If you’re reading this, then I’d say there’s a pretty good chance you’re ready to hit the road and start enjoying the world around you. But there’s one big question we all have to answer before we can do that. What vehicle is going to get you where you’re going? There are people living this lifestyle in everything from the smallest cars to huge Class A RVs that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. So before you can travel all those byways we have to figure out which rig is right for you.
Which Rig is Right for Your Nomadic Journey?
There’s no way we can cover every possible way to live on the road but we’ll start with the smallest and make our way to the biggest. Which one works for you depends on why you’re choosing to live a nomadic lifestyle… Or maybe it’s not a choice and your life circumstances dictate that a permanent dwelling is not possible at the current time. Whatever your reason for heading toward vanlife, let’s take a look at some of your best options for hitting the road.
Living in your car
Some people call it Car Camping but it is what it is. It’s entirely possible to live in your car and it’s not always because a person has no other alternative. You can find YouTube videos of people living in even the smallest of cars. A lot of times, it’s just the way they got started with living in a vehicle but it can be done for more than just a weekend trip.
Pros:
- Stealth
- Gas Mileage
- Can be very inexpensive
- Lots of choices of where to park
- Most any garage can handle repairs
Cons:
- Very limited space for even a decent bed
- Not being able to stand up gets really old
- Comes with a certain stigma, are you homeless?
- Have you tried pooping in a car?
- Probably a bad idea to fire up the grill inside a car
Minivan Conversions and SUVs
This is probably the smallest vehicle you can live in and still find a way to meet most of your basic needs for an extended time. It’s not too difficult to find a way to have a bathroom and some kind of cooking solution that will work with limited problems. Showering will have to happen outside or at a gym but minivans are just big enough to have designated areas for most functions.
Pros:
- Relatively large space for bed
- Gas mileage can be good
- Plenty of used minivans at decent prices
- Stowaway seating can add lots of space for storage
- There’s enough room for a no-build which makes it easy to bring the van back to stock
- Repairs available at any mechanic you would take your car to.
Cons:
- Back end can be an uneven surface with irregular shapes, making any type of build a challenge
- Securing cabinets and structures can be complicated
- Curved roofs can make using solar panels difficult
- Newer minivans may have side airbags which can be an issue in any type of build.
- Despite a decent amount of space, you still can’t stand up, making changing clothes an awkward process
Cargo Vans
This category of nomadic vehicles consists mostly of Ram Promasters, Ford Transits, and Mercedes Sprinters. We’ll also include smaller vans like the Transit Connect and NV200 here. These cargo vans are what people typically think of when they hear the term vanlife. Many of them fit the white van down by the river mold. There’s a reason so many vanlifers use these vehicles. They are a great combination of space and mobility. There’s enough room to include most of the basic needs in a home and they’re still pretty easy to drive and get fairly decent gas mileage. We’ll include Class B RVs in this category because they involve mostly the same vans but are fully built out and can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Pros:
- Enough space for a fixed bed and a basic living space that also meets your kitchen and bathroom needs
- Blank slate makes for an easy build with a lot of options
- Room on the roof for several solar panels and long with roof fans or vents
- Cargo vans can be stealthy and seem right at home with the many work vans we see on the road
- In high-roof vans you finally get to stand up!
Cons:
- New cargo vans are very expensive
- Commercial camper vans are outrageously expensive and are not going to blend in
- Larger cargo vans may not fit in a regular parking space and drive-thrus are probably out of the question
- Mechanical reliability is questionable and they can cost a lot to have repaired.
Travel Trailers
We’re now moving into RV territory here. Travel trailers can be as small as a basic 4 x 8 teardrop or squaredrop style to the huge 40-foot fifth-wheel trailers. They have the advantage of being already built out and taking advantage of the latest in design trends. Of course all that comes at a cost.
Pros:
- Already built out means it’s ready to go as soon as you buy it
- Teardrops and other small trailers can be towed by most any car.
- Good design that takes advantage of the space you have
- Usually include hook-ups for solar, propane, and water
- Typically come equipped with refrigerators that can run on electric and propane
- Kitchen area usually included
Cons:
- Can be very expensive
- Medium to large-sized trailers require tow vehicles other than a basic passenger car
- Known for questionable quality control
- Warrantees and repairs can take a long time and you usually have to take it back where you got it.
- Set-up and teardown process can be very involved and mistakes can be disastrous.
Class A & B RVs
Class A RVs are basically huge buses that you can live in. Class C RVs are built on van or truck chassis and are typically considered medium-sized RVs. Class C’s are a little easier to drive but still offer pretty much all the amenities for everyday life while Class A’s can offer as much space as a small house.
Pros:
- Fully functional kitchens and bathrooms with designated sleeping areas
- Electrical systems are in place and newer RVs are fully solar ready even if they don’t typically come with extensive systems.
- Most RVs include plenty of storage enabling you to maintain your previous lifestyle to a great extent.
Cons:
- Very expensive with even the cheapest ones well over the $100,000 mark
- Tough to drive and parking is very limited
- Stealth? What’s that?
- When systems fail it can be time-consuming and expensive to repair. Often you must take it back to where you purchased it to get problems addressed.
- You’re going to pay quite a bit for sites to park these at and it is illegal in many states and counties to use these on their own piece of land.
Commercial Vehicles: Skoolies, Shuttle Buses, Ambulances, Box Trucks
We’ll group these together but just know that each of these rigs offers its own advantages and they may come with their own problems. All typically involve purchasing a used fleet-owned vehicle and converting it into a mobile dwelling. While they are all unique we’ll try to capture the pros and cons of this class below.
Pros:
- Can be purchased relatively inexpensively in most cases
- Most of these options allow for a lot of space
- Can be very stealthy with the right build in the right environment; think a box van in an industrial area
- You can build these out any way you want, allowing for a build that is perfectly suited to you
Cons:
- Mechanical issues can be a huge issue. You are buying a used vehicle and there’s no guaranteed that fleet-owned vehicles were well-maintained.
- Gas mileage can be terrible in these larger vehicles
- Licensing and insuring commercial vehicles can be a huge headache. Often you have to get them reclassified as an RV and that process is different in every state
- Many campgrounds won’t allow these vehicles
- You’re going to have to build every system on your own and in many cases it may also involve removing existing electrical systems which can be a huge job in its own right.
