Dia duit agus fáilte – that’s Irish for hello and welcome – to this van life blog post. Today I am writing about which van life essentials will make your new home comfy and cozy. I hope you find some great tips here. If you stumbled on this page and are looking for info about autoimmune disease and chronic illness, head here.
Kidlet #3 introduced us to van life (they were considering it as an option for themselves) and we were less than impressed with the first video we watched. We had grave concerns that Kidlet #3 would be safe, happy or safe (parent priorities!) and figured we should educate ourselves about the van dwelling lifestyle.
What we found surprised and intrigued us; most van life couples were not peeing in bottles, could stand up in their van and had more than a JetBoil for cooking. Hmmm…show me more…
We began watching YouTube van life videos nightly. We took notes, earnestly discussed the good and bad design elements according to our novice notions, and slowly realized we were actually considering the van dwelling lifestyle ourselves.
One of our big concerns though was how comfortable we would be, after all, we are in our 50s and not willing to do without what we consider essentials – fresh ground coffee, a place where we can share a meal and a toilet. In other words, we wanted all our creature comforts along with the adventure and simplicity of the van dwelling lifestyle. Read this post “Simple Living in a Van.”
Keep reading below for details on how we decided our own van life essentials and built our tiny home on wheels.
Table of Contents
Our van life essentials for a comfortable home
As our plan evolved, we created a long list of must haves – eighteen, to be exact. We ditched six, adapted two and believe we have the most comfortable version of the van dwelling lifestyle we could have.
Our van home comforts can be neatly divided into the following categories:
Life’s essentials
- Toilet with real toilet seat
- Heating
- A place to eat
Daily life home comforts
- Innovatively designed kitchen
- Couch
- Wireless/Hotspot
The six “essentials we ditched were:
- Shower – we joined Planet Fitness and shower there.
- Heated floors – the Webasto heater is fantastic, even at below freezing temperatures.
- Skylight – we decided we needed a second MaxxAir fan more.
- Air conditioning – uses too much power. We have occasionally wished for A/C but choose to run for cooler climes or stay in hotels when absolutely necessary.
- Oven – too much space and limited functionality.
- Office for Tom – he worked from the passenger seat the first few months and then retired!
The nitty gritty details on our van life essentials
If you are like us and not willing to compromise on your comfort, then you will love the solutions and ideas we offer in this post.
Life’s essentials
- Heater
- Toilet with real toilet seat
- Table and seating
There were several campervan conversion ideas that popped up in video after video and when we did our research, there was good reason so many people recommended certain products or solutions.
Van life heating
Van life heating is an essential if you plan to ski or be anywhere it gets cold! For us, it’s way more important that air conditioning.
The Webasto heater is ubiquitous for the van dwelling lifestyle – it is easy to install, reasonably priced, works from the diesel tank with a DC fan and is an excellent source of heat. We moved into the van in February 2021 and spent several weeks skiing; we were never once cold inside the van; rather, we had to turn the thermostat down so we could sleep comfortably. As we head into our second winter in the van, we are very grateful knowing how comfy we will be in our tiny home on wheels. We happily recommend this heater to all and sundry and no, it is not an affiliate link.
Everyone does it; we wanted to do it in comfort
Having hiked and camped a lot, we are well used to the cold simple rims you often find in pit toilets; we just didn’t want that for our new home. We settled on the Airhead composting toilet and are thrilled with it. (Well, as thrilled as anyone can be about a toilet!) See this post for van life bathroom tips.
Having a comfy toilet seat is definitely a van life essential but it is also important to be able to maintain that toilet easily and simply in order for it not to become a burdensome chore. We love the Airhead’s easy-to-remove urinal – release a couple of screws and pull the bottle out. The toughest part of emptying the urinal is the “walk of shame” as Tom calls it as we carry the urinal to a port-a-potty or public restroom. But we’re not peeing in a bottle so I consider it a win!!
Sitting together at a table
I consider a table for eating an essential in life; the question was how to make that happen in the van. One of the big challenges when we were designing the camper van layout was which type of table and seating option would best suit our needs. We hummed and hawed as I wanted a well defined “dining room” but with 84sqft, I had to let that go. Instead, our van life dining room became a bench.
We decided to place the bench seat directly in front of the slider and a swivel passenger seat which allows us to sit across from each other to eat or play a hotly-contested game of Mancala. Now that we have the table at the door, I cannot imagine it any other way. We are able to enjoy breakfast with the door open and beautiful views.
Like every other van lifer out there, we use the Lagun table support system which has been great for us. It is so easy to set up the table (takes less than 40 seconds) and we use the table top as the foot end of the bed when not serving as a table.
The bench is a little higher than we’d like but we had no choice – the toilet sits under it and dictated the height. I use a folding foot stool so I can rest my feet comfortably, the same footstool we use to get in and out of the bed. Design is all about compromise. See our design post.
Our daily van life essentials for a comfortable home
Kitchen van life essentials
I enjoy cooking and use food to keep my rheumatoid arthritis in remission so I would not compromise on the way I eat just to live in a van. One of the biggest concerns for me as I watched all the YouTube van build videos was the tiny kitchens most people installed. We eat a wide variety of meals and I have food restrictions which can make going out for a meal quite a pain. I knew I’d struggle to make the van my comfy home if I couldn’t figure out food storage and cooking that best suited our needs.
I wanted to be able to bake, make pasta sauce, fry eggs, toast a bagel, boil the kettle and enjoy a smoothie. That is a lot of wants for a tiny kitchen. It took us a while to figure it out but as soon as I discovered the DuoCrisp InstaPot (how had I not heard of this before???) I knew I had found one of the solutions to my kitchen conundrum.
As any home cook knows, counter space is the key to an enjoyable food and cooking experience so we maxed out the counter space. In fact, we have more counter space in our 84sqft home than our various kidlets do in their respective kitchens. Plus, we custom built cabinets to house all the appliances we wanted. Now that is good design! The end result is twelve feet of counter space which means we have enough room for two portable induction cooktops, a kettle, toaster, sink, dish drainer and all the food needed for a meal.
Home comforts in the kitchen will probably mean something very different for you; I suggest you get clear on what that list looks like and then let those ideas simmer for a while. I can almost promise you that the clearer you are on your needs, the better the end result will be.
Where to curl up when you’re not sleeping?
On the couch, of course. Yes, it’s true that our couch is part of our bed but, like any tiny living arrangement, we like to believe we have a couch AND a bed.
During the day, the couch takes up the back five feet of the van (or 30sqft) over the garage. The foot end mattress serves as the back of the couch with pillows acting as extra comfort. Occasionally, we watch a show or film on the couch. More often, one of us climbs onto the couch with a book for a lazy afternoon.
Technology van life essentials
The WeBoost was a much more important ssential for living in a van when we were deciding our must-haves as Tom still worked and needed guaranteed access to the internet to do so. Since we moved into the van, he has retired so having better service is nice but no longer essential. We installed the WeBoost on the roof and the only reason we would consider removing it is because it adds eight inches of height to the vehicle and there have been times when we needed those extra inches.
Final thoughts
It is fair to say that Tom and I are part of a growing number of middle-aged van lifers. Now that we are in our 50s, we have a very clear view of what is and what isn’t essential for us to be comfortable, happy and feel a sense of home.
Think about what makes you happiest in your home right now. Or think of the things that drive you bonkers. Creating a list of those elements will allow you to create a comfy van where you will feel at home no matter where you are.
Read Part 2 of this article.
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