September 27, 2023 • 37 mins
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!
Connect with Kristin Hanes and The Wayward Home!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you're new to Van Life, figuring it all out can be
quite overwhelming from whichvan to buy, to how to find free
campsites, to getting Wi-Fi andeven going to the bathroom on
the road.
There's just so much to learn.
Katie Larson of Sew we Bought aVan, has been living the van
life for years, both solo andwith a partner, and in a variety
of vans.
In this episode of the WaywardHome Podcast, she gives her best
(00:21):
tips and advice for newbies.
You're going to learn so muchin this one.
Let's go.
Welcome to the Wayward HomePodcast.
All about van life, boat lifeand nomadic living.
We'll bring you tips,interviews and stories from the
road and on the water.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Now, here's your host .
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Kristen Haynes.
Hey there, I'm Kristen Hayneswith wwwthewaywardhomecom, and I
spend half the year in mycamper van and half on my
sailboat in Mexico.
I hope to inspire you to livenomatically too Well.
In this episode of the WaywardHome Podcast, we're going back
to basics.
We have the best tips fornewbie van lifers.
With Katie Larson of Sew, weBought a Van.
This interview first appearedin the Van Life Virtual Summit
(00:57):
which I hosted for Project VanLife in September of 2023.
So let's get into it.
So today, katie Larson of Sewwe Bought a Van is joining me.
Katie has lived in threedifferent vans, both with a
partner and solo, and she has somany tips and tricks about
getting started with van life asa beginner.
So, katie, I'm so happy you'rehere with us today.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Thank you, yeah, thanks for having me.
I'm super excited.
This is.
I've been able to be a part ofa few of these summits with you,
so it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Totally so.
I figure we should go into yourbackground a little bit more.
I know you've lived in quite afew vans, but let's go back to
the beginning and just givepeople an overview of just van
life for you since the beginning.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yeah, so it all started in 2016 for me.
I didn't know too much about itand a partner at the time had
recommended it and wasinterested in it.
I had just graduated collegeand was working my first
corporate job, and so I justthought let me pay off some debt
and then we can talk aboutfinding a van.
So did that, saved up for awhile and then started looking
(01:58):
at vans in the summer of 2016.
I bought my first van, whichwas a sprinter, and built that
out, moved into it early springand essentially I've been on the
road ever since then.
He and I split up.
I did a year or two by myselfin that van and then I met
somebody that was living in aFord economy line.
(02:18):
We traveled together for awhile, I lived in his van for a
while and then eventually movedinto the transit, which is the
van that I have now.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Very cool.
Yeah, you've had so manystories and just a lot of time
on the road.
So I know you're full of tipsand advice and I'm wondering if
the first advice people arecurious about is just choosing a
van.
I mean, I think that so manypeople don't know which van to
go in, and I know you've been ina variety, so what's your
advice about?
Just that very basic questionfor newbies.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, I mean, I think that that kind of can like.
My main point I think it alwayswhen people are interested in
van life is like figure out whyyou want to do this, because
it's going to help you figureout what you want it to look
like, what you want it to looklike, how you want to travel,
but especially what kind ofvehicle you want.
So for me, you know, I onlyplanned on being on the road for
a year at first, and so I knewI wanted something that was new
(03:10):
and reliable and that I coulddrive like fast and a lot of
miles rapidly without worryingabout mechanical issues.
So I went with a Sprinter andit was new.
So I knew I wasn't.
You know I had a warranty andit was covered.
If you're, you know more intoknowing your vehicle in and out
and you know working on theengine yourself Wilkes-Wagons
(03:31):
are always great.
Also, just older vehicles ingeneral like and you can switch
out an engine and get a newengine for not that expensive
and that will still run superwell.
You know, four-wheel driveversus all-wheel versus
two-wheel, all of that stuff isreally just going to be
determined by what you arelooking for.
But ultimately I have found.
(03:51):
I know that I'm in it now so Imight be a little bit biased,
but I've found for like a middleground price point, a middle
ground like performance and justwhat I'm looking to do.
The two-wheel transit has beengreat for me.
I haven't needed the power of aSprinter, I haven't needed the
you know control of four-wheeldrive.
It's on the middle ground ofyou know affordability.
(04:15):
Up front Maintenance is reallylevel-headed because I can go to
any mechanic.
It's not you know, parts fromoverseas and everything like
that, so there's wait times notinvolved.
That's just been a really,really good middle ground
vehicle for me.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
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, likehow do you live in a van that
small?
But it's possible and that'syet another option.
It was only $6,000, so you knowthe price point and types of
vans can, like, really run thegamut, and you're so right.
It's about, like, how you wantto travel, how you're going to
use it, because a lot of peopledon't need four by four Like.
(04:49):
I personally like it because wedo a lot of kind of rugged
off-roading but I mean you doboondocking too and a two-wheel
drive and it works.
So if you could tell people alittle bit about like that part
of your experience, you don'thave to have a four-wheel drive
to go off-road.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, yeah.
I also want to note theFord-a-Con line I lived in was a
low roof and it was $1,000.
It was found on like in adaycare parking lot that they
weren't using anymore because itwas past the safe point for
like transporting children.
So it really is possible.
You just have to kind of bepatient and figure out what you
want.
But the all-wheel drive versusfour-wheel drive, that is a
question people love to talkabout and everybody has strong
(05:25):
opinions.
But I really believe thatknowing how to drive a vehicle
with four-wheel versus two-wheelis a big difference, like
knowing about slow accelerationversus like if you panic and you
hit the gas, you're going todig deeper in sand and in snow.
So part of it, I think, for meis just like driving smartly and
(05:47):
safely and making sure that youknow what that means,
especially for your vehicle'sweight and size.
I have always though I've neverused stock tires.
That's something that for me,that's a price point, that I'm
willing to spend more money ontires if I'm not going to spend
more money on an all-wheel orfour-wheel drive.
So I personally have been usingthe BF Goodrich tires on every
single vehicle I've ever used.
(06:08):
They're again all season.
They're a little bit beefier.
I even used like a grinder andcut out some of the wheel well,
in my transit so I could get abigger wheel and tire size,
which just allows more clearance, and so that's always been
really big for me is tires.
I'm also really aware of likewhere I park and how I travel.
(06:29):
I've done all seasons in thevan a lot of desert, some snow,
so paying attention, like if Iknow 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 withyou know, checking weather,
knowing what kind of conditionsI'm gonna be in, and if I feel
like there's a chance I'm gonnaget stuck, I usually try not to
(06:50):
push that too hard.
So that's just my personalpreference.
I'm not like a snowboarder orskier though, so I'm not staying
in like lodge lots or anythinglike that.
That's ice a lot, but I havehad no problem with like getting
through snowy areas, camping inthe snow, but again, maybe it
just means I have to wait a fewdays until snow melts or it the
(07:11):
ground hardens, whatever thatlooks like.
So that's big, and then havingmax tracks always helps.
I have like jumper cables,although that's not really like
four wheel drive related, buttrying to be prepared, knowing
like where your tow hook is inyour car.
Also, I've had to like sit inforums looking for where the
hook is in the transit becauseit's kind of hidden Knowing if
(07:34):
you can attach to your bumper,if you do need to get a tow.
Having that kind of knowledgeabout your vehicle and being
prepared is always just, it'sjust always a good idea,
especially if you're travelingby yourself and you're doing
boondocking and that kind ofthing.
And then the last thing I thinkworth mentioning is like
clearance knowing your groundclearance.
It's another reason that Ispecifically like the transit is
(07:55):
some vans sit really low, somevans sit really high.
Obviously, four wheel drive isgoing 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 boulderthat's in the ground of the road
and know if I'm going to likescratch or if it's going to be
an issue or not.
But yeah, confidence,preparation, tools, all those
(08:15):
things are going to be yourfriend.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Yeah, that's all such good advice because I remember
we were in the Mojave Desert andwe hit.
We were had still street tireson the Astro and we ran over
some sharp rocks and got twoflat tires in one minute flat
and it was very scary and now Ialways do BF Goodrich KO2 tires
on the Astro and now theSprinter.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
So I love that.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
You said that.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I know a lot of my tire and it didn't even fully
puncture in the BF Goodrich.
Like those things, they'realmost impossible to pop.
I've never popped a tire in anyof those and I've driven far,
so I love that you use them too.
It's a great tire Totally.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
So yeah, I think it's hard to you and I are both
experienced van lifers andsometimes it's hard to remember
the beginning.
But thinking back, like whatare some things you wish you had
known that newbies wouldbenefit from hearing about.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
That's a good question because you're right,
it is like I feel like I look atthis whole thing like
overarching.
But I think in the verybeginning some of the things I
didn't know as well was like howto 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 notgoing to get knocked on at 2am
(09:23):
or that if I do get knocked onat 2am, that I know I'm allowed
to be there for me, that I don'tI 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 lotstate to state and county to
county, but like you can findmost of that stuff on Google.
If you are doing likeboondocking in National Forest
(09:45):
or BLM, there's usually signswhen you enter those kinds of
areas.
Like you see, entering NationalForest all the time, you're
allowed to be there right, aslong as there's no private signs
or anything like that.
And all those different placesare going to have different stay
limits.
Some are 14 days, some are 7days, some are 21 days.
So knowing that is just always,I think, going to help the
confidence and I sleep betterknowing that if I do get knocked
(10:09):
on, I know if I'm allowed to bethere.
I don't feel they need to getout of the vehicle or explain
myself as much.
So part of that is, like youknow, doing your research when
you are at a specific place.
But there are obviously so manyapps that you can use resources
there's.
You know, I overlander freecampsitesnet, rv, all stays and
the dirt.
So, again, depending on ifyou're looking for, like paid
(10:32):
campsites or BLM specifically,or National Forest, like you can
find an app or a resourcethat's going to help you
navigate that like confidentlyand 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 howto go find this information out
and I just randomly saw peopledoing it and I was like I want
to do that.
So I think that is a bigconcern.
It's like where to park.
You know, I get that all thetime from people like they're
afraid of parking somewhere andnot feeling safe.
So I'm wondering, kind ofbecause you've done solo travel
(11:05):
and partner travel and whatabout the safety and how do you
typically feel when you're outthere 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 offroad tracks, like I try to
really eliminate worry so that Ican confidently navigate places
.
But if I am not sure if I'mallowed to be there or something
like there are BLM offices inalmost every area that has BLM.
(11:33):
So the first year I even usedto go to like there's like a
ranger station or like a BLMoffice.
If you go in and ask them hey,do you have a map, can you
highlight where I'm allowed toboondock, like, they'll help you
with that information.
So that helps.
And again, if I know I'mallowed to be there and it is a
boondocking area, I also feelpretty confident that people
(11:53):
aren't really going to be comingup to my vehicle often.
It's not going to be like ifyou're stealthing in a city or
something Like I know I'm a lotmore likely to get a knock or to
have somebody even justinterested in the van in a
busier place.
So that's kind of generalsafety.
I think when you talk aboutsafety also, there are obviously
like tools, things that you canuse.
I have little like knives thatI keep by my bed or in the front
(12:18):
pocket of my van.
I have like pepper spray.
I have that kind of stuff.
I always have a second set ofkeys.
I always have my keys in thesame place so if I ever have to
move in a rush, I know exactlywhere they are.
When I get in I put it in theright same place.
I put in a partition in thisbuild and for me that was a
(12:39):
safety thing personally just onefor privacy so people can't
tell that I'm in there if Idon't have my partition open.
It also locks, so there's thataspect of it, but it does open
and before I had a partition, Ido like personally being able to
get to the front and back of myvan without having to get
outside of my vehicle.
That's always been somethingthat by myself I don't want to
(13:02):
have to open my slider door andlet people see I'm in there
alone.
So if I close and lock mypartition and I good.
Window covers is another thingthat has helped me feel better.
I had handmade window coversfor a while.
So much light goes in and out.
People can see in and aroundthe window covers at night.
But I have, like I have vanmade gear window covers now and
they're amazing and you can'tsee a peep of light from the
(13:24):
outside when I have all of mylights on on the inside.
So just some like quick things.
But yeah, I just try to alwaysbe prepared.
I try to think through what amI gonna need?
How can I functionally get outof something if I need to?
And I show my location alsowith a lot of people friends,
family I'm not often off thegrid without anybody knowing
(13:46):
where I am.
That's pretty rare.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Yeah, that's really good advice.
And one thing I'd love tomention 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 andStarlink and so I can always
reach someone with that, so it'sanother kind of safety
precaution.
Yeah, I think.
Another question was a lot ofpeople wonder, like what's the
(14:08):
transition like?
Because you know it's kind ofscary to leap from a comfortable
apartment or house into a vanand just there's so much
interaction with the outdoors,there's so much decision-making.
Like what would be yourtransitional 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 doingI wasn't working my first year,
so I planned to only do it for ayear and then sell the vehicle
and, you know, live off savings.
So I was doing a lot ofnational parks, I was hiking
like every single day.
So that was something that Iwas really excited about, I
(14:44):
looked forward to, so I didn'thave to deal with as much like
mental block of like when shouldI go, what should I do, and
that also just helped menavigate, like what's the next
place I want to go.
It eliminated some of thedecision-making.
But after that it was a reallyweird chapter because I didn't
plan to be in the van long term.
And then suddenly I was likeokay, I now am working remotely,
(15:04):
I, it's open-ended, so thatunknowing is like it's
terrifying.
I mean it's.
It's so terrifying sometimesbut figuring out like,
especially at the beginning,what do you want to do with your
time, and let that kind of likeguide your decisions or what do
you need to do with your time.
And then I think over like timeI Now I'm very comfortable with
(15:27):
having that open schedule.
I get stressed.
If someone's like you want todo something next Thursday and
I'm like I have no idea whereI'm gonna be there, then like I
like that.
But that's like a skill thathas been Over the years.
I've had to kind of forcemyself to learn how to be okay
with open-endedness of things.
And I think like one of theother things logistically that I
(15:47):
try to do is I really try notto be looking for a place to
Sleep at night.
I I've done that a lot of timesand 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 adirt road, but there are a lot
of like small pull-offs on theside of places that you can stay
(16:08):
.
But I try to be comfortablyparked by the time it's getting
dark.
I know where I am, I don't haveto navigate directions in the
dark, I don't have to get stucklike I'm sure you've been there.
It's like 12, 30 at night andthree of your campsites don't
work and you're like I don'tknow what to do right now.
So that's just something I, youknow I choose to do and over
(16:31):
time as I've moved, I move lessand less.
I now stay places for usuallylike a week or two minimum.
That also helps, because havingto find a good campsite every
you know two weeks is reallydifferent 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 thinkeven in the beginning, if you
like, stop more, it's probablyeven better because it allows
you to get into the routine andfigure out your own routine too.
So, yeah, I think that's greatadvice.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Especially like if you're working or not.
That's gonna affect.
I know so many people that workstructured hours, even if
remotely so.
They don't move during the week, they only do errands and
chores and move campsites onweekends.
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 movinginto a van there's like this
long list of things that everytime I've gotten a new van it's
kind of like if you move into anew place you Were the first
time you go to school byyourself or the first time you
move into an apartment.
Like you need to get certainthings that just help you
logistically.
Like I Try to think of thingseven if it's as simple as like
(17:46):
pots and pans you need pots andpans to cook.
I try to think of all things oflike space and functionality.
So that might mean that I buystacking pots and pans that you
know stack inside of each other.
Or I've seen pots and panswhere, like it's one handle that
clips off and then it's allthese different sized pots and
you can clip that onto everysingle one to save all that
(18:06):
storage space.
So, like I had like five pairsof black leggings when I first
moved into a van, I now have onequality 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 todownsize, that's a whole process
in itself.
That's a really good time tostart thinking about like what
(18:28):
do I need to get?
It also is going to depend onif you know, are you moving into
a van on a specific day and youhave 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 doingweekend trips?
Like testing it out is always agreat thing because if you can
go do a week-long trip in yourvan and come back to a Home base
and then adjust either yourlayout or your gear and I think
(18:53):
that that's always a good thingto do.
But definitely compact is like atheme in my van.
Compact like inner stacking.
I'm thinking a lot of likekitchenware but like my
measuring cups and stuff all aremagnetic so they don't rattle
and my dishes are like a bambooso they don't really break again
, they don't really rattle.
(19:13):
Trying to think about that,packing cubes are great for like
clothes, even belongings, likeI have a game packing cube where
all like my card games go in.
So some of that like functionalstuff.
But something I think that ifyou're going to be driving a lot
and I tend to do that Like Ialways overlooked how
comfortable my dash area was andnow I can like see a Sprinter
(19:39):
versus a transit and I canappreciate the different layouts
of like two cup holders first,eight cup holders, or a USB
charger versus not.
So I kind of have a little setupin the front of my Van where I
always have like a charger, achapstick, you know, lotion, a
snack, a water bottle.
I have that stuff.
(19:59):
I have good phone mount.
Finally I got one that's likemagnetic and it wirelessly,
without a wire, charges my phoneat the same time.
So the dash, I just feel like,is something that's overlooked.
Some people get really fancyand make these little like
storage carts in between theirtwo front seats that you can
utilize for things like that.
But there's a lot of space inthe front of cars, a van
(20:20):
specifically, especially if it'sa high roof.
So using that space well, Ithink gear wise or getting gear
that goes up there, that'salways a good idea.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
I love that.
I've never even thought aboutorganizing my dash, but I have
seen that there are a littleorganizing 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, betweenmy seats and the partition
behind me.
I have so much stuff back therethat's like quick grab and go.
So I just I really try,especially by myself pulling off
of a highway, like having totake an exit to go do something
in the back of your van or grabwater or granola bar.
It's such a waste of time andso, especially if you're alone,
(21:00):
having that area kind of set upfor 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 thingsfrom each other.
We've both been living in vansfor so long and I'm like, oh, I
want to try what Katie's doing.
Like I had no idea that was athing.
So thank you for sharing that.
I love it.
We're constantly learning onthe road, so, yeah, I think you
know.
Another big question newbiesalways have is like what about a
bathroom?
What about toilet?
Do you have anything to sayabout what you chose to do in
(21:29):
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 vanwhere I used like a go girl,
peed in like a water bottleAgain figuring out what you're
comfortable with, what you wantand having the right gear.
So in the first van it meantthat I knew leave no trace like
regulations, I knew how torespect where I was.
(21:52):
It meant that I had a reallygood shovel to go to the
bathroom and knew how to dig acat hole and make sure that that
was good to go.
In my current van I have anairhead composting toilet, which
is a lot of people don't thinkit's necessary and I don't even.
I don't think it's necessary byany means.
But after five years of digginga hole in the ground every time
(22:13):
I had to go to the bathroom, Ijust really wanted to not have
to do that anymore.
So I like the airhead.
It has the option to have aflat back.
So some of the other compostingtoilets.
It's all around and you lose alot of space like multiple
inches.
So I went with the airheadbecause it was able to be more
compact.
Again, it's a dual purpose.
So I have my toilet in acompartment.
(22:34):
On the edge of it, a separatelittle area there's like shoe
storage, and then it has a coverover 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 alwaysdone for bathrooms.
I'm also just not really doingas much city camping, so it's
(22:55):
I've always had more options.
Or if I'm driving a lot like ifI'm getting gas I go in and I
use the bathroom if I can.
And then showers I have neverhad inside shower.
I just could never personallysacrifice the space, especially
when there was two people in thevans.
I do have an outdoor shower,though.
(23:17):
I had one of those showers thatare on a road shower.
They go on the outside of yourvan and they kind of heat up in
the sun.
I had that in my first van andnow I have like a hang and go
solar shower.
I have a 12 volt thing thatdrops right into my water jugs
and it's powered.
So I can plug that into 12 volt, drop one thing into my water
(23:39):
jugs and then there's a littleswitch and I can use that.
So the water's all in one areaalso, which is great, and I just
shower outside.
But classic planet fitness, youknow 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
(23:59):
often and I also the way that Ichoose 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 theneed to take hot shower as much
as I probably would if I livedin like a busy city or something
(24:21):
.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Yeah, I think that's good to think about, because I
think a lot of people thinkabout showers as something that,
oh, you have to like put soapall over your body, you have to
like stand in it for a long timeor 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 feellike gosh.
I had my shower for the day.
I feel clean, I rinse I meanyou just gotta rinse off the
sweat and the dirt, and then youfeel pretty good.
(24:43):
And sometimes we'll just do ourhair, you know, in the limited
water we have in the van andthat feels great.
So there's a variety of ways tostay clean without having like
that hot shower that peopleexpect, I think.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Yeah, wipes too.
I have like wipes for alldifferent parts of my body and I
utilize those as I need, andthat also just makes a huge
difference, especially sometimesthere are no showers nearby, so
that always helps.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah, we do the solar showerthing too, like you.
So cool.
I'm trying to think what aresome of your thoughts for tips
for beginners?
I'm running out of some of myideas.
I know there's so many andpeople always have so many
questions Anything, you hearoften.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Yeah, I made a little list.
We've already kind of covered alot of the things.
One of the things that Ipersonally have found is like
budgeting is really importantfor me.
I just am not.
My income is limited.
I like to work less because Iwant to have more of my own time
, so I choose to live my life acertain way within those means.
So I have a budget that'spretty strict.
(25:44):
I know my bills, I know whenthey're due, I have a budget for
my spending money.
I have a savings plan.
As I turned 30 a bit ago, I'mstarting to have to think,
choosing to think a little bitmore about retirement so I know
where every dollar that comesinto my pocket, I know where
it's going afterward and I stickto that budget.
(26:07):
I have like a spreadsheet that Iuse and I go over it often and
again, depending on yoursituation, your circumstance, if
you're doing seasonal work orif you're not working or if
you're working for eight to fivecorporate figuring out like how
much money you have and whatyour budget is.
That's always gonna help,especially with depending on,
(26:30):
like, how long you plan to do it, planning for things like
maintenance right, even the bestof the best vehicles you need
to go in and sometimes you havea hefty maintenance and that's
no fun emergencies in general.
So yeah, budget is somethingthat I like.
I spend a lot of time andeffort on that and it's, I think
, one of the reasons why I'vebeen able to do it as I have and
(26:50):
still even like put in someinternational travel here and
there as well.
I'm pretty strict with myfinance.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Cool, I do like you brought that up and I feel like
van life is so flexible, like ifyou need to limit your
expenditures.
We just drive less, cause Ifigured, you know, one of my
biggest expenditures is alwaysfuel, you know, and when I wanna
be like oh my God, my gas billis huge, I just stopped driving.
Or if I wanna stop sendingmoney on food, I cook more.
So I feel like our lifestyle isvery flexible cause we don't
have a fixed rent or mortgage topay.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
So for sure, and you can adjust all the time.
Like sometimes I'm like, oh, Ineed to save up for this thing.
I'm freelance, so I work more,I get more clients.
Or if I know I need to besaving more money, like you said
, driving less.
Like you save so much moneywhen 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 arecurious about, like internet on
the road.
I know that I use a combinationof visible that's my phone,
hotspot and then Starlink to domy 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 likeI just need to do it.
I haven't yet because thestartup cost can be hefty, but
it is very reliable and it doesit 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 workingand to know there was gonna be
(28:15):
like four hours of pocket withno service or that some of the
most beautiful campsites don'thave service.
So that is probably what thefuture holds.
But right now I have a Verizoncell phone and my plan has the
ability to do a mobile hotspot.
So I use that for like reallyimportant things, like if I have
(28:36):
a video meeting that I need todo something that pulls like
more data, and then it does getthrottled.
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 goodstuff for streaming Netflix or
something.
But I also have an AT&T hotspot.
It's a monthly pay as you go.
(28:57):
I think it's called theNighthawk.
I bought it used on Amazon oreBay for like 115 bucks and I
pay $50 a month for the AT&T andI get a hundred gigabytes and I
work like pretty often, or ifI'm not working I'm doing
something on my phone orcomputer.
So that has always been enoughfor me.
(29:17):
And the nice thing about thatis I have two different carriers
, similar to Starlink Like ifVerizon is really bad in one
area, I can usually get AT&T andthere's an app that you can
like look at a place on a mapand 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 anaffordable hotspot, because mine
was like a hundred bucks amonth, so I was paying too much,
but yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I did start one.
My phone's like 20 or somethinglike that.
You know it's really not bad,so pretty affordable.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Yeah, fantastic, cool .
Yeah, anything else from yourlist that we should touch on.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Yeah, I think there are, like I had some more mental
things, like just beingflexible, being prepared to have
more free time, not beingscared to like get to know
yourself.
Obviously, that's all going tobe part of it, but that's, I
feel, like so much more opinionbased.
So I do want to also just givelike another logistical or two.
(30:18):
Sleeping is like pretty big forme, especially in the van,
because you never know who'saround or what's around if it's
going to be noisy.
So I am pretty particular withmy sleep, finding out like what
people need.
If you need a sleep machine orlike I sleep with earplugs and
an eye mask, and then it doesn'tmatter if I'm in the middle of
the desert or next to a semitruck and a parking lot, and
(30:42):
that's been really helpful forme because there's always always
external sounds wherever youare.
So that's one thing you know.
I feel like if you're sensitivesleeper, you probably do those
things no matter where you are.
But that's made a bigdifference for me to to feel
like I'm actually getting likerested.
And then the other thing that Ifinally Started doing.
I didn't used to do this, but Inow have like a van box in my
(31:05):
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 extrawiring, a little bit of like
splicing tools, you know, extrainsulation, electrical tape.
I finally I don't even think Ihad a screwdriver in my first
band when I was living in itfull-time, which is like
(31:27):
terrifying to think about, but Ihave some basic tools and
things like that so that if Ineed to fix something, I don't
necessarily need to, you know,drive or feel panicked or need
to go to a mechanic or Like ahome depot.
So that's just like anothersmall tidbit that I feel like
has again Let me travel moreconfidently in general.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
So totally, and Given that I popped two tires on my
Astro van, we always we had aton of fix-a-flat and tire plugs
in that car with our ko2's thatmight not be a problem.
But you know I still carry, youknow, tire repair kits and
always have that.
You know I'm so bad at this.
It's embarrassing because mypartner does it.
But that winch that winchesyour car up Like have one of
those in a breaker bar, veryimportant 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 Iup to my my tire, so like having
a spare.
I always have a headlamp andthat's one of the things I have
in the dash of my car.
If I am Looking for camping atnight, I can look better, you
know, with the headlamp, or if Ineed to change a tire or do
(32:30):
something like that, yeah, justbeing prepared is it's.
I never, never, regretted beingprepared.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Yeah, very true, cool .
So obviously both of us lovevan life, so we've been doing it
for so long.
I was wondering if you couldjust share some reasons with
people why you like it.
I think it's good for people tohear these things if they're
thinking of you know, takingthat leap.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yeah, yeah again, like my why has changed.
At first it was really to spendmore 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 andso much more lifestyle.
Of course, it is still verytravel oriented and that still
is the thing that I'm doing, butI do it now because I like the
(33:14):
choices that I have.
I like what the lifestyleprovides me.
It's about the freedom and theflexibility.
For me, I don't feel confined toone place or one thing and I
get to wake up and decide whatdo I feel like doing?
Where do I want to go?
Like Do I want to be by water?
And I feeling seasonally sadand I need to drive to
California and get some sunshine.
(33:35):
For me, it's become so muchbigger than just traveling or
sightseeing.
It really is like the thingthat 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 drivingfactor having a dog.
Now.
I didn't have a dog for a whileand I've had my dog for Maybe
(33:57):
two or three years now.
That's a huge driving factor aswell.
She and I both start to feel alittle bit stir crazy when we're
in houses, and so we just we'dlove to be outside and that's
been really important for bothof us.
So For me it's really I figuredout that the pace I want to
travel in.
I've personally kind of been onlike a desert kick for About
(34:19):
two years now.
Mojave actually is my favoriteplace to go camp.
There's so much and the Roundis 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 Ihang out by myself a lot with
my dog and I love it so much.
I think it's it's just been thebest thing for me.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Yep, yep, I love how you say that about being in
nature and moving with theseasons and stuff, because I
like that too, and I start tofeel very cooped up, like right
now I'm in a house and I startto feel like antsy and cooped up
and I describe it as a dogneeding 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, soI'm also in a house, but it does
start to feel like you start tofeel a little bit stir crazy,
like you just want to go outsideand get fresher.
So, again, finding whateverworks for you, whatever you like
to do, and and Followingthrough with that.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
So, yeah, totally Well, cool.
Well, thank you so much, and isthere anything we missed that
that you wanted to share withpeople?
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Um, no, I think the last thing that I would say is
like I have like taken a stepback a little bit of the online
world, but, um, although I'm notposting much right now, I am
still like on social media and Iam still.
I message with people and Ikeep in contact with Van lifers
and I'm camping and hanging outwith other people, so I'm always
here and happy to serve as aresource or if people have
(35:43):
questions.
I am online, even though itlooks like right now I am not
Just took a little bit of a stepback from from the posting,
much so.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Awesome, and then it's.
So we bought a van right onInstagram 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 oflogging in my first few years I
did there.
So I have like certainresources about like I actually
went and I looked at it beforewe hopped on today because I was
like I should look at you knowsome of the things.
But I have, like my fivefavorite one pot recipes or the
tips that I used to downsizefrom living in a house to living
(36:17):
in a van, like best apps andhow to find.
I have a whole guide on likehow I identify Free, legal
camping on there.
So a lot of different stuff onthere Anybody wants to peruse.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
Cool, well, very cool .
Well, thanks for coming on thesummit again.
I'm so always happy to have youhere full of advice, and you've
been living van life for solong.
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 toencourage 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 tosubscribe, just go to the
wayward home.
Comm forward, slash, subscribe.
I'll see you there.
I.
If you're new to Van Life, figuring it all out can be
quite overwhelming from whichvan to buy, to how to find free
campsites, to getting Wi-Fi andeven going to the bathroom on
the road.
There's just so much to learn.
Katie Larson of Sew we Bought aVan, has been living the van
life for years, both solo andwith a partner, and in a variety
of vans.
In this episode of the WaywardHome Podcast, she gives her best
(00:21):
tips and advice for newbies.
You're going to learn so muchin this one.
Let's go.
Welcome to the Wayward HomePodcast.
All about van life, boat lifeand nomadic living.
We'll bring you tips,interviews and stories from the
road and on the water.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Now, here's your host .
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Kristen Haynes.
Hey there, I'm Kristen Hayneswith wwwthewaywardhomecom, and I
spend half the year in mycamper van and half on my
sailboat in Mexico.
I hope to inspire you to livenomatically too Well.
In this episode of the WaywardHome Podcast, we're going back
to basics.
We have the best tips fornewbie van lifers.
With Katie Larson of Sew, weBought a Van.
This interview first appearedin the Van Life Virtual Summit
(00:57):
which I hosted for Project VanLife in September of 2023.
So let's get into it.
So today, katie Larson of Sewwe Bought a Van is joining me.
Katie has lived in threedifferent vans, both with a
partner and solo, and she has somany tips and tricks about
getting started with van life asa beginner.
So, katie, I'm so happy you'rehere with us today.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Thank you, yeah, thanks for having me.
I'm super excited.
This is.
I've been able to be a part ofa few of these summits with you,
so it's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Totally so.
I figure we should go into yourbackground a little bit more.
I know you've lived in quite afew vans, but let's go back to
the beginning and just givepeople an overview of just van
life for you since the beginning.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Yeah, so it all started in 2016 for me.
I didn't know too much about itand a partner at the time had
recommended it and wasinterested in it.
I had just graduated collegeand was working my first
corporate job, and so I justthought let me pay off some debt
and then we can talk aboutfinding a van.
So did that, saved up for awhile and then started looking
(01:58):
at vans in the summer of 2016.
I bought my first van, whichwas a sprinter, and built that
out, moved into it early springand essentially I've been on the
road ever since then.
He and I split up.
I did a year or two by myselfin that van and then I met
somebody that was living in aFord economy line.
(02:18):
We traveled together for awhile, I lived in his van for a
while and then eventually movedinto the transit, which is the
van that I have now.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Very cool.
Yeah, you've had so manystories and just a lot of time
on the road.
So I know you're full of tipsand advice and I'm wondering if
the first advice people arecurious about is just choosing a
van.
I mean, I think that so manypeople don't know which van to
go in, and I know you've been ina variety, so what's your
advice about?
Just that very basic questionfor newbies.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, I mean, I think that that kind of can like.
My main point I think it alwayswhen people are interested in
van life is like figure out whyyou want to do this, because
it's going to help you figureout what you want it to look
like, what you want it to looklike, how you want to travel,
but especially what kind ofvehicle you want.
So for me, you know, I onlyplanned on being on the road for
a year at first, and so I knewI wanted something that was new
(03:10):
and reliable and that I coulddrive like fast and a lot of
miles rapidly without worryingabout mechanical issues.
So I went with a Sprinter andit was new.
So I knew I wasn't.
You know I had a warranty andit was covered.
If you're, you know more intoknowing your vehicle in and out
and you know working on theengine yourself Wilkes-Wagons
(03:31):
are always great.
Also, just older vehicles ingeneral like and you can switch
out an engine and get a newengine for not that expensive
and that will still run superwell.
You know, four-wheel driveversus all-wheel versus
two-wheel, all of that stuff isreally just going to be
determined by what you arelooking for.
But ultimately I have found.
(03:51):
I know that I'm in it now so Imight be a little bit biased,
but I've found for like a middleground price point, a middle
ground like performance and justwhat I'm looking to do.
The two-wheel transit has beengreat for me.
I haven't needed the power of aSprinter, I haven't needed the
you know control of four-wheeldrive.
It's on the middle ground ofyou know affordability.
(04:15):
Up front Maintenance is reallylevel-headed because I can go to
any mechanic.
It's not you know, parts fromoverseas and everything like
that, so there's wait times notinvolved.
That's just been a really,really good middle ground
vehicle for me.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
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, likehow do you live in a van that
small?
But it's possible and that'syet another option.
It was only $6,000, so you knowthe price point and types of
vans can, like, really run thegamut, and you're so right.
It's about, like, how you wantto travel, how you're going to
use it, because a lot of peopledon't need four by four Like.
(04:49):
I personally like it because wedo a lot of kind of rugged
off-roading but I mean you doboondocking too and a two-wheel
drive and it works.
So if you could tell people alittle bit about like that part
of your experience, you don'thave to have a four-wheel drive
to go off-road.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, yeah.
I also want to note theFord-a-Con line I lived in was a
low roof and it was $1,000.
It was found on like in adaycare parking lot that they
weren't using anymore because itwas past the safe point for
like transporting children.
So it really is possible.
You just have to kind of bepatient and figure out what you
want.
But the all-wheel drive versusfour-wheel drive, that is a
question people love to talkabout and everybody has strong
(05:25):
opinions.
But I really believe thatknowing how to drive a vehicle
with four-wheel versus two-wheelis a big difference, like
knowing about slow accelerationversus like if you panic and you
hit the gas, you're going todig deeper in sand and in snow.
So part of it, I think, for meis just like driving smartly and
(05:47):
safely and making sure that youknow what that means,
especially for your vehicle'sweight and size.
I have always though I've neverused stock tires.
That's something that for me,that's a price point, that I'm
willing to spend more money ontires if I'm not going to spend
more money on an all-wheel orfour-wheel drive.
So I personally have been usingthe BF Goodrich tires on every
single vehicle I've ever used.
(06:08):
They're again all season.
They're a little bit beefier.
I even used like a grinder andcut out some of the wheel well,
in my transit so I could get abigger wheel and tire size,
which just allows more clearance, and so that's always been
really big for me is tires.
I'm also really aware of likewhere I park and how I travel.
(06:29):
I've done all seasons in thevan a lot of desert, some snow,
so paying attention, like if Iknow 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 withyou know, checking weather,
knowing what kind of conditionsI'm gonna be in, and if I feel
like there's a chance I'm gonnaget stuck, I usually try not to
(06:50):
push that too hard.
So that's just my personalpreference.
I'm not like a snowboarder orskier though, so I'm not staying
in like lodge lots or anythinglike that.
That's ice a lot, but I havehad no problem with like getting
through snowy areas, camping inthe snow, but again, maybe it
just means I have to wait a fewdays until snow melts or it the
(07:11):
ground hardens, whatever thatlooks like.
So that's big, and then havingmax tracks always helps.
I have like jumper cables,although that's not really like
four wheel drive related, buttrying to be prepared, knowing
like where your tow hook is inyour car.
Also, I've had to like sit inforums looking for where the
hook is in the transit becauseit's kind of hidden Knowing if
(07:34):
you can attach to your bumper,if you do need to get a tow.
Having that kind of knowledgeabout your vehicle and being
prepared is always just, it'sjust always a good idea,
especially if you're travelingby yourself and you're doing
boondocking and that kind ofthing.
And then the last thing I thinkworth mentioning is like
clearance knowing your groundclearance.
It's another reason that Ispecifically like the transit is
(07:55):
some vans sit really low, somevans sit really high.
Obviously, four wheel drive isgoing 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 boulderthat's in the ground of the road
and know if I'm going to likescratch or if it's going to be
an issue or not.
But yeah, confidence,preparation, tools, all those
(08:15):
things are going to be yourfriend.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
Yeah, that's all such good advice because I remember
we were in the Mojave Desert andwe hit.
We were had still street tireson the Astro and we ran over
some sharp rocks and got twoflat tires in one minute flat
and it was very scary and now Ialways do BF Goodrich KO2 tires
on the Astro and now theSprinter.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
So I love that.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
You said that.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I know a lot of my tire and it didn't even fully
puncture in the BF Goodrich.
Like those things, they'realmost impossible to pop.
I've never popped a tire in anyof those and I've driven far,
so I love that you use them too.
It's a great tire Totally.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
So yeah, I think it's hard to you and I are both
experienced van lifers andsometimes it's hard to remember
the beginning.
But thinking back, like whatare some things you wish you had
known that newbies wouldbenefit from hearing about.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
That's a good question because you're right,
it is like I feel like I look atthis whole thing like
overarching.
But I think in the verybeginning some of the things I
didn't know as well was like howto 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 notgoing to get knocked on at 2am
(09:23):
or that if I do get knocked onat 2am, that I know I'm allowed
to be there for me, that I don'tI 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 lotstate to state and county to
county, but like you can findmost of that stuff on Google.
If you are doing likeboondocking in National Forest
(09:45):
or BLM, there's usually signswhen you enter those kinds of
areas.
Like you see, entering NationalForest all the time, you're
allowed to be there right, aslong as there's no private signs
or anything like that.
And all those different placesare going to have different stay
limits.
Some are 14 days, some are 7days, some are 21 days.
So knowing that is just always,I think, going to help the
confidence and I sleep betterknowing that if I do get knocked
(10:09):
on, I know if I'm allowed to bethere.
I don't feel they need to getout of the vehicle or explain
myself as much.
So part of that is, like youknow, doing your research when
you are at a specific place.
But there are obviously so manyapps that you can use resources
there's.
You know, I overlander freecampsitesnet, rv, all stays and
the dirt.
So, again, depending on ifyou're looking for, like paid
(10:32):
campsites or BLM specifically,or National Forest, like you can
find an app or a resourcethat's going to help you
navigate that like confidentlyand 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 howto go find this information out
and I just randomly saw peopledoing it and I was like I want
to do that.
So I think that is a bigconcern.
It's like where to park.
You know, I get that all thetime from people like they're
afraid of parking somewhere andnot feeling safe.
So I'm wondering, kind ofbecause you've done solo travel
(11:05):
and partner travel and whatabout the safety and how do you
typically feel when you're outthere 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 offroad tracks, like I try to
really eliminate worry so that Ican confidently navigate places
.
But if I am not sure if I'mallowed to be there or something
like there are BLM offices inalmost every area that has BLM.
(11:33):
So the first year I even usedto go to like there's like a
ranger station or like a BLMoffice.
If you go in and ask them hey,do you have a map, can you
highlight where I'm allowed toboondock, like, they'll help you
with that information.
So that helps.
And again, if I know I'mallowed to be there and it is a
boondocking area, I also feelpretty confident that people
(11:53):
aren't really going to be comingup to my vehicle often.
It's not going to be like ifyou're stealthing in a city or
something Like I know I'm a lotmore likely to get a knock or to
have somebody even justinterested in the van in a
busier place.
So that's kind of generalsafety.
I think when you talk aboutsafety also, there are obviously
like tools, things that you canuse.
I have little like knives thatI keep by my bed or in the front
(12:18):
pocket of my van.
I have like pepper spray.
I have that kind of stuff.
I always have a second set ofkeys.
I always have my keys in thesame place so if I ever have to
move in a rush, I know exactlywhere they are.
When I get in I put it in theright same place.
I put in a partition in thisbuild and for me that was a
(12:39):
safety thing personally just onefor privacy so people can't
tell that I'm in there if Idon't have my partition open.
It also locks, so there's thataspect of it, but it does open
and before I had a partition, Ido like personally being able to
get to the front and back of myvan without having to get
outside of my vehicle.
That's always been somethingthat by myself I don't want to
(13:02):
have to open my slider door andlet people see I'm in there
alone.
So if I close and lock mypartition and I good.
Window covers is another thingthat has helped me feel better.
I had handmade window coversfor a while.
So much light goes in and out.
People can see in and aroundthe window covers at night.
But I have, like I have vanmade gear window covers now and
they're amazing and you can'tsee a peep of light from the
(13:24):
outside when I have all of mylights on on the inside.
So just some like quick things.
But yeah, I just try to alwaysbe prepared.
I try to think through what amI gonna need?
How can I functionally get outof something if I need to?
And I show my location alsowith a lot of people friends,
family I'm not often off thegrid without anybody knowing
(13:46):
where I am.
That's pretty rare.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
Yeah, that's really good advice.
And one thing I'd love tomention 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 andStarlink and so I can always
reach someone with that, so it'sanother kind of safety
precaution.
Yeah, I think.
Another question was a lot ofpeople wonder, like what's the
(14:08):
transition like?
Because you know it's kind ofscary to leap from a comfortable
apartment or house into a vanand just there's so much
interaction with the outdoors,there's so much decision-making.
Like what would be yourtransitional 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 doingI wasn't working my first year,
so I planned to only do it for ayear and then sell the vehicle
and, you know, live off savings.
So I was doing a lot ofnational parks, I was hiking
like every single day.
So that was something that Iwas really excited about, I
(14:44):
looked forward to, so I didn'thave to deal with as much like
mental block of like when shouldI go, what should I do, and
that also just helped menavigate, like what's the next
place I want to go.
It eliminated some of thedecision-making.
But after that it was a reallyweird chapter because I didn't
plan to be in the van long term.
And then suddenly I was likeokay, I now am working remotely,
(15:04):
I, it's open-ended, so thatunknowing is like it's
terrifying.
I mean it's.
It's so terrifying sometimesbut figuring out like,
especially at the beginning,what do you want to do with your
time, and let that kind of likeguide your decisions or what do
you need to do with your time.
And then I think over like timeI Now I'm very comfortable with
(15:27):
having that open schedule.
I get stressed.
If someone's like you want todo something next Thursday and
I'm like I have no idea whereI'm gonna be there, then like I
like that.
But that's like a skill thathas been Over the years.
I've had to kind of forcemyself to learn how to be okay
with open-endedness of things.
And I think like one of theother things logistically that I
(15:47):
try to do is I really try notto be looking for a place to
Sleep at night.
I I've done that a lot of timesand 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 adirt road, but there are a lot
of like small pull-offs on theside of places that you can stay
(16:08):
.
But I try to be comfortablyparked by the time it's getting
dark.
I know where I am, I don't haveto navigate directions in the
dark, I don't have to get stucklike I'm sure you've been there.
It's like 12, 30 at night andthree of your campsites don't
work and you're like I don'tknow what to do right now.
So that's just something I, youknow I choose to do and over
(16:31):
time as I've moved, I move lessand less.
I now stay places for usuallylike a week or two minimum.
That also helps, because havingto find a good campsite every
you know two weeks is reallydifferent 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 thinkeven in the beginning, if you
like, stop more, it's probablyeven better because it allows
you to get into the routine andfigure out your own routine too.
So, yeah, I think that's greatadvice.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Especially like if you're working or not.
That's gonna affect.
I know so many people that workstructured hours, even if
remotely so.
They don't move during the week, they only do errands and
chores and move campsites onweekends.
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 movinginto a van there's like this
long list of things that everytime I've gotten a new van it's
kind of like if you move into anew place you Were the first
time you go to school byyourself or the first time you
move into an apartment.
Like you need to get certainthings that just help you
logistically.
Like I Try to think of thingseven if it's as simple as like
(17:46):
pots and pans you need pots andpans to cook.
I try to think of all things oflike space and functionality.
So that might mean that I buystacking pots and pans that you
know stack inside of each other.
Or I've seen pots and panswhere, like it's one handle that
clips off and then it's allthese different sized pots and
you can clip that onto everysingle one to save all that
(18:06):
storage space.
So, like I had like five pairsof black leggings when I first
moved into a van, I now have onequality 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 todownsize, that's a whole process
in itself.
That's a really good time tostart thinking about like what
(18:28):
do I need to get?
It also is going to depend onif you know, are you moving into
a van on a specific day and youhave 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 doingweekend trips?
Like testing it out is always agreat thing because if you can
go do a week-long trip in yourvan and come back to a Home base
and then adjust either yourlayout or your gear and I think
(18:53):
that that's always a good thingto do.
But definitely compact is like atheme in my van.
Compact like inner stacking.
I'm thinking a lot of likekitchenware but like my
measuring cups and stuff all aremagnetic so they don't rattle
and my dishes are like a bambooso they don't really break again
, they don't really rattle.
(19:13):
Trying to think about that,packing cubes are great for like
clothes, even belongings, likeI have a game packing cube where
all like my card games go in.
So some of that like functionalstuff.
But something I think that ifyou're going to be driving a lot
and I tend to do that Like Ialways overlooked how
comfortable my dash area was andnow I can like see a Sprinter
(19:39):
versus a transit and I canappreciate the different layouts
of like two cup holders first,eight cup holders, or a USB
charger versus not.
So I kind of have a little setupin the front of my Van where I
always have like a charger, achapstick, you know, lotion, a
snack, a water bottle.
I have that stuff.
(19:59):
I have good phone mount.
Finally I got one that's likemagnetic and it wirelessly,
without a wire, charges my phoneat the same time.
So the dash, I just feel like,is something that's overlooked.
Some people get really fancyand make these little like
storage carts in between theirtwo front seats that you can
utilize for things like that.
But there's a lot of space inthe front of cars, a van
(20:20):
specifically, especially if it'sa high roof.
So using that space well, Ithink gear wise or getting gear
that goes up there, that'salways a good idea.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
I love that.
I've never even thought aboutorganizing my dash, but I have
seen that there are a littleorganizing 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, betweenmy seats and the partition
behind me.
I have so much stuff back therethat's like quick grab and go.
So I just I really try,especially by myself pulling off
of a highway, like having totake an exit to go do something
in the back of your van or grabwater or granola bar.
It's such a waste of time andso, especially if you're alone,
(21:00):
having that area kind of set upfor 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 thingsfrom each other.
We've both been living in vansfor so long and I'm like, oh, I
want to try what Katie's doing.
Like I had no idea that was athing.
So thank you for sharing that.
I love it.
We're constantly learning onthe road, so, yeah, I think you
know.
Another big question newbiesalways have is like what about a
bathroom?
What about toilet?
Do you have anything to sayabout what you chose to do in
(21:29):
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 vanwhere I used like a go girl,
peed in like a water bottleAgain figuring out what you're
comfortable with, what you wantand having the right gear.
So in the first van it meantthat I knew leave no trace like
regulations, I knew how torespect where I was.
(21:52):
It meant that I had a reallygood shovel to go to the
bathroom and knew how to dig acat hole and make sure that that
was good to go.
In my current van I have anairhead composting toilet, which
is a lot of people don't thinkit's necessary and I don't even.
I don't think it's necessary byany means.
But after five years of digginga hole in the ground every time
(22:13):
I had to go to the bathroom, Ijust really wanted to not have
to do that anymore.
So I like the airhead.
It has the option to have aflat back.
So some of the other compostingtoilets.
It's all around and you lose alot of space like multiple
inches.
So I went with the airheadbecause it was able to be more
compact.
Again, it's a dual purpose.
So I have my toilet in acompartment.
(22:34):
On the edge of it, a separatelittle area there's like shoe
storage, and then it has a coverover 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 alwaysdone for bathrooms.
I'm also just not really doingas much city camping, so it's
(22:55):
I've always had more options.
Or if I'm driving a lot like ifI'm getting gas I go in and I
use the bathroom if I can.
And then showers I have neverhad inside shower.
I just could never personallysacrifice the space, especially
when there was two people in thevans.
I do have an outdoor shower,though.
(23:17):
I had one of those showers thatare on a road shower.
They go on the outside of yourvan and they kind of heat up in
the sun.
I had that in my first van andnow I have like a hang and go
solar shower.
I have a 12 volt thing thatdrops right into my water jugs
and it's powered.
So I can plug that into 12 volt, drop one thing into my water
(23:39):
jugs and then there's a littleswitch and I can use that.
So the water's all in one areaalso, which is great, and I just
shower outside.
But classic planet fitness, youknow 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
(23:59):
often and I also the way that Ichoose 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 theneed to take hot shower as much
as I probably would if I livedin like a busy city or something
(24:21):
.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Yeah, I think that's good to think about, because I
think a lot of people thinkabout showers as something that,
oh, you have to like put soapall over your body, you have to
like stand in it for a long timeor 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 feellike gosh.
I had my shower for the day.
I feel clean, I rinse I meanyou just gotta rinse off the
sweat and the dirt, and then youfeel pretty good.
(24:43):
And sometimes we'll just do ourhair, you know, in the limited
water we have in the van andthat feels great.
So there's a variety of ways tostay clean without having like
that hot shower that peopleexpect, I think.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Yeah, wipes too.
I have like wipes for alldifferent parts of my body and I
utilize those as I need, andthat also just makes a huge
difference, especially sometimesthere are no showers nearby, so
that always helps.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah, we do the solar showerthing too, like you.
So cool.
I'm trying to think what aresome of your thoughts for tips
for beginners?
I'm running out of some of myideas.
I know there's so many andpeople always have so many
questions Anything, you hearoften.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Yeah, I made a little list.
We've already kind of covered alot of the things.
One of the things that Ipersonally have found is like
budgeting is really importantfor me.
I just am not.
My income is limited.
I like to work less because Iwant to have more of my own time
, so I choose to live my life acertain way within those means.
So I have a budget that'spretty strict.
(25:44):
I know my bills, I know whenthey're due, I have a budget for
my spending money.
I have a savings plan.
As I turned 30 a bit ago, I'mstarting to have to think,
choosing to think a little bitmore about retirement so I know
where every dollar that comesinto my pocket, I know where
it's going afterward and I stickto that budget.
(26:07):
I have like a spreadsheet that Iuse and I go over it often and
again, depending on yoursituation, your circumstance, if
you're doing seasonal work orif you're not working or if
you're working for eight to fivecorporate figuring out like how
much money you have and whatyour budget is.
That's always gonna help,especially with depending on,
(26:30):
like, how long you plan to do it, planning for things like
maintenance right, even the bestof the best vehicles you need
to go in and sometimes you havea hefty maintenance and that's
no fun emergencies in general.
So yeah, budget is somethingthat I like.
I spend a lot of time andeffort on that and it's, I think
, one of the reasons why I'vebeen able to do it as I have and
(26:50):
still even like put in someinternational travel here and
there as well.
I'm pretty strict with myfinance.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Cool, I do like you brought that up and I feel like
van life is so flexible, like ifyou need to limit your
expenditures.
We just drive less, cause Ifigured, you know, one of my
biggest expenditures is alwaysfuel, you know, and when I wanna
be like oh my God, my gas billis huge, I just stopped driving.
Or if I wanna stop sendingmoney on food, I cook more.
So I feel like our lifestyle isvery flexible cause we don't
have a fixed rent or mortgage topay.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
So for sure, and you can adjust all the time.
Like sometimes I'm like, oh, Ineed to save up for this thing.
I'm freelance, so I work more,I get more clients.
Or if I know I need to besaving more money, like you said
, driving less.
Like you save so much moneywhen 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 arecurious about, like internet on
the road.
I know that I use a combinationof visible that's my phone,
hotspot and then Starlink to domy 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 likeI just need to do it.
I haven't yet because thestartup cost can be hefty, but
it is very reliable and it doesit 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 workingand to know there was gonna be
(28:15):
like four hours of pocket withno service or that some of the
most beautiful campsites don'thave service.
So that is probably what thefuture holds.
But right now I have a Verizoncell phone and my plan has the
ability to do a mobile hotspot.
So I use that for like reallyimportant things, like if I have
(28:36):
a video meeting that I need todo something that pulls like
more data, and then it does getthrottled.
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 goodstuff for streaming Netflix or
something.
But I also have an AT&T hotspot.
It's a monthly pay as you go.
(28:57):
I think it's called theNighthawk.
I bought it used on Amazon oreBay for like 115 bucks and I
pay $50 a month for the AT&T andI get a hundred gigabytes and I
work like pretty often, or ifI'm not working I'm doing
something on my phone orcomputer.
So that has always been enoughfor me.
(29:17):
And the nice thing about thatis I have two different carriers
, similar to Starlink Like ifVerizon is really bad in one
area, I can usually get AT&T andthere's an app that you can
like look at a place on a mapand 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 anaffordable hotspot, because mine
was like a hundred bucks amonth, so I was paying too much,
but yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I did start one.
My phone's like 20 or somethinglike that.
You know it's really not bad,so pretty affordable.
Speaker 1 (29:51):
Yeah, fantastic, cool .
Yeah, anything else from yourlist that we should touch on.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
Yeah, I think there are, like I had some more mental
things, like just beingflexible, being prepared to have
more free time, not beingscared to like get to know
yourself.
Obviously, that's all going tobe part of it, but that's, I
feel, like so much more opinionbased.
So I do want to also just givelike another logistical or two.
(30:18):
Sleeping is like pretty big forme, especially in the van,
because you never know who'saround or what's around if it's
going to be noisy.
So I am pretty particular withmy sleep, finding out like what
people need.
If you need a sleep machine orlike I sleep with earplugs and
an eye mask, and then it doesn'tmatter if I'm in the middle of
the desert or next to a semitruck and a parking lot, and
(30:42):
that's been really helpful forme because there's always always
external sounds wherever youare.
So that's one thing you know.
I feel like if you're sensitivesleeper, you probably do those
things no matter where you are.
But that's made a bigdifference for me to to feel
like I'm actually getting likerested.
And then the other thing that Ifinally Started doing.
I didn't used to do this, but Inow have like a van box in my
(31:05):
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 extrawiring, a little bit of like
splicing tools, you know, extrainsulation, electrical tape.
I finally I don't even think Ihad a screwdriver in my first
band when I was living in itfull-time, which is like
(31:27):
terrifying to think about, but Ihave some basic tools and
things like that so that if Ineed to fix something, I don't
necessarily need to, you know,drive or feel panicked or need
to go to a mechanic or Like ahome depot.
So that's just like anothersmall tidbit that I feel like
has again Let me travel moreconfidently in general.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
So totally, and Given that I popped two tires on my
Astro van, we always we had aton of fix-a-flat and tire plugs
in that car with our ko2's thatmight not be a problem.
But you know I still carry, youknow, tire repair kits and
always have that.
You know I'm so bad at this.
It's embarrassing because mypartner does it.
But that winch that winchesyour car up Like have one of
those in a breaker bar, veryimportant 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 Iup to my my tire, so like having
a spare.
I always have a headlamp andthat's one of the things I have
in the dash of my car.
If I am Looking for camping atnight, I can look better, you
know, with the headlamp, or if Ineed to change a tire or do
(32:30):
something like that, yeah, justbeing prepared is it's.
I never, never, regretted beingprepared.
Speaker 1 (32:37):
Yeah, very true, cool .
So obviously both of us lovevan life, so we've been doing it
for so long.
I was wondering if you couldjust share some reasons with
people why you like it.
I think it's good for people tohear these things if they're
thinking of you know, takingthat leap.
Speaker 2 (32:51):
Yeah, yeah again, like my why has changed.
At first it was really to spendmore 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 andso much more lifestyle.
Of course, it is still verytravel oriented and that still
is the thing that I'm doing, butI do it now because I like the
(33:14):
choices that I have.
I like what the lifestyleprovides me.
It's about the freedom and theflexibility.
For me, I don't feel confined toone place or one thing and I
get to wake up and decide whatdo I feel like doing?
Where do I want to go?
Like Do I want to be by water?
And I feeling seasonally sadand I need to drive to
California and get some sunshine.
(33:35):
For me, it's become so muchbigger than just traveling or
sightseeing.
It really is like the thingthat 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 drivingfactor having a dog.
Now.
I didn't have a dog for a whileand I've had my dog for Maybe
(33:57):
two or three years now.
That's a huge driving factor aswell.
She and I both start to feel alittle bit stir crazy when we're
in houses, and so we just we'dlove to be outside and that's
been really important for bothof us.
So For me it's really I figuredout that the pace I want to
travel in.
I've personally kind of been onlike a desert kick for About
(34:19):
two years now.
Mojave actually is my favoriteplace to go camp.
There's so much and the Roundis 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 Ihang out by myself a lot with
my dog and I love it so much.
I think it's it's just been thebest thing for me.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
Yep, yep, I love how you say that about being in
nature and moving with theseasons and stuff, because I
like that too, and I start tofeel very cooped up, like right
now I'm in a house and I startto feel like antsy and cooped up
and I describe it as a dogneeding 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, soI'm also in a house, but it does
start to feel like you start tofeel a little bit stir crazy,
like you just want to go outsideand get fresher.
So, again, finding whateverworks for you, whatever you like
to do, and and Followingthrough with that.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
So, yeah, totally Well, cool.
Well, thank you so much, and isthere anything we missed that
that you wanted to share withpeople?
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Um, no, I think the last thing that I would say is
like I have like taken a stepback a little bit of the online
world, but, um, although I'm notposting much right now, I am
still like on social media and Iam still.
I message with people and Ikeep in contact with Van lifers
and I'm camping and hanging outwith other people, so I'm always
here and happy to serve as aresource or if people have
(35:43):
questions.
I am online, even though itlooks like right now I am not
Just took a little bit of a stepback from from the posting,
much so.
Speaker 1 (35:52):
Awesome, and then it's.
So we bought a van right onInstagram 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 oflogging in my first few years I
did there.
So I have like certainresources about like I actually
went and I looked at it beforewe hopped on today because I was
like I should look at you knowsome of the things.
But I have, like my fivefavorite one pot recipes or the
tips that I used to downsizefrom living in a house to living
(36:17):
in a van, like best apps andhow to find.
I have a whole guide on likehow I identify Free, legal
camping on there.
So a lot of different stuff onthere Anybody wants to peruse.
Speaker 1 (36:29):
Cool, well, very cool .
Well, thanks for coming on thesummit again.
I'm so always happy to have youhere full of advice, and you've
been living van life for solong.
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 toencourage 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 tosubscribe, just go to the
wayward home.
Comm forward, slash, subscribe.
I'll see you there.
I.
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