Traveler III
Why #vanlife Sucks
- Thread starter Corrie
- Start date
I feel like if i was a 20 something wannabe tech worker trying to decide if i should buy a house or a van before i start my unpaid intership at some hashtag place, this would be a great article. As a guy who loves to get outside and away from as many hashtags as possible and who loves to shit and get laid in the pine needles (different pine needels of course), i feel this article was written by a guy who had a deadline and desperately needed something to write about. Just my 2 cents. Sorry.
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Isn't that similar to saying "I have never understood people "at home" who chill in their yard with a book and a hammock."? Getting out on the road, going to new places and being in nature is awesome. Winding down with some TV at night is something my wife and I do every trip with offline Netflix shows on the iPad. Staring at the ceiling when the sun goes down at 5:00pm and is pitch black by 6 is a great time to watch some TV. This is especially true in California where fires are banned everywhere outdoors.
"irony". Not the art of ironing, but mastering the word. Vanlife sucks big time in the Arctic, try out freeze and pretend you could have a shower inside ?
Not gonna happen. Being on the dole, as the brittons say, is not much fun either and dating ? Does that have to do with dades ? Can't remember. My rig is less than 5m long and just under 2m high so I guess I do not experience the twice as ling-van problem mentioned by the Sprinter Generation. The rest of it ? Yup.
Also - know the difference between "free camping" and "wild camping", as the formar is what people "mean" when they describe their free camping life and the latter descibe the littering twats that give anyone a bad name/black eye.
Camping sites shut for "the season" that would normally offer both 230V current and recharging of batterie(s) on borard, that would offer showers, loo's and perhaps even wifi ? Don't mention it. It does not happen after some very early date in September and untill some very late date in April the camping sites are all shut & locked down offering nothing but a cold shoulder.
Luckily/sadly I only live in my VW T4 syncro during summer and when I do not have my daughter (50% of the time), so I get my clothes cleaned "at (a rented) home" between battles. But with no work, I cannot travel around. I stay put because it is "expected", my being on the unemployment list. I apply for jobs but all there is are skarce temp jobs unloading truck trailers, containers or working as a fork lift (temp) now and then. Very low and stacato money flow. So I stay in the rented flat, with issues of this and that caracter, with bills stealing all the fun I could have had. At least I'm not that cold as I would have been burning diesel thru my Eberspächer air heater in the back of my van.
Vanlife sucks (again - if you do not know the frase irony, try google it).
Not gonna happen. Being on the dole, as the brittons say, is not much fun either and dating ? Does that have to do with dades ? Can't remember. My rig is less than 5m long and just under 2m high so I guess I do not experience the twice as ling-van problem mentioned by the Sprinter Generation. The rest of it ? Yup.
Also - know the difference between "free camping" and "wild camping", as the formar is what people "mean" when they describe their free camping life and the latter descibe the littering twats that give anyone a bad name/black eye.
Camping sites shut for "the season" that would normally offer both 230V current and recharging of batterie(s) on borard, that would offer showers, loo's and perhaps even wifi ? Don't mention it. It does not happen after some very early date in September and untill some very late date in April the camping sites are all shut & locked down offering nothing but a cold shoulder.
Luckily/sadly I only live in my VW T4 syncro during summer and when I do not have my daughter (50% of the time), so I get my clothes cleaned "at (a rented) home" between battles. But with no work, I cannot travel around. I stay put because it is "expected", my being on the unemployment list. I apply for jobs but all there is are skarce temp jobs unloading truck trailers, containers or working as a fork lift (temp) now and then. Very low and stacato money flow. So I stay in the rented flat, with issues of this and that caracter, with bills stealing all the fun I could have had. At least I'm not that cold as I would have been burning diesel thru my Eberspächer air heater in the back of my van.
Vanlife sucks (again - if you do not know the frase irony, try google it).
Enthusiast I
Very good write up!
Out of necessity I have lived on the road (2004 Tacoma, Xtracab, 4x4, 6' bed) more nights than not, on the road for work (filmmaking, corporate photography, etc) and sort of fell into the #overlanding / #vanlife lifestyle without a van and without the instagram account (until sometime earlier this year, which isn't even active).
That said, I've ALWAYS dabbled with the idea of wanting a van because of the luxurious space available! Although my need (personal and professional) for accessing remote areas is an immediate hard-stop on the van conversation. Living the nomadic lifestyle in a 4x4 high clearance vehicle makes a game-changing difference in sleeping options and bathroom availability, but drastically limits in-vehicle convenience, space, and internet access.
Pros and cons. I think one of the huge sad things about this entire topic of conversation is how so many do it for the instagram/social feed. Photography and video are how I make a living but using them as an inspiration to travel leads to a very quickly deflated experience. It needs to be about more than the images and content, it needs to be about feeding the soul - the lifestyle is for some, and it's not for others, which is perfectly fine.
#Vanlife might suck, but so does sitting at a desk every day. It's all give and take.
Write more! Love this article.
Out of necessity I have lived on the road (2004 Tacoma, Xtracab, 4x4, 6' bed) more nights than not, on the road for work (filmmaking, corporate photography, etc) and sort of fell into the #overlanding / #vanlife lifestyle without a van and without the instagram account (until sometime earlier this year, which isn't even active).
That said, I've ALWAYS dabbled with the idea of wanting a van because of the luxurious space available! Although my need (personal and professional) for accessing remote areas is an immediate hard-stop on the van conversation. Living the nomadic lifestyle in a 4x4 high clearance vehicle makes a game-changing difference in sleeping options and bathroom availability, but drastically limits in-vehicle convenience, space, and internet access.
Pros and cons. I think one of the huge sad things about this entire topic of conversation is how so many do it for the instagram/social feed. Photography and video are how I make a living but using them as an inspiration to travel leads to a very quickly deflated experience. It needs to be about more than the images and content, it needs to be about feeding the soul - the lifestyle is for some, and it's not for others, which is perfectly fine.
#Vanlife might suck, but so does sitting at a desk every day. It's all give and take.
Write more! Love this article.
After reading so many polarized views of van travel, what's the big deal? Have van, will travel just means uncountable ways to experience, well, having a van and traveling. It's almost like discussing what kind of suitcase travel works for you. In 2010 my wife and I bought a new Ford cargo van, spent a couple of months designing the transformation into a RV, and paid to have it those ideas realized---turned out pretty good for us! Our style was to do a multi-month trip each year, our favorite being spending the summer in Alaska, but have also driven across Canada, visited the SW Deserts a number of times and did a round trip from Seattle to Florida. Back in 2010 when typical attention spans could deal with blogs we dove into that as our means for "saving memories" and having something that we could share with others. So over the holidays we decided make a book out of that blog for fear that if no one clicked on it in WordPress for a month, it might disappear. It was only then that we realized how wonderful was is to have the memories "packaged" that way---it ended up over 600 pages long! It is a guess, but if you wanted to get a better idea of day-to-day van life, check out the blog at lugnutlife.wordpress.com. What we are particularly proud of is that we never used it to get paid by pushing crap on readers with those the little hyperlinks that some folks think they will be able to fund their retirement on. Check it out if you have a few minutes---ha!
I miss my 1985 Volkswagen vanagon Westfalia weekender. She’s the whole reason i got into the whole overlanding thing. I love that thing to death but unfortunately i had to sell her due to the fact that she’s also a money pit. Vanning is awesome, but you have to be prepared for the short and long term maintenance, mentally and financially lol. As for me i just don’t have the money and time for it, and i missed being able to get out there in the time she was not able to run and left in the driveway for a long. So i had to let her go and go with something new and reliable; my 2018 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 :] i will always miss the times i had with my 85 Westy but its time to make new adventures.
Over the decades, I've done three long trips with only the second one where our rig was our only home. I spent a month in 1980 when I 29-30 living out of my little pick-up with a camper shell and old school carpet kit. Traveled California and Utah, mostly. Then, in 1992, my wife and I sold out and hit the road in our pick-up and Lance camper. The world was our oyster and we traveled 16000 miles through the western states and western Canada. The goal was to find a new place to live because California was so over for me. We lasted six months and went back to California and rented a place. Over the next year and a half we reviewed our trip and where we'd been. Settled on Idaho and got here in 1994. A few years later, we had kids and ended up with a 5th wheel. Did lots of western trips when they were really little but decided to take a bigger trip in 2007. We homeschooled them that year and were going to travel the entire USA even though we now owned two homes in Idaho. Got as far as the Great Lakes and spent a total of 3 months on the road before going home. Didn't see the whole country.
What was the issue with these trips? I had to do every damn thing myself and after a time, it got really frustrating/aggravating. What I learned is that long term fulltime living in an RV of any sort is not for me. Now, I travel for up to a week or so in my camping van which is great because now that the kids are grown, it's just me doing what I want, when I want, where I want. I always boondock but it's easier when it's just you. It's also easier when I have a couple homes to come home to. No worries with the coppers and have never had a negative experience in the decades I've been doing this. Of course, I don't look like a Deadhead and my vehicles are conservative in their appearance. (I do admit to Steal Your Face stickers on both of my rigs ;)). But with the NPs being overrun and that fact that I've been to all of them many times, today finds me often taking my Cruiser into the SNRA or one of our countless areas where I can boondock a night or two and rarely see another sole. I read, fish, drink some wine and eat baguettes and a nice Brie, maybe do a little birding, perhaps use my small refractor to do some stargazing and get some real perspective, do photography, look at cool stuff on hikes and know I've got a nice house to come home to after a day or two. These little trips are my favorites of all the traveling I've done since the late 60's.
I remember how many people told my wife and me how smart we were back in '92 to do this sort of traveling while we were young (and we were, smart, that is). So at a more advanced age with a been there, done that mindset, I really admire all the people who are doing this while they're young because youth is over quickly. I don't like most of the countless YT vids I see of the 'look at me!' couples and I think they are missing out on so much with the drones, video production, and need to be noticed but that's fine, it doesn't hurt me any. I just hope these vanlifers are in the moment enough to really enjoy the positives of open ended travel with your stuff along for the ride.
Geez, but what a ramble. Sorry, folks! :)
What was the issue with these trips? I had to do every damn thing myself and after a time, it got really frustrating/aggravating. What I learned is that long term fulltime living in an RV of any sort is not for me. Now, I travel for up to a week or so in my camping van which is great because now that the kids are grown, it's just me doing what I want, when I want, where I want. I always boondock but it's easier when it's just you. It's also easier when I have a couple homes to come home to. No worries with the coppers and have never had a negative experience in the decades I've been doing this. Of course, I don't look like a Deadhead and my vehicles are conservative in their appearance. (I do admit to Steal Your Face stickers on both of my rigs ;)). But with the NPs being overrun and that fact that I've been to all of them many times, today finds me often taking my Cruiser into the SNRA or one of our countless areas where I can boondock a night or two and rarely see another sole. I read, fish, drink some wine and eat baguettes and a nice Brie, maybe do a little birding, perhaps use my small refractor to do some stargazing and get some real perspective, do photography, look at cool stuff on hikes and know I've got a nice house to come home to after a day or two. These little trips are my favorites of all the traveling I've done since the late 60's.
I remember how many people told my wife and me how smart we were back in '92 to do this sort of traveling while we were young (and we were, smart, that is). So at a more advanced age with a been there, done that mindset, I really admire all the people who are doing this while they're young because youth is over quickly. I don't like most of the countless YT vids I see of the 'look at me!' couples and I think they are missing out on so much with the drones, video production, and need to be noticed but that's fine, it doesn't hurt me any. I just hope these vanlifers are in the moment enough to really enjoy the positives of open ended travel with your stuff along for the ride.
Geez, but what a ramble. Sorry, folks! :)
This case made me think of this thread:
https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-blocks-san-diego-rv-parking-restriction/
It will be interesting to see if San Diego comes up with a new law that is acceptable to the courts or if this will turn into a precedent forcing other cities to back down on enforcement.
The challenge is that many of the folks who are living out of vehicles are folks who typically don't make good decisions. Their reputation affects everyone else.
https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-blocks-san-diego-rv-parking-restriction/
It will be interesting to see if San Diego comes up with a new law that is acceptable to the courts or if this will turn into a precedent forcing other cities to back down on enforcement.
The challenge is that many of the folks who are living out of vehicles are folks who typically don't make good decisions. Their reputation affects everyone else.
Contributor III
We don't LIVE the #vanlife - BUT we have traveled a LOT by van. For my take on travel and camping in vans, please visit GoneCamper
After reading that article, it sounds more like PEOPLE suck, rather than van life sucks!
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Creator III
Good read , i see lits of thise especially being that there are lots in the vw bus community traveling across country and down to south america, they made it all look so easy. I then came across an overlanding YouTube video and they documented crossing borders from country to country and how dangerous it could be, making sure you always had your credentials and vehicle permits, then also having to deal with fumigation etc...... there were lots of positives ,but they also showed the other side of things that were not so positiveCorrie submitted an Article on the main site!
Why #vanlife Sucks
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Brent Rose is a writer for Gizmodo, Wired, Outside Magazine, Deadspin and numerous other publications. He also roams around the country while...
Continue reading the Original Blog Post.
Member III
As said, it is a lifestyle that you embrace and make work, or not! I have options that some do not have. My Overlander Cherokee, a pop up Alaskan hard sided 10’ camper that sits on my Cummings Dodge pickup, then last, for longer term living, my 28’ transit bus, converted into a nice motor home. Better weather and trips wanting to camp more, my Cherokee is great. Early Spring, Fall, or when expectations of lots of rain, fishing trips and more the camper towing the boat, works great. The bus, hoping to use to go South for the winter. Works great for longer times and more comfort. Van life, done right with an open mind works! Vance.
hahahaha ! I agree completely, the whole van life overland crap sucks. Most of the time you can walk faster than you drive and all any of these people want to do is eat. Not to mention they bring a bunch of over weight bullshit they don't need. Ill stick to back backpacking.
Rant over
Rant over
ok...still waiting to hear some negatives...
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Honestly sounds like the author just does not enjoy it and isn't thinking his problems through. In which case, why continue? He could probably sell his van for what he put into it!
1. Overnighting Sucks.
But he's using LA as an example. Why in the world would you live in a van and choose to stay in LA of all places? Isn't the point of vanlife to get out into the country? And where does he think truck drivers sleep? He's been in a van 3 years and can't figure out where to stay in cities? It took me 2 weeks. And I'm in a frickin Tundra/RTT
2. Peeing/Pooping/Bathing
The author complains about the status of public bathrooms. Frankly, this is on him. Why are you using gas station bathrooms? Walmarts are generally decent - hotels are nearly always spotless. My father drove for work for 20 years and gave me one piece of advice. Use hotel bathrooms. As for bathing, the author is complaining that showering in his van is difficult. Why in the world would you try to shower in your van unless you have a genuine shower? Not only do you now have to dispose of wastewater (as with his built in toilet, bad mistake), you have to carry around enough water to shower with which is insanely heavy.
What the author should do is get two gym membership to some national gyms, and seeing as he wants to stay in LA, I'm pretty sure they have gyms with showers there.
3. Parking sucks
Maybe you're just not a good driver. And maybe staying in cities doesn't help the problem. I'm also not sure if he's talking about parking at grocery stores and the like or public parks and places to enjoy the day? Public areas always have excessive parking spaces and parking is never a problem.
4. Dating sucks
Yeah, no. Inadvertently saying no one likes you. There are TONS of guys/girls living on the road who are single and love to hang out. I've experienced this myself. In my first month on the road, I made more friends than I did in the past year at home.
"but I now see it at a sort of litmus test. It’s a lifestyle that isn’t for everybody. If she thinks it cool, then we are more likely to be compatible. If she thinks it’s weird or gross, it’s likely that our personalities wouldn’t have gelled in other ways, too. Better to not waste each other’s time. "
Very wise take. So why is the author mad in the first place??
Sorry folks, but none of these are great points. The only decent one is parking, but if you're trying to live in a city in a van, don't get a frickin conversion van like the author - build something stealth. Looks like he didn't think it through. And it's worth noting I camped TWICE before I hit the road, and figured everything out within 2 weeks. Don't let this article discourage you!
1. Overnighting Sucks.
But he's using LA as an example. Why in the world would you live in a van and choose to stay in LA of all places? Isn't the point of vanlife to get out into the country? And where does he think truck drivers sleep? He's been in a van 3 years and can't figure out where to stay in cities? It took me 2 weeks. And I'm in a frickin Tundra/RTT
2. Peeing/Pooping/Bathing
The author complains about the status of public bathrooms. Frankly, this is on him. Why are you using gas station bathrooms? Walmarts are generally decent - hotels are nearly always spotless. My father drove for work for 20 years and gave me one piece of advice. Use hotel bathrooms. As for bathing, the author is complaining that showering in his van is difficult. Why in the world would you try to shower in your van unless you have a genuine shower? Not only do you now have to dispose of wastewater (as with his built in toilet, bad mistake), you have to carry around enough water to shower with which is insanely heavy.
What the author should do is get two gym membership to some national gyms, and seeing as he wants to stay in LA, I'm pretty sure they have gyms with showers there.
3. Parking sucks
Maybe you're just not a good driver. And maybe staying in cities doesn't help the problem. I'm also not sure if he's talking about parking at grocery stores and the like or public parks and places to enjoy the day? Public areas always have excessive parking spaces and parking is never a problem.
4. Dating sucks
Yeah, no. Inadvertently saying no one likes you. There are TONS of guys/girls living on the road who are single and love to hang out. I've experienced this myself. In my first month on the road, I made more friends than I did in the past year at home.
"but I now see it at a sort of litmus test. It’s a lifestyle that isn’t for everybody. If she thinks it cool, then we are more likely to be compatible. If she thinks it’s weird or gross, it’s likely that our personalities wouldn’t have gelled in other ways, too. Better to not waste each other’s time. "
Very wise take. So why is the author mad in the first place??
Sorry folks, but none of these are great points. The only decent one is parking, but if you're trying to live in a city in a van, don't get a frickin conversion van like the author - build something stealth. Looks like he didn't think it through. And it's worth noting I camped TWICE before I hit the road, and figured everything out within 2 weeks. Don't let this article discourage you!
Traveler III
I've been to LA. It was a horrible place, especially with regard to driving and parking. You couldn't pay me enough to live in a van in LA.
I agree with you as well, isn't the whole point of "vanlife" to be totally free to drive around and visit new and interesting places? Why on earth would you limit yourself to hanging around a hell hole like LA?
