Van Life FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
We often get asked many questions about van life, the digital nomad lifestyle, and how we started our journey. Find our answers to frequently asked questions below! If you have a question that we haven't answered, please send us a message and we'd be happy to answer it for you.
In 2020, mid-pandemic, I (Vanessa) came to the realization that my current lifestyle wasn't working for me. It was the same thing most days: wake up, work 9-5, make dinner, watch TV or a movie because of mental exhaustion from said 9-5 job, and go to bed. Repeat. Live for the weekend. I wasn't content. So, Shayne posed the question, "If you could do anything different with your life right now, what would it be?"
After thinking about it for a few days, I responded with "Travel the country and do van life." I knew little to nothing about converting a van and didn't quite know where to start. But there were a few things I was sure of:
- Some of my favorite activities are camping and hiking. Spending time outside and exploring new places brings me (and Shayne) an incredible amount of joy.
- I wanted to see more of the country. I had only traveled to a handful of states and didn't know what was "out there".
- And, most importantly, something needed to change in my life; and, I was willing to take a risk or big leap to get the change I needed.
After many discussions, lots of planning, and a van build, six months later we were ready to hit the road! I can confidently say the two years of doing van life full-time were some of the hardest years of my life, but also the best years of my life. Growth often does not come without some difficulty or challenge. The moral of the story is that you have the power to change your life. If you aren't happy, then do something about it.
We upgraded our Verizon phone plan so that between the two of us, we have 75 GB of hotspot per month for internet. In our experience, we've found that Verizon has the most coverage in the areas we visited. Along with that, we purchased a weBoost from Amazon.
We recommend getting a weBoost for your van or trailer if you need reliable internet access for work while traveling. Even though some camping spots may say they have cell service, this is not always true, depending on how many people are in the area.
Before we got a weBoost, we had too many situations where we expected to have internet but didn't. This made doing our online jobs very hard. After our weBoost was set up, we went from having no bars of internet at our camping spot to having three bars of fast internet. We would highly recommend using a weBoost. Disclaimer: If you are going somewhere extremely remote, like camping in the desert where internet may not be reliable, even with a weBoost you may not have signal. However, we've found that a good 90% of the time, the weBoost will help with reliable internet.
If we're in a city, we'll work at a local coffee shop or public library that has internet access and we use a VPN for security. Our favorite VPN service is Surfshark.
Shayne and I both agree that Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park are by far the most stunning, untouched nature we've ever seen. If you haven't been to either before, we highly recommend going. Tip: Try to get into the parks very early in the day and look up some trails or places to see in the parks that aren't quite as "mainstream" to avoid large crowds. We got up before sunrise and went into the park around 6 AM each day.
Goblin Valley State Park in Utah is also a favorite. We spent part of the winter at Surfside Beach in Texas, and that was also a beautiful spot. You can find more information on our favorite spots in this blog post.
These are some of the pros and cons of van life and being digital nomads.
Pros:
- Elevated moods due to increased time spent outside
- Healthier bodies due to increased physical activity
- Beautiful views
- Get to experience many different states and cultures
- Location independence
- Unique lifestyle that promotes minimalism (instead of consumerism)
- Increased gratitude for what we have
- No commute to work
- Save a lot of money due to no rent, utilities, etc.
Cons:
- Inefficiency (everything takes longer - dishes, showering, etc.)
- Lack of running, hot water
- Hard to keep the van clean (it's a small space and you're coming and going from outside a lot)
- Reliance on strong internet access for work
- Lack of face-to-face connection with coworkers
- Not able to plan ahead much due to unpredictability (weather, things not working out how you thought, etc.)
- No fixed address makes placing orders and receiving mail difficult
We looked at Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and Craigslist almost daily to find our van. We found that Facebook Marketplace usually had the most listings, and we set-up notifications for sprinter vans in our price range. We didn't limit the location too much, though, because we were willing to drive a few hours to get the van if it was worth it.
After over a month of looking, we finally found a van that we loved on Facebook Marketplace. That day, only a few hours after it was posted, we made a cash offer and drove five hours to go pick it up in Ohio. Luckily, the cash offer was enticing to the seller because someone else made an offer while we were on the drive down to pick it up. We had to act fast, but everything worked out. Having a set budget and knowing what you're looking for will help you identify and act on the right van quickly.
We have a 2010 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 with a high roof. Fun fact: the Freightliner name is in the same family as Mercedes-Benz, so nearly all of the Freightliner parts are actually Mercedes-Benz.
We primarily used the apps Campendium and iOverlander to find free camping spots, usually on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. You'd be surprised at how many free camping spots there are across the country. Otherwise, the occasional Walmart or Planet Fitness parking lot does the trick when you're in a city with limited camping spots.
