How We Find Free Campsites Across the US When we hit the road in Stan the Tan Van a few years ago our biggest goal was budget travel— how to explore the beauty of the US inexpensively. One of our top money saving tips while traveling is—free camping. When we say free camping we don’t mean truck stops, Wal-Mart, or street overnight parking. We’re talking about awesome campsites in nature. We’ve found two easy-to-use, and free resources that help us…
Get Your Vehicle Road Trip Ready It’s that time again. Time to get ready for road trip season! The awesome feeling of hitting the road and exploring new exciting places—like South Dakota’s Corn Palace (hey, don’t knock it)—is just around the corner. Make sure your vehicle is road trip ready with this essential road trip checklist. It’s safe to say everyone wants their road trip to be problem free, however if your vehicle isn’t prepared for a long journey, car…
Our Budget Camper Van Battery Set-up When we started our camper van conversion, we knew we needed to have electricity in our van. We need to power our fridge, our lights, and our fan. We need to charge our electronics, get online, and Instagram the veggie burritos we’re eating in the wilderness.😉 And sometimes we just want to watch a little Netflix on a cold rainy night. Even without prior electrical skills we were able to build a DIY camper…
It’s that time again—time to reflect on what the last 365 days have brought and start planning for the next year of adventure. Unless it’s a leap year, then you’re thinking about 366 days. Does anyone else also think that leap year is so very strange? Here I am—getting off-track already. Let’s talk about some 2019 travel plans and goals, shall we? The project manager in me loves a good list so last year I compiled all our travel plans…
Our $1,200 Budget Van Build It can be intimidating to think about building out a camper van. When researching, you’ll see many beautiful rigs with custom woodworking and top-of-the line appliances. People often spend months or even years building out their home on wheels. What if you want to hit the road soon? And what if you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to spend on an elaborate build? That’s okay! We did a budget van build and found…
It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since we packed up the few remaining things we own and left our beloved Portland for the open road. This has undoubtedly been the biggest year of travel and change in our lives. With our one-year travel anniversary (or should I say vanniversary?) upon us, we’ve been thinking a lot about what we’ve learned and what’s different than a year ago. Our goal on this blog is not only to share…
The Work Vanlife Balance, Volume 6 Slow down? That’s right, I said it. I’m officially old. Next thing you know, I’ll be telling you to, “Stop, and smell the roses.” Don’t worry, I won’t go that far. Unless you go to a botanical garden or something, then you should probably stop, and smell those roses. We’ve talked a lot about how to be a digital nomad. Disconnecting from things, finding a career, technology needs, and mobile workspaces are all import…
5 years ago, if you told me that today I’d be a minimalist living in a van, I would’ve laughed my ass off and said, “No way!” Living in van? Maybe—at least temporarily. But Minimalism? Isn’t that for people who like modern furniture and dress all in black and white? That’s definitely not me. For years Tom talked about living in a tiny home. I was adamant that we couldn’t live that way. We needed space, and a giant dining…
The Work Vanlife Balance, Volume 5 You’re living the digital nomad dream. You’ve secured a few gigs and your first deadline is on the horizon. Its time to grab your computer, find yourself a picturesque forest, mountain, or seaside view, and queue up “Runnin’ Down a Dream.” Wait, are those rain clouds? Where’s the bug spray? WTF, did that raccoon just try to pee on me? That’s right, while the digital nomad lifestyle sounds great (and looks great on Instagram)…
The Work Vanlife Balance, Volume 4 Congratulations! You’re going to do what you’ve been dreaming about for years – traveling the world and taking your career with you. Say goodbye to florescent lighting, office politics, and smelly lunches in the microwave (oh, wait that last one was my bad). Also, say goodbye to your company computer, software, and internet (not to mention donuts). That’s right! It’s now on you to get online and work from your own equipment (and supply…