Van Life: The 5 Pros and Cons of Living Life On The Road

The Highs and Lows of Van Life

Who hasn’t heard of Van Life by now?

With over 3 million hashtags it’s an increasingly growing trend among millennial’s to condense their life into a van and travel for an indefinite amount of time.

Some have money saved up, some are digital nomads with an online income, and others take on seasonal work to pay for the necessities that still exist in Van Life.

Pictures often depict Vans with diverse custom interiors reflecting the personalities of each passenger. Images often portray sunshine, pets, surfboards, healthy eating, and an array of incredible locations often involving nature.

It’s a surreal portrayal that is mostly true, but as with anything in life is not always how it seems.

Authority: Shelby and I lived out of a rented Toyota Sienna minivan for 3 months traveling the entire United States. We lived solely off of money we had saved up for this specific endeavor.

We drove coast to coast visiting states all over the United States.

This was a less luxurious option of Van Life as we could not even stand up in this van nor did we have the bells and whistles of a modern day van life enthusiast. Majority of Van Life vans can accommodate much more than a minivan, including kitchens and even bathrooms! (sorta)

With this experience we can truly tell you from our journey the ups and downs of van life.

If you are considering Van Life you should also know the do’s and don’ts of a road trip. 

Aside from the more commonly talked about savings and costs associated with van travel, let us take a closer look at the magical and not so magical parts of Van Life.

PROS

1. Simple Living

You may have heard the term “Less is more.” This couldn’t be more true when it comes to living life on the road in the confided space of a van. One must let go of many physical assets and attachments to accommodate the space in which they’ll be living out of on the road.

It’s incredible how much easier life is once you’ve learned to let go of attachment and material things. Notice that many things we stress about in life are in regards to finance. Owning less means you worry less.

There are several ways to increase your travel budget allowing you to travel simpler and longer too.

Cleaning the space of a van is much easier than that of an apartment or house. You have no rent or mortgage to pay. No cupboards to fill and keep clean. No closet to keep tidy.

Life is just simpler in many ways.

2. Ultimate Flexibility

Simply put – Do what you want when you want to do it!

With the exception of a departure time in a camp spot or street sweeping on a given street you can virtually post your van anywhere you want as long as you want.

You’re not working 9-5, Monday through Friday in a physical office. You make your own schedule. Move your itinerary around as you please.

One of the best parts is having the freedom to choose new and spontaneous travel destinations as you go!

Van life gives you the flexibility to extend your stay or leave a place early. 

Wake up where you want to be. Go to bed immediately after an adventure. Home is where you are!

3. Time Outdoors

This is our favorite part of Van Life. When you live out of your van it’s just that! You’re outside most of the time.

Your van is a place to sleep, store necessities, and get you from A to Z. Most of us Van Lifers’ are outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy nature and action sports.

Surely you’ve seen the bikes, surfboards, snowboards, and skateboards hanging inside or outside the vans of these modern day nomads. Much of van life is spent near the beach, in a forest, on top of mountains, or through the desert.

Van life brings people back to the natural world.

4. Increased Humanity

Time spent on the road and primarily outdoors brings us to our next point, increased humanity.

Living life on the move creates a much more intimate setting to create memories with people, your partner, and yourself.

In heavily populated metropolitan areas we often feel that people forget we are part of an incredible natural world and even bigger, the universe. The more technology evolves the more attention is diverted away from other human beings.

It’s an ongoing conversation, many of us are aware, but many of us have a hard time detaching. Ourselves included!

The time spent outdoors during our Van Life travels is invaluable. A true testament to where our hearts lay.

No distractions. Nothing but time. And lots of honest and genuine relationship building.

Your full range of emotions become fully engaged and exercised often. Sharing them with a partner and people you meet along your travels is a gift we hope to keep giving.

5. Turns You Into a Problem Solver

Van Life will turn the worst problem solver into an expert. At least the ones who stick around long enough to say they’re living the “Van Life!”

When your entire life is based on wheels, you need to be able to think quick and work efficiently when faced with challenges out on the road.

You’re accountable for your vehicle and home. From repairs, to navigation, to food, and destinations you need to be able to roll over any speed bumps that come your way (pun intended).

You’ll be surprised how quickly and efficiently you solve problems after you’ve lived out of a van.

CONS

1. Hygiene

We’re going to start with the obvious or maybe not so obvious! Vans typically don’t have showers. You’ll often find yourself gravitating to campgrounds and locations where these accommodations are rarely available.

It was not uncommon for Shelby and I to go days without a shower. The longest we went without a shower was 12 days.

Stop. Let that sink in for a moment. Twelve freakin’ days we went without a shower.

Mind you we did use wet wipes and washed our hands, but 12 days without a real shower.

When you do decide to rinse off, it’s often at the foot of natural water such as lakes, rivers, streams, or within a campground. Both places where you don’t have control over the temperature of the water being used. Pouring near freezing water over your head is equivalent to lighting it on fire! You can guess how I know.

There are some DIY options to get clean, but the concept of an actual bathroom with tub and shower is gone.

Washing your hair in a bucket was a common morning routine for Shelby as you can see below.

Nomads With a Van go into detail on how to shower when you live in a van. 

You don’t have the luxury of a closet or a washing machine. Which means few clothes with few washes in between. We would often go days without a fresh pair of clothes. 

Laundromats are generally located within towns and cities where many van life folk stay clear of. It’s an effort to drive into an unsightly city or vanilla town with the goal of doing some laundry.

Despite the effort it was always worth it once you’ve put on a fresh pair of undies and clean sheets over your bed.

This is a reality you have to get comfortable with. We could live with that fact for the pros, but not all can digest these facts.

2. Endless Cook & Clean

The food photography associated with van life is often filled with hearty, healthy portions whipped up in or just outside of one’s van. Delicious fruits, grains, veggies, and proteins.

What’s not to like? Eating healthy and feeling good.

While these are the pros, the cons is that this is your responsibility at least 2 times a day.

While some vans have been decked out with built in water and sinks, many do not have these luxuries.

Cooking with just 1-2 burners and having to wash pots, pans, dishes, silverware, and cups can be a tedious job and depending on the weather the magnitude of this chore is exponential.

Now deal with this for every meal of the day, everyday. Having to rinse out of a bowl or pour water out of jugs or bottles.

Bottom line – Cooking and cleaning outdoors is pretty inconvenient in comparison to a kitchen. Although, by choosing to cook instead of buy local foods, we saved tons of money on food while we traveled. Which is always a win in our book!

Our 3 month trip started in winter and we had several days where I chose protein bars over a meal due to frigid temperatures and the reluctance to cook and clean outside. I valued relaxation and comfort over the time and work it would take to make a single meal.

Shelby on the other hand, not so much. I often found her outside in the snow with 4 jackets on cooking up some pasta for dinner.

3. Feelings of Loneliness

Van life is rarely characterized as being lonely. Sunshine, smiles, partners, and pets. Woohoo! I mean, we love all of that, seriously. But we also seriously missed our friends and family. Even people we met along the way and eventually left after a day or two.

It’s especially tough if you’re alone, but even with a partner you’ll begin to feel yourself become lonely as most humans thrive off of community. There are pros and cons to both solo and group travel.

Fortunately being lonely only came in short waves and rarely when we were out exploring and having fun. One of the biggest draws to van life is a new adventure everyday.

It’s easy to be present and live in the moment allowing little to no room for anything negative. When negative events take place, that’s when the feels come in strong. No one is immune to it and all of us living van life have felt it.

4. Limited Space

But you said the “Simple Life” is a pro? Yes, this is for the most part true. Less is more, but sometimes you do want more. More space.

There will be times you miss having a full size couch, a queen sized bed, a full size work space, and a place to comfortably walk around indoors.

If you’re traveling with a partner you may get tired of switching spots within the confines of the van. If one of you want or need some privacy, good luck.

For Shelby and I, we didn’t have true refrigeration, table tops, or even enough space to stand in our mini van life. Mileage will vary dependent on your set of wheels of course.

5. Dependent on Weather

I briefly mentioned weather earlier in regards to cooking and cleaning. Overall, weather is relevant to every aspect of van life.

Vans do not come equipped with insulation from factory. Cold and hot days outside are cold and hot days inside your van. Trying to sleep in weather below 40 degrees will begin to require some heavy blankets and/or extra clothing.

We do not recommend leaving your van’s engine on all night running AC or heat for obvious reasons: safety, gas, money etc. It’s just not smart or efficient.

Not only does weather affect your sleep, but it affects your activities in the day. Those who live van life spend most their time outdoors.

If the weather is poor you have nowhere to go, but the inside of your van or a public building. Coming home to an apartment or house with a comfy couch and TV with AC or heat is a lot more comfortable than cramming into your van for the day or seeking shelter within a coffee shop or library.

If you’re out in the middle of nowhere in nature, then you don’t even have the latter as an option.

Despite traveling during the colder months of the year, we made it work and still loved seeing so many national parks during the beautiful winter season. No pain no gain as we always like to say.

Another consideration and perhaps more reason to become an even bigger problem solver! (weather, know before you go)

So There You Have It!

Van life pros and cons by yours truly, Nathan. Even though I ended with cons, and dug pretty deep into each of them, I still wholeheartedly choose Van Life over the normal 9-5 with a permanent abode.

As with all social platforms, not everything is exactly as it seems. There are still real world problems happening behind the scenes. This is true for every lifestyle.

I hope these highs and lows hit home with those who are living the van life and help those who are interested in living it. It’s not all glamour, but it’s 100% worth it if you can step outside your comfort zone provided the cons.

You can get a head start on Van Life by learning how to create a master packing list and building and maintaining a travel itinerary.

How do you feel about Van Life? Are you currently living the Van Life? Would you add or subtract anything from this list? Let us know in a comment below! 

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