You researched the nomadic lifestyle, you decided it was for you and you purchased a vehicle…now what? It’s time to start planning your home on wheels! Whether you plan to do the entire van build yourself or hire help along the way—there are a few important things you’ll do before getting your hands dirty.
First things first—you’ll want to plan your layout which will help you with everything that comes next. You want to hyper-focus on saving as much money as possible to fund the purchases of components, tools, and/or hired help. You’ll swap out your social time for hours of research so you can decide on what the best options are for you. In this blog, we will focus on the layout planning of your build. This is a big topic, so we will touch on other things in future blogs.
When thinking about your layout, consider (1) the rooms of your house that you use the most and (2) your activities of daily living (ADLs). This will help you understand the transition of going from “house life” to “van life”. Your bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom are likely the most used areas of your home. So, when considering living in your home on wheels, you’ll have to think about how you’ll incorporate all or some of these rooms into your space (of course, on a much smaller scale). You will also have to think about your ADL including, how/where you’ll sleep, cook, entertain, be entertained, and do your “business”—and no, I don’t mean your remote job.
The Van Build Layout
Things to consider including in your van can vary from very necessities such as a bed or more specifically a shower or air conditioning unit. There’s a lot to think about but we will go over the main things we think of when discussing options with our DIY clients.
You’re ready to create your layout plan but you’re not sure how to get started. The first thing to do is put all your ideas onto paper to get a visual. As builders, we use a computer program called 3D SketchUp which takes a bit of time to learn. This program helps with visualizing your space and putting in exact measurements to get the most accurate plan in place. This can help rule out ideas or inspire new ones. You may find that there isn’t enough space for everything you’d hoped. It’s better to find out these things before starting the build to avoid any mistakes. A simpler option is drawing up a bird’s eye view on paper of what you’d like to include in your van and where. Many people will tape off the floor or build things out of cardboard to create a more realistic feel of the space. Who knew building forts as a kid would come in so handy?
Bedroom
Let’s look at each of the “most used rooms” we mentioned earlier starting with your bedroom. Typically, we only spend about 8 hours out of a 24-hour day in this space. A place to sleep can be a fixed bed or a converting bed. This may come down to what items you plan on taking with you such as a bike or surfboard which may require special storage needs. If you decide a convertible bed is for you, remember, K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid). If you have 15 different cushions that need to be Tetris-ed together every night, you may never end up converting your convertible.
Also, consider the headspace above your bed regardless of how it’s assembled. Do you want to be able to sit up and read at night? Or are you more of the “I prefer sleeping in a coffin” type? Speaking of vampires, don’t forget to take into consideration nocturnal activities—if you catch my drift. Adequate head space for a variety of “sleeping” positions may be important for a healthy nomadic sex life.
Living room?
Your bedroom can double as your living room in a small space. That could mean sitting in bed or sitting on benches that your sleeping space converts into. Now all you need is your choice of entertainment. We love watching movies, so we have a few options for watching things at night. We have a smart projector and a pull-down screen. This screen is meant for a tabletop so we can bring both the projector and screen outside for movie viewing with friends. We have a huge DVD case full of movies and a DVD player to watch when we are out of cell signal. As an alternative, we have a stand that mounts in various places to hold a phone or iPad. We also have a table that can be converted to swivel between the benches for card games with friends.
Kitchen
This table doubles as a kitchen table for eating dinner together or with others. The kitchen space in a van will be necessary for most, but not all. Food is nourishment and so your space for food prep should be spacious and clean. Whether you want to order out or dine in, every home should have a functional kitchen. You can choose to make your setup very simple or more elaborate, but make sure to account for the different components you want when deciding on your space. There are a lot of options when it comes to cooking and each one has its space requirement. And remember, not only are you considering the space needed for the appliance itself, but also the “behind-the-scenes” such as electrical or propane.
Sink and plumbing?
Now that you’re done cooking and eating—it’s time to clean up. Typically, vans use one sink for both the kitchen and bathroom. Side note: you’re doing your layout so you can choose to have two sinks in this thing if you want, but this isn’t common. We suggest putting your sink in a central location, so it feels close to all areas of the space. When considering your sink of choice—don’t let “pretty” fool you. We first wanted a decorative bowl sink, then a farmhouse sink, and then a hammered copper sink. Each one has its set of downfalls for being inside a van that was impractical. We ultimately decided on a smaller yet deeper bar-style sink with a pull-out faucet, which has worked great. And remember, not only are you planning space for the sink, but you have to consider how the water is getting to your sink and how much space you will need. You could use a simple rechargeable faucet all in one unit, a foot pump with jerry cans, or a larger water tank with a pump and accumulator. If I’m speaking another language here—Google each one and do your research on which option seems like the right choice for you.
Bathroom
Now you’ve got everything including the kitchen sink—or is it the bathroom sink? Oh yeah, the bathroom. There is some debate about whether to include this or not. But consider this…have you ever woken up with that tummy gurgle? Uh oh. The nearest bathroom is how far away? Are they even open? What about if you were apartment shopping? Would you choose a place with a personal bathroom or would you rather have a shared community bathroom? If shared, you might not be able to use it when you need it. To us, this seems like a no-brainer. Yes, even the toilet has many options to choose between and plan around. It can be as simple as a bucket or a cassette toilet that moves around. You can also consider a compost with ventilation and fan set up or get fancy and install a flush toilet with a black water tank.
You’ve got your bathroom/kitchen sink and your toilet. Now, what about a shower? Depending on your lifestyle, you can plan on using your shower or a paid shower elsewhere. For some, using the shower that is included with their gym pass works best. For others, you may be on day 5 out in the desert and you almost can’t stand being in the same room as yourself. Us, we knew this would be our full-time home, so we made sure to include the things we used and needed in our house before the van and that includes a shower.
Final Thoughts
We’ve touched on the main areas of the house and how to account for some basic ADLs (such as sleeping, eating, using the toilet, and washing up). There are a lot of other things that are important to look into when turning your car into your home. These include insulation, heating, cooling, lighting, switches, outlets, windows, storage space, etc. The list goes on and on and gets more specific based on each person with their individual needs. Make sure to do as much research as you can to help make the best-educated decisions for your future home.
Read more from Crux and Beta:
So…You Think Vanlife is For You? with Crux and Beta
Why We Bought a New Van For Our Home On Wheels with Crux and Beta
