Living fulltime in 77 square feet of space isn’t always easy. We are two average size adults and a rather large pup. And Stevan, our Econoline Van, is not the most spacious camper out there. But, it is one of the most cost-effective ones we’ve seen. Our van, gear and build cost us approximately $20,000.
Here’s a list of some of our favorite van life, camping and backpacking gear. We will share the pros and cons of our simple build and (relatively) low budget approach in journal posts as we go.
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Power Systems
Jackery 1500 with Solar panels
Kitchen
MSR Pocket Rocket Camp Stove — great little backpacking stove works for our morning coffee in the van. Update: After 10 years of use this little backpacking stove bit the dust. Still recommend it though.
Eureka Ignite Two Burner Campstove Our original stove, a GSI Selkirk, developed a propane leak after 8 months continuous use. The part needed to fix it was on looong back order. So we donated the old one and ended up with the Eureka. So far, it’s working great!
BougeRV 42 Quart Fridge— one of our favorite pieces of gear. No more waterlogged food and sloshy ice water. This holds more than enough food for us with little drain on our electric system. Update: This Fridge has been in continuous use for a year and is still going strong! Love it!
Camping/Hiking Gear
Big Agnes Rattlesnake SL 2 Backpacking tent — We love this backpacking tent! When, after many years of use, the elastic in the poles grew loose, Big Agnes fixed them for free.
Other Useful Items
Starlink Internet — It took us a long time to climb abour the Elon Musk-owned Starlink train. We spent 11 months coaxing our weBoost system to work in increasingly remote locations before we gave in and bought this product. It ain’t cheap. But it works great… really great. We can work from just about anywhere now, and connect with family any time. Really priceless, considering our folks are in their 80s and our kids are in their early 20s.