Our Trip:

We drove from Chicago to Cedar Falls Campground for one night. Then we drove to Bayfield Wisconsin, where we took a ferry to get to Madeline Island and stayed at Big Bay State Park. There we swam in Lake Superior, and biked all around the entire island, and just read our books in our hammocks.

From Madeline Island, we drove to Grand Marais, Minnesota and stayed at Grand Marais Campground and Marina and had the most beautiful views of the lighthouse and shore each morning and evening. We ate donuts from World’s Best Donuts, hiked all along the shoreline, and learned a bunch about RV life.

Our last leg was driving down to Duluth to watch a friend run Grandma’s Marathon. The best part about the van was that we were able to bring our bikes, so for the marathon, we parked the car and biked to all the different mile markers to cheer on my friend.

What is Van Life?

I’m sure we’ve all seen the youtube videos or Instagram fams that have taken to the road completely. Instead of creating roots in one city, people want the flexibility to come and go as they please, especially after 2020 where we were all “stuck inside” and feeling a bit more of that YOLO feeling.

Photo of the van we stayed in, taken by Van owner - linked on photo

So “Van Life” means folks who have taken to living full or part time in a van or vehicle that has been modified with basic amenities, like a bed, some form of sink and toilet, storage, and more. All vans really are different and can be modified to your liking.

This blog post is for folks that maybe want a slice of what it could be like before fully committing. Help with getting that experience started and then committing, or maybe just for folks that want to have a cool experience for a week instead of regular old camping.

Where to Start?

We rented our van on Outdoorsy - an Airbnb like app/website where you can rent all sorts of RV and mobile homes. If you want $50 off your first booking, feel free to use my link here, and trust me you’ll want it! You’re essentially paying for a rental car and a hotel room in one, so it’s not as cheap as just a rental car.

The great thing about outdoorsy is that there’s insurance and road-side assistance, of course all depending on what you decide to include. But for newer van drivers, we liked this reassurance. My pal recently returned to Chicago from a year and a half of van life, so I reached out to see if we could rent his van and he was able to easily put it on Outdoorsy for us to rent.

When looking for vehicles to rent, especially if you live in...the midwest...try to find vehicles that don’t have a mileage limit. If you live in a really cool area that has amazing scenery and places to go close by, then it might not be a big deal - but coming from Chicago - the stuff you’re hoping to see isn’t exactly 150 miles away, so unlimited mileage was a must.

We picked up the Van, got a quick driving lesson (make wider turns than you think, can’t see out of your rearview mirror) and then we were good to go!

What to Pack?

There are different things to pack when you’re living in a van full time versus maybe just a week at a time. First, look through what the van has to offer - are there cooking utensils, how can you cook, how big is the fridge, is there a shower at all, how big are the water tanks?

Since you might just be living in the van for a week - something we completely forgot to consider was the lack of shower. We hadn’t planned to shower at any campgrounds or community spaces and yet we forgot to pack dry shampoo. Would be completely different if we had made it a part of life to map out where to shower. We also weren’t planning to stop anywhere to do laundry, so about a week’s worth of clothes was a must.

Some form of sweeping device if the van doesn’t have one already. Since you’ll be cooking, living, coming and going in one space, you’ll want to be sure your place feels clean and homey. Maybe this means being thoughtful about where you store and put on shoes.

If you have them, pack your bikes! It was so amazing to be able to bike around Madeline Island and Duluth instead of trying to drive the van everywhere.

SUNSCREEN - If you’re a pale person like me, you’ll get burnt just sitting in the driver’s seat.

Where to Go?

A really easy look at van life is to book campgrounds. Of course, this isn’t the most dramatic and cool, but it will give you an opportunity to live in the space, see what it’s like to use that as your home base, and if needed there is water nearby.

But the amazing part about “van-life” is you can go anywhere. With a smaller vehicle like a van over an RV, you can usually fit in more places. We took a ferry to Madeline Island, Wisconsin, and while there were also RV’s on the ferry - a 20ft van is much more compact and easy for moving to a new place each evening.

You can join a few different van-life groups on facebook to learn safe places to park. Some common places to “Boondock” are on The Bureau of Land Management - where you can stay two weeks at a time and then head out, you can use services like Harvest Hosts where you pay a yearly fee and then can stay on different wineries and breweries and in exchange you just pay for a glass of wine. You can also stay in Walmart parking lots or Truck Stops.

What Would We Do Differently?

We wouldn’t pack as much - just because you can fill the car to the brim doesn’t mean you should.
We would try to “boondock” in a cool location. Since we just wanted a taste of the life, we picked campgrounds, but the cool part about these vans is that you don’t need to do that.
We would have made the drive more of an experience. In the Midwest - there are different types of “views” and it’s all pretty similar. But the cool think about having your home be your car is that even if you get behind on time or travel, you can pull off and sleep and I wish we spent more time utilizing that simple fact by visiting cute towns.
More layers. The van can get cold and can get hot. All vans are different though - so more layered clothing can be super helpful in staying comfortable while sleeping or just hanging out.

Things to be Mindful of…

Something we think all folks should be mindful of when starting this adventure, or even just doing it for a week, is the fact that this isn’t “new”. In so many of the campsites we visited, there were seasonal visitors and folks who had been there for so long. Sure they might not have the cutest or most instagrammy car, but they’ve been doing this for a while. They’re amazing people to talk to when you have questions about the water hook up or just what to expect with living on the road.

How to Test Out Van Life