PACKING FOR VAN LIFE: Things we bought but didn't bring with us in our Transit Connect camper van!

[@recordingroadtrips]

I nearly got a tent like that, too. :) And I actually bought a cooker. Why? Because I saw other people having one in their van. But guess who doesn't even cook when out and about? Yeah, I sold that thing quickly! I will never regret having a portable loo in my van, though. That was my very first - and the best - purchase, pants, I mean, hands down. 😄

[@mikeandheather]

We learned very early on in van life that our build is never complete and neither is our gear list. We are always changing things about our van and what we bring as we learn what does/doesn't work for us, that is part of the fun haha You are right! One of the things that is an absolute must is our bathroom gear 😂 Thank you so much for watching, we really appreciate it!

[@ChrisW228]

I do everything with a mini crock pot and a Dash mini griddle.

[@longzero]

Regarding the scrubba bag, I use it every time I take a shower, so clothes I wear get washed right away. It saves money and it saves from going to a different location. As for drying, sunny days are great for leaving things on the dash and I also hang things in the van and open the windows when driving. This works for every day life, it works for 95% of the time. The other 5% is when things are very very dirty after going through mud or things like that.

[@mikeandheather]

That is such a great idea! Thank you so much for the suggestion! We really do appreciate it and you watching 😊

[@ChrisW228]

My shower is a plastic shower head nozzle that fits on a water bottle for a foot rinse or a 2-liter bottle for an actual shower.

[@sunnymas2656]

Thank you for sharing AND showing your experiences. I bought an used tunnel tent to advance my living space. But outside of camp grounds it is mostly illegal in Europe. And at camp grounds, the tent costs extra fees daily. Fire pits has become difficult and not wanted. Because so many forest burnings off different reasons. So I bought a rocket stove with USB fan. More close = more safe. And not so exposed, like a fire pit. In France there are more than 2.500 places with washing machines and dryer. With direct access at a parking area. All to find by an extra app. France has also 10.000 places for overnights. And 800 of it are for free. One camper said, it looks like every seven miles there is one for free. The reason: Every community wants all campers and rv`s at a separate place. And not everywhere.

[@mikeandheather]

We would love to visit France one day, and maybe even van life there! It is great to know that there is some infrastructure set up for campers 😊 We will have to research all the rules before we go though, that is so interesting! Thank you so much for the information and suggestion on the rocket stove, we will have to look into it! We really appreciate you watching!

[@ChrisW228]

I’m so surprised you didn’t use the bathroom tent. I know so many people who just leave them up with their toilet inside to keep it out of the vehicle. Maybe because I know so many who boondock with friends. It was pretty funny how surprised you both were by its details.

[@CraigMorton321]

Love the little step stool as a table! and I've already got one! Guess I'll have to dig it out! Great video, as usual!

[@mikeandheather]

They really do come in handy 😊 As always, thank you so much for watching! We really do appreciate you!

[@dianemora3602]

Great info! Although nothing will part me from my yeti tumbler - it's an essential part of my daily coffee ritual. Thanks for the content, always useful and well-presented.

[@mikeandheather]

Don't worry we still love our Yeti tumblers and use them all the time when we are home 😊 Thank you so much for the kind words and for watching, we really do appreciate it!

[@llorylloyd]

Great tips! I have that shower tent in blue. I had mine setup (we camped for 4 days) and tied to my canopy. I camped in my SUV so I used it as a changing room (after swimming or to go swimming, hung my under clothes in it to dry etc). I also had a foldable potty; kinda like a folding chair just in case I needed it at night. The restrooms were way out of the way. I also had problems folding it and just kinda twisted it and used big binder clips to hold it together. When I actually took it out of the bag it popped open so hard and smacked me in the face I got a busted lip and bruise under my eye. smh there's always something

[@mikeandheather]

Oh wow! Mike got smacked in the face too but thankfully didn't have any marks! Those things should come with a warning label 😂 They can definitely come in handy when used (and opened haha) properly but for us, it just took up too much space. Thank you so much for watching, we really do appreciate it!

[@dclassixrvliving]

Wow 49 states! That’s awesome!

[@mikeandheather]

We wish we could say all 50 states but it was WAY out of our budget to ship our van to Hawaii 😂Thank you for the kind words and for watching, we really appreciate it!

[@jandjibaronehoag1012]

❤ go go gadgets. Good to know things you can live without.

[@mikeandheather]

Thank you for watching 🥰

[@redmtc]

Great video! Thanks for making it!

[@mikeandheather]

Thank you for the kind words and for watching, we really appreciate it!

[@jeanie7369]

Hahaha , I had one of those pop up things , you had to wrestle with it for half an hour to get it back in the bag 😂 Mike…..How does it go 😂 hahahaha .I think it’s just luck to get it folded back down again. I ended up throwing mine in the van as it was and never brought it out again 🤣 I’m still buying things that are useless necessities 🤣 We live and we learn , well , sometimes 😁 Great vid

[@mikeandheather]

You are so right! Wrestling is the best way to describe the craziness that it took to get that thing back in the bag! We were tempted to just leave it and store it back in the garage that way 😂 Truthfully, we donated it the next day. We figured we never used it and now that a new fear was unlocked, of being smacked in the face, we decided to just get rid of it haha Thank you so much for the kind words and for watching, we really do appreciate it and you!

[@ernierb65]

Thanks for the tips!!

[@mikeandheather]

Thank you for watching, we really do appreciate it!

[@lynneeie5226]

Super useful!

[@mikeandheather]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching 😊

[@watbri1801]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@mikeandheather]

Thanks for the thumbs up and for watching, we really appreciate it!

[@JNYC-gb1pp]

What jobs do you guys have on the road?

[@mikeandheather]

We started off full-time but quickly realized, at the pace we were traveling, we wouldn't be able to sustain that so we dropped to part time work while we were on the road. (since we have been home we are now working full-time again) We had/have basic customer service/data entry jobs. Heather processes applications for her organization and Mike answers online chats and processes requests for the organization he is working for. Hope that helps! Thanks for watching!