15 Awesome Things for Living in a Van Down by the River (or really anywhere outside)

It’s been a few months since we shared our outdoor and van life gear lists. We’ve recently added some awesome items to our rolling home so it’s time for an update. You don’t need to live in a van down by the river to appreciate these things though. Many of them are perfect for any outdoor adventure.

We’ve found that outdoor products aren’t always designed for daily use. Perhaps the manufacturers only expect people to use them a handful of times each year? Or perhaps we’re just clumsy (check), and impatient (check), and tend to routinely break things (check). Either way, the few things we own, need to withstand daily use, different environments, frequent set-up/tear-down, and miles of transportation over ever so bumpy roads.

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This is the van life gear we use the most. These items have not only withstood the test of time, but have withstood our blundering selves.

1. Sunglasses

These top the list because of sheer necessity. When you live mostly outdoors, you wear sunglasses pretty much non-stop (eye sunburn is real folks). I’ve recently started wearing a pair from Sunglass Warehouse and they’re some of the most durable glasses I’ve ever had, plus super budget friendly. There are tons of fun styles to choose from!

 

2. Coleman Instant Screen Tent

Our canopy succumbed to the Utah winds last summer. We didn’t want to spend a ton replacing it, so picked-up this screen tent before heading to Florida. We absolutely LOVE it! The whole thing simply unfolds and pops up in a few minutes. It’s much smaller, lighter, cheaper, and more flexible than our canopy. Also this tent totally saved our skins (quite literally😉).

3. USB LED String Lights

These lights are my favorite new addition to Stan the Tan Van. They not only add festive ambience but are completely practical. Our van lighting previously was less than ideal—a solar light that didn’t stay charged long and only lit one area. These lights are long enough to string across all the walls and provide enough light that we don’t need any other source at night. Bonus points for being fun and making the space cozy!

4. Solar Shower

We wish that we would’ve had this shower in the desert last summer where swimmable water is scarce. You can easily hang this from a tree or your van and get nice and clean right in your campsite. Maybe I’ll even start shaving my legs on a regular basis again¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I doubt it though.

5. Dr. Bronners Pure-Castile Liquid Soap

I don’t think Tom’s taken a trip in his adult life without bringing Dr. Bronner’s, and he’s gotten me on the bandwagon too. You can use it to wash your hair, body, dishes, laundry, van---anything really. It’s biodegradable and comes in a few different scents.

6. Small Broom and Dustpan

This is one of those items I didn’t realize would get so much use. Have I mentioned lately that we’re still finding red Utah dust from 6 month ago in the van? If you have carpet or rugs make sure to get a firm bristle brush like this one.

7. Dometic Electric Refrigerator

This was a big purchase for us during Stan the Tan Van’s build. We knew that we didn’t want the hassle of ice and a cooler so a refrigerator was a must. After researching options, we landed on this Dometic model and have noticed that a lot of other van lifers use it as well. We opted for the 27-quart one and it perfectly fits a six-pack of b…soda. Just kidding, it fits a week’s worth of cold food and condiments (plus a bottle or two of beer😉). I can’t promise that’s the last Chris Farley quote though.

8. 7 Gallon Water Container

Our water container is our faucet, so we use it a lot every single day. The open/close valve on our first container was hard to turn. That resulted in the entire cap popping off and water gushing out all over us. As much as we take every opportunity that we get to shower, this just wasn’t an efficient use of water or pleasant experience. After our first leg of travel, we replaced our original water container with this one. It’s been completely awesome and we’ve noticed that just about everyone else out there on the road owns the same one.

 

9. Refillable Propane Tank

This is by far one of our best purchases. Using this instead of those 1 lb green disposable tanks saves space, is less wasteful (tank recycling bins are few and far between), and saves a ton of money. Each 1 lb tank is about $3 to $4, while filling this 11 lb tank costs only around $6. We’ve found that a tank lasts us well over a month.

10. Coleman Classic Propane Stove

This camp stove is one of our most valued possessions. It's essential outdoor and van life gear. Ours is still going strong after 20 years of use.

11. Microfiber Towels

These towels are lightweight, compact, and fast drying. This set comes with a towel, washcloth, and carrying bag for all your public showering needs. Well, almost…soap helps too.

12. Pelican LED Headlamps

I’ve lost count of how many headlamps we’ve had over the years. See “breaks things easily” comment above. These are the best headlamps we’ve used! They have enough lumens to satisfy Tom’s brightness requirements and are really durable.

13. Extender Mirrors

Even if you don’t drive a big rig, these add-on mirrors are great for backing into snug forested campsites. We’ve only backed off the road once with them 😳

14. Small USB Fans

If you’ve ever camped in the sultry south, you’ll know why these fans are necessary to get a decent night’s sleep. We didn’t know, so we learned the hard way. It had never occurred to us that we’d have to sleep with the windows closed due to a mob of twitterpated raccoons that alternated between gettin’ busy in the trees, trying to pee on us, and attempting to climb into the van. We had many stagnant, sweaty nights until we bought these fans.

15. Coleman Folding Table

We often camp on BLM land. Usually there aren’t picnic tables or fire pits. If there happens to be an outhouse, then we thank our lucky stars for the luxury, but that’s a story for another time. My point here is we need to have our own cooking outfit and surface. This table is fast and easy to set-up (critical when you’re racing a storm to make dinner). It’s large enough for our Coleman Stove and food prep but compacts down small to store. Our version is older than this one. The only differences we see are that the top’s been upgraded to aluminum instead of plastic and now snaps into the base instead of connecting with hooks.

Did you find anything awesome on our gear lists? Would you like to see more of them? We’re thinking of writing backpacking and plane travel gear lists in the future. Would you like to read those?

Related Posts:

• Top Outdoor Gear List
• How to Build a Camper Van on a Budget
• How to Build a DIY Camper Van Electrical System (on the Cheap)
• Van Tour and a Look at Van Life

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