VAN TOUR | THREE YEARS LIVING ON THE ROAD

[Music] my name is christian schaefer i'm an outdoor adventure photographer and i've been living on the road for just over three years now first i lived in my suv for 14 months and then two years ago i bought this van brand new as an empty cargo van and hired a team to build it out so for two years now i've been living in this van full time along with some airbnbs and houseits but otherwise this has been my primary residence in two years i've put just over 29 thousand miles on it i've spent most of that time traveling throughout the western u.s and i've had some pretty rad experiences and adventures thanks to this mobile lifestyle one example of that is while staying in jackson wyoming for a couple months i grabbed coffee with my biggest inspiration in both photography and road life jimmy chin he's actually the reason why i got into outdoor adventure photography he's like such a legend so yeah he's actually filming and i'm gonna show him the van this place is sick well first of all this is like one of the nicest vans i've been in there are a few things i really liked about this man though so i just got a tour i mean i i love the little shelf i do love this the double layered yeah a little secret drawer you keep your sleeping bags in them and they're so soft because they're probably like 800 filled down so you can just drop this into your bed putting in my man yeah that is so nice so jimmy actually lived in his car for seven years while building his career as a photographer um so not only is he a legend in the filmmaking and photography realm he's also an og road lifer and he's actually building another van right now so it was cool to show him around mine and chat about some ideas for his upcoming build and it got me thinking that i should really do an updated fan tour for you guys since it's been two whole years since i moved in if you watch my first van tour then you'll notice i've made some changes and upgrades so i'll walk you through those along with some organization techniques that i use and i'll also show you some places where i've experienced wear and tear after so much time on the road so let's jump into it welcome to my tiny home on wheels this is a 2019 ram promaster 1500 high roof 136 wheelbase and i purchased it brand new as an empty cargo van this entire build was done by brett and yulia formerly known as gone with the van unfortunately they're no longer together as a couple but brett is still building you can find him on instagram here and julia started her own wellness company and you can find her here um honestly they're such down to earth genuine and very talented people so i recommend them whatever they happen to be creating okay so i'm going to start by going over a few of the different materials and structures types of wood that were used in the build but if you want something more in depth go check out the gone with the van channel they still have some youtube videos up of the process and behind the scenes from when they did this build this entire space that i call home is just 60 square feet and i guess we'll start in the kitchen with my little planter box [Music] the type of wood used throughout the van is poplar and plywood and the countertops and the table top are birch hardwood the floors are engineered hardwood oak wood floors and the color used throughout the van is vanilla shake both the counters and the ceiling were hand painted to create that distressed look and the van is insulated throughout with havelock wool and super r diamond radiant barrier here in the kitchen i have white subway tile as a backsplash and incredibly this has held up for two whole years of going down crazy bumpy roads and nothing has ever cracked or fallen out the only thing i will point out is sometimes this caulking needs to be redone and i have redone that a couple of times um but you can see it's starting to yellow a little bit and there is some separation there but i would say overall it's held up so well up here i have a little book nook with one of my plants and some journals and my battery pack for the fairy lights wacom tablet um there's two layers of books back there so it's a nice little storage area this is my dometic fridge it is a crx 55 and it runs on dc 12 volt it's the perfect size for one person i did remove the freezer compartment up here to make more space for produce but otherwise it's just everything that i need and honestly i don't know how i lived without one when i was in an suv up here i organized all of my dry goods got a mason jar for coffee i've got these little gray bags for produce um just so i'm always cutting down on plastic and i don't accumulate too much garbage um crackers pasta olive oil that's kind of thing in this cupboard i keep a lot of my dishes and my spices everything is pretty much stacked into each other and when i take it all out four plates four bowls a frying pan and a strainer here is my little spice container um i've got salt and pepper trader joe's everything but bagel tea extra coffee grinds in this little container i have my coffee filters which i use with my aeropress this is my electric water heater which i've had since my first fan tour and it's super compact just opens up like that and it runs off of my solar in my last van tour a lot of you guys uh asked specifically about this electric kettle um so i did create some affiliate links and now i just have a page on my website it's christian shaffer dot art slash gear i'll include that link in my caption below um and on that page you'll find all my recommendations for the stuff i go over in the van tour today as well as additional road life recommendations um photography camera gear camping gear all of that and if there's something you see in the tour that you don't find on there just shoot me a message and i'll let you know what it is and where i got it this is a two burner stove which i run off of propane and the propane is stored in that cupboard which i'll get to in just a little bit in this drawer i keep my utensils so a cutting board smaller cutting board some towels um ziploc baggies up here just bamboo utensils knives all that kind of stuff and oh good time to mention these rv latches come in really handy um it connects to this other half in here and what that does is when i'm driving it prevents it from coming out so it's in there nice and snug and i actually have those latches on these cupboards and drawers as well i don't have them up top because these actually never open up they've never been an issue but the latches do come in really handy for these other covers and drawers down here in this cabinet i have my power station and my little bookshelf but everything in the van is solar powered and it runs off of either ac or dc current on the roof of the van i have two renegy solar panels mounted and they're 160 watts each so 320 watts total and down here in the cabinet i have two battleborn lithium batteries they're 100 amp hours each so 200 amp hours total this renegy inverter is 3000 watts which is actually quite powerful i'm able to curl my hair and charge all of my camera gear and my laptop many many times over also i have this dc to dc charger installed which allows my house batteries to charge off of my car battery whenever i'm driving long distances so throughout the van there are five 12 volt dimmable light switches 10 12 volt led puck lights five ac outlets and two usb dc outlets and down in this cabinet i have these linen storage boxes in these boxes i just have a variety of stuff like cups here's a top for my frying pan here's a another pan some extra poles covers for my storage stuff this is a little art project that i still haven't gotten around to down here is mostly camping stuff propane gas for camping an extra one gallon tank is a backup some water filtration and this is the cover for my bare bin which is back there and next to the bare bin is my propane tank right now i have a one pound propane tank inside of the bear canister because um i haven't installed the propane gas detector yet but once i get that installed i will be using that one full time also side note the bear canister is super important for when i'm camping off grid and i need a place to store trash outside um just so the critters won't get into it and so that it won't stink up the van this white box is prince um since i'm a photographer i like to keep some of those on hand and stored next to that is this which nathaniel made for me it fits right in my fan up here so that if i'm at like a rest stop or i'm sleeping at a walmart i can block out all the light and have it totally dark in here right above the kitchen i have this dometic fan which is great when i'm cooking and also on a hot day has two different settings so when i open that up and put it on high open up these side windows here i get a nice breeze moving all throughout the van here is my sink to turn on the sink you just hit this switch here and when it's time to dump my gray water tank which is mounted underneath the van i just turn that on so the water supply for the sink is in this cabinet here which is really easy access for whenever i need to fill it and i have two 5 gallon fresh water tanks and the gray water tank is mounted right underneath the van oh also while we're out here this is my shoe drawer this cabinet below the sink i have my trash can i use these little compostable bags and because it's for compost um it really holds in any kind of smells and it's nice and small and compact and fits perfectly under the sink toilet paper paper towels under the sink i have these cleaning supplies um so like window glass cleaners static guard which is actually really helpful when i'm up in mountain towns and there's a lot of dry air shoe cleaner this is wood glue which i have had to use um to fix one of these ceiling panels that came a little loose and this totally fixed it and then laundry stuff which i did want to mention i use true earth and this is like a year or two supply worth of laundry detergent magic erasers which i use to keep all the cabinets clean this a little plunger for my sink i have had to use this on several occasions so it's like two bucks totally worth it in the cabinet next door i have mostly more cleaning supplies fire spray dish soap um some cleaning supplies compostable bags that i mentioned for my garbage it's reusable grocery bags carbon monoxide alarm bear spray handles a lint roller this little broom and dust pan which i use all day long a hand-held clothes steamer it's nice to steam your shirt or steam your dress so that you don't actually look like you live in your van in this drawer down here is my toilet this is a dometic cassette toilet and i use it for number one only if you are interested in how one goes number two in a van like this i did a whole youtube video on it talking about toilet shower and laundry i'll link it around here campgrounds cafes gas stations grocery stores the gym um libraries parks and for the times that i'm out in the middle of nowhere on like blm or national forest land i use the bathroom the same way i would if i fire out tent camping in the back country i dig it is really important to note here that not every place is the same it's super crucial that you read up on leave no trace lnt principles it's important to leave a place as clean as if not cleaner than when you found it this is the method that i use when i'm boondocking i have one ziploc baggie for clean baby wipes and one for dirty baby wipes and if that grosses you out then you probably shouldn't live in a van because even if you have a compostable toilet like a nature set or a septic hookup you will be dealing with your on a regular basis up in these cabinets i have all my clothes so they're in these little gray cubes here and everything is just rolled so these are all my shirts you can fit so much more if you just roll your clothes like i have an absurd amount of clothing to be honest but it's no big deal because it all fits same on this side i have more clothing bins and then some shorts and pants and my toiletry bin which i will show you contact solution deodorant hair brush stuff like that face wash um first aid kit hair stuff and then this is my easy access bag that i take whenever i'm taking a shower so it's like toothbrush contacts that kind of thing and here on the side i keep my mirror just opens up like that and the other cool thing about this mirror is i can fold it and put it up on my cabinet so it's eye level when i'm getting ready in the morning and in this drawer i keep my camera gear my laptop stuff like that um i hesitated to show this last time because i didn't have a dual lock system on it but now i do so yeah i'm sure most of you figured it out anyway because i said it was just extra storage this is the office slash bedroom here i have this table that moves in and out on a lagoon mount um and this can be taken off all together and it goes down to create a queen size bed i got new pillows these are linen pillow cases and that might seem like a really small change but my last pillows were just plain pillows and these are filled with my sleeping bags down sleeping bags and down jackets and that has given me so much more space to work with and storage in plain sight and they're decorative so it's such a genius idea i cannot take credit for it um one of you actually left a comment on my last fan tour video and suggested that i put like sweaters and blankets in my pillowcases and that's where i got the idea from so if any of you out there are living in your car or your vehicle i highly suggest this hack it's so amazing like this one i have a zero degree sleeping bag and like four dial jackets in here so yeah it's pretty incredible how much you can store the cushions are made of natural latex wrapped in wool and enclosed in organic waterproof jersey cotton to prevent moisture the exterior fabric is cotton canvas my cushions are three inch latex and i have a separate one inch latex topper that i roll out on top this isn't really necessary but i love it because it prevents any kind of gap in the bedding and adds an extra layer of support to make the bed i remove the lagoon mount and set it aside insert the table in the gap between the benches and move the backrest cushions into the center when i first moved into the van i was setting up the bed and office every morning and night which takes about five minutes to do but in the past six months or so i started changing it every few days that said i still would not change this setup if i were to rebuild i absolutely love having the option of a dedicated desk space or table lounge and a bed also i worked out this super lazy option that allows me to have a dedicated desk space here and then a bed here and a day sofa right there and that works pretty well for times that i'm just in super hyper work mode and i don't want to bother with changing back and forth and just for reference i'm 5 foot 9 and from this end to this end on the tightest spot it's 6 feet across i opted for a linen duvet and sheet set which was kind of pricey but totally worth it it's super soft and also breathable which is important with the wide range of temperatures you experience living in a van underneath each cushion is a window cover and these have been a new addition to the van i highly highly recommend them they're made by van made gear and they completely black out the van when i cover up the back windows and the side windows there's magnets sewn into the lining all the way around and there's reflectix sewn into it as well so it keeps the van both cool and warm depending on the situation sticks right there and from the outside it's a complete blackout it doesn't let any light out and the cool thing you can also go like that and so you don't have to have additional storage for it under the large cushion here i have the window cover for the side window and it just snaps into place super easy this also rolls up and snaps just like the other ones which is super convenient if you don't want to find storage for it someplace else i also have these window covers they have reflectix sewn into them and they fit snug in my little windowsills in the back and so they black out those back windows with all of these window covers in place and blackout curtain which i'll show you guys a little bit and the black foam piece for the dometic fan it's a complete blackout in here like i've turned on the lights and shut the van walked outside and there isn't any light emitting from the whole van coming back to the benches underneath the cushions i have bench storage here is my down pillow here's my duvet cover it i store it in a pillow case so that it will stay nice down there and then here i have an extra wool blanket sheets and this is my one inch latex mattress topper under this large cushion i have access to these three different compartments which i can also access from the back doors this door right here is where i keep all of my camping supplies um i have an extra tripod i have a tent i have my drone and my first aid kit stuff like that down there i also have this solar shower which it's just a black bag and you fill it up with water like from a stream or a lake and you can lay it in the sun and then use it as a shower and just like hang it so that's a pretty neat addition in this little door i keep my hiking boots and my running shoes and on this side i have most of my linens which i showed you earlier and then here on the door is my wii boost what this does is it amplifies my cell signal so if i head out to the boonies or blm or national forest and only have one or two bars of lte there is an interior antenna and then there's also an antenna mounted on the top of the van that will boost my signal and allow me to work in remote locations here's where i have the internal antenna for the wii boost and whenever i want a stronger internet connection i just plug into dc volt so it doesn't require very much power and yeah it boosts my signal and these hat hooks are new additions um i can't believe i didn't have them before it was just wasted space and it was such a inexpensive upgrade in this compartment my suitcase for plane travel which hasn't happened much lately but hopefully soon i have a ridiculous amount of shoes in this van which one day i'll show you when i'm doing a walkthrough of my wardrobe it's kind of embarrassing how many shoes i have this is flozyme which are enzymes that i put down my sink every once in a while to keep it from smelling and i have my leveling blocks down there which are great for getting the van nice and flat and in this compartment here i have a lot of miscellaneous things i have three of these storage bags and i find them really handy i can throw dresses and sweaters and just additional clothing in them and they stack really well inside of these benches i have additional toiletries which i probably don't need but you know like a hair straightener and a year supply of contacts that's important i could probably live without this stuff but i have space for it so yeah that lives down here which is a bunch of other random stuff another place where i have lots of storage is this overhead storage compartment here it goes all the way up to the windshield and i can fit so many jackets and technical gear during the off season my backpacking bag which is currently living in my front seat easily fits back there in the corner um i have climbing gear just all kinds of stuff up there i've also started using this overhead storage bin for towels for the beach um little bags for you know like knickknacks i have my covers there another down jacket here's another van life essential the walkie-talkies like when i'm traveling with a caravan with friends and there's no um service these are great to stay in touch these are sand cloud towels and i have two of them up there and i absolutely love them they repel sand so if you take them to a beach you can lay them out and then just shake them and they're good to go so they're really world life friendly this is my gym bag on a carabiner and down here i keep my camera bag so my shower bag isn't really anything special i just have this little shower tote um and i just refill the shampoo and conditioner this is a quick dry towel which after i shower i just hang it on the back of my chair for like i don't know a few hours and then it's totally dry and i also have this compact hair dryer which is actually ancient i've had it since i lived in europe so it is kind of falling apart but super handy and easy to travel with this is the peak design everyday pack and it stores my drone all my lenses two cameras and my laptop and ipad so this is what i take into coffee shops whenever i'm going in for a full day's work next to the shower bag i have my hanging laundry bag and this is just a canvas bag that i've had literally since college my rolled up yoga mat and below i have rain boots because washington and here is an ice scraper a helmet hanging for my bike below the driver's seat is a pretty substantial amount of space and down here i keep all of my tools here is an overview of what i have stored underneath the driver's seat so i just have some basic tools windshield repair kit screwdriver tape tape measure a wrench kit and i have caulking for my tile i have this noco genius starter which allows me to jump start my vehicle without the help of another car which is super handy spare rv latches a tool kit for my bike this 12 volt portable air compressor which allows me to fill up my tires if they're running a little low on air or also deflate them if i'm going to be on certain kinds of terrain over here i have a lot of warranty information and instruction manuals screwdriver sets spare batteries here i have my blackout curtain it's gray on this side and then black on the other side so if you're looking into the van at night you're just going to see black and i use this magnet to secure it over on this side so that no light gets out in the front seat right now since i'm filming i have my guitar which guys i'm still not any good at playing it but i try i finally have calluses on my finger so that counts for something right but um typically i would store it right behind my passenger seat but since i got the bike i now just put it in the back um on one of the cushions under a pillow and i'm driving and it stays there just fine but seriously i promise one day i'm gonna play a ben howard song for you guys it might be terrible but i'm gonna try in this corner it used to be a giant styrofoam piece and i got bored one day and ripped it out so i don't know what that was this is what i keep in there now it is a rolled towel and i love it in my passenger seat i mentioned this briefly earlier but during hiking season which is like all of summer and most of all i have my backpack always fully packed with like a sleeping bag sleeping mat pillow it's full of three liters of water everything i need so that when i roll up to a campsite and i want to go for a hike it's just ready to go beneath the passenger seat is one of the newest additions to the van an s bar petrol heater along with a 12 volt power temperature monitor i spent the first two and a half years on the road without a heater so this has been a huge upgrade for me this is the high altitude model which means it can function in high elevations you can find the exact link to it on my gear page it draws gas from my vans fuel tank so i don't need to hook up a separate fuel source to keep it going and the exhaust pipe is mounted beneath the van it's extremely efficient every time i've used it i haven't even noticed the fuel gauge dropping at all when i start the engine also the passenger seat has a swivel package i can swivel this around and kick up and have an extra place to hang out or have an extra seat for friends in the van i have a folding e-bike and it lives right behind that passenger seat it does take up a lot of space i haven't decided if i'm going to keep it in there um throughout the winter months when i want to use the heater but we'll see i might get a mount for it on the bike i absolutely love the bike so i am really just putting up with how much space it takes up because i think it's worth it when i roll up to a campsite i take it out and unfold it and lock it up behind the van so i got a u-lock that connects to the van down here and then i have this lock here so it's locked up pretty good it's accessible and gives me a lot more space inside the van when i bought the van it came with some pretty small factory wheels and tires and i was reluctant about switching them out because i don't know i just hated the idea of wasting perfectly good tires but after a year and a half i finally opted for an upgrade from the awesome team over at landed gear in san diego they custom cut the rear wheel well to fit new bf goodrich 245 ko2 tires and new wheels and rams they also added their flagship tire mount here in the back and swapped out the factory suspension for sumo suspension springs this allowed for a little more ground clearance and a much smoother ride down bumpy forest roads here in the passenger front seat i am typically storing firewood and a hatchet and yet another pair of shoes here on the side door i keep a lot of day packs my packable shovel and this is something that i use really often when i'm out national forest or blm land on the driver's side i just have more storage so in here i have wasp spray and fire extinguishing spray um i have a u-lock for my bike mosquito screens for my sliding door my back doors and my side doors compartment up here i have an additional inverter head lamp and car fresheners gotta keep that fresh fresh here in the front seat under the visor i have this folding mirror which is super handy when i want to do my makeup up in the front seat with natural light with my little co-pilot plant and my dream catcher that i got in the grand canyon another small storage hack that i use is i have these little brass shower curtain rings and i just put them on the back of my seats here and then i can hang a jacket or sweater or a little backpack and also i use hair ties for rolling up technical gear or bags like this day pack that i use i can roll it up and use a hair tie and then it stores really easily overall i'm really happy with how the van is held up over the past two years as far as wear and tear goes there are some parts in the van where some cracks are starting to show and i probably need to sand them down and repaint them um and this table right here depending on what environment i'm in it can warp pretty significantly but now that i'm back in washington it seems to be flattening out a bit which i like the same goes with this cutting board this can warp so much it'll be like practically bowed but if i get back into a humid environment it'll go flat again some of the counters have a bit of wear and tear um just from being used all the time and the floor definitely has some scratches i mentioned before one of these um ceiling slats did come down but i was able to fix that with wood glue so no big deal there behind the fridge there is some warped and cracked paint so i do think that maybe i have some water leaking at times where there's a lot of moisture so that's one thing that i probably need to get fixed those little black rv latches that i use on the cabinets and drawers that i showed you those have all broken at least once so i keep those on hand and oh one other common question i get is do i feel like i have enough power have i ever run out of power and i did once i fell asleep with an electric blanket plugged into the ac all night so the inverter was on and i woke up to my lights being out so that was my fault um apart from that i've never even come close to running out of power between my 320 solar watts and the dc to dc charger i have more than enough power all right so that's about it um thank you so much for watching this tour i know it was really long but if you have any additional questions or comments um just leave them in the comment section below i always love hearing from you guys and like i mentioned earlier if you're interested in anything that i talked about in this tour check out my link christian shaffer dot art slash gear that's where i have all my recommendations and affiliate links listed for the products in this van and whenever you use those links i get a small kickback and it keeps me out here creating so thank you so much i really appreciate you guys if you like this video give it a thumbs up and subscribe if you're interested in travel photography or van life um i post irregularly but i'm working on that i appreciate you guys so much thank you for being here and i'll see you out on that open road [Music] so [Music] you

Channel: Christian Schaffer

Views: 2,392,172

Keywords: vanlife, solo, female, solofemale, photography, vantour, campervan, vanconversion, tinyhome, tinyhouse, tour

Id: q_p31M_EXLM

Length: 29min 47sec (1787 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 05 2021