Can you be a van life nomad and make a living? Can you be solvent down by the river. Sure! Easy, in fact. Here's five videos how to by the great Bob Wells at CheapRVLiving.com. Be sure to subscribe to his YouTube Chanel, too!
You’ve found your stealth or boondocking spot down by the river. You’ve buttoned everything down for the night. But goddammit, you just can’t fucking go to sleep! What’s a vandweller to do?
The short answer? Get used to it! That’s the secret to van life sleeping.
What the Hell! Van Life Means No Sleep!?
No, that ain’t what I fucking said. “Get used to it” means you need to get used to each kind of new sleeping spot.
See, Vanholio’s been through this. Expect nearly everyone to take up van life has.
To get to sleep and to sleep soundly – not with one eye open all night – you gotta feel safe. You gotta feel secure. Also gotta ignore background noise. It’s hard to do all that in a new situation.
But give it time, you’ll adjust. Soon you’ll be sleeping like a drunken baby.
How Long Will It Take to Adjust?
Shit, I don’t know. Maybe a few nights.
Vanholio’s been at this a while. When he got started, he could only sleep secure in official campsites.
Since them days, I done slept in rest areas, Walmarts, shopping malls, closed campgrounds, behind abandoned buildings, beaches, and what all.
Maybe it took me 3-4 times in each type of setup before I could really relax. Not really sure. Weren’t too much.
But here’s a warning: Each kinda setup starts the clock over.
Gotta Adjust to Each New Camp Type
Then last night, I tried a different setup. Around sundown, I was driving down a smaller state road east of Laredo. Saw a small, fenced-off utility building with a driveway.
Now, Vanholio’s rig looks a bit like a work van. What the hell!, I says to myself, who’d fuck with a work van parked by a utility building? So I hid in plain sight, feeling smug as a tax dodger.
No one was around, mostly. It’s all ranch land, petroleum wells, and windmills out there. A few cars zipped by overnight, but no one stopped or said shit. No LEOs came by. It were real quiet like.
But Vanholio slept with one eye open. Bit tired today. Like I said, each new situation takes its own time. Give me a time or three to do it again, and I’ll be sleeping just fine.
Bet you hardcore urban vandweller types are laughing at Vanholio for being a panty-waist!
Like I Said, Get Used to It
So if you’re thinking about van life or new to vandwelling, just relax. Be prepared for some poor sleep with each new stealth park or boondock you try. Spread your wings, and you’ll be a well-rested veteran in no time.
And hey, you van life vets out there, got any other advice or words of wisdom for the newbies?
Vanholio didn't write a Tuesday post ahead. And now, like all ya'll, he's on tenterhooks awaiting the election results. And tryin' damn hard not to get sucked down in the black tar of what ifs.
Maybe the best advice Vanholio's got for me and you is an old Chinese story I read somewhere long ago. Thanks to Ol' Google, I found it on some damn hippie website. Trust me, though, it's a goodun.
Who Knows? The Farmer's Son
One day in late summer, an old farmer was working in his field with his old sick horse. The farmer felt compassion for the horse and desired to lift its burden. So he left his horse loose to go the mountains and live out the rest of its life.
Soon after, neighbors from the nearby village visited, offering their condolences and said, "What a shame. Now your only horse is gone. How unfortunate you are!. You must be very sad. How will you live, work the land, and prosper?" The farmer replied: "Who knows? We shall see".
Two days later the old horse came back now rejuvenated after meandering in the mountainsides while eating the wild grasses. He came back with twelve new younger and healthy horses which followed the old horse into the corral.
Word got out in the village of the old farmer's good fortune and it wasn't long before people stopped by to congratulate the farmer on his good luck. "How fortunate you are!" they exclaimed. You must be very happy!" Again, the farmer softly said, "Who knows? We shall see."
At daybreak on the next morning, the farmer's only son set off to attempt to train the new wild horses, but the farmer's son was thrown to the ground and broke his leg. One by one villagers arrived during the day to bemoan the farmer's latest misfortune. "Oh, what a tragedy! Your son won't be able to help you farm with a broken leg. You'll have to do all the work yourself, How will you survive? You must be very sad". they said. Calmly going about his usual business the farmer answered, "Who knows? We shall see"
Several days later a war broke out. The Emperor's men arrived in the village demanding that young men come with them to be conscripted into the Emperor's army. As it happened the farmer's son was deemed unfit because of his broken leg. "What very good fortune you have!!" the villagers exclaimed as their own young sons were marched away. "You must be very happy." "Who knows? We shall see!", replied the old farmer as he headed off to work his field alone.
As time went on the broken leg healed but the son was left with a slight limp. Again the neighbors came to pay their condolences. "Oh what bad luck. Too bad for you"! But the old farmer simply replied; "Who knows? We shall see."
As it turned out the other young village boys had died in the war and the old farmer and his son were the only able bodied men capable of working the village lands. The old farmer became wealthy and was very generous to the villagers. They said: "Oh how fortunate we are, you must be very happy", to which the old farmer replied, "Who knows? We shall see!"