Did you know there are a lot of van life myths that are simply not true? You might even believe a few yourself!
We spent two years living in a van in Australia, did extended trips in a motorhome in New Zealand and are currently in the process of converting a second van to travel around Europe, so I want to bust through those myths and give you a glimpse into the reality of living on the road for an extended time!
Here are 6 van life myths, and the reality behind them.
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You’ll Stay In Beautiful Spots Every Night
We all have Instagram to thank for this van life myth!
When you think of van life, chances are you think about waking up to beautiful vistas every day, but in reality? There’s probably going to be a lot of car parks, street parking and not-so scenic places.
Of course, the last thing most people do (us included!) is take a photo of the ugly or boring places we camp, so it’s a side to van life people don’t see all too often.
We want to change that, so once we’re back on the road we promise to bring a dash of van life reality to all of our posts & guides!
We stayed in Ikea carparks on more than one occasion in Australia!
It’s Really Cheap!
Something we hear time and time again is how cheap it must be to travel in a van.
I think a lot of people believe this van life myth, then get disappointed once they’re on the road.
The truth is, it’s really not.
Sure, if you’re renting a house – or paying a mortgage – and paying for road trips or holidays on top of that, then van life is undoubtedly cheaper.
It’s absolutely a more affordable way of living but I wouldn’t say it’s cheap.
Some of the expenses involved in van life are fuel, vehicle maintenance, campsites and/or parking, laundrettes, more frequent food shops, roll roads etc.
It all adds up, making van life cheaper but not cheap.
Cheap, but we still needed to work. Yes. I worked in hospitality while living in this!
It’s Not Suitable For Pets
When Lilly first joined our family – not familiar with her story? You can read about it here – people assumed that our plans for a van conversion would change. Some people even assumed we’d stop travelling all together!
Pets can’t live in a van, right?
Wrong.
We know so many people who are successfully living on the road or travelling with their dogs, cats and even birds! So our plans never faltered.
What did change, however, is our plan for the van layout… but only slightly!
From experience, we know how hot and stuffy it can get in a van – especially in one like Mo that had no air con!
With that in mind, our priority with the current conversion is air flow and temperature control!
It also means we’ll have to be more considerate about where we park, the plans we make for the day etc. but it certainly is possible, and anyone who says otherwise are lying.
Lilly strongly disagrees with this van life myth!
It’s Always A Holiday
This kind of ties in with point one, and is relevant to people who travel full time by other means too… people assuming that you’re always on holiday.
When the reality is, a huge majority of people who travel full time – van life or otherwise – will have some form of job.
Whether that’s a distance roll for someone else, or running their own business, there will be times where they have to stop to get some work done.
Then there’s the time spent planning where you’re going, what your day will look like, where you’ll get water next, if you have enough electricity, where you’re going to camp, if you need to off load waste water etc. etc.
There were times in Australia when we’d be in one place for a week, but in reality only a few days of that were spent exploring.
Yes, van life provides you with incredible freedom to pick and choose what you do and where you go, but it isn’t a holiday 24/7!
Even car road trips require slipping in some work occasionally
It’s Impossible To Stay Healthy
Van life and extended road trips consist of gas station snacks and fast food… don’t they?
Nope! This is another huge van life myth.
I mean, they can but for us and many others that isn’t the case. In fact, for us I think we actually eat better when we’re on the road.
Having a fridge and facilities to make your own food really helps with this. It means we can shop for fresh food regularly and it’s a great excuse to checkout local markets!
Our fitness typically improves too because we do a lot more walking when we’re travelling, as opposed to when we spend some time ‘settled’ – like now while we convert the van.
We have a couple of posts about how to eat healthy while on the road, and how to stay fit while travelling, if you want to check out how we manage!
It’s A Stress Free Way Of Living
This van life myth couldn’t be further from the truth!
In some ways van life is much more stressful than living a ‘normal’ life in a house.
When we lived in a house, we didn’t have to worry about whether we had enough internet signal to get work done, we didn’t have to monitor whether the toilet needed emptying, or if we had enough water and electricity for the next day.
These were all things we took for granted and require a lot of planning every day to make sure we don’t get caught out.
Then there’s the risk of breakdowns and break-ins.
When you live in a house, you don’t have to worry too much if it’ll get broken into, stolen or vandalised while you nip out for the afternoon. Of course, it does happen, but van life opens up those stresses ten-fold.
If your car breaks down while living in a house, it’s ok because you still have a house to live in. If your van breaks down… well, that’s your whole house gone too!
I think you get the picture on this van life myth, it’s certainly not stress-free.
It’s Impossible/Cheap To Convert Your Own Van
We’ve heard both sides of this van life myth and guess what?
Both wrong.
Well. Kind of.
Converting your own van can be done cheap – we spent less than $1k on our first tiny van conversion – but that doesn’t mean we recommend it.
At the time $1k was a lot for us, but at the same time the results weren’t great.
We got condensation every night and by the end of the two years there was mould on the ceiling. We had to spend every night folding out our bed only to have to put it away in the morning in order to have space to eat.. It was cheap, but it was also uncomfortable.
Looking back, I can’t believe we did it for a full two years!
A proper, liveable, comfortable, safe and healthy van conversion isn’t going to be cheap. You really do need insulation, even in hot climates to keep the heat out. If you’re living in it full time, you’re going to want a proper bed and space to actually live.
Then there’s those who say it’s impossible to do it yourself. Well, we think those people need to do a bit more research because there are plenty of people who have done it. Some are more successful than others, but it is possible. If you have the right plan.
Believe it or not, Dec has been planning our 2nd van conversion since Australia! So a lot of thought has gone into it. I just wish it was finished already haha. One thing that isn’t a van life myth is that converting a van takes longer than you expect it to!
This is what the inside of our first van looked like!
You Need A Perfect Van Or Van Layout
What is a perfect van layout, anyway?
This might sound like it’s contradicting my previous point, but you really don’t need all the gadgets, massive van and insta-worthy layout inorder to live the van life.
Like I pointed out with Mo, he was a mess, but we did it and we enjoyed it.
I stand by that you really do need insulation, and don’t underestimate the value of a good night sleep. Aside from that? Your perfect van life will vary greatly from someone else’s, so don’t fall into the trap of thinking your van has to look like the ones you see on YouTube. It doesn’t.
These are our most frequently heard van life myths. Are there any others that you hear often? Why not join our road trip group and let us know!
