Ah, the open road. Sea views. Mountain air. Waking up to the sunrise, going to bed by moonlight. Wee scented lay-bys. Supermarket toilets. Van life can be a necessity for the low-budget racer, or a lifestyle choice for the digital nomad. Take our quiz and see what sort of van lifer you are. Or would be, if only your company car options would allow it…
Singletrack magazine has been in print and and online since 2001 and every issue we’ve ever published is made available to our members as part of their membership. But there’s so much more on offer – check out these features.
From unlimited access to content to discounts and offers on gear and services. All full membership comes with unlimited digital access & ad free website. But we also need your help to survive and be a sustainable media brand. Advertising just doesn't pay the bills anymore but members contributions do. The more of you join us the better we can be so we hope you'll take a look at the options below and if you can, join us and help sustain the future of Singletrack.
Join us
Full Member Benefits
DIGITAL
Access all our digital benefits
Access members’ content, digital back issues & new app issues
Ad free website ***
Merch discounts.
Downloads, GPX, PDFs, iBooks
Choose your own price*
Choose annual (best value) or bi-monthly (flexible)
I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones.
More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments.
I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.
Hoping to do a bit of van life stuff from next year. Was a ‘static vanner but that’s gone so now it’s car and posh tent, but looking to buy a people carrier version of a van next year.
@alpin all my childhood holidays were on nudist campsites, I would not be shocked by the appearance of a naked camper. But I have made a note to get the seats thoroughly valeted if I ever have cause to buy your van.
There’s no option for LeCeuset kettle & mugs, smidge, Laphroaig Oak Finish and full size double bed with deep memory foam topper and van special bedding….
This image brought to you live from the oab’s RAB van
full size double bed with deep memory foam topper and van special bedding….
Unless I’m misreading that picture, there’s a wardrobe unit at the end of that van, which means it’s nowhere near full size double bed.
You need custom low side furniture to get a full size bed in a T5. Obviously even then it isn’t proper full size, but better than the pokey effort that fits in next to a wardrobe :-).
Very funny Hannah – and somewhat true, yes we do have Caravan club membership, I like the clean showers 😉 Though our van is a very basic glorified metal tent (we break also sorts of club rules not having a fixed table etc!).
You need custom low side furniture to get a full size bed in a T5.
Or don’t bothered with the side furniture at all, and we’ve got a kingsized bed 🙂
If youre retired and with a pension income then I guess that’s doable but doesn’t van life significantly reduce your earning ability?
but if you either have no house costs, or are renting a house out then you have substantial saving / passive income. It may not be the most financially astute decision, but then pursuing the “traditional” lifestyle is not necessarily great financially either! My brother earns very nicely but lives in a crampt house that most people would say is too small for them. He paid his mortgage off years ago and now lives a pretty stress free life doing what he wants with his excess surplus cash. In reality I suspect most “van lifers” don’t live in their van all year round.
@moab – I’m intrigued does your crueset kettle take an age to heat up because it is so heavy and thus use double the gas or do you think it holds the heat better so it actually reasonably efficient?
doesn’t van life significantly reduce your earning ability?
In my case, yes….. However, I’m fortunate that I’ve a decent amount of cash invested, although I’ve not had to dip into it. I have taken on a few cash in hand jobs. Most recently spent three months in Finale installing doors, a kitchen and a few other odd jobs for a friend who is building his house. I’ve got two months work lined up in Munich for the end of summer which we’re combining with visiting the GF’s folks (and the Oktoberfest 😉).
The GF is a self employed branding consultant and clicks about on her computer. Earns more than enough to cover our costs. She’s just finished one job and that will pretty much covers our outgoings for this year.
Essentially she looks after the financial side of things and I’m the house(van) man.
We’ve worked out we need 20-22,000€ a year to cover ourselves. That includes food, diesel, insurances, servicing, meals out, bike bits and
Our fixed costs in Munich were much higher. And we had had enough of Munich, high taxes, expensive and bad coffees and the general stresses of city life (a big building site starting 2m away from our bedroom window was the final push). We knew we didn’t want to be there long term so didn’t see the point spending another ten years there, running faster each year just to standstill.
Financially we’re better off now than two years ago.
We’ve now got more freedom, more money and, most importantly, time to do the things we want.
We’re in no rush to be anywhere specific. We’re not dashing from one spot to another every other day, which massively helps reduce the money spent on diesel. Will often stay parked up for a week or more at a time, perhaps longer if there’s a source of water nearby. Been at this current park up for four days and will stay till our water runs out.
I built the van so that we’re pretty self-sufficient. No chemical toilet that needs emptying (dry toilet with a fan/vent that removes the shitty air). Enough solar/battery capacity that we can go for days without any solar/charging (only once have I had to plug the van into the mains and that was when parked on my sister’s driveway in the depths of UK winter). No gas tanks on board, the stove and heater both run off diesel (drawing off the vehicle tank) so we’ve only one fuel source to worry about. Raised floor in the living area that is stuffed with non-perishable food. 160ltr water on board.
I’m going to walk 3km to the nearest village because our bin is full.
Mines just a big car that we can sleep in, it’ll take 8 people but we usually leave a row of seats out as we only need it for 2 adults 2 kids and a dog.
@jkomo – It’s one of these, not cheap but works well and packs up small (ish). Can be set up partially in the boot then pulled out, over folded down seats. I was using it with a self inflating mattress but now have an actual foam mattress.
They’re in Spain, nr Barcelona, but I had it delivered to my sister’s house in France and brought it home after a holiday.
Home › Forums › What Sort Of Van Lifer Are You?
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Spread the word:
Spread the word: