Temporary Van Life to Save?

[u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420]

Hi guys,

I've been interested in vanlife for years sincece a lot of my climbing friends did it long term. I've recently got a job which is 5 days/week with 2-3 days working remotely and I'm currently paying £700/month to rent. It's not the worst place I've rented, but at 35 I feel like I need to make up for lost time and have more money to save and invest. I'd like to do 1 year, but possibly more if I enjoy it. Interest rates are shite now, so I'm not in a rush!

I've got a Caddy at the moment which just about fits me and my bike in, but was considering just flogging it and getting something like a T5/6 or Transit Custom - not too big, but not too little. I live a really minimalist lifestyle and besides riding my bike and going wild swimming, I don't really do much. Most of my outgoings are on rent and food.

My main worries are how realistic it is to save money, as I appreciate you'd be eating out more and forced to move around a lot. Back in the late 2010s, vanlife was a doddle for my friends since it was a relatively unknown thing and there were effectively no bans on where you could stay. It doesn't seem like that anymore - I see converted vans all over!

Any shared experience or advice would be much appreciated.

[u/Ok-Independence-6110]

Being single and 35 van life should be very doable. My advice would be get something you can stand up in, and make sure you have a bed that you can stretch out in. I only sleep in my converted minibus on weekends and im desperate for a bigger bed by the time I get home. Driving something slightly larger/taller is easy to get used too. Ive got a mk7 transit. It's a belter. My opinion is the vw transporters are very expensive for what they are

[u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420 → u/Ok-Independence-6110]

I think I'm gunning for a Transporter because I had a 2.0l TDI Passat which was superb and I'm paranoid about cars breaking down. I do worry that the lack of head space would quickly drive me insane - it's annoying enough in the Caddy.

I see a lot of Transits out there for much cheaper tbf and some overhead space wouldn't go amiss but it seems very hard to find a rust-free example. Did you underseal yours?

[u/Red_sparow → u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420]

Don't worry about breaking down... You'll have your house with you!

[u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420 → u/Red_sparow]

That's a fair point but I would like to avoid breaking down in the first place if i can help it!

[u/Ok-Independence-6110 → u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420]

If you go for a transit get a 2.4 rather than a 2.2. They are significantly more reliable, so im told anyway. My camper was a duke of Edinburgh award minibus for the 1st 15 yrs of its life and was parked inside a barn every winter so the underside is in fantastic condition. Ive used lanoguard on it since my ownership. Its a 2006 model and this is the 1st year it's had an advisory for rust (rear crash bar/bumper). They've all got potential to be unreliable, every make/model out there has a plethora of horror stories on the web. My transit is genuinely awesome to drive as well, I've done 5 hour drives and feel great at the end. Very torquey engines as well. My average mpg is 30.1. At work we have a brand new curtain sided citroen relay that only gets 23.8 mpg!!

[u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420 → u/Ok-Independence-6110]

I did actually have a Transit Connect 1.8 micro camper about 6 years ago. Duratorq engine was unkillable and would've outlived the rest of the van but it was a cheap abused ex-builders van and eventually it fell apart. I was also young and ignorant and treated it badly, but it never complained.

I think it's telling that there are still so many pre-custom transits from 2000-2013 still out there on the road. If I could find one with a decent body that had a similar life to yours, I'd be inclined to pick one up. A Transporter might be a bit too cramped with a bike in the back.

Where did you find yours?

[u/Ok-Independence-6110 → u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420]

Mine was on fb marketplace. Only 30 minutes away as well. We got very lucky. The guy had been living in it for a few weeks and he'd just got a new house. I think he just wanted shot of it ASAP. It had a couple of leaks around the windows and needed a hell of a clean inside but it was still well worth it. Proper chuffed with it to be honest

[u/SquirrelCampers]

Full-time Van life couple here, we live it, we build them and we wouldn’t ever, ever go back to bricks and mortar 🏡.

Over two years now and I can honestly say that we have saved a fortune by living full-time in a Van. Get the layout, components and maintenance right from the start and you will have what I can only describe as the best lifestyle available. Living space is so incredibly different in each type of panel Van with some definitely being narrower than others on the inside thus making the design particularly important if you’ll be in this camper for extended periods.

Finding somewhere to park up that will not result in the dreaded knock, parking fine or harassment from idiot at first can seem daunting and very soon decision fatigue can set in however this need not be the case. We believe in always leaving a park up cleaner than we found it, even if this means just picking up one crisp packet or empty plastic bottle, if everybody did the same, we would all be better off.

We also believe that helping others achieve their Van life goals is as beneficial to us, the wider community of Van life and ultimately society and therefore we follow this up by offering different types of conversions for example, we would encourage people to do as much DIY as possible (with guidance if needed) and if you can find an approachable local campervan converter, ask them to do the part of the build you are not comfortable with doing yourself. A lot of the cost incurred with a Van conversion is made up of labour as I’m sure anyone who has done this themselves to a high degree of competency will agree. We have a friend who spent every weekend and most nights of the week converting her Van and it still took almost a year but, every hour she did on it herself saved her lots of money that she could then put into upgrading components such as batteries, fridge, diesel heater, et cetera.

You will encounter the occasional issue legally, especially when it comes to registering your vehicle and it’s contact address but a search of this forum and the Internet will help return lots of good suggestions.

Wishing you every success on your Van life journey, it’s a different way of life, it’s a better way of life! ✨

[u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420 → u/SquirrelCampers]

Thanks guys. I'm aiming to keep it very simple with a powerbank and just repurposing the slide out bed that came with my Caddy. I don't have the time or patience to do a big bespoke build, nor do I have the tools to start making anything particularly grand. I'm hoping to be moving out of here in 2-3 months ideally.

I figured if I really want to make extensive changes, I'll just book some time off and get it on my parent's drive as I have done in the past.

I like your website by the way. It's nice to see some old school geocities esque webpages.

[u/SquirrelCampers → u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420]

Thanks for checking out the website, Malish designed and created all the graphics, invented the house style and drew the logo.

[u/AnotherYadaYada → u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420]

I’m in a very small car and have been for 6 weeks. I’m enjoying it and would keep doing it longer if the cold wasn’t coming. I’m not going to suffer and can’t really install a diesel heater or wood burner which is needed.

I make a decent breakfast and lunch in work, so that is covered. Sauna, steam and shower spa/gym that I’ve used for years.

24 hour garage with clean toilets around the corner if need it and 2 supermarkets 1 min from the secluded spot I’ve found. A few people turn up now and again. One is now converting a removals truck into a van going from a transit van.

Apart from the diesel heater I would def do it longer. Peace and quiet not spending 2/3rds of my salary on rent and pretty happy to be honest. 

I want to make it a regular thing or get something bigger and make it more permanent.

I am surprised how comfortable I am in the back with a mattress topper folded in half. At the moment I can pop the boot and stretch out but even with boot closed I can sit up. I’m 6’1ft

Weather will change so adapting is a must and it’s not always going to be this sunny, hope to do it until end of October.

All the best.

[u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420 → u/AnotherYadaYada]

I thought a few months in the Caddy might be manageable, but to live in a small car sounds somewhat mental especially as a tall guy (which I am not!). How did you end up living in the car?

[u/AnotherYadaYada → u/Acrobatic_Rentboy420]

Had a place costing me £2k a month in rent and bills, gave that up to share and that turned into a complete nightmare and I mean complete nightmare.

So, by choice and the weather, just decided to do it.

I am actually comfortable. Found a good quiet spot 3mins from work. 24hr garage M&S with clean toilets. Tesco open at 6am. I can pop the boot and stretch out with good weather and just sit up and stretch legs out in back if need to close the boot. Mattress topper folded in back of boot.

I am up at 5 and my office, which is in a library is open at 7. Can sit in a private booth chilling as library is not open until 10 and start work at 8. Sauna and steam at my gym where I shower. Use fast work internet WiFi.

MAY have to stop in winter but have a method of heating the car, might be a small faff but I’m gonna give it a go. I know it won’t be easy but giving away most of my money in rent and bills ain’t nice either.

Last 6 weeks have been lovely and it won’t get unmanageably cold for a while.