3 weeks in our minimal viable van build, what did we learn
From MVP to version 1, the van build checklist
May 29, 2020
Let’s build version 2 … in 6 weeks!
April 26, 2021What we learned from vanlife so far
We took our minimal viable van and went on a tour through Europe for 3 weeks trying basically everything. From 4-star big campings with swimming pools and bracelets in tourist area's to parking the van in the middle of know where. What did we learn, does vanlife suit us and will we do this for a year?
These are our learnings which might apply to your family as well. And since we are now doing our version one build, a perfect time to incorporate these lessons learned.
1. We need power
We use energy for everything. From the logical stuff like our smartphones, tablets and handheld gaming consoles (which we might go a few days without), to the practical stuff: our lights, e-readers, laptops and cameras.
Where we know we are a very digital family, the world simply has batteries in everything nowadays. And combined with the internet, these devices also tell us what the weather is going to be like, which routes we can take for this hike, where we can go next and how we are going to get there.
Where we can go without the internet, going without power is just very impractical. Mark really wished he had built in a battery that could be charged on 230v and that could sustain us for a couple of days. It would have enabled us to stay in even more rural area's which would have been a nice extra test. It would also have been one less thing on our mind during the trip and it would have meant we had a lot less moving stuff from "staying" to "driving" mode.
2. Travel yes, tourist no
We love being travellers, but we hate being tourists. A traveller is a guest, behaves as such and thus is treated as such. A tourist is treated as a money machine or a nuisance and sometimes behaves like one. We felt uncomfortable on the touristic spots and in the culture it embodies.
We loved small camping's and we ended up at camper spots more often then we would have thought. You often find them in surprising places and they bring a different more open atmosphere. The Park4night app really helped us out here.
3. Explore? Yes! Outside? Yes please :)
The van totally works in the rain but we love the sun. The sun makes outside living easy and the sun makes active days easy. We feel more alive on active days and it makes each day an active day by going for a run in the morning on the "chill" days. The true active days are fueled with hikes, rafting, climbing or playing in and near the water.
A water spot is a big plus for the kids and adding mountains makes it even better because it enables easy hiking and exploring.
These factors combined make us live a lot healthier when we are on tour. We go to bed earlier and just move around a lot more.
We also need to take time to chill. Travelling still feels like "work" especially to Mark which makes him cranky and taking "off" days really help set the holiday mood. It gives us time for reading, writing, editing and playing games.
We also noticed we don't mind not knowing where we are going next. We just looked at the weather forecast for various area's and let that be the guide to our journey. We noticed we prefer short stretches of 2 to 3 hours to 6-hour stretches, and leave early arrive early is more important than our morning run. And if an area does not feel good, you just stay one night and continue the next day maybe even planning a hike in between.
4. Breakfast
When we are in the middle of nowhere for a longer period, food is not the issue and neither is water. For us, it was actually breakfast. We eat a lot of bread and having enough of it and keeping it good is an issue. A freezer will help as will a bigger fridge so we can stockpile more yoghurt, milk and others to create more breakfast variety.
5. The kids
A lot of stuff that in this piece of writing is input from the kids but we also have a few things that are kids specific.
Making friends
The one thing they miss is their friends and making new friends. Julian and Robin do speak decent English taking their age into account, but other kids in Italy, Tsjech or Slovenia just don't. That means they do more together, on their own or with us as parents which they love, but it is a thingy.
Let them contribute
They love to genuinely contribute. With everything. So we have to let them help which we sometimes forget. Whether it's the dishes, building camp, cleaning up, doing chores, finding the route or searching for the one foreign provider which does have 4G they simply love to help. It makes your own life easier, but it makes them feel useful and valued as well and you see them grow when they feel that way.
Time and attention
It's one of the reasons we wanted to try the van live: to spend more time together. And they really love it as do we <3
6. Transportation (not the van)
We borrowed an electric Scooter step from a colleague which made life a lot easier a few times. We are going to try to get two folding bikes into the garage preferably electric. It's great for doing shopping or going out with one of the kids to area's that are further away than a long hike.
7. The van itself
The basic layout of the van works which is a big relief to Mark.No indoor shower and toilet
We had planned an indoor shower but because of the amount of space it takes and the fact that we did not miss it once, that plan is out. The kids don't mind not taking a shower but Yvanka really likes to clean up every other day. If it's a private area that can be done outside of the van, but showers were available at nearly every place we went to. Julian, Mark and Yvanka even did a week of laundry at one of them which was actually a lot of fun. We also never used the portable toilet so we don't need to have a dedicated space for that either. Since we won't have a shower, the water tank can be a little smaller (still 100+ litres ;))..More counter top space
We also want more countertop space. So on the opposite end of the kitchen, we'll get a 40cm deep extra cabinet space with a large countertop area.We'll keep the planned top cabinets
The top cabinets we had planned are all going in to have room for clothes and cooking supplies. We were fine without, but we had to move around a lot of boxes each day. It is handy to keep your breakfast stuff in baskets which can be taken out easy so eating outside does not cost you 6 trips back into the van.Everything in reach in the garage
For the garage we want some sort of rail system to be able to reach everything fast, preferably from inside and at the back of the van.A smaller frame for the bed/couch
The bed/couch for the kids is great but if that could be an aluminium construction that would save a lot of space compared to the current wooden one.The 5th seat on the inside
In the front of the van we really miss the 5th seat. The fact that we were unable to make the driver seat turn around due to the handbrake and the closeness of the steering wheel is a real shame. I think we will need to look for a solution for this in the future.No rebuilding when switching modes
We did not want to rebuild the entire van when we changed from one "mode" to the other. For sleeping and living, this really works which we totally dig. All we have to do is convert the bed in a couch which is a 30-second job. Lowering or lifting the bed for the adults-only takes 10 seconds to that works great. When we go into travel mode we do need to move stuff about like the cool box which is mostly power-related and will be solved in time. Overall not a bad start! It also lowers the barrier to move from one place to another which we like!While driving
The kids really dig the table while driving but Yvanka and Mark liked it folded in when we wanted to relax. That means the table should be foldable and it can also be a little lower and less deep. The kids try to store everything on the table which means stuff hitting the floor a lot while driving. We need some area to stow their stuff and we have a thingy with pouches at the back of the driver seat, but that van not the best spend of € 50,- because the pouches are weird and don't really work.
Since we will do school stuff here as well we need some storage solution.
More homey
A big factor that makes the difference between building your own van and buying a campervan is the feel of van itself. Is it going to feel like a camper or will it be a tiny home? Right now, our van is... neither as Robin pointed out over and over. It should be far homier, so home on wheels, it will be.An easy drive
Another big difference is the drive of the van itself. The van drives like a van, not like a camper. It's not as wide and feels comfortable on the road. We did a 17h drive when we went home and even with it being a long ride, it feels more like driving a car than a campervan. We do miss cruise control, especially for the long hauls.How stealth is stealth
Another difference with a camper is the look of the van itself. We thought we were building a stealth van but Dutch number plates are bright yellow, which makes you stand out anyway. And with the roof windows and vent going in it won't necessarily look like a van but a 2,8m hi, 7m long white van with yellow plates will stand out no matter how you look at it, so don't expect that your van build will score big points here.2.8 is ... high
That brings us to another point, the height of the van. 2.84cm without the rooftop windows and fans. Installing them will bring it to more than 3 meters. That means some roads will be closed especially if you travel to the mountains. Something to take into consideration.Temperatures (day and night)
We were expecting to miss air conditioning but even with it being 35c outside, driving was fine. Windows open, blowers on and we won't have to get used to the weather once we get out of the van.
At nights we were lucky. We never really had warm nights with temperatures above 22c in the mids of the night. We often slept with the doors open and would love some kind of locking system for it, so it can stay open in a secure manner. The rooftop fan and window are really going to help too.
The kids had a mosquito net above their bed and we as parents will have to have a similar type of solution. Another option is to have screen doors, but that might get be difficult to install and keep shut, but it's worth an investigation.
And then the big question: are we going to do this for a year
This trip was about more than just trying if the van works. It was more about trying if vanlife would work for us and if it would work for us for a year. And did fall in love with the vanlife and we looking at that the van will become, we will love her even more. But a full uninterrupted year on 17m3... no would be the answer there for now.
