Living in a van down by the river? Wanna be? Want podcasts on the car, RV, digital nomad and vandweller lifestyle? I’ve collected this huge list of vanlife-related podcasts!
Did I overlook some? Are some of the links defunct? Comment below, and I’ll update!
By WolfgangPonySoldier Blogger — Listen- this is a true story.
I turned 30 years old in a compound on lock-down surrounded by Cubans with guns. How did I get here, you may ask?
The summer preceding my 30's, I went a little crazy. I began dating my best friend. I sold all of my Ethereum (144, worth about $15 each at the time) and bought a van. We broke our lease on our apartment and set up a job for the fall trimming Marijuana (one of the still illegal farms that pay under the table)- All of this with the grandiose plan to travel across the country in search of.... something.
(PS: We named our van Wolfgang Pony Soldier)
We set off from Portland, Or. with $5k each, paid in cash. We hiked to waterfalls in misty Olympia, Wa. We camped on a beach in the redwoods where the giant old-growth trees backed up to the ocean. A friend lent us his apartment in Oakland where taxidermy animals stared at us from the walls. We slept next to Echo Park in our van, listening to the strange sounds of LA night. We slept on the streets of New Mexico for a month. And what did I learn?
Travelling is hard. It's fucking hard, especially in the modern age. When you're down to $20 in your bank account and you have to choose between paying your phone bill, buying food, or having a good night curled up with some beer, you might wish you still just had that comfy job and apartment back home. You miss the conversation of old friends. You miss taking a shower and pissing in a toilet (little tip: piss in an old laundry detergent bottle- it won't smell). You miss a front door that locks, instead of whispering in a van trying not to get caught.
Something else I've learned- People aren't as shitty as you might think.
In every city we've been to, someone has lent us a shower. Friends of friends have given up their bed so we could sleep comfortably. New friends have given us art, old friends have bought us food. There is generosity hidden in the most disgusting parks in the largest cities. And best off- nobody has stolen our shit (yet).
Remembering back to the months I spent in a chair snipping the tiny hairs from green nugs, with AK47s and 1911s on the table behind me, always to my back, I have to say- this is so much better than having a stable job.
So, fuck it. Quit. What are you, scared?
I lived off $100 for the past month. Not because I wanted to, but because when you're up against the gun, you do what you need to. You can make it work. Go on vacation. Sell your house. Get out and meet some fucking people. I've heard of people in their 30's with no friends. Do you think maybe it's because you're spending too much time concerned with a computer? Not enough time actually out in the world? When you are forced out of your element, you adapt.
I'll be posting more stories and photos from our trip. Follow me, or go do something crazy.
Hungry for vanlife photos and articles? Wish you could find 'em in one place? UK vandwelling aficionado Benji Smalley curates the best in his VanLife App.
It's a pretty kickass app, in Vanholio's not-so-humble opinion. Even a salty ol' vandog like me gets lost in all the cool content.
And Benji's just gettin' started! He and Vanholio pow-wowed by email. Here's what he's got ta say about what the VanLife App does and what it will do in future ... Vanholio: What is the VanLife App? Who should use it?
Benji: I created the VanLife app to make it easier to access content, pictures, videos, and news articles from all over the web and to bring all that content into one place! Anybody can enjoy using the app, whether a new traveller or somebody building their own van, to somebody just interested in what the vanlife has to offer. Vanholio: What does the VanLife App do? What are its capabilities?
Benji: The VanLife App has started it's life as a place where I can share what I consider to be the best and most recent "van-lifing" news, photos and videos shared online. Featured content on the app might relate to anything from campervans to motorhomes or RVs and trailers.
I always make sure to give credit to the vanlifers and writers by sending people to their websites for the full article. I think this is very important to be able to introduce and connect vanlifers. You can read news, check popular Instagram feeds and see new updates from great vloggers in the vanlife world.
Vanholio: Is the VanLife App complete? Or are you adding more features?
Benji: No good app development is ever complete, and in terms of the VanLife App, well, it's still a baby learning to crawl. I vision huge new features being added and truly being a one stop place for EVERYTHING VanLife, whether it's park up spots, site reviews, or DIY build guides. There are hundreds of opportunities for new features, and I really like when people suggest new features to be implemented.
[As of today] the VanLife App is only available on Google Play for Android-powered smartphones and in the Amazon Appstore App. The release of the VanLife App for iOS is the first major update the app will receive. Vanholio: What's your dream for the VanLife App's future?
Benji: In a more developed stage, I hope to provide a full social network app rich in features across all smartphones for vanlifers across the world to be able to connect with each other easier and to share their stories within the app and to introduce the vanlife to people everywhere.
Vanholio: Thanks for the insights, Benji. You got me excited about where the VanLife App is goin'. Benji: Well I hope I've covered enough here for you, and again thanks so much for the feature.
Now that Vanholio's pushin' three years as a vanlife nomad, he's staked out a home territory he wanders around. Talked to some other vandwellers, and they do the same.
Ya can see Vanholio's territory in the picture. Here's what some other vanlifers said when I pitched the question where theirs is …
Hey brother! Yes I do [have a territory]. It would have to be the west of the country. I am not a fan of the east as much. I prefer the large open spaces with plenty of BLM, also the warm weather in the winters. 🙂 [I do go as far north as] up to Alaska. I grew up there and want to visit again in the next few years. But mostly Washington state, Montana, border states.
With the exception of that trip to the Gulf [I took last year], I've stayed between the Front Range and the Pacific. That was always my plan. I spent the past two summers in southwest Colorado helping a friend build stuff, and I spend winters in the desert, but I still prefer to wander--assuming the weather is to my liking. I've seen the whole country. I like the West best. [For north and south, I range] border to border.
Most Kindsa Nomads Got Territories
I guess this territory thing don't matter a hill a beans. Just find it interestin'. It's the amateur anthropologist in me.
And it makes sense. Unless your vanlife nomad's got a big travel goal, it's a certain area that tends to have everythin' they's lookin' for.
Traditional nomad cultures got territories, too. They might move with the seasons, but only within a range that's got what they needs. Think a Mongolians travelin' around, ya know, Mongolia. Same with critters. I never did see a caribou wander inta Texas.
Vanholio's territory is defined by some secret sauce a climate, mountains and desert, culture, medical resources, public land, and more. The Colorado Plateau just hits all the right vanlife notes!
Mind you, I do leave my usual territory. Especially ta visit my people in Texas. But that's kinda like a vacation or whatever.
What's Your Territory?
Do you got a territory, too? If you ain't a vanlife nomad yet, where ya think yours might end up? Comment below.
It's that time a year again. Every RVer, rubber tramp, nomad, vandweller, and any other kinda vanlife scamp is showin' up at Quartzsite, AZ. But not Vanholio!
At my camp in New Mexico right now, I got four other rigs in view. That's four vanlife rigs too many! My prayer as I go to sleep is that they'll be gone in the mornin'. Either that, or I'll be dead. One's as good as the other.
Vanholio's a Loner ...
Like hell I wanna crowd up in some piece a shit bit a flat desert Arizona with four thousand or more! How's a man supposed to step outside and pee with all them folks around? Tell me that!
Vanholio didn't get inta this vanlife thing to mozy up with strangers – even strangers in vans. He's a hermit on wheels, yessir.
Goddammit, I never did go to Burning Man. And I never even went to Ft. Lauderdale or Padre as a youngun. I ain't fixin' to turn joiner now!
If I want to meet someone – anyone, even YOU – I'll do it one-on-one, where I can hear what the hell you're sayin' and look ya in the eye. And leave shortly if everythin' goes tits up.
'But I Wanna Go ..." You Say?
Mind you, I don't begrudge others their fun. If you're goin' to Quartzsite for the big RV show, Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, schoolie gathering, Escapees, or whatever, why, God bless ya. If it creams yer gravy, go for it. You can have my share.
OK, yes, Vanholio is an ornery ol' sorehead. Ain't I always told ya'll that? Ain't ya been listenin'? (Maybe not ...)
So to sum up what ain't worth botherin' over – I ain't showin' up in Quartzsite this month for no vanlife rendezvousness. Unless I change my mind.
Well, what the fuck makes Christmas and all those other end-of-year holidays so goddamn merry anyway? Sometimes they ain’t. I know, I been there. For anyone, holidays can be stressful. If you live alone in a van down by the river? Can be that much worse.
But here’s Vanholio’s constructive ideas to get your head outta your ass. Try happy out. You’ll like it!
No point sitting around like the Grinch, stewin’ in your own juices. Make merry on your lonesome.
Some years back, Vanholio got divorced. It was rough. Naturally.
First Father’s Day alone, away from the kids, the blackness was overtakin’ me. The swamp looked deep and cool, easy to just sink on into.
So I got off my ass and went for a loooong hike up a mountain ridge. Natural beauty, tons of exercise, the knowledge that I was a free man in nature. Did me good. Picked me right the hell up. Got me through the day. I even had some fun.
What would you like to do? Something you don’t normally get to. Go to a favorite place? Stay in a fancy hotel? Play a shit ton of video games? Give yourself that special present.
2. Elbow Your Way to the Table
Now, Vanholio’s normally a bit shy. He don’t just make friends everywhere. That’s by choice
But couple Thanksgivings ago, he was in Florida. I’ve got some friends in Florida, but they already had plans to be guests elsewhere.
It was forward of me, but I asked my friends if they could wangle an invitation to Thanksgiving where they was going. They agreed. They got it. I went.
Turns out the hostess had been a career Army nurse and totally got the need to find “family” wherever you can on the road. Never felt more welcome. Lovely people. One of my best Thanksgivings ever.
If you’re not near people to ask, go near people. Stay at an RV park. Bet most of them got something going on. Hell, I bet Slab City’s got a heck of a party planned!
3. Gather Your Own Posse
Don’t you think other vandwellers might be in the same spot? That they don’t got people nearby (or at all)?
Start a gathering! Don’t need anything fancy. A location and a potluck will do. Cheap RV Living folks are gatherin' early in and around Quartzite, AZ for the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. Get into the Cheap RV Living Forum to see what's up. If you can’t hook up with them, do what they’re doing where you are! Ain’t hard.
You didn’t invest buku bucks in a rebuilt vanagon and artisanal kombucha jar to blend in. Oh, no, no, no! You’re out to be noticed in that van a yours. So *be* noticed. Be the most talked about camper in the campground. Follow Vanholio’s 5 Primo Tips to stick out like a sore, festering thumb.
That's how I started out my guest post at Vansage.com. To soak in the rest of my snark, you're gonna have to go read it there.
No one wants to smell your stanky damn ass. Not even you. Keepin' your butt crack clean is Priority Number One. Especially when you live in a van, down by the river.
In fact, a spit-polished taint is more important for vandwellers because we don’t always get a shower every day. Do you want your van to smell like shit? Do you want to butt stink to disgust every fuckin' time you get out of the driver’s seat? No!
Not unless you or your S.O. are goddamned coprophiliacs. In which case, save it for special occasions, Perv.
Plus, a fresh-washed crack and fresh underwear are the key to not smelling like a fuckin' bum. That helps when the cops ask questions. Trust me.
How to Keep Your Ass Clean in a Van
Do Post-crap Cleaning — After takin' a dump, I wipe as well as I can with toilet paper. I really dig into that bunghole. Then I wipe my crack and dingleberry with one or two baby wipes. (BTW, don’t flush them wipes or dump them in a vault toilet; throw them in the trash.)
Change Underwear Daily — Briefs, boxers, and panties are there to capture loose poop, pee, or odors. In the old days, it saved washin' woolen pants til spring. In modern times, you probably change your pants more than once a year. Maybe every day. No matter, change that underwear daily and the stink won’t follow you around.
Ass-Wipe After Fart-a-thons — The odd fart or two isn’t a problem. But we all get a run on gas once in awhile, usually after eating too damned much at the Chinese buffet. Things back there get moist and pungent. So clean your crack with a baby wipe and/or TP, and return your trunk to it’s factory smell.
If you’re a vandweller, trucker, or anyone who spends a lot of time in a vehicle – Or really, if you’re not fucking disgusting – keep your ass clean. It should be your fuckin' No. 1 top priority!
Vanholio loves natural bathing in natural water. It’s free, for one thing. For another, it’s fun. It’s one a his favorite parts of the van nomad lifestyle – least in warmish weather.
Don’t matter to me none if the water is cold. Breath deep, relax, and you get used to it. Pumps up your metabolism, too, keepin’ warm!
Not much advice on the subject, ‘cept don’t use soap and shampoo. Ya don’t need it, and it fucks up the water. Believe me, swim a bit, an’ you’ll come out fresh as rain. Even if that water looks a bit dirty.
(Vanholio’s momma always used ta make him shower after swimmin’ in the creek. Don’t know what that shit was all about. Think she was just a clean freak.)
What?, you say, But my soap is "biodegradable"! Yeah, well it’s a poison to water critters and plants until it does biodegrade. That shit just don’t belong there. Besides, humans lived millions a years without no soap. Fuck Johnson & Johnson!
Swimsuit or Nekkid Is Fine
Vanholio usually jumps in with swim trunks. But au naturale certainly adds a certain somethin’ ta the experience. ‘Specially if ya got that special someone (or someones) with ya. If ya wanna skinny dip and have a hippie orgie, Vanholio supports you 110%!
Worst case, some kids see ya nekkid. Good for them! Brats oughta learn that homely folks get sexy too! It’s their future. TV and movies lie!
Now, Vanholio loves van life. But if ya think it's about sexy yoga poses afront of your pimped out classic vanagon, think again. It ain't that way for most. Lots a nomads take up the life 'cause the system fucked them over. Worst stories is retirees who can't get by on Social Security. That shit just ain't fair!
Some a them same people love van life. I met 'em, an' they told me. Life gave 'em lemons, and they made some fuckin' sweet lemonade. But that don't change the fact that folks is gettin' lemons while the 1% is gettin' fatter'n prize hogs.
Click to buy at Amazon.com
Vanholio ain't read "Nomadland" yet. But van life blogger Alan Christensen at The Rolling Steel Tent has. Al has high praise for Bruder and her book.
From the beet fields of North Dakota to the National Forest campgrounds of California to Amazon’s CamperForce program in Texas, employers have discovered a new, low-cost labor pool, made up largely of transient older Americans. Finding that social security comes up short, often underwater on mortgages, these invisible casualties of the Great Recession have taken to the road by the tens of thousands in late-model RVs, travel trailers, and vans, forming a growing community of nomads: migrant laborers who call themselves “workampers.”
On frequently traveled routes between seasonal jobs, Jessica Bruder meets people from all walks of life: a former professor, a McDonald’s vice president, a minister, a college administrator, and a motorcycle cop, among many others―including her irrepressible protagonist, a onetime cocktail waitress, Home Depot clerk, and general contractor named Linda May.
In a secondhand vehicle she christens “Van Halen,” Bruder hits the road to get to know her subjects more intimately. Accompanying Linda May and others from campground toilet cleaning to warehouse product scanning to desert reunions, then moving on to the dangerous work of beet harvesting, Bruder tells a compelling, eye-opening tale of the dark underbelly of the American economy―one that foreshadows the precarious future that may await many more of us. At the same time, she celebrates the exceptional resilience and creativity of these quintessential Americans who have given up ordinary rootedness to survive. Like Linda May, who dreams of finding land on which to build her own sustainable “Earthship” home, they have not given up hope.
But then I pulled in to get gas by the Camel Rock Casino in Tesuque Pueblo. The pump was workin' away, and I headed toward the store to hit the head. And why did I see? A sign sayin' "RV/Camper Parking"!
Payin' the rent!
Well, I asked the cashier girl what needin' doin' the spend the night there.
"Anythin' special I need to do?" I said.
"Nope. Just pull in and park."
So that's what I did! Slept like a baby.
Now, the Camel Rock Casino RV lot ain't all that fancy. Just a dirt lot with safety lights.
Vanholio done showed his gratitude to Tesuque Pueblo by pickin' up about 20 gallons of trash this mornin' before he left with his Grappler "Extended Reach & Pickup Tool". Didn't clean up all the trash other assholes left behind, but it's a dent. Sorta makes up for not gamblin' at the casino.
Question van life noobs and wannabes ask: Does anyone still do van life after a couple years? How long does anyone wanna live in a van down by the river?
First off, there’s tons a van lifers out there who’ve been doin’ this for decades. Most a them aren’t social media sensations. That’s why ya didn’t know about ‘em.
But Vanholio can only speak for Vanholio. I been doin’ this for two years now, give’r take. And I’m sure as hell set to keep on rollin’!
What’s Still Great About Van Life
My chief hope for van life turned out real good. That’s livin’ in the peace an’ quiet of nature. Still love that. As a tyke, I never did wanna come home from campin’. No I don’t ever need to.
The lifestyle is also sustainable cheap. Base expenses are around $500 a month (of course I spend more than that with luxuries.) That means less workin’ for Vanholio, and more time in nature
And while I ain’t travelin’ as much as Year 1, I still get to see lotsa cool shit.
What I Didn’t Expect About Van Life
I kinda wish I’d gotten a 4WD. Vanholio likes boondockin’ way back there, and he’s scraped up the bottom of the van more than a few times. Expensive repairs, too.
Learned, too, that I don’t need near as much shit as I bought. Just like backpackin’, less is more.
Another thing I learned is I like havin’ a job. Last couple months, Vanholio’s been workin’ as a US Forest Service volunteer. It’s nice havin’ meaningful work and relatin’ to coworkers and the public. Miss home a bit, too, from time to time.
All in all, van life is the life for me. Even if most of it ain’t all that more excitin’ than any other life.
Look at van life Instagrams, and you’d think it’s all a rolling bed a fuckin’ roses! Well, down by the river’s got it’s bullshit, too …
10 Ways Van Life Can Suck Bigly
Gas – And by “gas,” I mean flatulence. Even a full-size hightop is a small space when ya been hittin’ the garlic.
Indie Hipster Girls – According ta redditor Tired_Thumb, hot hippie chicks in Portland and such places’ll hook up with ya just for a #vanlife selfie. Terrible! :-P
Sex Killers – “If the van is a-rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’.” Well, in Vanholio’s experience, a van telegraphin’ sex is a turnoff for most gals.
Noisy Neighbors – Unless you’re boondockin’,, traffic, people walkin’ by, and the like are loud and fuckin’ annoying. That’s why Vanholio don’t like Walmart campin’ all that much.
Wet Weather – First off, when ya get into the van all wet, ya get water over everythin’. And nothin’ sucks big donkey balls like steppin’ out into a thunderstorm or blizzard ta take a pee at 3 am.
Breakdowns – Most folks think vandwellers are homeless. But when your van’s in the shop, ya really feel that way.
Honey-Do’s – Got all kinds a little custom features in your build? That’s all fuckin’ great until they break. Then it’s up ta you ta get around ta fixin’ ‘em. That includes trackin’ down parts.
Gift Gaffs – What do family and friends buy for the van life nomad who ain’t got room for nothin’ nohow? Consternation abounds.
The Man – Bureaucrats make dealin’ with feds, states, and even private businesses a pain in the ass when ya ain’t got no fixed address. But there are shady workarounds ...
Well, did Nomadic Fanatic really get the campsite off a my Freecampsites.net post? There's no way to confirm unless he drops me a line. But Vanholio! likes to imagine he did. I guess that makes me a pathetic, van life fanboy.
Living in a Van Down by the Pecos River
Now ain't that spot just fuckin' beautiful!? The old "living in a van down by the river" makes van life sound seedy and nasty. Ain't true! You can't buy real estate like that! It's views like that is why Vanholio! got into van life.
Crossing the Pecos
Let me learn you, too, about the Trans-Pecos Texas and how the Pecos River looms large in Texas lore. "Crossing the Pecos" has long been a sayin' to mean headin' into the true wild.
It's West Texas, west a the Pecos, that's the Texas of imagination. Towns become few and far between. The sky becomes vast. Mountains rise up. Even the deer get bigger!
Trans-Pecos Texas is the Texas of Vanholio's heart, case you didn't notice.
Check Out Nomadic Fanatic's Video
Sad truth is that this is a hard video for Eric. He just went through a breakup and talks about it in the beginnin'. If you're a fan a his, you'll bleed for him.
But if you ain't a fan and don't feel a connection to the lad, skip ahead to about minute 1:40 and check out the drone videos he takes a the Pecos High River Bridge Picnic Area. Just look, and you'll wanna visit West Texas yourself during the course of a well-lived van life. Or else you just don't fuckin' know what's good!
Every damn generation thinks it invented the cool shit. Van life ain’t no exception. Truth is that being nomad has always been part of the human adventure.
So far as we know, our earliest ancestors were hunter-gatherers, moving place to place after game and in-season plant food.
Even in the last few thousand years, “sedentism” was only one of the new options. You had your pastoralists, such as Mongols and Berbers, moving their domesticated herds to better forage. Later, you had your itinerant traders and laborers, “peripatetic nomads,” such as the Roma (Gypsies) moving from opportunity to opportunity.
And we still have all these groups today, even in the industrialized, centralized, rationalized, normalized USA and North America. Only these nomads tend to be individuals or families rather than a distinct culture: hobos, traveling salespeople, migrant farm workers, OTR truckers, travelling cowboys and sheepherders, OTR vandwellers. But there are exceptions, like the estimated 1 million Roma (Gypsies) living in the United States.
Worldwide, there are an estimated 30-40 million nomads today. But I can damn well guarantee you that’s undercounted for three reasons. First, they’re only counting traditional nomad cultures there, like your Mongols and Bedouins. Second, those folks don’t sit still to be counted. Third, Vanholio would argue that all people living a nomadic lifestyle are nomads. Me included.
Many working OTR vandwellers today are what you could call peripatetic nomads. They follow the seasons and work opportunities: north in summer to work as camp hosts, south in winter to work at an Amazon warehouse. That’s just one common example.
Mainstream US society tries to make something radical and perverse about having “no fixed address.” Bullshit! Abraham didn’t have no fixed address neither! And who did God prefer, the wandering Hebrews or those "civilized" Egyptians and Babylonians?
Rubber tramps are just a modern version of an old human lifeway. And we’re damn proud to embrace van life's freedom!
Vanholio don't urban stealth camp much, so he ain't got much to say on the matter. But I know that's what some of you do or wanna do. Simon's experience has the ring of hard-won truth to it, so listen up! As he says:
Living in a van is not always awesome. But neither is living in a house. Actually, most of the time living in a van is awesome.
GoHobo.co is an outstanding site, filled with good info about all flavors of Alt travel. Check it out!
Trippin’ around Washington State a week or two ago, Vanholio kept bumping into places Eric Jacobs covered on his Nomadic Fanatic YouTube channel. It was kinda badass!
See, when Vanholio was just a wannabe vandweller, planning and scheming to escape into van life, Nomadic Fanatic was my daily inspiration. Totally got a charge out of watching him, a regular guy – not some rich fucker – living a chill life on the cheap in beautiful places.
So as I was going through Mount Rainier National Park, I kept thinking “Rainier Beer,” Eric’s preferred brew. Stopped on the west side at Elbe Bar & Grill for a burger and washed it down with that light, delicious American adjunct lager, raising a toast in Mon Capitan’s honor.
Wynoochee Falls
Couple days later, I headed north on I-5 and U.S. 12, passing other places he’d talked: Olympia, Aberdeen, Tumwater Falls, Capitol Forest, Olympic National Forest.
But the place that pulled me in was his favorite (I think): Wynoochee Falls. Drove up there, walked the fucked-over campground, and took in the falls. Too bad it was overcast and in the low ‘50s. Would have liked a swim.
Found that pair of shoes by the falls (photo at top). Are those yours, Eric?
Thanks for all you do, Eric Jacobs, aka Nomadic Fanatic. Because of you, I Am Vanholio!, living in a van down by the river – the Wynoochee River.
No point sitting around like the Grinch, stewin’ in your own juices. Make merry on your lonesome.
