I’ve got an old 2006 GMC cargo van, it’s got its quirks, but it runs and drives, due to my current living situation being quite horrible. I’m thinking about throwing in a bed in a few items and moving into my van full-time. I’m based in Vancouver BC I’d be staying around here mostly. Any words of advice or tips or tricks? Thanks in advance.

caved and bought a proper fridge slide for the van. been using a cheap one from ebay for like two years and it rattled so bad I thought something was gonna break every time I hit a bump. plus the locking mechanism jammed

I was looking at the usual big brand stuff and honestly the prices are insane. I get that it's heavy duty and all but come on. it's just a tray with bearings. feels like they slap overland on anything and triple the price.

installed it last weekend and ngl it's solid. no rattles, extends smooth. I can cook without everything sliding around. still can't believe I spent that much on a sliding tray though. my first car was literally 800. this thing was almost half of that.

van life priorities I guess

New to electrical, is this a good kit to get for the price of 740$?

Im looking to power a small fridge and a small tv plus my ps5 and charging accesories. I may want to add AC or something else in the future and im planning on getting a second battery and an alternator for energy storage. Any tips would be helpful. Thanks :)

I used a friends address on my drivers license as i needed a physical address.. (Vermont ) technically i did live there for a short time but havent for a while and havent even been in the same state.. right now i have a van and a moped and left the moped parked on the street for a couple days (new jersey) one of the neighbors called and complained about the moped to police and i guess the police called vermont to get my info and now vermont thinks im commiting fraud since i dont live at my friends anymore and they showed up at his house un-announced asking my friend for my whereabout… he covered for me and said i was away for a couple days but i clearly need to figure out a new address…

I currently live in NJ and recently took an 8 day camping vacation throughout Maine and realized that the remote/simple life is something I truly want. I’ve been wanting to leave the standard living and go explore. I have a job that I can work remote that already supports my bills - $1500 rent, electric bill, car payment, credit cards, etc. I have about 10 months until my lease ends on my apartment and want to start gathering information now.
My plan is to find a larger camper van just to sleep, cook, shower, and have my dog with me. I guess the information I’m looking for is:
- insurance costs
- payments to stay in areas to hook up water/electric
- how much it costs monthly to maintain
- any other information I might not even know of

I know a lot of people say they want to do this, but being someone who already enjoys being in the outdoors, prefers camping lifestyle over the standard living, and is okay with having to put in work, I’m really invested in understanding the background of these things so I can see if it will truly be for me.

Took me way longer than I planned, but she’s done.

Started with a completely empty cargo Sprinter van. Watched way too many videos, made a bunch of mistakes, redid the electrical twice, and somehow ended up with this.

Bed platform up top so I still have full standing height and a little desk area underneath. Kitchen is super basic but it works — sink, induction, and that window right behind it is my favorite part. I can cook and stare at trees at the same time. Still figuring out the power situation. Right now I’m running everything off a bluetti apex 300 and it’s been keeping the lights, fan, and small fridge going without drama so far. First real overnight is this weekend. Equal parts excited and slightly terrified.

What do you guys think? Anything necessary I’m still missing that I should add before I start putting real miles on it?

I'm currently putting together a basic jack/stand setup for my 2013 Mercedes Sprinter 313 LWB. I don't plan on using the bottle jack to support the van while I'm underneath it — it will just be used to initially lift the van, and then I'll lower it onto axle stands.

I've already decided to buy the Big Red Torin T43002A 3-ton double-locking jack stands (the pair with the locking pins).

I'm now deciding between these two bottle jacks:

Big Red Torin T90413 4-ton

4-ton capacity

Minimum height: 190.5 mm

Maximum height: 368 mm

2.82 kg

Wide base

€43.22

KATSU 161115A 5-ton

5-ton capacity

Minimum height: 195 mm

Maximum hydraulic height: 380 mm

60 mm adjustable screw extension

3.2 kg

Large base

Overload protection

€30.32

The KATSU seems like the better deal on paper, especially because of the lower price and slightly greater lifting height, but the Big Red has considerably more reviews and a slightly better rating.

Would either of these be a good choice for a Sprinter, or is there anything specific about the Sprinter's jacking points that I should consider when choosing a bottle jack?

I'm also wondering whether the 195 mm minimum height of the KATSU is low enough for the Sprinter, particularly if I have a flat tyre.

Thanks!

I need recommendations for new vanlife related videos to watch on youtube... I think I've seen them all...

Here's a list of everything I've seen:

- Eric Enjoys Earth

- Every diy van/suv conversion built around the EEE layout design.

- The hot redhead with the cat.

- The hot Asian with the big boobs.

- The other hot Asian with the big boobs and food fetish...

- All those videos of Asian women documenting their van life and their videos have no talking.

- That blonde nymph with the van.

- A bunch of those vanlife videos with the overly sexualized (sometimes full nudity) thumbnails.

- Pretty much all the milfs on wheels... (RV Elisa is my favorite but she is currently taking a break from YT).

- All the Volkswagen California videos.

- All the foreign language speaking videos.

- All the foreign language speaking videos with the annoying auto YouTube voice over ("Yes, that's right". "Yes, true". "Yes, that right". "The design is very human").

- All the Nate Murphy videos.

- All the Josh Oakes videos (tho if you've seen 5 of them, you've seen them all...)

- That couple that set a goal to travel every country in Europe in 30 weeks.

- All those van tour videos with hot chicks...

- That annoying British chick with a horrible sense of fashion and annoying, forced permanent smile on her face that builds a van with her bf.

- Arab campervans... They seem very repetitive and more like a commercial to sell their Vvns rather than documenting vanlife.

- All the New Jersey Outdoor Adventures videos.

- Can't remember their names but there is this Scottish (if I'm not mistaken) young couple who interview people who talk about their lives and show their vans.

- Pretty much all the campervan exhibition/exposition in any language.

So, any suggestions?

Side note: I'm not interested in van conversion videos. I prefer van tours or videos of people document sting their day to day in a van.

can you see any drawbacks to getting a bright Cherry Red van for a conversion? It would be my first

Genuinely curious about this. I go to school and work part time and lately have been thinking about getting myself a van to get out of my current living situation. I know it’s a big commitment money wise and break down do occasionally happen. But I would love to read insights on this.

$12000 bus. It’s a 2002 with insulated floor, walls, roof. Solar on one side and adjustable to follow the sun. Bathroom half finished.sink installed.

Seems power stations these days are very robust. Any thoughts on wiring your new build to use here instead of wiring separate batteries, inverter, etc...

I (28f) have a good remote job and I'm thinking of van life. I currently live in san diego which is very expensive and i want to figure out where would be somewhere else to settle down. Honestly, my only big concern is being lonely and feeling alone living in a van. I'm worried it would have a negative effect on my mental health. Does anyone else feel that way living in a van and traveling? I am pretty extroverted so I think I would make an effort to make friends and build community in different places. Appreciate any insights you have.

Brightdrop to base camp, Arctic Leopard to Manastash Ridge!

I am just now starting my vanlife journey, but have done a lot of long solo roadtrips in the past. I always have a great time, but I'll be the first to admit that it gets lonely on the road sometimes. I also used to be a truck driver, where I would be gone from home for three weeks at a time. I've been so fortunate to have the opportunity to travel and see so many amazing places and have so many incredible experiences, but I've almost always been alone for them. How do you fellow solo vanlifers handle the loneliness of being on the road, and not having someone to share your experiences with?

Hey everyone, does anyone know of any awnings that will cover the rear double doors of a ford transit? I see there are a lot of options (fiama etc) that mount on the side and cover the sliding door. But I’d love an awning that would cover both the side and rear door, or a separate awning that would only cover rear doors. I do have a roof rack that it can mount to. Thanks!

I bought an old box truck last year for 2000. It’s a 2011 Chevy express with 238,000 miles. I put an additional 5000 into it, including tires, transmission lines, tie rods, alignment, and a few other things. It still has some sort of coolant leak so it may need a new radiator. Wanted to at least get it drivable.

Really my question comes down to: should I continue with this unit or should I unload it and find something with lower miles? This unit has the wire and tear you’d expect for this many miles, plus a fair amount of rust being from the Midwest.

I plan to convert the box into a living space with all the accoutrements that we all want to include in our builds. What worries me is putting all that effort into building out a nice box only to have the chassis fail or for rust to eat you alive and then you have to transfer the box or start over on something else.

I suppose part of that is just the reality of living in your vehicle. But one wants something one can depend on lol

Long storey short , I’ve walked out of a relationship because it’s just not for me 6 years on and off just had my first child blah blah blah… decided I need this van life , did it before in a 2011 transit and froze to death and nearly set my self on fire.

Just financed a Volkswagen crafter 2019 trendline , insulated it , carpet lined it and now I’ve hit a road block.

Bought myself the eco flow delta 3 max and the eco flow 1000W alternator charger and went to connect it today and realised this aftermarket set up is practically where I wanted to run my electrics.

All the wiring is grounded onto the only nut I can ground onto because of the length of my wiring.

I did want to rip it out but I didn’t want to mess any electrics up in the process but reading up about it , it seems pretty beneficial ? (New to electric set ups , leisure battery’s etc…

PLEASE so I can get past this hurdle how do I take this thing out? , what wires do I disconnect? , what
even is it? Is it beneficial?

There is definitely an alarm system hooked up to it witch has been unplugged as the pictures show but there’s also a USB dongle that’s constantly running power because it’s always on even when the vans switched off.

Has anyone in Canada been able to mail their driver's license and passport to their UPS BOX ?

Looking at getting a diesel heater for my cargo van and had a few questions for people who actually use them.
Is it safe to have the diesel tank inside the van? Obviously I’d make sure everything is sealed, but I’m wondering if you still end up smelling diesel or getting fumes in the cabin. If you do keep the tank inside, how do you have it set up/sealed?

Also how are most people powering these? I know they run off 12v but I’m kinda confused what battery people normally use. Could I just buy a regular car battery and use it only for the diesel heater? Not talking about using my actual starter battery, it would be a completely separate battery.

If a regular car battery isn’t a good idea, what are you guys using instead and how do you keep it charged? My van is just a normal gas cargo van, nothing electric or hybrid.