RV & Van Life
Van life on Instagram is a sunset over the Tetons with a girl in a knit sweater. Real van life is condensation on the headliner, propane that's somehow at zero again, and trying to find a Walmart that hasn't banned overnight parking.
We've owned a Sprinter and a Promaster, lived full-time in the Sprinter for six months, and currently weekend-rig out of the Promaster. The honest accounting of cost, sleep quality, and relationship strain is in the cornerstone posts. The how-to-build content is in the tutorials.
If you're choosing a chassis: there is no objectively best van. Sprinter has the best ride and the worst service network. Promaster has the most space-per-dollar and the worst high-clearance access. Transit is the boring middle that wins on parts availability. We'll tell you which one fits your trip pattern.
Solar setups, composting toilets, insulation systems — every component on this site has been on a van we owned. We don't review gear we haven't slept next to.
Whether you're dreaming of full-time, planning a weekend rig, or just trying to figure out what a 'house battery' actually is, the guides below should save you the mistakes we already paid for.