Van campers and RVers are different

Note: This is an updated version of an article I posted on this topic two years ago; things have changed.

Living and traveling in a van has changed a lot over the last two years.

Living full-time in a van is rapidly becoming one of the most popular ways to live the RV lifestyle. But there's a big difference in attitudes between RVers who live in a conventional RV (motorhome, fifth-wheel, or camper) and van campers.

In a nutshell, the typical RVer (especially new RVers) basically wants a COW; by a COW, I mean they want a Condo On Wheels.

They want everything they had in their previous sticks and bricks home. That's why after a year or two on the road, a lot of RVers want a smaller rig. They realize that they don't need or want all of the stuff they thought they just had to have.

An example of today's typical van camper

Scott lives, works, and travels around the country full-time with his cat, Luke, in his Winnebago Travato GL, a 21-foot camper van. I guess you would call him a typical digital nomad. You can follow his adventures on his website at https://GoSmallLiveLarge.com.

Van campers are different

Van campers have a different attitude. They want the bare minimum of stuff and features in their van. This gives them the advantage to do stealth camping undetected and boondock in more out-of-the-way places that are not available to RVers in larger rigs.

When thinking of camping in a van, many people think of the old hippy-style VW buses like the ones shown below.

They're still popular, but new, modern-style vans are a lot more common.

Just like motorhomes, fifth wheels, and campers, you can get a van anywhere from $5,000 on up to very expensive.

Here is a picture of one of the expensive vans. This van has about everything, including a kitchen and a bathroom. People who live in this type of van usually tend to think more like RVers (wanting everything) than the typical van camper who wants to be a minimalist.

Below is a picture of a middle-of-the-pack van. This is a 4-wheel drive van with a 4-cylinder diesel engine. It's a Toyota HiAce. A used version of this van sells for about $25,000.

In order to have everything they feel they need (and nothing else), van campers will typically have a one-burner stove, a small ice chest (or maybe a tiny refrigerator), a foam mattress on a sheet of plywood for a bed, a small sink with a hand pump and a bucket below it to drain the water into, and maybe a portable toilet or make-shift toilet consisting of a 5-gallon bucket with a trash bag inside.

In other words, they're minimalists.

In order to be self-sufficient when boondocking, a lot of van-campers install solar panels on the top of their vans (or they carry a small generator with them).

Don't think of van campers as left-over hippies. Today's van campers are adventurous, frugal, and they're not caught up in the hype on TV every day, telling them they need to buy more stuff. A lot of van campers don't even have TVs in their vans. Below is a picture of a typical van camper.

This is an example of a van in a spot that a conventional RV couldn't get to. Yes, van campers are unique.

One thing that's different about today's van campers

Many of them carry a ton of electronics. They have one or more laptop computers and video cameras. They also have the latest in Wi-Fi signal boosters, antennas, lithium-ion batteries, solar panels, and many other electronic gadgets--such as tire-pressure monitors, the latest in GPS devices, induction cooktop units, and the list goes on and on. And, of course, all of the lights in their van have been upgraded to LEDs.

I have a lot of RV friends who live in vans. They're some of the happiest people I know. And now, with the high price of gas, traveling in a fuel-efficient van is more enticing than ever.

YouTube videos about living in a van

Below is a link to a 9-minute YouTube video showing a young woman living full-time in her van. This video shows the life and attitude of a typical van camper. It's a simple life. (Note: You can set the playback speed to 1.5x and watch it in six minutes.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nMBNAlHQMo&t=13s

You can search YouTube for the words "van" or "van life" and find videos posted by a lot of van life campers. They're primarily solo campers, but there are some couples. Watch some of these videos, and you'll better understand the expanding popularity of van life.

By the way, you can live the van lifestyle without living in an actual van. For example, truck campers, living in a car, and some of the ultra-small campers would basically be the same thing as living in a van.

Bottom line: It's not that one way of RVing is better than the other. There are advantages and disadvantages to each method. It's an individual preference. Like the title of the article says, van campers and RVers are different. I like my 34-foot Class A motorhome, but I have a lot of van camper friends.

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