3 Things to Consider When Choosing a Van

Anyone who has lived in their vehicle knows how overwhelming finding the right van can be.

There’s a lot more to it than just throwing a mattress in the back of their mom’s beat up minivan and hitting the road. This isn’t just a means of transportation, this metal box on wheels will be where you eat, sleep and even poop if you have the space for it. This van will be your home, so choosing the best vehicle suited for you is important.

But choosing a van takes time, energy and effort.

What starts off as a joyful search for inspiration on Pinterest can quickly turn into a crushing wave of anxiety.

With so many options, how will you ever choose? The overwhelm leads to discouragement which leads to procrastination and before you know it, six months have gone by and you’re still working a job you hate, living in a dirty old apartment with your weird roommate who leaves her toenail clippings on the coffee table. You get stuck before you even get started.

To get over this hump, you need to consider the three following things: Lifestyle, Non-Negotiables and Budget. By taking these things into consideration, you can determine which vehicle is perfect for you.

Dream Big: Determine Your Ideal Mobile Lifestyle

The single most important step is to envision your ideal van life lifestyle. This may be surprising, but no it’s not your budget. (We’ll get into that later.)

Do you want to travel the country full time, working on your online business?

Or do you love your current job and simply want to stop paying rent, staying put in the city where you live now and getting away on the weekends?  

Do you love adventure and need a vehicle that can handle those backroads are the definition of “off the beaten path”?

Or maybe you’re an aspiring travel photographer, wanting to create the ideal Instagram esthetic with photos of your adorable old-school Vanagon?

Getting crystal clear on your dream nomadic lifestyle will enable you to build a list of specs that will help you find your van.  

For example, If you’re planning on living in a city then you might want to have a smaller vehicle so you can stealth camp in the neighborhoods. You don’t want to get a parking ticket for trying to squish your rig into a space that’s clearly too small for it, or have the police called on you for making the neighbors nervous.

On the other hand, if you’re an adventurer you might want to get a van that has four-wheel drive or something that can make it up steep climbs in the mountains. You don’t want to be deterred from finding that prime camping spot.

Or even with an iconic VW bus, it’s important to know that they can be finicky and expensive fix. If you get a vehicle that’s more than 30 years old, it’ll most likely cruise along at a much slower pace than a newer model; you’ll have to embrace the slow and steady lifestyle that comes with it.

I planned my van life journey based on one thing: music festivals. I’ve always loved festivals, but I decided it would be the ultimate experience to live in a van and travel around to all of my dream festivals. I picked ten of the festivals that were at the top of my list and based my entire trip around them. As I created my route, I realized that I’d be putting a lot of miles in, zigzagging from one corner of the country to the next, because these fests were all over the map from April through October.

I wanted a reliable source of transportation that wouldn’t break down on me. I didn’t have time for that – there was dancing to deep house to be done! But if something were to happen, I wanted the parts to be cheap and easily accessible. I narrowed my search American brands only – Chevys, Dodges and Fords.

I also decided that this trip was going to be six months of play. I didn’t want to work while on the road and I only had so many months of work before my launch date, so I came up with a budget specially for the van. Because of my specific budget, that narrowed my choices down further, which led me to discovering my Chevy Express Jubee Thunder Bolt.

In the end, Thunder was perfect for my trip. He drove me nearly 30,000 miles around the country as well as some of Canada, he didn’t have any mechanical issues, and while he was smaller and simpler than some homes-on-wheels, he was cozy and comfortable.

Get Specific: Determine Your Non-Negotiables.

Think about how you live your day-to-day life. What habits do you have? What conveniences of modern living can you not live without?

Think of how you live currently in terms of cooking/eating, sleeping, relaxing, hygiene, entertaining.

Do you cook a lot? Do you love having a hot shower at the end of each day? Do you entertain friends and love your living space? Do you work from home and need a big enough surface for your laptop? Do you have pets or family that will be joining you?

When searching for my own van, I identified a few non-negotiables.

I wanted to be able to stand up in my vehicle, making cooking and just generally moving around in the tiny space a lot easier.  Looking at videos of people hunched over in their cargo vans made my back hurt just thinking about it. Finding a van that was tall enough was key.

I also wanted to have a lot of storage space – I had a lot of gear for different hobbies.

I grew up looking at breath taking views of the mountains and while I knew I wouldn’t be waking up to gorgeous views every day (spoiler, van life isn’t dreamy vistas 24/7), I wanted the ability to view my surroundings in my van. A vehicle with lots of windows would make the van feel more open and less claustrophobic like some of the windowless vans I looked at, not to mention, it would make driving easier.  

Now that you’ve gotten reallll specific about how you want your life to be in the van, I encourage you to surrender to the flow of van life. The specs that you’ve identified for you dream vehicle are going to be great in helping you find one, but you can do all the planning in the world and still be met with problems and/or changes once you’re living in the van. Hold your plans loosely and keep in mind that things can and will change on the road.

I thought I would be fine without a bathroom of any sort – shower, sink or toilet. What I didn’t realize until I got on the road was how often I went to bathroom. Let’s just say I drink a lot of water.

Because I didn’t have a sink, it was next to impossible to do my dishes when I made food. I ended up eating out for lunch and dinner every day for nearly three months. This ate into my savings exponentially before I finally made a pitstop at home and my amazing grandpa helped me install a sink.

Also know that as time goes on, you’ll discover things that you want to change in your build. While you might be able to tweak some aspects of your home, other things will be permanent and that’s okay. Just embrace the imperfection. Lessons like these are what makes van life a unique journey.

Lock It In: Determine your budget

The reason I didn’t put budget first is because I’m a firm believer of going for your dreams regardless of your circumstances. The number one thing that holds people back from going for their dreams is money. Okay, I’m not sure if that’s a proven fact but from the majority of people I’ve talked to says finances is the main source of hesitation.   

Don’t let your current financial situation hold you back from finding your dream van and living your dream nomadic lifestyle.

Think of your dream van. What financial changes would you have to make to be able to afford it? What’s holding you back from making those changes?

When I was planning my van life journey, I knew I wanted to go as soon as possible and for me, that meant the following summer. For 13 months, I lived with my parents, worked two jobs and sacrificed my social life. While I didn’t earn enough for a Mercedes Sprinter, I found the perfect vehicle for my specific journey.

To come up with a budget, there are about a million articles and videos out there so find a system that works for you.

Make the commitment to put all the money that is leftover each month (after paying bills/monthly expenses) into saving for your van. Examine your fixed costs and your variable costs and see where you can cut back.

Streaming services, gym memberships, monthly subscriptions to apps or magazines are examples of fixed costs that I canceled when I started saving. Canceling these things helped me save upwards of $100 a month.

When it came to variable costs, I found out I was spending a ridiculous amount of money on dining out and as I cut back, my savings went up. Variable costs can be harder to let go of but sacrificing your daily coffee or sticking to water during your weekly happy hour with friends will save you money in the long run.

Maybe you’re living paycheck to paycheck. Don’t let this stop you. Believe in your abilities to reach that goal, despite your circumstances. You can and will find a way to make it work.

Your situation will be unique to you, but if you believe you can create this dream, no matter what, you’ll do it, even if that means living in your current situation longer than you’d like. Even if that means picking up a second job. Even if that means staying up late each night in order to configure the perfect layout that will fit a family of 5.

Step away from the idea that you have to be a millionaire to afford this lifestyle. You don’t. I’ve met people who embraced the nomad life by picking up odd jobs once they were on the road. Are they rich financially? Not really. But are they happy, content and free? I think you can guess the answer.

Let go of the conditioning that society has put on you and dare to do something different. If it makes you happy, then there’s no need to stress over budget.

I’m not saying be stupid. Planning, budgeting, and being conscious of your spending is key to success. But don’t be discouraged with the number of your bank account now. You can make the changes and sacrifices needed to live out this dream.

As I write this, I’m currently working on converting my Jeep into a camper. Why? Because I don’t have the funds to buy another van right now and the nomad lifestyle is calling to me. I’m setting sail in June which means I only have a couple months to create a tiny home on wheels.

I’m making it work with what I’ve got. And you can too. Dare to dream big, my friend, and watch what happens.

Tell me, what does your dream van and nomad lifestyle look like?