest stops allow parking as much as 12 hours. I really like the convenient access to bathrooms and vending machines, and many of these type of feel like campgrounds – but with a lot more traffic nearby.
Walmarts are another popular choice for boondocking. Most of them allow vehicles to park overnight, but not all of them, so check this website or with management.
Coffee, Food, and Bathroom Access
My camper van was without a rest room, and so i found myself regularly purchasing coffee and snacks for use of establishments' bathrooms. The largest trouble with this? As soon as I finished coffee, I'd have to go again!
It required awhile to understand how you can not spend some money each time I desired a rest room. However i found that rest stops, gasoline stations, libraries, community centers, and campgrounds all generally have bathrooms that do not need a purchase. And when you work on the highway as a digital nomad, libraries are also great places to obtain on the internet and be productive without buying food at cafes.
I were built with a stove within my campervan, but cooking for the reason that tiny space wasn't easy, and that i often craved a change of scenery and the convenience of a crowd if I'd been driving by myself all day long. I got in to the habit of making simple meals for breakfast and lunch and so i could splurge on a sit down dinner along with a beer during the night. Many people prefer to cook within their vans or at campgrounds, however i love exploring the local food in new places, and so i cut costs elsewhere and give myself permission to savor the regional board of fare.
Vanlife helps you focus on certain priorities, like the freedom to travel and embrace new experiences over material possessions. You'll save profit some places, after which unexpected vanlife costs will sneak up on you. But if the open road is what you crave, then you will find ways to have great results.
