17 Things to Know BEFORE VAN LIFE // F.A.Q. Series

[@patriamia8319]

I love your approach to van life. It isn't the usual blah, blah, blah. It's down earth, practical and joyful at the same time. Thank you.

[@timzuchowski7622]

“Leave places better than you found them..” Yes!

[@saniamoore]

Number 9. People don't get it! Oh my God it's soooo true.... We live in a caravan and I have been offered really poor jobs for cash because people think I need the money lol... They have the best intentions and I feel blessed people care but we're not poor and I don't need a second job 😂 we're houseless not homeless...

[@shoshannaperry5518]

Hi, I watch a lot of van videos, 74 yr old thinking about giving up renting, too expensive, and moving into van...until.. Your video us refreshing... honest and love it. Thank you..for your candor.

[@Squigglydodah]

This was a really good FAQ and thanks for not spreading the fantasy BS that others often shovel:)

[@chrisandsara]

Just trying to keep it real over here! lol

[@raczyk]

Lol

[@jillianfrimml4938]

Do you have any resources (apps, websites, etc) that you find helpful while on the road? This can be anything from finding a place do clean the toilet, to where to find water, to where you want to stay for a night. What is your routine/plan for when you are traveling (such as where to get gas)? How do you decide where to go next, and where to stay?

[@mrjake2132]

Great video, thanks. Every one needs to reminded of #3 ~ Leave places the way you found them or better.

[@independentthinker9113]

You are a DELIGHTFUL young couple! And I really appreciate the information in this video. Thank you!

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks for watching! :)

[@Hanginwithherky]

Awesome video ! We don’t live in our tiny camper but we do spend over 60 nights a year in it with our travels. A lot of your points cross over into every day life. I love your points about leaving it better than you found it. Safe travels

[@chrisandsara]

You're very right-- a lot of them do translate well to everyday life. Safe travels to y'all too! :)

[@DangerDan]

I love how realistically you see this great, weird adventure. Thank you for sharing this openly with us! 😊

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks so much for watching. Glad you're following along!

[@thoughtsinpassing2968]

"Through Sharing We ALL Grow !" is a philosophy I adhere to. ..thanks for sharing your take on van life.

[@thefangirlray]

I have been watching so many van lifers and you guys are my favorite because you guys seem the most real.

[@chrisandsara]

That means a ton! Thank you so much for watching Rachel!

[@cherylmckay9347]

Thanks guys this is a great open and honest account and really appreciated YOU ROCK!!

[@MMUrban]

16:15 - the reason why I subscribed. Very refreshing, nice work chris and sara!

[@chrisandsara]

Thank you for subscribing!

[@Sandra.Sandy.Robinson]

The people who need to hear to leave things better than you found them and don't mess it up for everyone else, don't care about you or anyone but themselves so you're wasting your breath trying to talk to them. I wish they would and I'm so happy to know that you do care.

[@hfortenberry]

Y'all are so adorable! I love the FAQ series! I think this has been my favorite so far. I've seen many other "Things I wish I knew before moving into a van" videos and this one is so good. You guys cover a lot of topics that I've not heard discussed before. VERY helpful!

[@chrisandsara]

Thank you so much! That means a ton to us.

[@madmax041]

Guys, about your #9 FAQ, I personally NEED to thank you, as well as the hundreds of van lifers, that have taken the time to video and post all of your van life experiences! In all honestly, I did not know that "van living" was even a thing, and you, and every van lifer, have opened A HUGE door of opportunity for me! I can't thank you (ALL) enough for teaching me everything I need, or look for, or consider, in choosing to switch to a van life! I LOVE YOU ALL! ❤️

[@caydennguyen4330]

I was like in my mind:I am just going to build my van and travel with my dog then you made videos of what challenges you can face in van life and I was like “I was gonna go into van life without knowing the challenges,man I am stupid!”So thank you for making these videos of the van life challenges.

[@LauraGarcia-wn1uw]

I'm renovating my dads old van for fun / maybe college and the way you guys explain things so clearly and easily has made my process SO much easier. Thank you guys so much!

[@zachzouyed1185]

Thank you for leaving a summary of each point in the summary, wish all videos on KZbin did that!

[@joncohen4988]

Welcome back to Savannah. You guys are doing a great job educating us wanna be van lifers on the pros and cons. If you are still in town and want a free driveway just let me know 🤘.

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks, Jon!! Really appreciate that! We actually just left Savannah today or we may have taken you up on that offer. :) We love your city!!

[@joncohen4988]

Let's Be Us We love it here too. The offer stands for the next time you’re in town. Safe travels.

[@mikosoft]

This is the first vanlife channel I subscribed to, you two are great down to earth and honest.

[@Asanz2727]

Thank you so much for your videos. They are soo awesome. I see a lot of van life videos that are more of free careless type of personality people and for me personally, I hate cutting corners, I hate not feeling safe or like i am doing something on a whim and it’s nice to see people like me who moved forward with something so bold. Your videos are very informative and very comforting to me since you actually have the coziness of a home, practicality and safety that I would need in order to be able to make this happen.

[@businesscareerpillar]

From Australia🇦🇺, THANK YOU SO MUCH, I am still learning as well, really appreciate and am grateful for your honesty and you VLOG as I do my research. Travel Safe, stay well. 🙋🏻‍♀️

[@justinburgan]

I legit just saw Frank from Mercedes Knoxville, haha! Super nice guy and respected van life even if he thought I was a touch crazy lol.

[@chrisandsara]

No way!! I want to say Frank was the guy who sold us our van too but I could be wrong. Everyone we talked to there was super helpful and a lot less pushy than most car dealerships. Good luck van shopping! :)

[@bucketlist621]

You kids are doing it while you're young. I am 63, and my biggest challenge is finding a free parking spot with a restroom. I think there should be more updates on rest area bathrooms for the public.

[@chrisandsara]

Yeah it’s hard to find free spots with restrooms.

[@PaulCarterArt]

Great tips and reminders of Van life and learning by doing daily. Learning to truly know thyself is a big part of the journey and ones perception is key. Thanks for sharing.

[@nonnoinsandiego8303]

TYVM! Well thought out , good common sense, and presented nicely. My younger, 70 year old sister, told me she wants to do this and has gotten the glazed over eyes response from most everyone. Not me, I get it! While I don't see this in my future I am supporting her wholeheartedly. She's created a monster, I'm afraid, but... We discuss all aspects of van life and I send her videos(like yours) and websites, etc. Happy trails to you!

[@chrisandsara]

That's amazing, she should definitely go for it! Thanks for watching along!

[@anneeivissa]

I am 65 and hope to be ready for vanlife with in a year from now.

[@cattsmahal1005]

I had to replay this vid. Lots of informative stuff. 🥰

[@lacertebeatrice]

First time watching you guys, and I can feel your vibe of happinness throught all the moments of highs and lows! Feels like you really love vanlife! Makes me excited for my next chapter! 🌠

[@chrisandsara]

Thank you!

[@akashasearceye-rytrysandmo7413]

Such a wonderful video! Thank you two very much 🙏🏼

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@paulsuprono7225]

Used to run marathons . . . music was a motivator !

[@shepatown]

When you said "year in review" It initially sounded to me like you said "urine review." My bad. Great video! Subscribed!

[@mariozhuo3488]

17 rules, 99.99% agreed. To me, one of the most inspirational van life videos by far. Keep up documenting. Best of lucks!

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks Mario!

[@le_th_]

Appreciate and respect your honesty. Thank you for sharing your subjective opinions and tips; it's both insightful and helpful. Happy new year!

[@matthewappleby8272]

Interesting perspective on USA van life. I found the one about asking where to go interesting as when I traveled around Australia in my caravan I literally traveled with no direction in mind and just looked on Google Maps for places of interest (such as waterfalls, beaches, caves, hiking tracks etc) particularly in state and national parks. This was always the best way to find the most beautiful and little-known places along the way as you just see signs on the road and say, hey, why not check that out. On the downside, sometimes the roads were very sketchy and somewhat dangerous, if you slid off the side of a road down a 100ft cliff I doubt anyone would find you for a fair while. I think people who use Instagram as a guide to locations will most often be highly disappointed.

[@ellelewis1963]

I love this channel and how clear yall ar about everything you learn! Thanks for the great content!

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks for watching!

[@leilani1069]

Tom Green is about to join the Van Life community!!!

[@karenclaypatch6917]

💚💚💚 thanks guys. Good info.

[@chrisandsara]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Scrambler85]

Great video, the 2 of You are always interesting. Lots of good points. Always a thumbs up 👍

[@shrikeofterven6006]

OK to hate van life is great! Every place I have ever lived, no matter how much I had researched it beforehand, still had times when I was in tears going "why did I ever buy/rent this heckhole?!?" Good to keep in mind that will happen now and then on the road.

[@chrisandsara]

Glad we're not the only ones who have those moments! :)

[@allisonsherman7231]

Great info!! Thanks for touching on so many different areas of vanlife. 🙋🏼‍♀️Kramer

[@chrisandsara]

“Hi Allison! 🐾 “ - Kramer Kramer was sitting under the table while we were filming this so all the rustling noise you heard was him chewing on the tree branches that had fallen. lol he’s always somewhere close by. 😂

[@allisonsherman7231]

Let's Be Us Kramer nature boi🐶.....you are so capable, Sarah. I hope the car people realized that whooooops, we should be fair (but I doubt it)

[@4149natalie]

Excellent video! Truthful.with good info. I agree with all you said.

[@Snarge22]

Chris & Sarah, I've been watching a variety of van life videos including yours. ...and I've been taking notes! Have a couple of years to go to retirement, and thinking a converted cargo van is the way to go when one is doing a lot of sight seeing, lookey-looing, and scenery soaking (traveling). The videos you and others are producing are adding up to my knowledge base and will be helpful when I start making it happen.

[@chrisandsara]

So glad the videos are helping-- we love hearing that! :) Best of luck with your van build. It's truly a unique and fun way to travel and live.

[@stephalvara327]

Thank you for your honest answers. It gives me a lot to think about.

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks so much for watching, I'm so glad you found it helpful!

[@maxfastest]

Thankfully i am only using my setup to travel and it's just me and my Doggo, And mostly avoiding campgrounds and RV parks. Self contained and independant. Living in my van when not traveling and it's inside my huge workshop on my rural property, where i have a small space built for a bathroom and storage .

[@cbro777]

Talk to professionals. Great advice because some of these DIY KZbin videos are horrible with bad information. People making copy cat videos trying to get views.

[@chrisandsara]

Yup!

[@HayabusaOrlando]

Dude, Sarah is Soooo Awesome. You're a lucky man to be traveling the country with a woman like her. And Sarah, Chris seems like a really good man. God bless you both, and safe travels!!! Really enjoy the energy from your videos.

[@michelebliss5431]

Thank you so much, this really helps me with my own planning.

[@brighterside8094]

Awesome info, thanks.

[@brads.3674]

I’m new here. I appreciate your authenticity. These are all good observations/ insights. Seems like most of these apply to life generally...van life or not. Thanks.

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks for watching Brad!

[@AaronGeller]

Everyone in America is over budget ... very few if any are under budget

[@chrisandsara]

We actually came in JUST under budget. 🙋🏼‍♀️ but we over budgeted on purpose just in case.

[@JUSTINANDCHRISTINA]

Thanks for the Info.. Looking at getting into full-time Vanlife ourselves at the moment..😀👍

[@kyrilascully7828]

Hi, Chris and Sara. I just stumbled upon your video and like what you're saying. I think it's refreshing compared to other van lifers I've subscribed to--and while I love their adventures and personalities, I really need some different kind of sharing on the ups and downs and realities of van life. I did it before when I was younger, but now that I'm "retired" it's a different ride. I am still shopping for my van--leaning towards ProMaster but also exploring the Transit (Sprinter is out of my budget!) Still exploring the best ways to get started (should I install electric first even though I don't have solar or fans or lights yet? Should I start the floor, ceiling and walls even before I do the electrical stuff? etc.) I have a floor plan in my head but Social Security limits what I can do each month to get there. I know I will get there--it just takes time. Anyway, I'm moving forward and started the vlogging process as Gospel Gypsy Caravan so my friends can see what I'm up to and why. Excited to begin the journey and hope to cross paths one day to share tips and hacks. All the best, Kyrila

[@jonnyhammerstix1535]

Thank you for the info.

[@WingsandWheelsAlaska]

Good tips! Thank you for sharing. Stay safe!

[@chrisandsara]

Y'all too! Can't wait to see all your photos from Alaska in the winter. :)

[@robertmock7509]

Nice honest vid. Got me to subscribe. Thank you.

[@robertneville2022]

On subject of budget I’m on social security retirement and work part time Live like you are broke and you will never be broke

[@chrisandsara]

good motto to live by!

[@writingtruthinwisdom1835]

Sorry for the thumbs down. They abviously hate good honest people. I want to vanlife and thank you for honest situations. God bless

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks for watching Derrick!

[@shammywadud]

Thanks so much guys for being honest 🙂. Good luck and best wishes from Bangladesh

[@Shannonontheroad]

Town and country Ford in Charlotte was the ONLY ONE who took me seriously as a woman.

[@PartyUpLive]

While I'm not looking to join the van life, I am thinking about going camping and on solo trips next year and am learning all that i can. Really enjoyed the video and I think some of your information applies. And I have family in Tennessee and I am thinking of moving there when I retire, which won't be for a while unfortunately.

[@kristenpringle1635]

I'm going to live in a van full-time, and it's definitely not a choice. Times are tough, and my family simply isn't there for me (my father and step-mother threw me out, knowing I had no options). I can't afford rent, so this is the fallback. Not looking forward to it. I'm scared to say the very least.

[@AmeliaJaneE]

What a lovely couple. And brilliant advice💚

[@jessiepyron3760]

Thank you so so much.

[@chrisandsara]

Hope it helped! ☺️

[@tracey940]

Love your honesty.

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks for watching Tracey!

[@karolsmith7593]

Great honest reviews!

[@darrellfort1668]

thanks for the video

[@ingridjeffers98]

This video has me questioning the whole thing. Thanks!

[@keithepstein2812]

Chris & Sarah, I've really enjoyed your letsbeus van life videos. I may be wrong, and I hope I am, but I sense that your journey is nearing its end and you're getting ready to move on to whatever comes next. Please be sure to give us plenty of warning so that we have time to adjust.

[@chrisandsara]

Hey Keith! Thanks so much for following along. There are a lot of moving pieces in our lives right now, but in short, no, we're not moving on from van life yet. Our next step would hopefully be van life part time (possibly build out a 144"?) but nothing is certain. We honestly have no idea if we'll take the plunge towards that next step in the next month or in 2 years, but we're definitely weighing options and trying to make sure we're ready for whenever we decide it's time to go part-time. :) Even when it's time to go to that next stage, we'll still be posting lots of adventure and travel videos!

[@keithepstein2812]

@@chrisandsara Glad to hear that! Keep up the good work, then.

[@bidoof6064]

Second and great video!

[@kathryncainmadsen5850]

So MOST important: where did you get that cool grey “sweatshirt?”

[@chrisandsara]

It's actually a dress and I picked it up on clearance at Athleta last year for about $20. It's super comfortable and one of my go to pieces when it's chilly outside. :)

[@juliehenderson1672]

Some people are roots and others are seeds! (Stationary vs travelers)

[@gailjohnson6670]

Nice honest video..Thank you for the video..Have a Blessed Day..

[@peterrichardson7939]

you two had me cracking up with the "glorified homeless person". Keep rocking. I'm inspired to start this vanlife, so thanks!

[@chrisandsara]

Glad we could make you laugh! 😂😂

[@ZekaUSA]

Thank you guys!

[@precisiont5188]

Are you close to Oregon. I am afraid to start van life but I must. I have been wanting to start van life for years but now I have to because of housing insecurity. I have a remote income which is hopefully enough. I already made a lot of progress building my van out. At this point I feel like I need emotional support and guidance from people who get why I want to live the van life and who can be like a mentor. I don't know who can help but I am intentionally putting myself out there.

[@chrisandsara]

We unfortunately don't live close to Oregon, we're in the south but we do have a Facebook group that you could join and potentially find other van lifers in your area there! Here is a link if you're interested: facebook.com/groups/vanlifestarterkit Starting van life can be really challenging and it definitely helps to have a community around you as you begin, we hope you're able to find that nearby! You're welcome to reach out to us if you have questions!

[@iluvbike]

#3 YES!!

[@Ethic-Ai-L]

Very helpful thank you!!

[@chrisandsara]

Glad you found it helpful!! :)

[@vintages10]

That you for the video folks!

[@WildAndCrazyGuy10]

So how do you handle getting mail? Do you have medical insurance? If so, what kind? Love what you guys are doing!

[@justtanja7327]

great video. thanks for sharing.

[@juantamelo85]

Great video. 👍

[@jonnies8478]

Good info thanks.

[@christinarobleto1786]

Great advice, if I did vanlife it would be to reduce expenses & save money

[@LinaLina-vk5zj]

Thank you for sharing 🙋🏻

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks for watching!

[@neilpaster5892]

How many inches of foam did u select to insulate with? Who applied it? In 20/20 hindsight what would u do differently in terms of using foam? Thanks in advance for the brain picking :))

[@ladyowl6743]

just some suggestions I found that was helpful was a lot of parks/lakes have water or camp grounds or truck stops have laundry and rv parks sometimes help, as well as some motels/5 star hotels have laundry or rv water hose. This has helped over my years of traveling or camping.

[@vincenzopromedia]

I have an idea for KZbin. What if I were able to drag and drop one of the suggested/related video thumbnails from the side, into the video that I'm currently watching and it prompts to become a split screen where I can start watching another video or maybe 4 other videos, all without changing the web page? P.S. Sorry I get creative when I'm bored.

[@jonnie3112]

Nice video , thanks.😅

[@chrisandsara]

Thanks for watching!

[@blessedbeyond2118]

you 2 are so cute i had to subscribe!! thanks for the tips I am still trying to decide if this life is for me Blessings Be Safe Kids Please

[@juliehenderson1672]

Where are your spare tires?

[@ChuckUFarly]

I Love #3 ... :-)

[@InetaGphotography]

"getting" is insane. when you do this with kids is even worse. they tink amabsolutly nuts

[@leojoseph6385]

Good Video and a tremendous public service for the rest of us who may have doubts! It seems like van life could be considered as a phase where one is doing extended gypsy research until you find The Place that has all the elements you're looking for, and settle down.

[@vincenzopromedia]

#2. What is this a therapy session?

[@gerd-]

I would be scared that someone steals the van and everything I own with it. Woud be left completely stranded. 😲🥺

[@analyticsystem4094]

I've been considering moving out of my parents house into a Van full time, would that be a good idea or should i try part time Vanlife first?

[@chrisandsara]

It may not hurt to try it part time first, just to be sure you love it and can practically and logistically do it full time. It really depends on the person, so it's hard to know what may be best for you!

[@analyticsystem4094]

@@chrisandsara Thx for the advice and thats probably the best idea, i do feel like I'll enjoy it

[@vincenzopromedia]

#4. I disagree. Absolutely compare. Compare alll the time! You never know what nifty things somebody else has that you might want in your build.

[@karolpowazka6047]

Can you REALLY have fun while documenting in the same time?

[@chrisandsara]

You can! If we feel like we can't then we'll put the cameras down and focus on the moment. For us though we really enjoy making videos together. It's become a hobby we share and it's been a fun way for us to get creative outside of our normal jobs. :)