Vanlife - We Did It!
We built our van, sold our house, quit our jobs, and we’re living in our van somewhere between the Atlantic and Pacific ocean. It feels UNREAL!
As we progress in our travels, we learn and get better at living a “normal” life in our van.
Mexico Vanlife Guide: Planning (Paperwork, Border, etc.) & Trip Report
Your guide to VANLIFE in Mexico: Paperwork, border crossing, safety tips, insurance, camping, water, cost, tales from the road. Hope that helps!
Two Years Of Vanlife: A Retrospective
This is our most EPIC post to date: two years of vanlife condensed into one article! Tales from the road, van talk, lessons learned, etc. MUST READ!
Tales From The Road: March 2019
March 2019 Vanlife Tales from the Road: Rogers Pass, The Icefields Highway, Jasper, Terrace and Alaska (kind of).
Tales From The Road: Winter 2019 Half-Time
Our Vanlife tales: SO-CAL, Bellingham, Mt Baker, Squamish, Duffey Lake.
Below are some guides and how-to’s, learnt the hard way, to help make most of the vanlife. Hope that helps!
Vanlife Actual Cost
Nothing comes for free in this life! Here are our real-world monthly expenses (updated each month). Hopefully that helps you in planning your own trip!
HOW TO FIND FREE CAMPSITES
Money is meant to be spent on bike parts, not on campground! After two years of full time vanlife, we still haven’t spent a dime on lodging. Here is how we do it!
HOW TO FIND WATER FOR FREE
Looking for some vanlife tips on how to find water for free? We can help. Follow these simple steps and never run out of water again!
HOW TO STAY CONNECTED ON THE ROAD
Finding driving directions, camping spots, cool swimming holes nearby, grocery stores, cheap gas , etc… we’ll go ahead and say it: we wouldn’t want to travel without mobile Internet these days!
WINTER VANLIFE Guide
Winter vanlife is not a glamorous life but it is extremely rewarding if, like us, chasing epic skiing / snowboarding conditions is what you’re after! With proper planning it can be a magical thing… Go get it!
How to Register and Insure your DIY Van Conversion in British Columbia (Canada)
Need help figuring how to register and insure you DIY campervan conversion in British Columbia? Moving to British Columbia? We’ve been there! Here is what we learned in the process.
TRAVEL MEDICAL INSURANCE FOR CANADIANS TRAVELING ABROAD
Accident happens when we expect it the least and a dream vacation planned for years ahead can quickly turn into a nightmare. The goal of this article is to share the knowledge we gained about travel medical insurance; we’re no experts, but it should help you getting started.
CAMERA GEAR
Here is our favorite photography & video gear for travelling in our van. Aerial/Underwater/Long Exposure/POV/Gimbal… check it out!
Camper Rental: 5 Reasons To Try Vanlife Before Taking The Leap! (And How To Rent)
Dreaming about Van Life? We were too! After making the transition from home owners to living full time in a van (2 years and still loving it), we highly recommend camper rental before taking the leap. Here are 5 reasons why!
How To Start Your Website (And Make Money Remotely!)
Creating your own website is a great way to keep your brain busy on the road, connect with other people and even make money remotely! We’re no Internet gurus or experts, but if we made it happen with FarOutRide.com, so can you! Here is everything to get you started.
Mexico Vanlife Guide
Your guide to VANLIFE in Mexico: Paperwork, border crossing, safety tips, insurance, camping, water, cost, tales from the road. Hope that helps!
STAY IN TOUCH!
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about us
Nice To Meet You.
Hello! We’re Isabelle and Antoine 
In 2017 we sold our house (and everything in it), quit our engineering careers and moved into our self built campervan. We’ve been on the road since then and every day is an opportunity for a new adventure; we’re chasing our dreams and hopefully it inspires others to do the same!
Hi — thanks for this wonderful site! I’m retiring in a little less than a month, buying a van, and taking it from Albuquerque to the Boston area to help my brother and a friend build it out…I’ll be a full-time nomad by the end of the summer!! And I’ve gotten a wealth of information from you — among other things, you have by far the most informative and best written page on insulation and soundproofing that I’ve found yet. So thanks!!
Now my question. For my own peace of mind and sound sleeping, I’d like to have some sort of security camera setup that at the very least alerts me to movement around the van at night. (I know I’ll likely pick up wildlife as well as two-legged movement, but that’s fine by me :D.) I don’t see anything on your site, but I’m wondering if you have any experience with mounting cameras (I’m thinking I’ll want to mount them inside clear domes to minimize wind resistance and prevent theft) or specific camera systems? Or if you’ve seen any systems out there in your travels? Any thoughts about options?
Thanks again!
We haven’t look into that, sorry…
Good luck with your project!
Antoine
Love your website! Thanks, keep it up 🙂 What’s the link for the shoe holds on the back of your doors? Can’t wait for the new electric guide.
Shoe organizer: https://amzn.to/2XxXGa2
The electrical guide should be done this week! 🙂
Hi,
Awesome work you both have done here. My wife and are wondering what company you used to insure your van. We are wondering if our ford transit we are buying will need commercial insurance or rv insurance?
Thanks,
Jamie
Hi Jamie,
Insurance is super-specific to one’s location, so we can’t possibly cover it all… But we made a post on how we insured/registered our van in British Columbia, maybe that helps: https://faroutride.com/van-insurance-bc/
Good luck!
Your site and advice looks so practical and good, I just began following you.
We just purchased a converted springer cargo van – simple conversion, to our taste. We are going on the road for three months, starting at the Mexico border and crisscrossing the west – then up the AlCon highway – to Alaska – partly back down – across Canada – down the East Coast – and back across the US to LA. We have one converter battery installed for our Solar Panels, and wonder if we should buy a second. I will look to your advice on various considerations. Thank you for our blog. Becky
Oops – spell check crisis. Sprinter, not Springer. Your, not our blog.
Hi Becky, congrats on the new van! Good times ahead 🙂
What do you means by converter? May I suggest you to learn about all the factors that influence your electrical system design: https://faroutride.com/electrical-system/
There is not a single “best” way to do it; it all depends on your system, your habits and your needs…
Good luck!
Great site! So much information. How do you climb onto the bed?
Thanks! We use the countertops. Maybe in 20 years from now we will need a small ladder But for now it works perfect