Living in a van isn’t a downgrade—it’s an upgrade to freedom. As someone who has personally experienced the van life, I’m here to share some tips that cover most of the things I didn’t know when I started, about how simple van life can be. It can be a really low-cost, low-impact life for a digital nomad. Some parts of this article are specific to UK van life.
- Showering: An outdoor shower can be as straightforward as a metal bucket, a cup, and a curtain on your back door. Place the bucket on a simple hexamine burner with 2/3 tablets or on a fire until the water is warm enough for your liking. Then use the cup to pour the water onto yourself for a refreshing shower. It’s a simple and effective way to maintain personal hygiene, especially if you have space to put up a privacy curtain.
- Power: Harness the power of the sun. A large USB battery pack (up to £100) coupled with a folding 30w solar panel (up to £40) can keep your phone charged all day. This setup is not only environmentally friendly but also cost-effective. If you need more power, consider engine charging or larger solar panels on the roof. If you have the cash, you can use a mid-sized (500wh) solar generator with a folding 200w panel to power a laptop or heater.
- Heating: Keeping warm in your van can be tackled in various ways. A £100 blown air diesel heater can keep your van toasty with only £5 of fuel per day, but you absolutely need to keep the device outside and pump the air in or fit an exhaust to the heater to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Alternatively, heating with wood means gathering fuel and creating a safe flue exhaust system, such as a hole in your roof or a side window flue. Sitting by the fire outside is better than sitting in the van cold, and if you sit there in the cold you will get your sleeping bags wet and they will stop insulating as well. The cheap ceramic butane heaters that have the flame exposed inside will use up the oxygen and cause damp and be generally unpleasant.
- Toilet Facilities: Living without a fixed bathroom might seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. A simple hole in the ground can serve as a toilet. If you’re in one spot for a while, renting a porta cabin toilet for about £30 per week could be a more comfortable and hygienic option. Often, you can use a local supermarket or pub when you restock.
- Waste Management: Bin collections from Biffa can be as low as £10 a week. Alternatively, using carrier bags that fit in public bins is a practical option, especially if you prefer to stay mobile and move around more.
- Refrigeration: Keeping food cool without a fridge is relatively simple. A blanket and a cheap bag of ice can keep your food cool for a couple of days most of the year, even during summer for a whole day in the shade under your van.
- Income: Generating income while living on the road can take many different routes. Consider working events during summer, or factories during winter, or finding remote work like support or IT online if you want to work remote full time. Self employed incomes such as YouTube or advertising on a blog are possible and are great fun I’m sure if they take off, but often take more work than people think to maintain. Remember you don’t have much space in the van if you want to sell physical things. If you have a PAYE job in the UK, even with your own company, you can claim benefits without signing on meetings each week or a health condition. They offer Universal Credit for low incomes to maintain your living situation, and its cheaper to maintain a van than a house.
- Internet Connectivity: An affordable 4G contract with 100GB of data can cost as little as £4 a month, there are also an assortment of high data SIMs on amazon you can get without a contract, even unlimited ones as well. This allows you to work remotely, stay connected, and even enjoy entertainment. Switch to low quality and you can get away with less data and still watch non-stop. YouTube uses about 0.5-0.6GB an hour on low quality. You can use McDonalds and other free Wi-Fi points to download offline videos ahead of time too.
- Additional Shelter: If you’re with a group or want to throw a small gathering, a parachute with a smoke hole in the middle, strung up on trees, and some tree stumps or folding seats can make a warm comfortable shelter that isn’t seriously affected by rain (the fire will burn off the fine mist that comes through in a torrential downpour), warm when combined with a fire in the middle, even in freezing winter when the shelter is surrounded by Mylar blankets. I like to also have a “bug out” rucksack prepared with food, a bivvy/tent, a sleeping bag, and emergency hotel cash etc in case the van needs to go away for a few days for a repair.
- Location: I like to spend time in rural areas and ask any farmers investigating politely if I can stay at the edge of their fields for the day time while I work. I also like to make trips to very remote places without signal to escape it all, and if planning to stay there, consider Starlink (there are other providers starting up), which can come in at £85 including rental (they do a more expensive mobile version).
- Comfort Food and Deliveries: You can often arrange for an Asda or Morrisons delivery by inputting a nearby address and stating that you are the van near it on the top line. Adding a what3words location can often get you Amazon deliveries. Many local takeaways are very happy to deliver if you pay in advance, and some of the more independent ones will even drop into the shop and buy some things if you pay for them and offer a tip. Amazon can also deliver to lockers in lots of supermarket car parks. My top tip here is to look out for the delivery van and wave at them, and also to make up a sign that says the name of your van to put next to the road.
- Legal Document Address: If you don’t have a house (you can sometimes get a small room on universal credit if you have a low income), you can use a business registration address option like UKPostBox to get an address that isn’t a PO Box that you can use on your documents, they will scan your mail and forward parcels to a paid collection point including a PO Box or friendly pub. You simply pay for the account and get the address then write this is your address on the paperwork and your mail appears online and you can arrange forwarding. It costs about £15 per month for the address and £2 for each forwarded mail for the starter option, but you don’t have to use it for everything and there are other options.
- Fire: There are some very important things to consider when setting a fire in a woodland area because you can set fire to the roots of trees and start a wildfire when in woodland, if fire is a risk in summer, don’t use it, even lighting a burner in the vicinity can be dangerous. You might even be causing a risk of embers spreading when using a fire platform in some dry environments. When the ground has been soaking wet for a long time you can do things like dig a rocket stove hole to make the best cooking stove that uses next to no fuel, just twigs, or use a Star fire, or make a wooden Self Feeding rack so wood rolls into the fire to keep the fire going longer, even overnight. You’ll get the hang of lighting it from dry wood hanging in trees on wet days and keeping it going with big thick logs when its established but safety concerns in summer are very real.
Van life is an enriching experience that offers freedom and simplicity. It’s about embracing the journey, adapting to new circumstances, and enjoying the ride. With these tips, I hope to make your transition to van life a bit easier. Happy travels!