my simple van setup and practical considerations
My van, affectionately named Nessie, has been my home on wheels for a few years now. For those who are interested in the vehicle particulars, she’s a Vauxhall Movano long wheelbase, high top roof, 2004 registration. She was originally an NHS patient transport vehicle and so she was well looked after before she came to me. Nessie has evolved over the past 5 years into my cosy, creative home. For a while, she was a home to both myself and my partner at the time, and occasionally she has been home to my parents’ hound, Isla (aka Beanie), a part-time travel companion.
Electrics and charging
Early on I decided to keep things relatively simple, some would say primitive, for a couple of reasons- so that there’s less to fix when it goes wrong, and because I’m trying to live in a more wholesome, low impact way. This means I don’t have a sophisticated power set up; no fixed solar panels, leisure batteries, inverters or 230 volts. Everything I have is stand-alone and small-scale- a 30 watt 12 volt mobile solar panel for charging power banks which in turn charge my phone, tablet, light and other electronic gadgets.
Cooking and heating
Cooking is on a vintage two-ring gas hob. Heat is from the woodburner, which also works for cooking when the fire is burning hot. I do have a diesel heater (which came with the van), but the woodburner now renders this obsolete. In summer, one of my favourite ways to connect with a place is to go foraging for firewood, especially on beaches. I have a very good saw and a small hand axe for preparing wood for the burner. In winter, it can be tricky foraging for wood as it is usually wet and storing wet wood in the van is really not a good idea. I have a couple of places that I store wood to season for future use but in winter I do have to buy wood to keep my fire going.
Lighting
Lighting has been one of the most tricky issues, especially in winter with the long, dark nights. I tend to use candles for ambient lighting, but if I need to cook or do anything crafty, I use a Biolite Alpenglow 250, one of the best (but by no means cheapest!) rechargeable lights I’ve come across for my small space. I have tried other cheaper lighting – fairy lights and bendy LED lights that plug into power banks- but all of them have failed me, and I hated having to buy disposable batteries for the fairy lights.
Water
I don’t have a water tank or running water. I use multiple 5 litre water bottles and top these up whenever I find a decent water source. For me, this works brilliantly. I don’t have to go to a site to fill up water and I can even fill up smaller bottles from freshwater springs if I’m lucky enough to find one. I know there could potentially be some issue with BPAs when you reuse plastic bottles but honestly, I feel like there are so many other ways I could potentially be ingesting and absorbing nasties that this is one thing I’m not going to worry about.
It probably goes without saying that I don’t have a shower. This has never bothered me. I can easily keep clean in summer with regular dips in rivers, lochs and sea. And it’s amazing how little water it takes just to have a flannel wash in the van. When I want to wash my hair I get the woodburner going and heat up a full kettle of water and then wash it in the washing up bowl.
Waste
I don’t have a conventional toilet or waste system. It’s about as basic as it can get. I have a Tupperware jug to pee in, and a compost loo ‘system’ – a 10 litre bucket and sawdust- for poop. When the bucket is full I take a good long walk into a remote woodland, dig a big hole and offer the soil my gift. That’s the nicest way of putting it! The compost loo is actually an upgrade; all I used to have was a garden trowel and then I’d have to go for walks to find a secluded and safe spot. This really was inconvenient at times so I was thrilled to get a bucket (see photo)!
I understand some of these basic ways would be off-putting for most people. It was the same for me at first, and mostly it takes longer to do things because I can’t just flick a switch to heat water, or flush a toilet to dispose of my waste. Some days I would just love to step into a hot shower or turn on the central heating. But I have become more aware of how much we waste when we can just turn on a tap, and how we take these modern systems for granted. I’m now more conscious about how I use water and whether I really do need to be clean to the point of being almost sterile!
If any of this interests you and you need any support or information about setting up and living in a simple home on wheels, please connect with me. I’ll write more about why I choose to live in a van in future posts.
stravaig 