Dia duit agus fáilte – that’s Irish for hello and welcome – to this blog post about full time living in a van while thriving with RA.
I added this Van life category to the blog when we moved into our van full time in February 2021 ; I hope you enjoy the stories of our adventures on the road and also find inspiration and helpful info if you’re looking for something new and completely different to do in your own life. (Update: After 21 months in the van, in Nov 2022, we moved into another fixer-upper and now enjoy traveling in the van for ski season, summer beach getaways and National Park adventures.)
In this blog, I write mostly about natural ways to heal symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as well as how to live your best life while dealing with autoimmune disease and chronic pain. For me, part of that best life is simple living in a van. I am a vagabond at heart and enjoy wandering and exploring whenever possible.
With this article, I want to talk about van life in general but also discuss the pros and cons of living in a van full time with a chronic disease. Continue reading to learn about life in a van, with or without rheumatoid arthritis. Also, check out this post about living with RA.
Table of Contents
A quick dictionary of terms in this post:
Vanlife –simply put, living or traveling in a converted van. The term can apply to other converted vehicles.
Vanlifer or vandweller – a person who lives in a van, usually full-time. Now that we’re back in a home, we still consider ourselves vanlifers!
Nomad –a person who roams from place to place frequently with no fixed residence.
Chronic disease – a health condition that impacts daily life. Rheumatoid arthritis, other autoimmune diseases, diabetes and asthma are all examples.
Vagabond – a person who travels often with no settled home.
Conversion – the act of transforming a normal vehicle into a livable home on wheels.
Tiny home on wheels –the home of a vanlifer.
Van life: what is it? What isn’t it?
There is a big difference between van life (the day-to-day reality of living in a van full time) and #vanlife (the Instagram-perfect-photo version.)
Van life is simple living in a van conversion. The term wraps itself around an unwieldy group of adventurous minimalist nomads seeking abundance and freedom. Many of us are rebelling against societal expectations, fighting capitalism in our own small way and all of us are taking control and doing life on our own terms.
#Vanlife is the escapist hashtag version of living in a van. Beautifully filtered photos and stories sharing only the fabulous, and often misleading, aspects of life in a van.
Full time van life is:
- A radical way to shift your perspective, open your mind and expand your ideas of what life can be.
- Simple living at its finest. When you live in 84sqft you get very clear, very fast, what is essential and important and what is unnecessary or irrelevant.
- Freedom from house chores and bills; freedom from limitations on adventure; freedom to live your best life.
- Unpredictable, uncertain and not for the faint of heart. It will stretch you to your strongest, most wonderful self.
- Definitely doable for anyone with an adventurous heart and rebellious spirit … even if you have rheumatoid arthritis or another chronic disease.
Full time van life is NOT:
- A way to escape the real world. I have found that whenever I try to run away from my problems, they find their way right back to me!
- Romantic, perfect or easy all the time. Sleeping in a truck stop when the dog has diarrhea is definitely not romantic!
- Always comfortable or easy. Daily questions include: where will we sleep tonight? How will we find water? Do we need to empty the grey water?
- Complicated. Yes, there will be challenges but life simplifies in a van. Less stuff = fewer decisions; more time = more joy; more freedom = better life.
- Too hard for those of us with autoimmune disease or other chronic health conditions. I am able to remain in remission while simple living in a van.
My experience of living in a van full time with chronic health conditions
In the beginning, I fell in love with the idea of simple living in a van; I envisioned few chores, lots of outside time and the freedom to travel comfortably. And, this was mostly true; my life simplified enormously. I could clean the whole “house” in 15 minutes; we hiked and skied across the US while visiting our four kidlets; my clothes fit in eight small sacks; and my to do list pretty much disappeared.
However, as I thought more about life in a van, I wondered if I could maintain my healthy habits and lifestyle. I would not even consider making any change if it would jeopardize my health. After all, it is thanks to those healthy habits that my RA is in remission and I can even consider such a radical lifestyle shift.
My daily habits include yoga, meditation, journaling and walking. Like with all things in life, I experience periods of devoted practice and other times when I go several days or weeks between visits to my mat or journal. As we pondered simple living in a van, I had to be very clear about the reality and obstacles of van life – limited space would make yoga more challenging; no daily routine would impact my own attempts at creating a daily habits schedule; and we would be in such close proximity that finding space for personal writing and meditation might be difficult.
After weighing all the pros and cons, I came up with solutions and prioritized my health as we designed the layout of our camper van. The kitchen galley fits my yoga mat perfectly, I use headphones to allow me to meditate easily and Tom hands me my journal each morning with my morning tea or coffee. Creating a routine has definitely proven the most challenging and it remains a work in progress.
Maintaining a healthy diet and managing stress while living in a van full time
Two other aspects of life help me maintain my health and keep rheumatoid arthritis in remission – stress management and diet. I figured simple living in a van would automatically reduce stress and it has done exactly that. Read this US News Health article. Almost immediately, I noticed that life slowed down; I no longer cared if we drove below the speed limit or that cooking dinner took a little longer. Few things felt important enough to worry about; I noticed myself softening and felt more peaceful than I had in a very long time.
In order to maintain my diet, we designed the kitchen so I could continue to cook foods that reduce inflammation, heal leaky gut and keep RA flare ups to a minimum. I remain strictly gluten free, we eat lots of veggies daily, and I bake bread or paleo cookies every few days. Van life is proving quite yummy!
To date, I have had two health blips while living in the van. Apparently, my body does not like altitude which caused a brief RA flare when we were skiing in Utah. We need to figure out how to navigate altitude when we plan next winter’s skiing. The second was a Covid-19 scare which spiked my stress for twelve hours and triggered a short-term flare.
I am pleased to report that my health is great and life is proving more delicious than ever. Practice makes perfect, right?
Top 5 reasons to consider simple living in a van
- Freedom. When you downsize to less than 100sqft, you reduce bills, chores, worries and stuff. All of which increases your sense of freedom. Read more about how to declutter here.
- Travel opportunities. Whether you choose to stay mostly in one location or put serious miles on your van, the ability to explore new places is built into the van life style.
- Live your values. With no mortgage, fewer bills and belongings, you will discover how you want to spend your time, energy and money. When you live your values, life opens to abundance, joy and peace.
- Simplicity. Simple living means fewer decisions, less overwhelm and a stronger sense of balance and harmony. Simplicity cultivates clarity and purpose in all aspects of life.
- Financial freedom. Most people who live in a van spend significantly less than their peers who live in a house. This allows your dreams and goals to guide your decisions rather than money dictating how you live.
Top 5 challenges of living in a van
- Limited space. Our van is 84sqft, smaller than the bathrooms in our last house. I’ve learned the trick to spaciousness is to create a place for everything, be organized and keep the place tidy. Living slowly encourages patience and serenity; both of which also expand our living space. Read about van storage.
- Parking. We have enjoyed beautiful parking spots in vineyards, National Parks and beside lakes. We have also slept in rest areas, church parking lots and side streets in teeny towns in the middle of nowhere. If you’re on the move, finding a safe place to park overnight is much more important than the beauty of said parking spot.
- Bathrooms. When you share 84sqft with another human, you will occasionally have to wee and poo in front of each other. Plus, a few days hiking in warm weather without showers can be pungent! We have a composting toilet in the van but prefer to use public restrooms when possible. We have an external shower on the van but choose to use Planet Fitness or campsite showers when possible. When desperate, we use the Irish bath method – warm soapy flannel to clean your smelly bits, as my Mam used to say!
- Water. We have a permanent 30-gallon water tank which is great because we don’t need water every three days. It’s also a pain because we cannot drag it into the store to fill up. We scour gas stations as we pass, hoping for a water spigot and use a filter to ensure safe drinking water when we find it.
- Power. Whether you have as many appliances as we do or simply want to heat your tin of beans, you will need power. We use only electricity and fill our batteries with solar, alternator and shore-power but we have to watch our usage if we’re not driving much and the weather is overcast. Other folks living in a van full time use propane, gas and generators, all of which have pros and cons. Bottom line, figure out your power sources and make sure you have enough to meet your needs.
Recent van life posts
Top 4 health challenges while simple living in a van
- Diet. Choosing the right foods can heal or exacerbate your symptoms and cooking in a tiny home on wheels takes practice. We planned ahead to make the transition easier but we have definitely had some “interesting” (read yucky!) meals/experiments. That said, I have not succumbed or taken the easy path and remain gluten-free and carefully watch what I eat. Read “Diet & RA”
2. Stress. The move into your van might be more stressful than you imagine. Yes, you want to make the shift and are ready for the adventure but even good change can cause stress. How will you manage this when you are living in a van full time? Be sure to make plans ahead of time and if that includes massages, then good for you!
- Medications. I had a great medication and supplement routine in our house and struggled to establish something as predictable in the van. After two months, I have it figured out – meds and supplements are always served with the first meal of the day. Getting prescriptions filled can also prove challenging. If you usually have them mailed, where will they go? If you prefer to pick them up, will your doctor and insurance cover you as you roam from state to state? It is essential to have the answers to these concerns before you hit the open road.
- Dealing with flare ups. We all experience them, right? One day, you’re on top of the world, next, you feel like a bus drove over you and then backed up and did it again! In the house, I took an easy day, rested, iced and heated my wrists and other aching parts. Taking an easy day and resting is possible in the van, ice and heat are tougher. If I had a longer lasting flare, I think we might check into a hotel with a large bath tub and a package of Epsom salts. Bonus: we discovered Planet Fitness offers massage loungers which have proven especially soothing.
Final thoughts
At the time of writing, we have been happily living in our van for three months and we continue to learn something new every day. I finally mastered a bread roll recipe that transformed last night’s dinner from good to scrum-diddly. Last week we learned that we need to empty the grey water tank before it overflows!
I have also learned that simple living is soothing and nourishing. My choices have halved leading to less stress and decision fatigue; my diet is stable and supportive; and I am spending more time than ever outside. Read this post about staying healthy while living in a van full time.
Whether your best life includes living in a van or not, the notion of simple living is powerful and healing. One way to begin the journey to simplicity is to declutter your life. Read this post.
