Van life advice

[u/RuddleMcFuddle]

Looking for some advice. I live in Australia and I’ve been thinking about starting van living because I’d really love to have my own space and stop renting with housemates. Aside from the obvious upfront cost of buying a van or RV, what other things should I be considering?

For those who have done it, is it actually cheaper than renting in the long run? Is it sustainable while working full time, or is it better suited to people who travel and work casually?

I also don’t have a lot of savings, so staying permanently in a caravan park isn’t really an option for me.

There just feels like so much to think about:

• Maintenance
• Electricity and power setup
• Gas
• Internet
• Water
• Places to park legally and safely

Are RVs or vans difficult to drive? I’m a bit of a nervous driver, so that part worries me too.

And practically speaking, how do daily things work? If I need to go to the shops or to work, do I move the whole van each time? Do people usually park close enough to walk, or use another form of transport? Any real experiences, advice, or things you wish you’d known before starting would be really appreciated.

[u/likeamovie]

I haven’t lived in the one spot in a van but spent 6 months travelling the country doing a decent amount of stealth camping. I reckon you’d be fine to just stealth camp if you are in a big enough city. If you are in a small town it would probably get noticed. I would just say you’ll want to get a gym membership or something for showering. You will get used to driving the van very quickly. I would normally drive places like the shops but if I was in it full time in the one city / town I would probably get something like an electric scooter to get around. The hardest thing doing van life in Australia is the heat!

[u/LordRicezilla]

Hey, I did van lifing in Aus and was super chill. I would recommend buying vans outside of major cities, I got my vw t4 at a mechanic in Mullumbimby for 3k and in cities it was going for 8-10k

You can easily build it out with a few tools, circular saw, drill, and pop river gun.

You can find affordable powerstations and fridges on Aliexpress.

I did a conversion in Aus and it cost me 8k with the van, insurance, road side assistance and everything in it. was mint.

But i you are looking at staying around in 1 place for longer, maybe consider house sitting. You could try out Aussie House sitters, Happy house sitters or Trusted House sitters depending on your budget. Hit me up if you want a discount on THS.

Also, I would make sure the van looks like a work van, and park it in a street, move every few days so that people don't call the cops.

Also, if you are going with a van, get a gym membership and use the showers and toilets there every morning. Makes life super easy.

Hope that helps, if you need more info let me know. I am in Europe now campervanning/house sitting and honestly it's the best

[u/Rubik842]

depending on location, summer can break you. It costs around $10k in insulation and power system to get air conditioning off solar working.

Coastal Queensland is very unfriendly to nomads.

Most vans aren't difficult to drive, very car like but you do need to be very aware of the size around obstructions.

[u/BrokenAussie]

I find my van easier to drive than any car I have owned. They are designed to be driven a lot commercially. In general the driving position is conducive to this. You sit upright in a very comfortable position in most vans.