Guest blog by Jessica Woodbridge from TheRoadTwoSpoons
Is vanlife as dreamy as it appears on Instagram? Well yes and no.
Vanlife can be and often is a beautiful variety of scenic locations, amazing cultural experiences and social gatherings around a campfire. But it can also be a cramped supermarket car park, sitting in a laundrette or days of rain that keep you cooped up inside.
Like any other way of life, it's not always perfect but what vanlife does give you is the freedom to change your surroundings and find a balance that works for you.
Daily life in the van:
For us daily life is different depending on the day of the week. Monday - Wednesday we both work and have created a routine around this. We prefer to be parked in the same place on work days, so normally we find a remote park up on Sunday afternoon/evening and stay there until Thursday morning. Where we park is important as we need peace and quiet for work and ideally somewhere where the dogs can lay outside without too many distractions! We tend to choose unspoilt spots surrounded by nature these days.
Aside from work, our dogs are a key factor in how we structure our day as we like to walk them before work, at lunch and twice in the evening. Unfortunately, this is the case rain or shine, however, we do limit walking to morning and evenings when we are in hot climates. I like to start my mornings with a workout or some stretching, especially on work days when I spend most of the day sitting down at my laptop.
When we are not working, life is as varied as we want it to be! We like to spend as much time outside the van as possible and often go hiking with the dogs, explore historic sites (I love a good castle!) or have a beach day. We rarely have any set plans and prefer just to see what the weather is doing, and what's around us and decide from there! Remaining flexible has allowed us to make the most of different locations and be more open to experiences like meeting other vanlifers or locals.
Van dining:
For us eating out is a big part of travel and finding local restaurants is a great way to explore an area. How often we eat out very much depends on where we are and what we are doing. For example, on work days or if we are in more remote areas we cook in the van but if we are visiting a town or find a nice beach bar we like to go out. We can never say no to a pizzeria – Which can be a bit of a “problem” for us.
I also really love cooking in the van, a lot of people think living in a small space can make this restrictive but it really comes down to the design of your kitchen. Working with a company like Vanlife Conversions means you can create a kitchen that fits your exact needs. We wanted a standard kitchen with an oven, multiple burner hob and space to store lots of pots and pans but if an air fryer is more your style then Vanlife Conversions can provide great gasless setups like this one in a van called Gus.
I also enjoy meal planning, so I try to food shop once a week. This can be tricky as what's available in supermarkets varies depending on the country and area you're in. In small towns or villages, you might not find big supermarkets but there are often local markets with huge varieties of homegrown fruit and veg.
Tackling those pesky chores:
There's a reason you don't see messy vans on Instagram, not only does it not make for a good photo but it's too small a space to be leaving out dirty dishes and clothes on the floor. Key parts of our daily routine are making the bed, shaking out blankets, sweeping the floor and making sure we always wash, dry and put away dishes after every meal.
When you're living in mountains, forests and beaches (and with dogs) it doesn't take much for dirt and sand to build up in your van. We like to sweep daily and a couple of times a month we wipe down the walls and give everywhere a good hoover (We use a handheld house Dyson which charges off the inverter).
Then there are other fun jobs like laundry, refilling the water tank, waste disposal/recycling, topping up LPG, ensuring you have enough Diesel and emptying the toilet! We prefer to do these in one go so we often have a "chore day"; on a weekly basis this involves food shopping, waste disposal and refilling the water tank.
Fresh water:
Finding water is one of the biggest challenges we have living in a van, especially as we prefer to be off-grid. Depending on how much water you use and the size of your tank, this can often be something you have to do every few days. Park4night is a great app for finding water, however, always double check if it's potable. We have a blog post specifically on how we get safe drinking water while on the road, which you can check out here.
Toilet:
Another challenge can be emptying your toilet, depending on the type of toilet you have. For example, if you like to be in remote spots or countries further afield like Türkiye, it's going to be difficult to find black waste points. This is why we chose a compost toilet, as we only need to empty it every 3 weeks and it can be disposed of in normal bins.
Laundry:
Before living in a van, I'd never used a laundrette, but they have been a game changer for what is normally a very tedious chore! Not only can you do twice the amount of laundry in one go but it also only takes an hour to wash and dry everything! Most laundrette washing machines also automatically dispense detergent so there's no need to buy and store your own.
That being said, there are a few downsides.
Firstly not everything can be tumble dried, so there are many occasions where our shower room and cab are filled with wet laundry hung up to dry. We really recommend having a heating vent into your shower room to help dry clothes, especially in winter.
Laundrettes are often in towns (easily found on Google Maps), which can be tricky if you need to park a large van. You don't want to park too far away, as sometimes laundrettes can be busy so you might have to go back and wait in the van until a machine comes free.
The cost of laundrettes can vary, so to minimise costs we only do laundry every 3 weeks (don't worry we have enough clothes!) Not all countries have laundrettes as well and depending on the country you're in places offering laundry services can be either cheap or expensive.
LPG:
When our van Biggie Small was first built we had a combi boiler that ran off LPG, however, we quickly changed to a diesel boiler, as initially, we spent a lot of time in the UK, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to find LPG fill up points.
Now it's just our oven and hob that run off LPG and we only need to fill up every 3 months. This makes it less stressful to always be researching LPG points and also mainland Europe is more motorhome friendly so we can often fill up at petrol stations.
If you don't want to rely on LPG at all, then definitely speak with Vanlife Conversions as they offer great gasless solutions in their vans.
Research and park ups:
When living or holidaying in a van, where you park will always be at the top of your priority list. Where you choose to park depends on what you like and what facilities you need and should be taken into consideration when designing your van.
Having a van designed to be off-grid is the best solution as it gives you the flexibility to be on campsites or park in remote areas. Subject to our ability to get water, our van can be off-grid for long periods which is ideal for us as we prefer to park in remote spots.
Park4night is the main app we use to find park ups, it has lots of filters so you can search specific areas, see what facilities are nearby and people rate and write reviews so you get a better idea of what each park up will be like.
We also use Google Maps and look at satellite views, which is particularly helpful when scouting out parking locations big enough for a long van. Brit stops is another good resource which allows you to park at pubs, farms and vineyards.
We have an L4H3 Peugeot Boxer, so when going to towns or supermarkets we need to make sure bays look like they are long enough, that there's space for the back to overhang and that there are no height barriers.
Also don't forget to consider the weather and the type of ground you'll park on. It's very easy to get stuck in mud on a rainy day or sink into soft sand because your van's heavy. For this reason, I highly recommend keeping a shovel and traction tracks in your van.
It's all about balance:
Living in a van and holidaying in a van are very different. In fact, there are a lot of factors that influence daily life in a van.
For us it's a way of life, so we are less tied to specific plans and are flexible in how long we stay in an area. But for people on holiday or shorter trips, there can be the pressure to make the most of every day, so it's important to plan out where you'll stay and what you'll be doing.
How much you interact with other people can also play a big part in what daily life can be. We've spent a lot of time travelling on our own but we've also met amazing people with whom we've had impromptu dinners together or even changed plans completely to travel together.
What day-to-day vanlife looks like, is really up to you; you can create a routine but you also have the freedom to be spontaneous if you choose. Yes, there will always be chores to do and bumps in the road but life is about balance and for us vanlife is an ideal mix.
