necessities for van living/what is needed in your opinion?

[Higgins]

It looks like I'm going to be living in a van soon, and I was wondering what you think is the necessities for getting a van ready before moving in?

It is a 99 Chevy explorer conversion(if I recall correctly)
The van so far/as it came:
- ceiling is high enough to stand in (well, it is about 65-66 inches tall inside, and I am short..)
- back seat turns into a bed (being short, I comfortably fit on it)
- has a couple of outlets
- has cord to be plugged in like an RV
- has a rack on top
- has a pull out canopy on the side
- middle seats are already taken out and living in the garage

What do you consider a NECESSITY to van living in your opinion?

 

[NeedAnEscape]

Something to use as bed
The right equipment to handle the weather in the area you will be staying.
A cooler and camping stove if you won't be staying in town

I have tent camped in subzero weather while raining, so having a van is a nice upgrade even if it's an empty cargo van

 

[SoulRaven]

I think it's best to have everything. A bed, a kitchen, and a toilet & shower. Your campp stove can heat your water, as well as accommodate cooking.

I think in the long run of things this will save you a lot of money as well as making your life more enjoyable.

Every thing needed can be had for several hundred dollars total.

 

[SoulRaven]

Privacy, however that has to happen.

Bed comfy enough for you to sleep well in.

Warm bedding (if not snowbirding)

Bathroom solution.

At least a cooler, though it's miserable.

In-van storage containers. Can't have everything rattling around loose, must be some basic organization.

A trash container of some sort. Absolute essential in my book.

Do you know if it has a second house battery i n it, or are the outlets powered by the starter battery?

 

[SternWake]

A comfortable bed, a comfortable chair, privacy, no wasted space, and a good electrical system.

The 12v compressor fridge and enough solar to power it indefinitely is Key, for me. I make Ice, I don't buy it.

 

[DreadHeadDrifter]

For me, I would say:

Comfortable bed that has storage under it
Propane camping stove
A battery powered fan/solar or a computer fan to circulate air
Some sort of cheap lighting, you can get a cool strip of christmas lights with a solar panel charger for $14 and run it around the ceiling
A cooler or a 12v fridge
A backup battery so you dont drain your starter battery, or if fund allow it a cheap solar setup-not really necessary but a bonus
A small table and chair, preferably one you can move outside to do some cooking/hanging out
A chemical toilet, or a bucket lined with  trashbag and a toiled seat attachment

Those are the first things I put into my van, and so far have been what I consider my bare essentials to be able to camp out for awhile comfortably with a little luxury.

 

[becida]

Too much stuff is a problem, you'll see that, soon enough probably. FWIW Bob Wells has covered this pretty well in his blog....

Primary-
A place to sleep comfortably (you'll know about that bed after a couple of nights).
Privacy.
Toilet, this one is important!
Lights inside without running off the start battery. You REALLY want the van to start every time you want the van to start. You may be using a battery operated head lamp to start.
Rubbermaid tubs or milk crates or cardboard boxes to secure your stuff. (Many people store them under the bed)
Bedding

Secondary -
A place to sit inside and some type of table
A way to cook/heat water & the tools to do it.
Heat if you're going to do more than just sleep and you are not in a comfortable climate

 

[johnny b]

"What do you consider a NECESSITY to van living in your opinion? "

Attitude and disposition....the rest is worked out along the way.

 

[VanDwellerMod]

Welcome to the CRVL forums Higgins! Can you tell us more of where you plan on living, the weather conditions, stealth in the city, boondocking on public land, or ??? The more information we have about your plans, the better we can advise.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[minimotos95]

necessities-
1. comfortable place to sleep and a variety of bedding
2 minimum of a bottle for going #1 and a shovel or bucket for going #2
3 blackout curtains or reflectix
4 fresh water storage
5 food storage,

getting into luxuries now-
6 cooktop - hot meals/drinks are nice, lately I've been using the $6 amazon butane stove and my grill
7 lighting, I have but have only used my overhead dome light a handful of times, flash lights just work better for me
8 unless you are good at entertaining yourself you probably want books/TV/video games
9 heater, just in case it gets too cold
10 battery/solar/generator
11 all the other cool gadgets

 

[Reducto]

I have almost none of the things in the OP! I did get a rack to mount my solar but that is going away when I have time to make custom mounts for the panel.

Here are my needs:

Small enough to get into a parking garage
Comfortable bed
Good chair and desk
Privacy/stealth when in the back
Enough reserve power for a few days of little sun/no driving
Ventilation
Heat and/or insulation
Mobile internet

Everything else is kind of optional for me.

 

[Ella1]

Besides many of the items mentioned in previous posts,
I also carry Oxygen tanks and other meds. I have an air cleaner
that uses the space of a table. I use it as such, and have
a board to set on it to make it a bit bigger. I carry hobby and
entertainment stuff: oil and watercolor painting stuff, a book or
two, cards, etc.
My little van has only about 2 sq feet of open floor space,
it's pretty cramped.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

i think the essentials for relative comfort are bed, kitchen, potty, organization, and light. You can expand from there. If interested, check out my blog, i just did a post about how you can do this real cheap.

even cheaper for you since you have a bed (so less than 100$?, assuming moderate climate). I also have a more comprehensive build /list broken into categories if you want to spend a little more (around 5-600$? without bed).

Add solar for another $350 and set for good.

 

[becida]

I just took a look at your blog, nice!

 

[flying kurbmaster]

you have got a lot already, in my opinion all you need is something to cook on, a small backpackers stove, a mess kit of sorts.fork, spoon, knife. a cooler and a good sleeping bag' the rest will soon come along, when I moved into my Kurbmaster that is what I had, I balanced a 1/2 sheet of plywood on the wheel-well as a bed. oh ya I forgot you need something to carry water in .

 

[akrvbob]

"What do you consider a NECESSITY to van living in your opinion? "

Attitude and disposition....the rest is worked out along the way.

Brilliant answer!  :heart: ​

Bob

 

[Rugster]

Van Life Crisis, man, your post ought to be put in the 'How To' articles.

 

[Canine]

A good woman.Yeah I'm spoiled.