We’ve been living on the road for over a year now. A year in which we traveled cross country twice, stealth camped, boondocked, soaked in many springs, hikes many mountains and canyons, and even luxuriated in a few cushy campgrounds. Was it easy? Often. Was it fun? Almost always!
But even though we benefitted from years of road trips before we set off, our van-living learning curve was steep … and that curve is still curving. It took us a little while to find our groove, and, luckily, that groove is still, well, grooving.
Below are a few tips we’ve learned about van travel during our time on the road. Whether you are intending to go “full time” nomad or planning a road trip, we hope these, less typical, tips will point you in the right direction.
1. Plan Loosely
We harp on this one a lot here on our blog. But really, what is the point of living free if you tie yourself to a strict schedule, weeks of reservations, preordained places to check off a list? Discovery and exploration are a big part of why we are on the road. We like to leave a little room for them.
Towards this end, we have a no more general direction in mind. Often toward a “bookend” visit with friends or family. For example, we are in Northern California now, planning to visit a friend today and family next week. From there, we will head to another family gathering two months from now in Florida. In between? Who knows!
Our travels will depend on weather, interesting places we discover on the way, advice from locals, camp spots we enjoy…. that sort of thing. If we had reservations, SOME things would no doubt be easier. We wouldn’t spend time searching the apps (iOverlander, Campendium, Freeroam, Freecampsites.net, and Harvest Hosts). But we also wouldn’t find as many interesting, out of the way and unexpected places to explore.
Many of our days on the road start with maps, apps, and local brochures. We truly plan one day at a time, leaving room for the unexpected. So far, this has worked pretty well. When the weather shifts, we shift with it. When we aren’t enjoying a place, we have no obligation to stay.
Gradually, we have expanded our comfort zone. These days, the unexpected feels more like an opportunity and less like a cause for concern.
If you are a big planner, this “make it up as you go” approach might feel like stepping off a cliff. Our advice is to start small. Plan (and reserve) a home base, but give yourself room to shift and explore. You’ll be surprised at how freeing this becomes. After all, you have a van (or tent, or camper) so that you can be at home wherever you are. Why not, live that way?
2. Collect Maps and Other Info
Wow do we love our paper maps! When we are planning to stay in a state for a while, we buy a big old Delorme Gazetteer or Benchmark Atlas. As we are driving, we consult this atlas frequently. Ever wonder where that forest service road #20087 goes? Likely, your atlas will tell you! In addition, it gives you a general idea about public land areas, “recreation” listings, obscure campgrounds, interesting spots along the way. It also gives you perspective. If you are using google or apple maps exclusively, you are missing the big picture– literally!
In addition to our atlases, we always pick up a state map (free at welcome centers) and park maps. We have space dedicated to maps in the van, and can pull state or forest maps out to re-use as needed.
And, we always (always!) stop at Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management ranger stations. These are a treasure trove of maps, brochures and other info. Often, forests have interesting recreation sites that aren’t much advertised. The rangers behind the desk can highlight good camping areas on your map and let you know about the condition of forest roads. These places are indispensable!
As we travel, we collect individual national forest maps, maps of interesting byways, historic trails info, and rockhounding brochures, sometimes offered at ranger stations and visitor centers. And we read them all.
We know paper maps and brochures are a bit “old school”, and map reading itself is quickly becoming a lost art. But we are in fact, a bit old-school (a bit old-old, in fact). And all you young, hip kids out there ought to get yourselves a couple of paper maps and give it a try!
3. Keep a Daily Record
This tip might not seem obvious at first. It took us a while to realize our days on the road were zooming by. We had to think long and hard to remember where we’d been a week (sometimes even a few days) before. Record keeping is a way to enjoy your journey again and again.
The particulars aren’t important here. If you are an artist or writer, you might keep a paper and pencil journal. If you are online a lot, a daily blog post. If you are a detail guy, maybe a “captains log” sort of thing with mileage, location and weather.
We have found that Instagram works great for us. We post daily, both to share our adventures and to remember them. Now that we’ve been on the road a while, we scroll back to the early days of our Crazy/Brave Adventure and reminisce.
In addition, our record helps us share information with others. It’s an unexpected bonus that we’ve been able to meet new friends and keep in touch with other travelers through our instagram journal.
However you do it, keeping a daily record is a wonderful way to experience, and re-experience your travels.
4. Develop Systems!
Whether you are traveling in a luxury RV, a van, or a car, you will need to develop some systems to streamline your daily routines. It is surprising how quickly everything in the van (or RV or front seat of the car) unravels when you are constantly on the go– doubly so when there are two of you!
Back when we road tripped with our three kids over the summer months, we found we had to work really hard to manage the driving activities, bikes, camping equipment, etc. And we discovered back then that systems are the key to containing the chaos.
Routines bring a bit of order to life on the road. What could feel like an overwhelming amount of work, will feel more…well, routine, when you have a routine.
Here’s how to start: After some time on the road, take stock of what you are using and how you are using it. Then re-organize so that there is an ease to these frequent daily activities. For example, we keep all our coffee-making gear on one, easily-to-reach shelf. In the morning, we stumble out of bed, set the kettle to boiling and make coffee in the van in a few easy steps. (Crucial, right?) Similarly, we keep our daily vitamins in a basket in the front seat so that we remember to take them when we are driving and can always find them. We track groceries on a notepad in the front seat. When we run out of something, we write it down on the list. In truth, there are a hundred little routines we have developed for setting up and taking down, for caring for the dog, for cooking, setting up camp, and breaking it down.
Lastly: after a few weeks, re-examine your routines (and your gear) occasionally. If you aren’t using something because it is too much of a hassle, maybe you don’t need it. Or maybe you’ll find you need to reorganize so that it is more readily accessible.
5. Eat Healthy (At least most of the time)
This is a biggie. Greasy spoon diners and cheap eats are an iconic part of life on the road. But if you plan to travel for any length of time, they are unsustainable in every which way. Not only will your health suffer, but your wallet will as well. In our year plus on the road, we’ve developed some habits that promote a healthy diet and some ways to spluge without going (totally) broke.
For starters, we pay attention to our snacking. Salty, sugary, fatty snack foods are trouble when you are driving long distances. We could easily go through a bag of Fritos in the time it takes to get to the next camp spot. But we don’t have the inclination to create instagram-worthy, beautifully-prepped snacks (see tip #1). Our solution is a bit in between: We only buy healthy snacks that are readily accessible without any prepping– and only at grocery stops. We never (never!) impulse-buy snacks at gas stations or convenience stores.
Instead, we keep our snacks in a soft sided cooler accessible from the front seat. (This is one of those systems mentioned above.) Generally, the “snack bag” contains: Unsalted nuts, figs, dried mango, pita bread. and affordable fresh fruit when we can find it. It also has whole grain bread, sunbutter/peanut butter and fruit spread. We keep hummus and carrots in our fridge, which is also accessible from the front seat. Dan snacks on these things quite continuously while we are driving. (He is a huuuge snacker!) but for the most part, they are healthy, so it’s okay. If we packed chips or candy, we’d totally eat those on driving days. So we just don’t.
For lunches, we rely on quick, easy foods: bag salad, sandwiches, tuna or smoked fish. And for dinner, we cook a healthy, veggie-heavy meal. We find that some greens keep pretty well in our fridge and always have some combination of collards, kale or spinach, mushrooms, a bag of “slaw” which can be added to stir fries. Pre cut bags of broccoli and cauliflower, brussel sprouts, baby bok choy. Yes, this is more expensive that eating canned goods and fast food. But we love our healthy dinners!
Lastly, if you can afford it, leave yourself room to enjoy a few meals out. We love to try local specialties… and local breweries! We don’t always choose the healthiest options when we “splurge” this way, but we sure enjoy them! One way to cut the price of our “nights out” is to share a few appetizers and beers rather than going whole hog on entrees. Another is to catch “happy hour” deals or food truck fare.
However you do it, try not to deprive yourself too much. Roadtripping is all about exploration and local foods and cool eating spots are part of that.
6. Take ALL the advice
On the road, it is inevitable that you will run into fellow travelers and explorers. Even shy and somewhat antisocial folks like us manage to meet new friends and acquaintences now and again. And people love to share what they’ve done and recommend things to see along the road. We make it a point to take ALL the advice we get… at least as much as absolutely possible.
If somebody raves about a spot or an experience, we go. (This is another reason why tip#1 is so, so important.) Many of our favorite places were found due to casual conversations with locals or fellow travelers.
A caveat: keep in mind that everyone has a different idea of “awesome”. There are times that we are underwhelmed by a raved-about experience, or a spot someone swears by doesn’t suit us. But it was still worth a try. What the heck, right? Just do it!
7. Don’t Be a Tourist
We have nothing against tourists. But if you are road tripping, or van living, you have more freedom than a typical tourist does. You can visit interesting and out of the way places that others have less time for. Don’t just visit the well-known popular spots.
Our favorite spots are never the ones with a gazillion people in them. No matter how beautiful these places are (talking about you, national parks) the crowds and pavement and necessary regulations, make them a little less enjoyable. See them, for sure. They are consistently awesome. But plan to visit less well-known places as well.
How do you find awesome, out of the way places? See tip # 2. Those maps and brochures are a goldmine of less popular spots. We often seek out “backcountry byways”, historic routes, spots identified in BLM and National Forest Brochures. Often, these places are harder to get to. But you may be the only ones there when you do. How awesome is that?
Drive Your Own Road
We borrowed this saying from the thru-hiker’s motto “hike your own hike“. After all, this is your adventure.
In the end, the best tip we can give you is find a way of traveling that works best for you. You may want to stretch the boundaries and off road way out in the remotest spots (We aspire to this, but one of us is still a bit wimpy about getting stuck) Or, you may enjoy full hook ups and showers every day. Maybe you are stealthy and like boondocking in towns or cities. Maybe you want to be as far away from population centers as you can get. Maybe you find paper maps to be a hassle, or love your Timmies in the morning.
Just because others travel in a certain way doesn’t mean you have to. Find your stride and drive your own drive. The most important tip of all is to get out there and do it.
We’d love to hear from you! What’s are your top tips for living on the road?
