Vandwelling 101 - The Zen Of The Van

I'm amazed at the new breed of vandwellers. They get everything all set up and perfect before they take their first trip. They pack way too many normie things as well as way too many clothes.

When I moved from a Pontiac Sunfire with a cartop carrier into my 97 Ford e250 extended body van, I put my stuff inside, added a camping cot, and still had 3/4 of the van empty.

I needed some time to get to know my van, the Zen of the van. It would tell me what was needed. First thing it whispered to me was it's name...it was the Rolling Doghouse. Mona and Bear ran that van.

Having had to replace my Ford conversion van, I bought a 1990 Chevy Mark III conversion van. I've left the seats in and actually I'm liking it. It's been fun working around the seats but they come in so handy for holding stuff from flying forward or I bungee things to the seats.

First thing in was the hassack with storage and a reversible table top. It went behind the second row of seats into the bed.

The next major renovation and installation was a chest of drawers behind the third row seat. The third row seat actually makes into a full double bed but I'm a little short thing with a fat little Chihuahua. We fit on it without folding it down into a bed.

This week I found a narrow depth cabinet with the laminate doors laying beside it. Poof into my van it went. Perfect solution and it was free.

The point I'm making is that by doing it as I go and taking my time, it's actually turned out much better than if I had planned it.

This is not even close to my first van...so I've got most of the gadgets I needed already. Less is definitely more.

I do flea markets as a vendor so I also needed room for my stock and my jewelry making supplies.

It's all coming together nicely. I'm happier than if I'd been given a camper van. This space suits me, my life, and my properties.

You won't learn how to make your van perfect online or in a book. That comes with experience and a van strips away the mask of possessions we use to distract ourselves and hide from ourselves. That is the Zen of the van. You don't have enough room for possessions to hide from yourself. Unless you've got 400 watts solar and a huge battery bank, you can't use electronics or appliances too hide from yourself.

Bottom line, the prefect van Is the one you have at the time.

Here's my list for the basics you'll need while you're learning the Zen of your van:

Something to sleep on (a bed)
Something to sleep in (blankets, sleeping bag, pillow)
A way to cook & make coffee ( 2 burner propane stove, backpacking stove, butane stove, Coleman dual fuel stove (I've used all of these types at one time or another))
Coffee pot, sauce pan, cast iron skillet
A small bag of clothes (you can always buy clothes cheaply at thrift stores)
Empty large coffee can (makes great potty)
Washcloth, towel, bar of soap
A hat
A sweater/sweatshirt
A damn good sense of humor

See ya on the road somewhere
LOU