- When the pandemic hit, many van lifers found themselves stranded abroad or racing against
travel bans to get home. - Some say they were forced to become more self-reliant, and in some cases more isolated as they've avoided cities and populous areas.
- Travel bans now dictate their every move and have limited their freedom and mobility — the very essence of
van life .
Like most people, van lifers have had to adapt their
While lockdowns have been a struggle for many, those living in tiny vans have felt the impact in different ways.
But limited space and storage weren't the only challenges van lifers say they've faced.
From getting stranded in foreign countries to racing home to beat travel restrictions to being unable to find safe spots to shelter in place as national parks shut down and
After making a living out of being on the move, van lifers suddenly found themselves forced to remain stationary
Crystal Drinkwalter and Jazmyn Canning, also known as the Vanwives, have been living in a van and traveling with their two dogs since the beginning of 2019. When the pandemic hit, they raced home to Canada from Guatemala amid increasing travel restrictions and have now been stationary for six months.
Most van lifers chose the lifestyle to live a life of constant movement. For them, plans that have been years in the making came to a screeching halt.
Eamon Fitzgerald and Rebecca Moroney, a Canadian couple that's been living in a van since 2017, even had to abandon their beloved home on wheels in Morocco when they were repatriated back to Canada. They used their time in one place to build a new one.
The pandemic forced them to, in some cases, become even more self-reliant
While many van lifers are experts at living off-the-grid and "boondocking," which often refers to free camping in the RV community, they do need to occasionally dump tanks, stock up on fresh water and groceries, and refuel. Many of them also rely on places like gyms for showers and cafés for Wi-Fi.
"We've lived without some modern luxuries in our van in the past, like a shower," Drinkwalter and Canning said. "Van life is different now. What was once part of our routine is no longer possible because of the pandemic. We typically rely heavily on public areas, cafés, gyms, and more. We now had to change our routine and become even more self-reliant."
Lindsey Graham, who lives in a van with her husband Danny Rekart, a traveling ICU nurse currently on the coronavirus floor of a Southern California hospital, said the biggest issue she faced during lockdown was showering, since they previously relied on Planet Fitness for their showers.
"I think 15 days was the longest I went without a shower," she said.
Van life can be pretty independent to begin with, but during the pandemic, van lifers are even more isolated
Ben Jamin and Leah Airey, who have been living and traveling in a van since 2017, documenting their adventures as Kombi Life, said that because they're trying to socially distance, they've started limiting their grocery store runs and avoid populated areas.
"We now spend even more time than before living off-grid, and limit our time between going to population centers for supplies," they said. "Right now we're certainly avoiding cities and busy tourist attractions. We're also more conscious about spending time with people, which limits our chance to meet locals as we travel, which is a shame, but we feel it's the right and responsible thing to do at this time."
Fitzgerald and Moroney said they "are taking hygiene a lot more seriously and spending much less time in crowded areas."
"While we've always loved nature, we have equally loved spending time in cities, eating at local restaurants, and visiting small cafés," they added. "Throughout this [pandemic] we've prioritized outdoor spaces and skipped out on the cities."
They have to shelter in place with minimal space, and thus get creative with food and storage
"Living in 90 square feet with your partner can take a toll on your relationship if you let it. You've got to work together and be a team," said Natalie and Abigail Rodriguez, who have been documenting their travels as Let's Play Ride & Seek since 2018.
"Quarantining in 60 square feet isn't a piece of cake," echoed Fitzgerald and Moroney. The two were sheltering in place in their van in Morocco (with a guest!) for a few weeks before getting repatriated back to Canada.
"The hardest part of that period was that our friend had flown out to visit us, so we had three people living in one van! Talk about close quarters," they said, adding that not having online deliveries during that time was also a struggle.
"We were lucky enough to be within a short drive's distance to a small shop that had a relatively good stock of produce and toilet paper," Fitzgerald and Moroney said. "The hardest part of that was keeping stock of fresh food when our fridge isn't that large."
Limited storage and generally small fridges mean that van lifers can't really stockpile toilet paper and dry goods like many others did during lockdown, nor can they buy a lot of fresh groceries at a time.
"We stocked up on dried goods and supplies to shelter in place for an uncertain amount of time, shoving bags of dried beans in every nook we could!" Drinkwalter and Canning said of their time sheltering in place in Guatemala before returning to Canada.
Natalie and Abigail Rodriguez said that for them, sheltering in place meant staying in one spot for as long as possible. For van lifers, that often means until they run out of food and water.
The Rodriguezes consider themselves lucky for having a 33-gallon freshwater tank, but acknowledge that most vans don't have enough water storage to stay in one place for long.
They said that between their large water tank and savvy shopping choices, they were able to shelter in place without any outside contact for two weeks at a time.
"Our fridge is quite small, so we bought more non-refrigerated items than we normally would," the Rodriguezes said. "We eat plant-based, so that helped. We'd buy lots of veggies that don't have to be refrigerated immediately, like cabbage, squash, tomatoes, potatoes. We didn't even try to order anything online during that time. Getting mail is already tricky enough while living on the road."
Travel bans dictate their every move, and have limited their freedom and mobility — the very essence of van life
The Rodriguezes were in Arizona when the pandemic first hit, hoping to see the Grand Canyon. However, the national park shut down along with forest roads, leaving them with no place to safely camp.
"We had to go to a different state to quarantine," they said.
For Jamin and Airey, the constantly changing rules on travel and quarantine caused them to institute a daily "pandemic safety meeting" over their morning coffee, in which they check the coronavirus situation in their current and next destination to "make sure that we know what the rules are and if we're headed into a hotspot."
"For us, the most difficult aspect is having travel plans canceled and becoming stuck in place," Jamin and Airey said. "It's almost impossible to plan any movements at the moment. Everything must be booked last-minute and there always has to be a plan B and usually a plan C and D too."
The Rodriguezes agreed.
"We love just jumping in the front seats and driving our home wherever we want to go," they said. "Since the pandemic, we can't be quite as spontaneous as we'd like. With many areas and parks closed, we have to do research first and see what is open."
Fitzgerald and Moroney say that even within their home of Canada, they're not allowed to travel to every province.
"For us, van life used to be synonymous with freedom, and while we still have a lot of opportunities to drive the van out into nature we also have a lot more restrictions," they said.
- Read more:
- A couple drove from Guatemala to Canada in their renovated van when the pandemic hit
- A woman's side-by-side photos show what it's really like to live in a 70-square-foot van
- 7 lessons I learned while driving a camper van from Guatemala to Canada during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic
- 11 common struggles of living in a van you should consider before committing to the lifestyle