Must have Van Life Essentials!

When starting van life there are a lot of things you can get away with or go cheap on. Like the build materials and some other things. Even if you go on the cheaper route of your build or just don’t want to spend a ton of money these are some essentials that Logan and I could not live without when it comes to living in our van.

Whatever kind of electrical setup you have in your rig whether it is a full setup with inverter and solar panels and batteries I think it’s still very important to get you some kind of portable power source. We have a jackery and it is so amazing. Now if you do t. Now what a jackery is it’s basically extra power source you can take with you wherever you go. Take it camping or on long overnight hikes in the backcountry. It’s awesome. They have all different sizes and you have many ways to charge it. You can buy the solar panel to charge it or not. All of the jackery you buy come with a wall outlet charger and a 12v charger you can plug into a cigar lighter. Which normally is in all vehicles. So you have 3 ways to charge it back up. That is my first recommendation you need for your rig. Let’s talk about fans.  I have a few different options that we use in the van. All basically the same size but they all have different purposes. The first one you see in white is our most used. We have 2 of them. These are awesome because the can clip onto anything you need. We even attached them to our upper cabinets last weekend and they did the job like a ceiling fan.  They other fans are great for outside because they are a little more powerful and they can be hung from trees, our moon shade and rope.  Even if you have an AC in your rig or the vent fan I do think these are still a good get just because you can bring them anywhere and you can never have to much air flow. Especially when it’s in the high 90s outside.

Moon shade!  I feel like this post could be long on its own just because how awesome this product is.  But we will keep it short and sweet. Basically it’s portable awning that you can attach to your van anywhere.  We use it mainly over our sliding door so it really opens up the space.

Upper cabinet door gas struts are a huge deal for holding up your Doors Let’s talk about fans.  I have a few different options that we use in the van. All basically the same size but they all have different purposes. The first one you see in white is our most used. We have 2 of them. These are awesome because the can clip onto anything you need. We even attached them to our upper cabinets last weekend and they did the job like a ceiling fan.  They other fans are great for outside because they are a little more powerful and they can be hung from trees, our moon shade and rope.  Even if you have an AC in your rig or the vent fan I do think these are still a good get just because you can bring them anywhere and you can never have to much air flow. Especially when it’s in the high 90s outside.

The next thing that’s strongly recommended is portable and rechargeable fans. We have all 3 of these you see below. I know a little extensive but ther’re all for different uses. We use the big one for outside a lot and it’s great because it has a light and a hook on the bottom for hanging. And for the white small ones they are great because we clip them onto our upper cabinets and they act like a ceiling fan.

Another must have is a portable power source. Even if you have a good house battery system it’s always a good idea to have a portable batter. We used ours for months before we had out power hooked up and now even with the power set up we still use our portable battery.

Jackery portable battery are amazing and they have all different sizes to fit your budget. There are 3 ways to recharge them. Solar panels that they sell, 110 regular house outlet, and a cigar outlet in your car. Even if you don’t buy the solar panels there are other ways to charge it that comes with it when you buy one.

Getting a Wii boost cell phone booster is a must in my opinion. They are pricey but well worth it if you're planning on being in some areas that you may not have the best service. You do need to have at least one bar in order for it to work. So if you're in the back country or national parks or way up in the mountains you may not even have one bar and if that’s the case the Wii Boost won’t help.

This next item might not be a must for everyone but it’s a must for Logan and I. We do have a 6in memory foam mattress and it is very nice and we wouldn't have any other kind but… when your changing temperatures a lot the memory foam can get a little hard when your in colder temps. So the best way we have found to add a little more comfort is this mattress topper we got on amazon. It goes on just like a fitted sheet and this is what we use for our sheet and it adds the perfect amount of softness you need. Plus it also protects our mattress from just everything really.

My next must have item in the van are these pillows. Now yes I know what you're thinking. Why do I need these? Well these are Pillow Covers that are a huge deal for a lot of people for storing things in them like bulky clothes and jackets. Or winter clothes or blankets. Things you don’t need out all the time but still need to have with you. The back of this pillow cover has a big zipper so we just stuffed all kinds of things in ours and they sit on our bed as decor. Now obviously you don’t need to get these exact ones but some kind of pillow cover to hold things in is a huge way to store things and add some decor to your van. So it’s a win win in my opinion.

Now moving on to a kitchen item. Stackable pots and pans or camping cookware is so key for van life because they do the job and are small enough to stack in your little kitchen. For just Logan and I these work just find for us and when we do cook for more then just us 2 we do have one big pot but that’s it. You really find how much kitchen stuff becomes your staple tools and you don’t need a lot to get a good meal cooked. Plus when you have less it’s less to clean. Plus on amazon they have all kinds of sizes so if you do need something bigger you have the option.

Now let’s share something you will definitely need for outside of your van or bus. These are called Maxtrax and you can get them in a few different places. I got mine on Amazon for under $80 and they do the job perfectly. You can also find them on other websites that are basically the same thing but some are up to $500 for the set. I think that’s crazy because I got mind for so much less and they do the job just fine if I do get stuck. So if you're wondering why do I need these and what are they used for. These big grip things, is what I call them just help you to get out of mug or sand or even snow when you're stuck. You place them right under your tire that’s dug into the sand for an example and when you place them right under the tire and start to drive it gives your tires traction so you can get out. They really do work great and if you like to take your rig in the woods or go on some dirt roads then these are a must. Even if you don’t go into places up in the woods you never know when you're going to hit a soft spot and can’t get out or just want to get a little closer to the beach.

Another must are fast drying towels. We have Microfiber towels that pack up really small an dry insanely fast. You definitely don’t want a regular towel that you have in your house because they take a while to dry and hold moisture and that’s something you definitely don’t want. I got ours on amazon.

Double sided ashesive tape is going to be your best friend ever for your rig. These sticky gel pads are a life saver for needing this to stay on your counter while you drive. We use these to hold our plants and water filter system and our big coffee maker on the counter. These are so powerful and we even use them to hang pictures and art work on our walls in the van. This is great because it doesn’t leave holes if you ever want to redecorate your tiny space. They are a must for sure.

Cabinet laches are a must also. They are very important because when you are driving and take some turns your cabinets and drawers can fly open. The last thing you want is to take a right turn and your cabinet or drawers come flying open and everything in them come crashing down on your floor. So getting some kind of laches is a must for sure.

The MaxAir fan is such an incredible product that you definitely need to get for sure. It is kinda pricey but there are some things for your rig that are just a must and this is definitely that item you splurge on. It has a cover on it so you can still use it while its raining witch is so important. We open our windows in the back of the van and turn the vent fan on to suck the air out and it literally makes a good wind flow throughout the van. It’s like having a large fan on in the entire fan and it truly helps to cool it down a couple of degrees.