Somebody recently inquired about our favorite van life hack. We were able to come up with a couple of practical tips and tricks after thinking about it for a while and decided to write a blog post about it for everyone.
As much as we appreciate our tiny house on wheels, it does have its restrictions, such as space restrictions and the fact that basic essentials such as water and electricity are limited.
However, over the past 14 months, we've developed a lot of small hacks, tools, and shortcuts that also have helped us overcome the majority of these limitations.
Some of our hacks might give you ideas for your tiny house on wheels if you have a mobile home, whether it's your permanent residence or just a holiday home.
Hence, here are our top 11 tips and tricks that you can also apply if you are living in a van.
1. Keeping Annoying Mosquitoes Outside
Finding strategies to keep troublesome mosquitoes, sand fleas, as well as other irritating flying insects out of your family vacation, especially during the summer, is crucial to having a great time.
However, most days are hot, so you'll want to be ready to open as many doors and windows as you can.
Of course, you could just purchase custom-fitted nets for your windows, but it is quite pricey.
We chose to make our own instead.
We cut a $15 mosquito net to fit over one of my side windows and the rear door from the Warehouse. To hold it in place, we used a lot of tape and adhesive. The side window is always shut.
2. Extra Space For Storage And Drying
In the vehicle, storage can be an issue at times. Drying clothes and linens is another challenge.
As much as possible, we try to dry stuff outside. Yet, it's difficult to achieve especially when it rains for 2 days in a row or when we're moving a lot.
I discovered a simple solution to both of those problems.
A friend assisted us with drilling holes in the board immediately beneath the ceiling, after which we fastened in small hooks. There are 10 of them all along the top of my van with 5 on each side.
A rope is then crisscrossed at the back of the seats, which we use as our washing line to dry clothing, linens, etc. We use the hooks next to it to hang kitchen towels, a recycling bag, and other items.
On one hand, those hooks also serve to support the paddle that comes with our paddleboard.
There was plenty of spare storage, and all it took was ten small hooks, some rope, and a pal with a drill on hand.
3. No More Bruised Avocado or Fruit
We're not really into fruits, but avocados are an exception as they are one of my son's favorites.
One problem we experienced was that avocados were readily bruised when driving with the van and the fruit hit the sides of the shelves or refrigerator.
We noticed a hanging fruit net and thought it was a brilliant idea because it would prevent avocados (and other fruit) from striking anything while driving. But the one we found was $80, something that was not within our budget.
We were in a thrift store one day when we came upon this white net-style top. Although we didn't care for the top, we thought it would be perfect for a fruit/avocado net.
We paid $5 for it and cut a large round piece off it. We then used a rope (leftover from the clothing line) to weave it through the openings in the cloth so that it can be pulled together to close the net and hang up.
We then haven't had any more bruised avocados since that day.
4. Maintaining Order in the Driver's Cab
This method is only useful if you have an extra seat. One of the things we like about living in a campervan is that everything has a place, and if it doesn't, you'll even get rid of some stuff since there isn't enough room. As a result, our van is usually kept clean.
Our passenger seat, on the other hand, was always a little cluttered in the van.
While driving, we prefer having ready access to water, sunglasses, Kleenex, coffee, and other items. All of that used to be just lounging on the seat and bouncing around when we took sharp corners.
Then we came across these car seat organizers. They're meant to be put in the backseat, but they'll fit in the front as well. And if no one is sitting in the passenger seat, we can quickly install it and just remove it if someone wants to stay there. It's fantastic!
5. Washing Sticky Pans
We're a major supporter of the Low Carb, High Fat diet. As a result, we normally cook with a lot of olive or coconut oil, which results in greasy pans that can only be cleaned with hot water.
We used to switch on my water heater before doing my dishes, but it irritated me that it would heat 15 liters of water which is consuming a lot of gas when I only needed 1 or 2 liters.
For a while, we just heated a liter or two in a saucepan on the stove, which worked fine and saved us money on gas.
But then we found an even better solution which is washing oily pans while they are still hot! All of the greases are much easier to remove, and we're not spending any additional gas by boiling the water.
6. Bathroom Floor is Dry
Another disadvantage of living in a van is that the bathroom is quite small. The usual bathroom in the van is really small, thus, there is really not enough for another person.
Consider our bathroom to be a little shower with a toilet. When someone showers, everything gets wet, and it takes a long time for the water to drain completely for everything to be dry.
Most of the time, there is a small amount of water on the floor. It's just water, so it's not a huge deal. It's a little annoying, though, when you're using the restroom while wearing socks.
In the summer, we normally go barefoot, but as it gets a little cooler, we like to put on socks, especially in the evenings. It's not unusual to see us dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, but with incredibly soft wool socks on my feet.
We can't tell you how many times we've gone to the bathroom only to come out with damp socks. It's only water, after all! However, it is still inconvenient.
Fortunately, we were able to get this fantastic bamboo hardwood bath mat for about $17 at Kmart. It fits wonderfully and ensures that we have a dry surface to walk on while whatever water on the floor stays beneath.
7. Using Fairy Lights to Conserve Energy
When you live in a van, you have limited power.
When we're driving, our solar panels charge, and our house battery charges as well, but on cloudy and rainy days when we're not traveling as much, we need to keep an eye on the power consumption.
Battery-operated fairy lights are a wonderful way to save energy while also creating a fantastic mood.
Particularly in the evenings, we prefer having them than using the dazzling van lights.
And it means we can preserve energy for the things that are most important to us, like keeping the fridge working and the laptop charged so we can work and create blog content.
8. Seat Covers that are Simple to Clean
We spend a lot of time in our campervan because we love traveling and doing outdoor activities. As a result, objects become soiled.
One of the best things about living in a compact house is how easy it is to clean.
Seat covers, on the other hand, are difficult to clean. Our back seats serve as a lounge, workspace, and eating space during the day and as a bedroom at night. Thus, we really spend a lot of time there.
However, removing the covers off the foam squabs for cleaning is a difficult task!
Our solution to this was to cover the seats with colorful sheets. They look nice and simple to put back in place. Though thanks to all the sunlight, our sheets are no longer colorful.
9. Maintaining the Battery Life of Our Laptop
Let's return to the power issue.
Because we rely on the laptop for work, getting it charged is really vital to us. Without a laptop, we will be unable to earn money - and of course, no blog content.
Because we didn't have a method to charge the laptop off the house battery when we initially bought the van, we had to be quite cautious when using it. We could only charge it when driving using the car battery.
We looked for a solution and eventually settled on a 12v outlet connected to the home battery. This means we can charge the laptop even when we're parked.
Thanks to the inverter we already owned!
Now we only have to be cautious about laptop usage on cloudy and rainy days when the solar panels aren't producing enough power.
10. Camping Apps You Need
Most people are undoubtedly already aware of this trick, but we use it so frequently that I felt my post would be incomplete if I didn't mention it.
There are various apps available online that you can use. Wherever you want to camp or stay, you can look for the best apps.
If you are camping in New Zealand, you can check out CamperMate or the NZMCA one.
The smartphone apps not only list all of the campers and dump stations, but also fuel stations, grocers, places to obtain water and gas, public bathrooms, activities to do, laundromats, clinics, trash drop-off locations, ATMs, and so much more.
No matter where you are, you will always be able to find what you require.
We use both CamperMate and the NZMCA app on a daily basis. These apps would be extremely handy for any traveler, whether they are camping or not.
11. Gaspy Helps Save Money on Gasoline
Gaspy is another app that we enjoy. The app displays fuel costs at many gas stations in the area, allowing you to compare and choose the cheapest.
If you drive frequently, the money you save by using this app can be significant.
I'm not sure if similar apps exist in other countries. But you can certainly place a comment if you know a similar app.
Special Mention
Our surfboard rack on the side of the van is my top favorite and most valuable van life hack.
We're not sure what we would have done if we hadn't figured it out because going without our boards was not an option.
However, because this is a very "us" item, I've opted to leave it off this list.
Conclusion
There are various van life hacks out there that you can try. The list above is only a few examples that you can apply as you experience van life or any other off-grid style of living.
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