53: Van Life 101: Your Guide to Living on the Road with Veteran Nomad Katie Larson

Want to live life on the road but don't know where to start?  Our  guest, Katie Larson from So, We Bought a Van, is here to share her wealth of experiences and insights as a seasoned full-time van lifer. Not only will she guide you through the practical aspects of choosing the right van and finding free campsites, but also the nuances and challenges that come with full-time van life.

Nomadic living isn't just about choosing a vehicle - it's about choosing a lifestyle. Katie offers valuable advice on how to adapt to this transformative journey, taking into account your individual needs, safety concerns, and travel style. From camping safety checks to essential gear selection, she's got you covered. Plus, she shares her personal strategies for balancing a tight budget without compromising on daily necessities - like a hot shower!

Not only does Katie share tons of practical advice, she brings to light the joys and benefits of van life. She talks passionately about the unrivaled freedom, flexibility, and the evolving motivations behind her choice to live this lifestyle. In addition, she shares how having a pet can enrich the van life experience. Embark on this adventure with confidence, inspired by Katie's journey and empowered with her practical advice. Tune in now to get all the essentials on making the switch to van life!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

If you're new to Van Life, figuring it all out can be quite overwhelming from which van to buy, to how to find free campsites, to getting Wi-Fi and even going to the bathroom on the road. There's just so much to learn. Katie Larson of Sew we Bought a Van, has been living the van life for years, both solo and with a partner, and in a variety of vans. In this episode of the Wayward Home Podcast, she gives her best tips and advice for newbies. You're going to learn so much in this one. Let's go. Welcome to the Wayward Home Podcast. All about van life, boat life and nomadic living. We'll bring you tips, interviews and stories from the road and on the water.

Speaker 2: 0:34

Now, here's your host.

Speaker 1: 0:35

Kristen Haynes. Hey there, I'm Kristen Haynes with wwwthewaywardhomecom, and I spend half the year in my camper van and half on my sailboat in Mexico. I hope to inspire you to live nomatically too Well. In this episode of the Wayward Home Podcast, we're going back to basics. We have the best tips for newbie van lifers. With Katie Larson of Sew, we Bought a Van. This interview first appeared in the Van Life Virtual Summit which I hosted for Project Van Life in September of 2023. So let's get into it. So today, katie Larson of Sew we Bought a Van is joining me. Katie has lived in three different vans, both with a partner and solo, and she has so many tips and tricks about getting started with van life as a beginner. So, katie, I'm so happy you're here with us today.

Speaker 2: 1:17

Thank you, yeah, thanks for having me. I'm super excited. This is. I've been able to be a part of a few of these summits with you, so it's great to be here.

Speaker 1: 1:24

Totally so. I figure we should go into your background a little bit more. I know you've lived in quite a few vans, but let's go back to the beginning and just give people an overview of just van life for you since the beginning.

Speaker 2: 1:36

Yeah, so it all started in 2016 for me. I didn't know too much about it and a partner at the time had recommended it and was interested in it. I had just graduated college and was working my first corporate job, and so I just thought let me pay off some debt and then we can talk about finding a van. So did that, saved up for a while and then started looking at vans in the summer of 2016. I bought my first van, which was a sprinter, and built that out, moved into it early spring and essentially I've been on the road ever since then. He and I split up. I did a year or two by myself in that van and then I met somebody that was living in a Ford economy line. We traveled together for a while, I lived in his van for a while and then eventually moved into the transit, which is the van that I have now.

Speaker 1: 2:26

Very cool. Yeah, you've had so many stories and just a lot of time on the road. So I know you're full of tips and advice and I'm wondering if the first advice people are curious about is just choosing a van. I mean, I think that so many people don't know which van to go in, and I know you've been in a variety, so what's your advice about? Just that very basic question for newbies.

Speaker 2: 2:48

Yeah, I mean, I think that that kind of can like. My main point I think it always when people are interested in van life is like figure out why you want to do this, because it's going to help you figure out what you want it to look like, what you want it to look like, how you want to travel, but especially what kind of vehicle you want. So for me, you know, I only planned on being on the road for a year at first, and so I knew I wanted something that was new and reliable and that I could drive like fast and a lot of miles rapidly without worrying about mechanical issues. So I went with a Sprinter and it was new. So I knew I wasn't. You know I had a warranty and it was covered.

Speaker 2: 3:23

If you're, you know more into knowing your vehicle in and out and you know working on the engine yourself Wilkes-Wagons are always great. Also, just older vehicles in general like and you can switch out an engine and get a new engine for not that expensive and that will still run super well. You know, four-wheel drive versus all-wheel versus two-wheel, all of that stuff is really just going to be determined by what you are looking for. But ultimately I have found. I know that I'm in it now so I might be a little bit biased, but I've found for like a middle ground price point, a middle ground like performance and just what I'm looking to do. The two-wheel transit has been great for me. I haven't needed the power of a Sprinter, I haven't needed the you know control of four-wheel drive. It's on the middle ground of you know affordability. Up front Maintenance is really level-headed because I can go to any mechanic. It's not you know, parts from overseas and everything like that, so there's wait times not involved. That's just been a really, really good middle ground vehicle for me.

Speaker 1: 4:29

Totally. Yeah, that's great advice. And for people who don't know, I started out in a Chevy Astro van and some people think, like how do you live in a van that small? But it's possible and that's yet another option. It was only $6,000, so you know the price point and types of vans can, like, really run the gamut, and you're so right. It's about, like, how you want to travel, how you're going to use it, because a lot of people don't need four by four Like. I personally like it because we do a lot of kind of rugged off-roading but I mean you do boondocking too and a two-wheel drive and it works. So if you could tell people a little bit about like that part of your experience, you don't have to have a four-wheel drive to go off-road.

Speaker 2: 5:03

Yeah, yeah. I also want to note the Ford-a-Con line I lived in was a low roof and it was $1,000. It was found on like in a daycare parking lot that they weren't using anymore because it was past the safe point for like transporting children. So it really is possible. You just have to kind of be patient and figure out what you want. But the all-wheel drive versus four-wheel drive, that is a question people love to talk about and everybody has strong opinions. But I really believe that knowing how to drive a vehicle with four-wheel versus two-wheel is a big difference, like knowing about slow acceleration versus like if you panic and you hit the gas, you're going to dig deeper in sand and in snow. So part of it, I think, for me is just like driving smartly and safely and making sure that you know what that means, especially for your vehicle's weight and size.

Speaker 2: 5:53

I have always though I've never used stock tires. That's something that for me, that's a price point, that I'm willing to spend more money on tires if I'm not going to spend more money on an all-wheel or four-wheel drive. So I personally have been using the BF Goodrich tires on every single vehicle I've ever used. They're again all season. They're a little bit beefier. I even used like a grinder and cut out some of the wheel well, in my transit so I could get a bigger wheel and tire size, which just allows more clearance, and so that's always been really big for me is tires.

Speaker 2: 6:26

I'm also really aware of like where I park and how I travel. I've done all seasons in the van a lot of desert, some snow, so paying attention, like if I know it's gonna rain, I don't go park in a grassy field, right, I know it's gonna get muddy and I'm gonna get stuck. I try to really be careful with you know, checking weather, knowing what kind of conditions I'm gonna be in, and if I feel like there's a chance I'm gonna get stuck, I usually try not to push that too hard. So that's just my personal preference. I'm not like a snowboarder or skier though, so I'm not staying in like lodge lots or anything like that. That's ice a lot, but I have had no problem with like getting through snowy areas, camping in the snow, but again, maybe it just means I have to wait a few days until snow melts or it the ground hardens, whatever that looks like. So that's big, and then having max tracks always helps.

Speaker 2: 7:18

I have like jumper cables, although that's not really like four wheel drive related, but trying to be prepared, knowing like where your tow hook is in your car. Also, I've had to like sit in forums looking for where the hook is in the transit because it's kind of hidden Knowing if you can attach to your bumper, if you do need to get a tow. Having that kind of knowledge about your vehicle and being prepared is always just, it's just always a good idea, especially if you're traveling by yourself and you're doing boondocking and that kind of thing. And then the last thing I think worth mentioning is like clearance knowing your ground clearance. It's another reason that I specifically like the transit is some vans sit really low, some vans sit really high.

Speaker 2: 7:58

Obviously, four wheel drive is going to sit higher and give you more clearance. But I can kind of look. I go down pretty rugged roads. I can look at like a boulder that's in the ground of the road and know if I'm going to like scratch or if it's going to be an issue or not. But yeah, confidence, preparation, tools, all those things are going to be your friend.

Speaker 1: 8:17

Yeah, that's all such good advice because I remember we were in the Mojave Desert and we hit. We were had still street tires on the Astro and we ran over some sharp rocks and got two flat tires in one minute flat and it was very scary and now I always do BF Goodrich KO2 tires on the Astro and now the Sprinter.

Speaker 2: 8:35

So I love that.

Speaker 1: 8:35

You said that.

Speaker 2: 8:37

I know a lot of my tire and it didn't even fully puncture in the BF Goodrich. Like those things, they're almost impossible to pop. I've never popped a tire in any of those and I've driven far, so I love that you use them too. It's a great tire Totally.

Speaker 1: 8:51

So yeah, I think it's hard to you and I are both experienced van lifers and sometimes it's hard to remember the beginning. But thinking back, like what are some things you wish you had known that newbies would benefit from hearing about.

Speaker 2: 9:03

That's a good question because you're right, it is like I feel like I look at this whole thing like overarching. But I think in the very beginning some of the things I didn't know as well was like how to figure out where I can actually park like legally, safely, and not just like having confidence in that information, but like the comfort in which I sleep and knowing that I'm not going to get knocked on at 2am or that if I do get knocked on at 2am, that I know I'm allowed to be there for me, that I don't I don't love that risk game as much. So I try to just like know, like rules and laws in general. Obviously they change a lot state to state and county to county, but like you can find most of that stuff on Google. If you are doing like boondocking in National Forest or BLM, there's usually signs when you enter those kinds of areas. Like you see, entering National Forest all the time, you're allowed to be there right, as long as there's no private signs or anything like that. And all those different places are going to have different stay limits. Some are 14 days, some are 7 days, some are 21 days.

Speaker 2: 10:02

So knowing that is just always, I think, going to help the confidence and I sleep better knowing that if I do get knocked on, I know if I'm allowed to be there. I don't feel they need to get out of the vehicle or explain myself as much. So part of that is, like you know, doing your research when you are at a specific place. But there are obviously so many apps that you can use resources there's. You know, I overlander free campsitesnet, rv, all stays and the dirt. So, again, depending on if you're looking for, like paid campsites or BLM specifically, or National Forest, like you can find an app or a resource that's going to help you navigate that like confidently and feel good about where you are.

Speaker 1: 10:45

Yeah, that's a huge one, Because I know when I started in 2018 with the Astro, I didn't know what boondocking even was Like, I didn't know how to go find this information out and I just randomly saw people doing it and I was like I want to do that. So I think that is a big concern. It's like where to park. You know, I get that all the time from people like they're afraid of parking somewhere and not feeling safe. So I'm wondering, kind of because you've done solo travel and partner travel and what about the safety and how do you typically feel when you're out there parked?

Speaker 2: 11:10

Yeah, you know, again, I think a lot of people have different opinions about safety. I really do try to be prepared, like mentally and physically, with like again, like those off road tracks, like I try to really eliminate worry so that I can confidently navigate places. But if I am not sure if I'm allowed to be there or something like there are BLM offices in almost every area that has BLM. So the first year I even used to go to like there's like a ranger station or like a BLM office. If you go in and ask them hey, do you have a map, can you highlight where I'm allowed to boondock, like, they'll help you with that information. So that helps. And again, if I know I'm allowed to be there and it is a boondocking area, I also feel pretty confident that people aren't really going to be coming up to my vehicle often. It's not going to be like if you're stealthing in a city or something Like I know I'm a lot more likely to get a knock or to have somebody even just interested in the van in a busier place. So that's kind of general safety. I think when you talk about safety also, there are obviously like tools, things that you can use. I have little like knives that I keep by my bed or in the front pocket of my van. I have like pepper spray. I have that kind of stuff. I always have a second set of keys. I always have my keys in the same place so if I ever have to move in a rush, I know exactly where they are. When I get in I put it in the right same place. I put in a partition in this build and for me that was a safety thing personally just one for privacy so people can't tell that I'm in there if I don't have my partition open. It also locks, so there's that aspect of it, but it does open and before I had a partition, I do like personally being able to get to the front and back of my van without having to get outside of my vehicle. That's always been something that by myself I don't want to have to open my slider door and let people see I'm in there alone. So if I close and lock my partition and I good.

Speaker 2: 13:09

Window covers is another thing that has helped me feel better. I had handmade window covers for a while. So much light goes in and out. People can see in and around the window covers at night. But I have, like I have van made gear window covers now and they're amazing and you can't see a peep of light from the outside when I have all of my lights on on the inside. So just some like quick things. But yeah, I just try to always be prepared. I try to think through what am I gonna need? How can I functionally get out of something if I need to? And I show my location also with a lot of people friends, family I'm not often off the grid without anybody knowing where I am. That's pretty rare.

Speaker 1: 13:48

Yeah, that's really good advice. And one thing I'd love to mention is to keep a satellite communicator, you know, especially when going away from cell signal, going deep off-road. We have a Garmin in reach and Starlink and so I can always reach someone with that, so it's another kind of safety precaution. Yeah, I think. Another question was a lot of people wonder, like what's the transition like? Because you know it's kind of scary to leap from a comfortable apartment or house into a van and just there's so much interaction with the outdoors, there's so much decision-making. Like what would be your transitional advice for a newbie on on this?

Speaker 2: 14:24

Yeah, I mean I think that, again, knowing your why is gonna help. Like my first year I was doing I wasn't working my first year, so I planned to only do it for a year and then sell the vehicle and, you know, live off savings. So I was doing a lot of national parks, I was hiking like every single day. So that was something that I was really excited about, I looked forward to, so I didn't have to deal with as much like mental block of like when should I go, what should I do, and that also just helped me navigate, like what's the next place I want to go. It eliminated some of the decision-making. But after that it was a really weird chapter because I didn't plan to be in the van long term. And then suddenly I was like okay, I now am working remotely, I, it's open-ended, so that unknowing is like it's terrifying. I mean it's. It's so terrifying sometimes but figuring out like, especially at the beginning, what do you want to do with your time, and let that kind of like guide your decisions or what do you need to do with your time. And then I think over like time I Now I'm very comfortable with having that open schedule. I get stressed. If someone's like you want to do something next Thursday and I'm like I have no idea where I'm gonna be there, then like I like that. But that's like a skill that has been Over the years. I've had to kind of force myself to learn how to be okay with open-endedness of things.

Speaker 2: 15:43

And I think like one of the other things logistically that I try to do is I really try not to be looking for a place to Sleep at night.

Speaker 2: 15:51

I I've done that a lot of times and I can do it. I usually end up doing a city, whether it's cell thing or a public lot that I can stay in, or Not necessarily like a boondock campground far down a dirt road, but there are a lot of like small pull-offs on the side of places that you can stay. But I try to be comfortably parked by the time it's getting dark. I know where I am, I don't have to navigate directions in the dark, I don't have to get stuck like I'm sure you've been there. It's like 12, 30 at night and three of your campsites don't work and you're like I don't know what to do right now. So that's just something I, you know I choose to do and over time as I've moved, I move less and less. I now stay places for usually like a week or two minimum. That also helps, because having to find a good campsite every you know two weeks is really different than doing that every single day.

Speaker 1: 16:45

Totally yeah, figuring out your travel style. I love how you said that, because everyone's is just so different. Some people like to go go go, others like to stop for two weeks, and so, yeah, and I think even in the beginning, if you like, stop more, it's probably even better because it allows you to get into the routine and figure out your own routine too. So, yeah, I think that's great advice.

Speaker 2: 17:04

Especially like if you're working or not. That's gonna affect. I know so many people that work structured hours, even if remotely so. They don't move during the week, they only do errands and chores and move campsites on weekends. You know.

Speaker 1: 17:17

Is there any gear in particular that you would recommend for beginners?

Speaker 2: 17:21

Yeah, absolutely. I Think the beginning of moving into a van there's like this long list of things that every time I've gotten a new van it's kind of like if you move into a new place you Were the first time you go to school by yourself or the first time you move into an apartment. Like you need to get certain things that just help you logistically. Like I Try to think of things even if it's as simple as like pots and pans you need pots and pans to cook. I try to think of all things of like space and functionality. So that might mean that I buy stacking pots and pans that you know stack inside of each other. Or I've seen pots and pans where, like it's one handle that clips off and then it's all these different sized pots and you can clip that onto every single one to save all that storage space. So, like I had like five pairs of black leggings when I first moved into a van, I now have one quality pair and that's all I need. So kind of downsizing, preparing with gear at the same time, is kind of dual purpose. Especially if you're having to downsize, that's a whole process in itself. That's a really good time to start thinking about like what do I need to get? It also is going to depend on if you know, are you moving into a van on a specific day and you have the van, you're building it or you're getting it built, it's ready and you move it and go, or Are you going to be doing weekend trips? Like testing it out is always a great thing because if you can go do a week-long trip in your van and come back to a Home base and then adjust either your layout or your gear and I think that that's always a good thing to do.

Speaker 2: 18:55

But definitely compact is like a theme in my van. Compact like inner stacking. I'm thinking a lot of like kitchenware but like my measuring cups and stuff all are magnetic so they don't rattle and my dishes are like a bamboo so they don't really break again, they don't really rattle. Trying to think about that, packing cubes are great for like clothes, even belongings, like I have a game packing cube where all like my card games go in. So some of that like functional stuff. But something I think that if you're going to be driving a lot and I tend to do that Like I always overlooked how comfortable my dash area was and now I can like see a Sprinter versus a transit and I can appreciate the different layouts of like two cup holders first, eight cup holders, or a USB charger versus not.

Speaker 2: 19:47

So I kind of have a little setup in the front of my Van where I always have like a charger, a chapstick, you know, lotion, a snack, a water bottle. I have that stuff. I have good phone mount. Finally I got one that's like magnetic and it wirelessly, without a wire, charges my phone at the same time. So the dash, I just feel like, is something that's overlooked. Some people get really fancy and make these little like storage carts in between their two front seats that you can utilize for things like that. But there's a lot of space in the front of cars, a van specifically, especially if it's a high roof. So using that space well, I think gear wise or getting gear that goes up there, that's always a good idea.

Speaker 1: 20:29

I love that. I've never even thought about organizing my dash, but I have seen that there are a little organizing packet things you can put on your visors. Do you do that?

Speaker 2: 20:39

Yeah, I have that. I have behind my seats, between my seats and the partition behind me. I have so much stuff back there that's like quick grab and go. So I just I really try, especially by myself pulling off of a highway, like having to take an exit to go do something in the back of your van or grab water or granola bar. It's such a waste of time and so, especially if you're alone, having that area kind of set up for long drives or road trips is a good idea, I think.

Speaker 1: 21:06

I love those ideas. I love that we can learn things from each other. We've both been living in vans for so long and I'm like, oh, I want to try what Katie's doing. Like I had no idea that was a thing. So thank you for sharing that. I love it. We're constantly learning on the road, so, yeah, I think you know. Another big question newbies always have is like what about a bathroom? What about toilet? Do you have anything to say about what you chose to do in your builds?

Speaker 2: 21:30

Yeah, I had to set toilet in my first van and that was it. So I just peed in that. I've had no toilet in a van where I used like a go girl, peed in like a water bottle Again figuring out what you're comfortable with, what you want and having the right gear. So in the first van it meant that I knew leave no trace like regulations, I knew how to respect where I was. It meant that I had a really good shovel to go to the bathroom and knew how to dig a cat hole and make sure that that was good to go.

Speaker 2: 22:02

In my current van I have an airhead composting toilet, which is a lot of people don't think it's necessary and I don't even. I don't think it's necessary by any means. But after five years of digging a hole in the ground every time I had to go to the bathroom, I just really wanted to not have to do that anymore. So I like the airhead. It has the option to have a flat back. So some of the other composting toilets. It's all around and you lose a lot of space like multiple inches. So I went with the airhead because it was able to be more compact. Again, it's a dual purpose. So I have my toilet in a compartment. On the edge of it, a separate little area there's like shoe storage, and then it has a cover over it, so it's a bench at the same time and that's where, like, my table, pulls out, that's how my dog gets on my bed. So that's what I've I've always done for bathrooms. I'm also just not really doing as much city camping, so it's I've always had more options. Or if I'm driving a lot like if I'm getting gas I go in and I use the bathroom if I can.

Speaker 2: 23:03

And then showers I have never had inside shower. I just could never personally sacrifice the space, especially when there was two people in the vans. I do have an outdoor shower, though. I had one of those showers that are on a road shower. They go on the outside of your van and they kind of heat up in the sun. I had that in my first van and now I have like a hang and go solar shower.

Speaker 2: 23:31

I have a 12 volt thing that drops right into my water jugs and it's powered. So I can plug that into 12 volt, drop one thing into my water jugs and then there's a little switch and I can use that. So the water's all in one area also, which is great, and I just shower outside. But classic planet fitness, you know I'm okay with not showering very often. I have my gym membership for $20 a month and I just go shower whenever I feel like I need to, which is honestly not very often and I also the way that I choose to spend my time is usually around water. I love swimming. I'm always by water lakes, rivers, whatever and while I'm not scrubbing down, obviously, and jumping in, I'm swimming very often that I don't feel the need to take hot shower as much as I probably would if I lived in like a busy city or something.

Speaker 1: 24:21

Yeah, I think that's good to think about, because I think a lot of people think about showers as something that, oh, you have to like put soap all over your body, you have to like stand in it for a long time or you're right, just jumping in water. And we do that all the time, like we go windsurfing and we get in the river and we feel like gosh. I had my shower for the day. I feel clean, I rinse I mean you just gotta rinse off the sweat and the dirt, and then you feel pretty good. And sometimes we'll just do our hair, you know, in the limited water we have in the van and that feels great. So there's a variety of ways to stay clean without having like that hot shower that people expect, I think.

Speaker 2: 24:54

Yeah, wipes too. I have like wipes for all different parts of my body and I utilize those as I need, and that also just makes a huge difference, especially sometimes there are no showers nearby, so that always helps.

Speaker 1: 25:08

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, we do the solar shower thing too, like you. So cool. I'm trying to think what are some of your thoughts for tips for beginners? I'm running out of some of my ideas. I know there's so many and people always have so many questions Anything, you hear often.

Speaker 2: 25:23

Yeah, I made a little list. We've already kind of covered a lot of the things. One of the things that I personally have found is like budgeting is really important for me. I just am not. My income is limited. I like to work less because I want to have more of my own time, so I choose to live my life a certain way within those means. So I have a budget that's pretty strict. I know my bills, I know when they're due, I have a budget for my spending money. I have a savings plan.

Speaker 2: 25:53

As I turned 30 a bit ago, I'm starting to have to think, choosing to think a little bit more about retirement so I know where every dollar that comes into my pocket, I know where it's going afterward and I stick to that budget.

Speaker 2: 26:07

I have like a spreadsheet that I use and I go over it often and again, depending on your situation, your circumstance, if you're doing seasonal work or if you're not working or if you're working for eight to five corporate figuring out like how much money you have and what your budget is. That's always gonna help, especially with depending on, like, how long you plan to do it, planning for things like maintenance right, even the best of the best vehicles you need to go in and sometimes you have a hefty maintenance and that's no fun emergencies in general. So yeah, budget is something that I like. I spend a lot of time and effort on that and it's, I think, one of the reasons why I've been able to do it as I have and still even like put in some international travel here and there as well. I'm pretty strict with my finance.

Speaker 1: 26:58

Cool, I do like you brought that up and I feel like van life is so flexible, like if you need to limit your expenditures. We just drive less, cause I figured, you know, one of my biggest expenditures is always fuel, you know, and when I wanna be like oh my God, my gas bill is huge, I just stopped driving. Or if I wanna stop sending money on food, I cook more. So I feel like our lifestyle is very flexible cause we don't have a fixed rent or mortgage to pay.

Speaker 2: 27:19

So for sure, and you can adjust all the time. Like sometimes I'm like, oh, I need to save up for this thing. I'm freelance, so I work more, I get more clients. Or if I know I need to be saving more money, like you said, driving less. Like you save so much money when you're not driving a lot, it's wild.

Speaker 1: 27:38

Yeah, it is pretty insane. So, yeah, I wonder. Also, I think people are curious about, like internet on the road. I know that I use a combination of visible that's my phone, hotspot and then Starlink to do my work and to get internet and I'm curious, like what you use, cause everyone has a different setup.

Speaker 2: 27:54

I mean, I think Starlink is wonderful and I'm like at the point where I'm like I just need to do it. I haven't yet because the startup cost can be hefty, but it is very reliable and it does it slow down with more users and it also allows you to go places, like I spent time in Baja and it was really hard to be working and to know there was gonna be like four hours of pocket with no service or that some of the most beautiful campsites don't have service. So that is probably what the future holds. But right now I have a Verizon cell phone and my plan has the ability to do a mobile hotspot. So I use that for like really important things, like if I have a video meeting that I need to do something that pulls like more data, and then it does get throttled. I don't notice it very often, but if I hit my mark each month, if I'm gonna stream something, I'll use like my throttled wifi, right, I don't keep the good stuff for streaming Netflix or something.

Speaker 2: 28:53

But I also have an AT&T hotspot. It's a monthly pay as you go. I think it's called the Nighthawk. I bought it used on Amazon or eBay for like 115 bucks and I pay $50 a month for the AT&T and I get a hundred gigabytes and I work like pretty often, or if I'm not working I'm doing something on my phone or computer. So that has always been enough for me. And the nice thing about that is I have two different carriers, similar to Starlink Like if Verizon is really bad in one area, I can usually get AT&T and there's an app that you can like look at a place on a map and it'll kind of tell you what kind of coverage is there. So that also really helps.

Speaker 1: 29:35

Oh, very cool. That's interesting. I think that you have such an affordable hotspot, because mine was like a hundred bucks a month, so I was paying too much, but yeah.

Speaker 2: 29:44

I did start one. My phone's like 20 or something like that. You know it's really not bad, so pretty affordable.

Speaker 1: 29:51

Yeah, fantastic, cool. Yeah, anything else from your list that we should touch on.

Speaker 2: 29:56

Yeah, I think there are, like I had some more mental things, like just being flexible, being prepared to have more free time, not being scared to like get to know yourself. Obviously, that's all going to be part of it, but that's, I feel, like so much more opinion based. So I do want to also just give like another logistical or two. Sleeping is like pretty big for me, especially in the van, because you never know who's around or what's around if it's going to be noisy. So I am pretty particular with my sleep, finding out like what people need. If you need a sleep machine or like I sleep with earplugs and an eye mask, and then it doesn't matter if I'm in the middle of the desert or next to a semi truck and a parking lot, and that's been really helpful for me because there's always always external sounds wherever you are. So that's one thing you know. I feel like if you're sensitive sleeper, you probably do those things no matter where you are. But that's made a big difference for me to to feel like I'm actually getting like rested.

Speaker 2: 30:59

And then the other thing that I finally Started doing. I didn't used to do this, but I now have like a van box in my under bed storage. So it has most of the basics. All my vans have been DIY build, so I finally responsibly carry like a little bit of extra wiring, a little bit of like splicing tools, you know, extra insulation, electrical tape. I finally I don't even think I had a screwdriver in my first band when I was living in it full-time, which is like terrifying to think about, but I have some basic tools and things like that so that if I need to fix something, I don't necessarily need to, you know, drive or feel panicked or need to go to a mechanic or Like a home depot. So that's just like another small tidbit that I feel like has again Let me travel more confidently in general.

Speaker 1: 31:46

So totally, and Given that I popped two tires on my Astro van, we always we had a ton of fix-a-flat and tire plugs in that car with our ko2's that might not be a problem. But you know I still carry, you know, tire repair kits and always have that. You know I'm so bad at this. It's embarrassing because my partner does it. But that winch that winches your car up Like have one of those in a breaker bar, very important so have four cables.

Speaker 2: 32:10

Like being able to put on a spare, like I don't think that my van I had to. Like replace this bear when I up to my my tire, so like having a spare. I always have a headlamp and that's one of the things I have in the dash of my car. If I am Looking for camping at night, I can look better, you know, with the headlamp, or if I need to change a tire or do something like that, yeah, just being prepared is it's. I never, never, regretted being prepared.

Speaker 1: 32:37

Yeah, very true, cool. So obviously both of us love van life, so we've been doing it for so long. I was wondering if you could just share some reasons with people why you like it. I think it's good for people to hear these things if they're thinking of you know, taking that leap.

Speaker 2: 32:51

Yeah, yeah again, like my why has changed. At first it was really to spend more time outside and I wanted to See, see the different states, see the different parks. I really wanted to do that. It's really shifted now. For me is like less travel and so much more lifestyle. Of course, it is still very travel oriented and that still is the thing that I'm doing, but I do it now because I like the choices that I have. I like what the lifestyle provides me. It's about the freedom and the flexibility.

Speaker 2: 33:19

For me, I don't feel confined to one place or one thing and I get to wake up and decide what do I feel like doing? Where do I want to go? Like Do I want to be by water? And I feeling seasonally sad and I need to drive to California and get some sunshine. For me, it's become so much bigger than just traveling or sightseeing. It really is like the thing that is what fuels my mind and like my ability to, to you know, show up as my best self and be, be happy. So that is really the driving factor having a dog. Now. I didn't have a dog for a while and I've had my dog for Maybe two or three years now. That's a huge driving factor as well. She and I both start to feel a little bit stir crazy when we're in houses, and so we just we'd love to be outside and that's been really important for both of us.

Speaker 2: 34:11

So For me it's really I figured out that the pace I want to travel in. I've personally kind of been on like a desert kick for About two years now. Mojave actually is my favorite place to go camp. There's so much and the Round is so like reliable and open and I just I love it. So I kind of know my pace, where I like to go and I just, yeah, I just work remotely and I hang out by myself a lot with my dog and I love it so much. I think it's it's just been the best thing for me.

Speaker 1: 34:41

Yep, yep, I love how you say that about being in nature and moving with the seasons and stuff, because I like that too, and I start to feel very cooped up, like right now I'm in a house and I start to feel like antsy and cooped up and I describe it as a dog needing a walk, like I feel like an animal now.

Speaker 2: 34:58

Well, I was, you know, doing some international travel and I just got back, so I'm also in a house, but it does start to feel like you start to feel a little bit stir crazy, like you just want to go outside and get fresher. So, again, finding whatever works for you, whatever you like to do, and and Following through with that.

Speaker 1: 35:15

So, yeah, totally Well, cool. Well, thank you so much, and is there anything we missed that that you wanted to share with people?

Speaker 2: 35:21

Um, no, I think the last thing that I would say is like I have like taken a step back a little bit of the online world, but, um, although I'm not posting much right now, I am still like on social media and I am still. I message with people and I keep in contact with Van lifers and I'm camping and hanging out with other people, so I'm always here and happy to serve as a resource or if people have questions. I am online, even though it looks like right now I am not Just took a little bit of a step back from from the posting, much so.

Speaker 1: 35:52

Awesome, and then it's. So we bought a van right on Instagram website, etc.

Speaker 2: 35:55

Yeah, so we bought a van and so we bought a vancom. I've done I've done a lot of logging in my first few years I did there. So I have like certain resources about like I actually went and I looked at it before we hopped on today because I was like I should look at you know some of the things. But I have, like my five favorite one pot recipes or the tips that I used to downsize from living in a house to living in a van, like best apps and how to find. I have a whole guide on like how I identify Free, legal camping on there. So a lot of different stuff on there Anybody wants to peruse.

Speaker 1: 36:29

Cool, well, very cool. Well, thanks for coming on the summit again. I'm so always happy to have you here full of advice, and you've been living van life for so long. It's just fun to chat with you. So, yeah, thank you.

Speaker 2: 36:40

Thank you so much again for having me. I always look forward to it.

Speaker 1: 36:42

Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Wayward Home podcast. I'd like to take a second to encourage you to join my email list. You can get direct access to me. I read and respond to my emails, plus tips, stories and advice for life on the road to subscribe, just go to the wayward home. Comm forward, slash, subscribe. I'll see you there. I.