Dirty and Uncomfortable Situations

This MUST BE the first on the list. If you’re not the kind of person who is able to adapt to difficult situations (and I really wasn’t until not long ago), then van life might not be for you.

The truth is that more often than you might think (especially if you do wild camping like we often do) you’ll find yourself in places where there’s absolutely nothing for miles and miles. And you will not be able to shower… or to use much water… or even to buy groceries… and forget the washing machine!

And that’s not all: you’ll often find yourself travelling for hours to find a decent place to stay, and depending on the country you’re visiting, there will often not be many facilities for vanlifers. 

So, be prepared to get dirty and abandon the comforts!

Everything Breaks, Always.

This was one of the first things we learned the hard way. When we first started to take our van to adventures, we heard everything falling after only a few minutes. As soon as we hit the road, there were objects flying all around… literally.

We soon realised that all our belongings needed to be secured in some way to resist the road. And we still have to do this, EVERY time before driving.

Still, we very often forget a furniture door open, and after two minutes everything falls and breaks into pieces, forcing us to stop and fix it. And, if the road isn’t in the best shape, the lights fall, the pans fall, the dishes fall, the lamps fall… (*gasp*).

So, here’s the never-ending boring routine nobody talks about: stopping the van for a few days? Display everything on the shelves. Moving the van for the next adventure? Put everything back and secure it all!

The Infinite Errands

When vanlifing, just existing can be hard. I’m not kidding. Things like running water are not to be given for granted, as well as a toilet, a shower, and a refrigerator (*sigh*).

Van life can be a full-time job. In fact, every day (or almost) we need to:

– Find a free parking spot to spend the night (this can take ages);

– Find out where to refill our water tanks (I can assure you, this is more difficult than it might sound);

– Find a place to empty our toilet, preferably for free;

– Buy groceries (remember, most vanlifers don’t have a refrigerator!);

– Change the van from “drive mode” to “house mode”;

– Organise all the mess we make every time we move (small spaces get messy faster!);

– Find a place to take a shower;

– Find a place to wash the clothes;

– Clean the van (how can everything become so dirty, so fast!?);

– Cook, eat, wash the dishes;

– Get rid of the trash (small space, smelly space);

– Find out what to see in the area;

– Find the time to explore around (and try to not be too tired to do so);

– Spend time driving to all these places;

– Squeeze some work-time in.

And finally… go to sleep, pretty much exhausted.

Working Seems Impossible

Yes, vanlifers need to work too (most of us, at least). And this isn’t easy, AT ALL. 

Many of us work on the road, and this means we are completely dependent upon wifi connection (which is ALWAYS through our phone hotspot). And, most of the time, there is absolutely no signal. 

But this is not the only thing stopping us from being more productive with our jobs. Truth be told, van life is a job itself. Every day, we must complete all the tasks (see the previous paragraph) to ensure we live in at least an acceptable way. And these can often take all day, often leaving us at 9pm, exhausted, in front of our laptops and finally ready to start working. HURRAY!

The Smell!

Yes, van life can be veeery smelly. In such a small space, bad smells spread fast. And in the hottest months is even worse… ugh. 

Cooking? EVERYTHING will smell like your food. Grey water? The smell will come up from the sink. The toilet? Bleah, we’ll talk about this soon. Has food gone bad because oh, in summer the van temperature reaches 50° degrees? Just disgusting. And let’s not forget the dirty clothes that you can’t wash very often, because of the absence of a washing machine. 

The (very) Unscenic Parking Spots

Dreamy beaches, incredible natural landscapes, peaceful rivers… you know what I’m talking about.

Those amazing locations where vanlifers wake up and sip coffee while admiring the paradisiac view… That only happens a few time a month. If you’re lucky.

Here’s what is often hidden by those much loved Instagram videos: most of the time, living in a van means you wake up in some shitty places. And some of these will also be dodgy and dangerous. That’s why we spend so much time in finding a decent place to sleep every day. Planning is essential, if you want to survive!

I’ve honestly never met someone living in a van that has never slept in an Ikea’s parking lot or a Walmart’s. We even slept in a mechanic’s garage once! Not fancy at all, but that’s just reality.

Fighting? Good Luck!

If you’re not a solo traveller, good luck.

Just as any other couple, we fight. And this can be very hard when we’re both living in such a small space. I mean, it’s not like one of us can go to another room for a while! Moreover, in the worst-case scenario, the weather outside is so bad that none of us can leave for a while; we’re stuck with each other in an extremely tiny room.

“So, what do you do?”, you might ask. Well… you must be prepared for these situations and face them in the most mature way possible. Like sitting on the front seat to ignore the other person for a while (oops! Maybe not so mature, after all).

Pests Nightmare

There are many things the #vanlife doesn’t talk about. One of these is also my worst nightmare: pests. Spiders, mice. insects of any kind… you’re gonna have all of these in your tiny home. And that’s just inevitable. 

The truth is that you’re often going to stay in areas surrounded by nature, and if you want to keep your van free from pests (or almost), you do need excellent pests prevention techniques! Mine is Kris. He saves me from the giant ugly spiders every time. And an excellent cleaning schedule also helps, a lot.

Vanlifers Poop Too!

Spoiler alert: we still need to use the toilet. And, although we bought a classic “porta-potty”, and invested a considerable amount of money in chemical products to keep it clean and as less smelly as possible, we still need to empty it every few days. And one of the worst smells ever comes out of that thing.

It’s not pleasant, at all!

But that’s not all: you’ll not always find a place to empty it… So here’s a secret: every vanlifer has a can. Or a bottle. Where you can pee in emergencies. Ugh.

The Stigma

Although its popularity is increasing day by day, van life still comes with a lot of social stigmas.

Many people see van lifers as people who do not want to work, whose desire is only to travel and to reject any aspect of society. Oh, and let’s not forget all the judgement: “I mean, are you seriously going to live in a van!?” – literally any family member.

And that’s not all: most places are not friendly at all to vanlifers, and some municipalities even made it illegal for people to sleep in their vehicles.

And it doesn’t end here. In some countries (like in the UK), people without an address can’t do ANYTHING (we were asked for an address even when buying flooring material for the van… incredible).

What I’m saying is…

AVOID VAN LIFE.

I’m kidding. Although there are negative aspects to living in a van and it can be really rough at times, it is totally worth it. I love all the memories and adventures van life is giving us, and even if there are some bad moments, the good ones are really incredible. 

But if I have to really give you a tip… try it out first. Evaluate your priorities, be honest with yourself and try to understand if you can handle it… and if you would enjoy it!

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