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Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
  • Australia
  • Travel
  • Teaching ESL
  • Move Abroad
  • Travel Insurance

things to buy for van life

    a van life van sitting by a view

    Van Life Essentials List | What We Can’t Live Without

    by Nick & Raychel November 3, 2021

    This year, we packed up our stuff and moved into a retired ambulance to live the van life full-time. Ditching the mortgage and moving into a van seems to be becoming more and more common as time goes on, and we’re so happy we chose this lifestyle. Below, we’re sharing our list of van life essentials: some unique items & buildout ideas that have allowed us to live this lifestyle with ease and freedom.

    You could also find this essentials list on our YT channel 

    Battery Powered Clip Lights

    Although we have 3000w of solar energy, two auxiliary batteries and a 650w inverter in our van, we’re always looking at ways to save power.

    We love these battery powered clip lights because we don’t have to turn our overhead lights on first thing in the morning, or if one of us stays up later than the other to read or work. They’re great because you can clip them almost anywhere in the van – so trust us when we say, they are totally worth the tiny investment. 

    Wall Grid + Attachments

    Originally we worked this wall panel into our build using it for purely aesthetic purposes, meanwhile we had the feeling that it would probably come in handy in the future. It turns out that we were right, and that’s why it made our van life essentials list.

    Now, it has become a pleasing way to store our go-to items, like baby wipes, chargers, my journal, CBD oil, whatever! When you live in a tiny home on wheels, every little inch of storage is useful.

    Hooks + Umbrella Stand

    Living in a van through Canadian winters means layering up. Specifically, living in a van through a Vancouver winter means layering up and keeping dry. It was a last minute decision for us to add hooks to our build, and we even incorporated an umbrella stand. Coat racks or options are seldom talked about, so we’re happy that the light bulb went off before we drove away from the shop – the hooks have been such a godsend that we’re considering adding more.

    Shoe Rack

    Ditto to basically everything I mentioned just above here. Seldom talked about, hella useful. We adore our little plywood shoe rack and can’t imagine living without it – I guess that would complete the definition of a perfect “van life essentials” item.

    Toilet + Emergency Pee Bottle

    You heard that right. We could not make a Van Life Essentials list without including our beloved Dometic portapotty + emergency road trip urinal. There are so one too many van builds where there are absolutely no bathroom options and we cannot imagine a life without our backup options – especially this year, a time when many public bathrooms are closed. 

    We considered a composting toilet given our budget, decided to settle for our portapotty, which has done the trick. In addition to that, we also bought a bottle for when we’re (Nick) is in an emergency pinch.

    A Carpet

    This carpet was, strangely enough, one of our first purchases when building our DIY tiny home on wheels. While cruising Amazon, we bought it without measuring the dimensions and it ended up fitting perfectly when we finished our build. Talk about serendipitous! 

    Aside from it’s beauty, the main reason we love this carpet is because it keeps our feet warm in the mornings and it makes the whole van really feel like home.

    Plastic Mason Jars

    If you’ve seen a lot of van builds, you’ve probably seen hanging mason jars in some vandwellers’ tiny kitchens. We had the perfect amount of space to add some at the end of our build, and we’re so happy we did! It’s as simple as emptying the contents of our bulk foods/coffee/cereal into them and ditching the packaging. They are such a space saver!

    Our favourite part about these ones is that they’re plastic! So if something were to ever go wrong, we know they aren’t going to smash and break our induction stove sitting right underneath them.

    Baby Wipes

    Most full time vanlifers mention them because most vanlifers love them. Sometimes you can’t find a shower, ‘nuff said.

    French Press

    Having a good cup of coffee is definitely a van life essential for us, or, you know, just an essential in general. Coffee is a MUST and using a french press in the van is just so easy.

    Counter Space

    Because of the structure of our retired ambulance, we have a big ol’ electrical box that pokes into the drivers side of our van. This forced us to build an L-shaped countertop, which I’m not sure we would have done otherwise. It turns out this fluke ended up being the best thing to happen to us, because we have so much counter space!

    The thing is, we are even finding ways to build more. So if you’re like us and you love to cook, consider your counter space + double it in your build. That’s just our advice.

    Propane Heater 

    Remember when we told you that we live in Canada? Yeah. The winters get very cold. That’s why our Little Buddy heater made this list. These propane heaters work well and have an automatic safety shut off for safe use. So in addition to our wool blankets, slippers and big comfy sweaters, this heater is definitely a beloved item.

    Plastic Wine Glasses

    Ok, maybe drinking wine isn’t essential – but we’re going to do it anyway, and we didn’t want any glass breaking all over our tiny little off-roadin’ space. Basically, we love anything unbreakable, but these take the cake.

    ___

    What about you? What are your non-negotiable van life items? Let us know in the comments!

    We talked about the items in the van – let’s talk about items in our lives! Find this article here on things we find worth buying as minimalist nomads. 


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Nick & Raychel
Nick & Raychel

In 2018, we sold everything we owned and moved to Cambodia to teach English.

Let’s make this clear: this journey didn’t start with money. This journey started with a desire to see the world and to do something different for a change.

We’re not going to fool you with photos of floating breakfasts and private jets. We know what it’s like to be on a budget. Although we like to take pretty pictures, we aren’t going to wake up at an ungodly hour to give you unachievable travel jealousy. We aren’t going to censor ourselves or lie to you.

What we are going to do is stay in cheap hostels, find ways to make money, give the advice that we would want to hear, and share our experiences with you honestly.

Are you in?

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ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL

About Us Hi! We’re Nick & Raychel, the Canadian travel couple behind the brand ‘Not Luxe’. Far before we were married (and on a mission to see the world), we were working…

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  • Living rent-free in one of the worlds most expensive cities >>> 

… but also, anywhere we want 😉 

It’s been a while since we did a van tour on here so here’s inside of our tiny home. Van life apartment tour format inspired by @samandkellysvan (check theirs out) and the apartment tours on TikTok. 🫶🏼

Any questions? 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__ 

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlife #vanlifemovement #vanlifereality #campervan  #vanlifegirl #tinyliving #vanconversion #vanconversionideas #vanbuild #camperlife #homeonwheels #vanlifers #vanlifecouple #travelcouple  #campinggirls #granolagirl #lifeontheroad #roadtrippin #vandwellers #yvr #vancouvercanada
  • We worked the whole time, we just left the desk. 

And turns out there was world out there full of opportunity, friendship, and love we had never quite experienced before. 

We know this lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but it’s for us - and we’re so glad we went for it. 🫶🏼

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

—-

Tags: #notluxe #budgettravel #vanlife #traveldiaries #cheaptravel #gapyear #travelgirls #girlslovetravel #travelgram #getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #homeiswhereyouparkit #vanlifediaries
  • How much does van life in Mexico cost?
The truth is, it’s going to be different for everybody.

But here is a breakdown of our budget for 4 months of van livin’ on the beach this winter. 

**Please note that this DOESN’T include our trip to Mexico City which was $497 USD. Full breakdown of that air travel trip can be found on our profile!**

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlife #vanlifeshot #vanlifemovement #vanlifereality #campervan  #vanlifegirl #tinyliving  #camperlife #homeonwheels #vanlifers #vanlifecouple #travelcouple  #granolagirl #lifeontheroad #roadtrippin #vandwellers #vanlifemexico #yvr
  • Van life: Las Vegas ✨🫶🏼

I don’t even have to words to tell you how fun this evening was. We were almost not going to make it to Vegas this trip, but didn’t it was @cakin_bakes birthday - we couldn’t say no. 

This is what it’s like stealth camping on the Las Vegas strip. 🥂 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

—-

Tags: #notluxe #vanlifecouple #tinyhome #vanlifers #vanlifevirals #vanlifemovement #vanbuildout #vandwelling #vanlifediaries  #vanlifemovement #vanlifeexplorers #lasvegas #vanlifevlog #stealthcamping #travelblogger
  • Crossing the Mexico/US border: the end of van life Mexico 🇲🇽 

We have crossed a lot of borders in our lives, but only 2 in our ambulance conversion. 

The added stress of having your entire home with you, a stranger walking through your van, etc. isn’t the best feeling, but as you can tell watching this video - we were just fine. 

Anyone else get unnecessarily nervous at border crossings?

(thanks @geneandshay for the inspo to film the live interaction on our phones)

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

—-

Tags: #notluxe  #camperlife #camperlifestyle #vanlifeproject #vanlifeculture #tinyhome #tinyliving #vanlifediaries #travelgram #livetoexplore #vanlifeculture #budgettravel #travelblogger #bordercrossing
  • Van life in Mexico: driving up the Baja Peninsula. 

We spent a few days in La Paz, Mulegé & Guerrero Negro before crossing the border from Mexico into California. This is what it was like. 

A moment of appreciation for Bahía Concepción - shall we? 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

___ 

Tags: #notluxe #vanlifecouple #tinyhome #vanlifers #vanlifevirals #vanlifemovement #vanbuildout #vandwelling #vanlifediaries  #vanlifemovement #vanlifeexplorers #vancouverblogger
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