first decision: van or bus?
(Or other) Your first step to starting your nomad journey is to choose your rig. I like to take friends through the list found here (“the questions to ask yourself”) to get started. Depending on your answers to those questions, you can start to figure out what suits you. There are pros and cons to vans and busses, so it all comes down to what’s most important to you, and which rig type suits your dreams the best! Below, I’ll walk you through the pros and cons of a van vs a bus for each of the questions I asked you before:
1. How many people are living in the van? Is it just you? Is your partner coming along, too? Kids, pets?
While you can get pretty big sprinter vans, a bus definitely wins in a case of “the more the merrier.” Listen, there are always exceptions. I know single van lifers who love having all 4 of their dogs in their vans. I know couples who absolutely love their van life. I would say if more than one person is moving into a van, one of the biggest storage issues that comes to mind is clothes storage. I can barely fit my clothes into my skoolie, and it’s just me in there. I’m not sure how couples pull it off, but know you’ll need to be strategic, whatever rig you pick. Once you start planning on more than 2 humans on the road, I almost exclusively see skoolies (aka: converted school bus homes). The advantage with school busses is that they come in multiple sizes, but even the smallest skoolie tends to have some size advantage over a van.
2. Do you plan on working from the van? Think about how much time you may find yourself spending inside. Is it purely an adventure vessel, meant to provide a safe place to sleep and a convenient loo? Or will you be WFH 9-5, 5 days a week in this vehicle?
This was a big point of concern in my nomadic life process. I haven’t chosen this lifestyle with the intention to build an online business to support me. I already had a corporate 9-5 job, just with the luxury of being 100% remote. For me, this meant I needed the space for a designated work area. Also, I wanted to be able to stand up all the way inside the vehicle. Sure, some days I work from cafes and friend’s houses. But on the road, when I’m trying to get through a long work day, I need to be able to stand up straight while I make my coffee.
On the other hand: if I were to quit my day job and do this full time, my dream would be to get a vintage VW bus and convert it. This is about as small of a bus option as you could get, but if I weren’t working 8 hours a day, I would be finding every opportunity to be out hiking, exploring, swimming, biking, ANYTHING. I love to be outside, so if that sounds like you, and you don’t need a work space in your vehicle, a van quickly becomes an awesome option.
3. Are you more interested in exploring cities or outdoor activities? Will you find yourself in one National Park after the next, or does the plan look like city lights from NY to LA?
To me, this question can quickly make the decision. If you plan on going city to city, I 100% recommend a van. Some skoolie drivers may disagree here, but my bus is so obviously a home on wheels that I get a knock and asked to move almost every time I’m in a city. Even though my bus fits in most parking spots, it’s definitely too big in cities where parking is tight. A painted school bus draws a lot of attention, and in a city this is the opposite of what you’ll want, both for safety and convenience. Whereas on the flip side, there are so many sprinter vans being used daily in different industries that they’re abundant in cities. You’ll blend in as much as any overnight-parked contractor or shipping van.
On the other hand: if you plan on being out in the woods and going from National Park to National Forest, parking on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land (more on this free camping opportunity later), then both options are still on the table. If you want to really get off-road, you may be more selective about finding a vehicle with 4-wheel-drive (which, as far as I know, will be more common in a van). So far though, I’ve taken my short skoolie off the beaten path more than a couple of times and she does justttt fine. And I see a lot of skoolies - big and small - online who are going off-road to park and camp.
Another thought: if you are really outdoorsy, and will want a lot of gear (think: bike, surfboard, hiking gear, etc) remember to keep storage in mind. There are tricks to maximizing storage in any rig, but again, some offer different advantages than others.
4. What climates do you intend to travel in the most?
My bus does not have AC. Instead, I have a ceiling fan that helps circulate the air when I open my windows. When I bought my bus, I thought this was a perfect solution because frankly, I hate hot weather and had no intention of finding myself anywhere over 75 degrees by traveling with the seasons. Well, of course, in my first month I agreed to join a friend to Utah at the end of August. Somehow, I hadn’t considered how sinfully hot it would be, and I was suddenly very remiss about not having any AC solution. I was stressed about my dog getting heat stroke, my laptop literally broke from the heat, and I can confess that I was probably just pretty grumpy about being so hot for so long.
So: if you love hot weather, or you may find yourself not totally in control of your whereabouts, you may want to shop for a rig that’s got a rooftop AC unit installed. If you’re building it yourself, you can incorporate this just as easily into a bus or a van, but if you’re shopping pre-built rigs, this is definitely something to take into consideration. On the same stroke of thought: how does the interior heat? Wood burning stove, diesel heater, no solution at all? Definitely consider what type of climate you prefer, and make sure your rig is suited to keep you, your pets, and your belongings safe wherever your travels may take you.
5. Are you the type of person who gets up and makes your bed? To go a little deeper; what would you say if I said you need to tear down your bed every morning in order to have a table/couch for the day, and need to set it back up to go to sleep at night?
Let me just come out and say: I am not. My room has always been notoriously messy, and my life is a constant game of trying to keep myself as organized as possible before my belongings somehow explode all over the floor. So, for me, the idea of living in a rig so small that I would need to use the same space that my bed belongs as the space for a couch and/or table during the day did not suit me at all. Some van lifers are totally okay with this: you can watch video after video of the setup to transition a table space or couch into a bed at night. Some van lifers are also okay to live with no indoor table, or a smaller fold-away table. Whatever the case, I knew I wanted a space where a table went (and stayed) and a place where my bed was (and stayed). Whether choosing a bus size, van size, or any other rig, be realistic with yourself. Don’t convince yourself that you’ll be a changed person and not mind the process every day if it’s something you can’t come close to in your current life. It’s okay to operate however you operate: the idea is to make becoming a nomad as suitable to your personality as possible, and that looks really different for everyone.
6. Building on question #5 - do you want the space for a shower and toilet? Or would you be okay to pull a portable toilet out of storage in emergencies? How important is a designated bathroom space to you?
Same as number 5 but a little different. In smaller rigs, it’s common to have some sort of portable toilet that you can use inside or outside, that when not in use is stored in a cupboard. This suits a lot of people just fine. Again, for me it came back to how much time I’d be spending in my bus. I didn’t want to find myself doing the potty-dance and needing to shuffle things around to access a toilet. My toilet is a compost bin for solids, and funnels liquids into my grey water tank. Permanent toilet setups look a lot different across rigs as well, but for me this was a non-negotiable. I wanted to be able to shower myself and my pup after a day at the beach, and I wanted to be able to sit on the throne without process or pains.
If you require a bathroom space, it can be incorporated into a van or a bus. If you’re in a small rig though, this means sacrificing in other ways. Maybe you can’t fit a closet and need to rely on more over-the-bed storage. Alternatively, maybe you’re okay to have a porta-shower and portable toilet for emergencies, and rely on truck stops, gyms, and friend’s houses for showers. This works great for a lot of people, and is a very realistic option.
Honestly, I also have the shower built-in. I haven’t figure out how to fix my water heater, however, so I only use the shower when it’s hot enough out to feel good about a cold shower, or in cases when I’ve pulled off for a swim in the middle of a drive and wanted to rinse off before I kept going. Otherwise, I almost always take “full” showers at the options listed above. I’m definitely glad that the option is incorporated in my bus because I’d feel really limited without it (and would’ve found myself much smellier much more often), but it’s not a necessity.
7. Of course, what’s the budget?
When I was looking, I found unconverted busses for sale from Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and elsewhere for as low as $3,000. I have not ever found a sprinter van lower than $10k-$15k, however. I’m sure they’re out there, but a big advantage to a bus is that they’re economical and pretty easy to find. If you want a rig that’s already built, there are resources for that as well. Before setting your heart on any setup, definitely figure out what your budget is and do your homework on what the cost is for different vehicles. Once you have the vehicle picked out, setting up the interior to suit your lifestyle is a whole other conversation, but know that some people figure out how to build an entire home-on-wheels for as low as $15,000-$20,000, whereas others have confessed to spending over $100,000. If you’re on a budget, there are options for finding lumber from old shipping pallets, used sinks off Facebook Marketplace, and even RV AC units from junk yards. If you’re ballin’ without a budget, then the world is your oyster. It’s up to you to establish what you’re comfortable with, but knowing that your rig can eat up a huge part of your budget (or not) is a good place to start.
Comment below with more questions or thoughts on anything I talked about above!
Love ya a latte,
Jesi & Anya
