Blog

The Buildout Priority List: Van Living 3

• October 2015
• Van Living Simple Living Travel

So the first crux of van living is getting the van. And then you have a big metal box that can be transformed into a little home on wheels, which brings us to the second crux. What do you want in there?

A lot of it does depend on your activities, and climbers have a tendency to prefer a super simplistic setup that is reminiscent of the VW camper bus. But lots of us don’t just climb, we like to do other things too that involve bikes or longboards or kayaks or dogs or babies. So ultimately everyone’s setup is going to be a little different, and that can bring us to hours of happily perusing the internet to check out people’s buildouts and get ideas. And you can be like me and ask for a tour of every van you come across while at a climbing gym or parking lot–most people are really proud of their van setup and will be delighted to give you a tour. One day at Rifle I noticed that the campground was filled with vans, so after dinner we walked around and had an amazing van tour of 6 different van buildouts–I’m still kicking myself for not taking photos of everyone’s cool setup that day.

Having seen, lived in and visited many small living spaces over the years, I’ve developed some set parameters of what I really wanted in a buildout. At the same time, I’ve seen so many interesting ideas I’d never thought of, that I realize there are many different ways to use these little spaces. In my situation right now, I’m mainly traveling with my boyfriend who is tall, and my dog who is small but seems to take up a heck of a lot of space. We like to stay very minimalistic when we travel, but we do several sports that require different types of gear. And above all, we want convenience for the daily living tasks, to be able to give more attention to the stuff we’re going out there to do.

In light of our group and our activities, my van essential buildout list looks like this:
1. queen size bed platform (so Ian has length for sleeping and there’s room for us after Cajun has made herself comfortable on 40% of the space) that always stays a bed and doesn’t have to be set up or stowed away. I want the convenience of just jumping out of bed and going, without fussing around with panels or benches or folding things. And same for at night when you’re tired–there’s nothing more awesome than being able to just turn around and crash out in a bed that’s made.
2. fridge, because I’ve never really developed a good cooler system that doesn’t end up with fishing everything out of the melted ice.
3. plenty of storage so we can bring everything on a trip and be ready for anything, whether an unexpected alpine excursion with a bivy or skydiving.
4. a sink that drains, so you don’t have to step outside every time you need to toss rinse water, brush your teeth or drain pasta (this is a huge dream item for me: luxury!)
5. lights
6. stove that stays a stove and doesn’t have to be taken out or put away
7. heater (this was a topic of some debate–I don’t really see why you need a heater in small space that contains a stove and 3 bodies, but apparently I am literally the only person out there who thinks this way. there’s something I’m not understanding! so, heater)
8. ceiling fan for cooking
9. insulation
10. swivel base on the passenger seat
11. as many windows as possible, but also the ability to black the windows out completely in case you need to sleep in Yosemite or in a parking lot

You’ll notice there’s no shower or bathroom on my list–I’ve always been a little uncomfortable with the idea of bathroom facilities inside a vehicle or even a small cabin. I just can’t get my head around combining bathroom stuff with a very tiny living space where cooking and sleeping are happening. I like to keep that stuff separate 🙂 But this is yet another reason why van buildouts are very personal and fun! Everyone has different priorities and living habits, and a slightly different essentials list.

After that amazing van tour in Rifle, I added another item to the essentials list based on some really cool things I saw in other people’s vans:
12. a free standing hangboard tripod set up: genius! and, the Zodi shower for the times you don’t want to return to civilization. I’ve gotten that shower since, and it is fantastic. I had an old Coleman single burner stove for heating the shower, and it is perfect (I’ve been told the Zodi brand burner is flimsy and not so good).