Why I Quit Vanlife

Thank you for watching this video and taking the time to comment. I do really appreciate it. I have tried to answer as many comments as possible, but there is a lot. Most of the questions and comments have been addressed in my other videos, in this video, and in the comments section here. This was not my first time living in a vehicle, and it was overall a great experience where the positives are plentiful. I wanted to make this video about the realities that no one wants to talk about in a world where Vanlife is often over glorified to be only perfect and magical. Thanks again for watching and commenting. If you are wondering if Vanlife is safe? This video might interest you: https://youtu.be/xGTxAoQ20yQ

You didn't quit, you moved on. Everyone moves on with everything. We change and evolve always. You'll still sleep in the van. This time you'll call it a camping trip.

I’m about to buy a van . My son is 21 has his own apartment and a job so he’s good . I’ve never traveled so this is how I’m going to see the world before I die .

It’s good to hear someone actually being honest about some of the realities of living in a van.

I lived in a van for a year and a half, mainly because I didn't know what to do with my life (I was in my 20s) and I wanted to live very frugally and free, like Thoreau at Walden Pond. There are moments when it feels like that, and it was very nice not having to pay rent. But as time passed I began to feel trapped in the lifestyle. At first it feels great not to pay rent, but after a year I began to doubt myself that I could even afford an apartment anymore. A regular life with a real address, utilities, and the social respectability that comes with that kind of normal life began to feel unattainable, and moving around night to night trying to find a place to park lost its charm. When you live in a van, you don't really belong anywhere. There's no little chunk of the earth, even an efficiency apartment, that you have a right to be in, where you belong. I don't really regret doing it, but when I look back at it now (I am retirement age now) I see that it was mostly a waste of time and a way of avoiding life realities (like having to pick a career and apply myself to it) that felt stifling at the time. It turned out to be a lot more stifling to basically be homeless. The bottom line is that it's not a real solution to anything unless you really are poor enough that you can't afford an apartment or house and have no choice. But there's nothing romantic about that.

Coming up to 7 years with the disabled wife in our van and trailer. We are poor and this is the best we can do. Despite the stares and weirdest, we just go day by day.

Thanks for your honesty. Too many people are dreamy eyed dreamers and romanticize this lifestyle and dont realize it can be tough and sketchy

I did van life for about 2 years, made a good deal of money during that time. I was about 22-23, and around 24-25 i stopped. Now im approaching my 30s and van life is becoming more appealing again. It isnt always for everyone but id always rather live free then pay a billion dollars just to be alive. With van life, it can be pretty easy to be anywhere at any time. And the last thing, i never had my doors open, you could never know i lived in a van just by looking at me or the van. It really depends who you are, if you keep to yourself no one will absolutely know what you're up too. I personally loved the seclusion and diversity i got with vanlife. Living in a house and doing all that gets so boring so fast

It's nice that someone is finally honest

My husband and I built our first house ourselves. We've extensively remodeled 3 other homes. We are seniors now. In our middle age, we made the biggest mistake in our lives. We bought a used 35', 3 slide out, RV with the dreams of relaxing vacations with our extensive pets (we have 5 pets). We paid $12k for it. We had it 2 years and the whole time we spent maintaining and repairing it. It was one thing after another. My husband spent his vacation days fixing the air conditioner, or the slide that didn't slide, or the leak in the roof, or the window that wouldn't shut, or the locks that didn't lock. We put in an additional $4k in remodeling and updating it BEFORE we took it on it's first trip. And every time we went somewhere something went wrong and he had to find a place that had parts and fix it. There was the trip to Lake Jocassee that we paid for. We drove all the way there (about 3 hrs) only to find both air conditioners didn't work. He had to take me all the way back home, get stuff and go back and try and fix it. That was a week lost. Then there was the time the black water tank got stuck and he ended up having to DIP IT OUT through the toilet! Or the time when the slide wouldn't slide out and we spend the whole week at the beach without the kitchen slide working. Or the time we were bringing it home from Myrtle Beach and the tire blew and we had to try and find a tire place open on a holiday weekend and get it there. It was so hot I don't know how my husband stood it. Oh I could go on. While it was in storage, rats would get in it and it meant a big deep clean before we got to take it anywhere. We were so sick of that thing after a couple of years we sold it and took a deep bath on it. No sirree, no camping for me! My sister and her husband just bought a used motor home and sure enough, it's been one repair after another and they are in the middle of having to tear up the entire floor front to back because of water leaks and the rotting it's caused and replacing it. They paid $28,000 for it when they bought it and it's now become their money pit. The depreciation on the things is drastic. You buy one brand new and take it off the lot and you've lost half of what you paid for it. Every year you lose a dramatic amount over and over again until it's worthless in 8 yrs. That $300k motor coach is worth $36,000 in 5 yrs. That $150k is worth $20k in 5 yrs. Not counting the repairs and maintenance, taxes and insurance you pay on them and that's if you never hit the road! Once you hit the road you are paying for gas/diesel, campground fees, golf carts or golf cart rentals, repairs - you could stay in a nice hotel room with all the amenities for what you pay for all that. And the minute you start driving down the road with your camper, RV or motor home, the swaying and pitching puts stress and pressure on places you never dreamed of and suddenly you have leaks and there goes your maintenance budget. I know there are people who have to live this way and for a few it may be their real choice. But if the truth were told, you would find most people would rather have a home, than live in these temporary, portable shelters. Some may enjoy them for vacations, but living in them would be even worse. Knowing you had everything you own and all your money tied up in this decaying tin can would be devastating. I'd rather stay in my home and go nowhere on vacation than go through what we did with that RV. I'm safe, comfortable, relaxed, have everything I need, space, cleanliness and I can entertain myself. We have our computers, our TVs even a TV on our deck, our deck and yard, our pets, plenty of books. And we take day trips to see some sights. Once or so a year, we go for a vacation and we stay in pet friendly hotels and enjoy a hotel room with maid service.

Greetings from Bridger-Teton NF. I have lived 100% in my standard low-top van for 3 years, and travelled on holidays for decades in a Westy before. Everything said in this video is true. Freedom isn’t free. The price of this freedom is inconvenience. But I no longer worry about replacing the roof on my house, fixing the sagging fence, or dealing with a shitty neighbor. Your possessions own you. Now I go where the weather suits my clothes. I live in National Forests and BLM land for free. I own every second of my time. I suspect the big difference is our age. I worked for 40 years, raised two families, owned 3 old houses, a couple marriages. My time was never mine. Now it is and i am heading to Maine because I am craving a lobster roll from a specific shop in Bar Harbor. That is vanlife.

Van life is not a con . It is totally what you make it . If you want a comfortable toilet , buy a Porta Potti , if you want a shower every day carry the water and buy a proper shower ! Life is what YOU make it .

Agree completely. Lack of regular showers, break-downs in the middle of nowhere, getting medical care in the middle of nowhere, heat/cold and predatory men who want me for cooking/sex - I’m done with it all. That said, if you can’t afford rent, it’s better than sleeping in a tent

I lived in my 1991 Toyota Previa for 2 years. My "build" were floorboards that I found at a swap meet, a Coleman cot, rocket box, and a cooler. I would wake up every morning and go to the gym, get a work out in, take a shower, then go to work. It was the healthiest I have ever been. I lived and played in Aspen Colorado, Moab Utah, and San Diego CA. People at the SD climbing gym loved talking about vanlife and would want to see my "build". They were underwhelmed with the Previa. Some of them went out and bought $80,000 rigs to collect dust in their driveways. I have a driveway too now, and the Toyota is long gone. I still have the Coleman cot and cooler in the garage somewhere. Some day I'll pull them out and head west, once again.

I did van life for about 3 years. I'm about your age and I understand all the negatives completely. I got into it cause there was a time when I got injured and rent was killing me. I stuck with vanlife cause I enjoyed saving money be and I had a gf who loved vanlife. About 6 months ago I decided to buy a shuttle bus and I enjoy it a lot more cause I can stand up. These are all great points people need to hear, the reality is it isn't for everyone. The lessons you learned doing vanlife will stick with you forever and I'd still tell everybody to try it and learn how to live simply. However, I'm very content with my bus and unless I hit the lottery. I'll never buy a house.

I’ve lived my van for two years and you are spot on with making it real, I’m in a Winnebago Revel so it isn’t quite the experience you had but definitely similar. I’ve had many people approach me about doing it and I’ve explained it’s not always great. I’m still enjoying the experience and when I’m not I will move on.

Your honesty is so refreshing, and could potentially save a lot of people from making expensive mistakes. And I like how you are presenting this from your personal viewpoint. And you are not trying to speak for a group of people. We all need your type of honesty and directness. Thank you!!!

If you're over 50, you need a legit toilet. You can't even trust a good fart. Go cassette or composting

After doing van life off and on since the early 90s And watching a lot of the newer videos since it became a hashtag I can say this is the most honest video I’ve ever seen about the topic. Thanks for putting this out there

Great and true commentary on the realities of this life. I make about $57,000/year and left my apartment by choice in a fairly affluent neighborhood , Bought a 1968 Dodge Ute Liner RV and renovated/fixed it up using my experience in the automotive industry and never looked back. Albeit I have now docked it at a portion of designated property of a friend where where I still live in it full time and work nearby, many of the logistics are the same (Showers at the local gym, full utilization of public restrooms, a change in diet for more dry goods, fruits and smoked meats since I do not run a fridge, bottled water, wash pots etc) as you mentioned in your segment that is part of the realities of this life that they never cover in posts & stories. Probably the harshest reality of this life is the ridicule you may face from your family and friends, but don’t let that discourage you if you are a grown adult and choose to live this way. And while the ultimate aspiration is to eventually buy a home, I strongly suggest that anyone who longs to try this life, at least try it once in your lifetime because at the very least it’s great survival experience and a story to tell. Blessings to all from Motorhome Music Matt ☮️