5 LADIES 5 TINY VANS - Have a peek inside those home on wheels!

by admin, posted in Girls in Vans

If there is something that puts a smile on my face is seeing other ladies out there rocking small vans.

I love seeing how other ladies have solved tiny space problems and most importantly how they decorated their little house on wheels.

In the past few months I have been fishing for the best small van conversions out there, and oh dear, there are some pretty awesome ones! The choice was quite hard.

Why only ladies you ask?

The main goal of this blog is to empower women like me to do whatever they like to do, with or without a guy next to them.  I have nothing against men but let’s face it, it’s easier to relate to words and pictures of people you can identify with.

So, are you ready to have a look inside the loveliest tiny vans around?

 

LORCA, JAVI AND HACHIKO from @homeisnature

  • What gave you the idea of traveling in a van and who do you travel with?  

’We are three nature lovers traveling together, Javi, my dog Hachiko and me, Lorca.’’

The idea came from necessity. I have always wanted to travel freely without having to think  too much about e money,  where I would sleep, where I would eat.  Now with the van I can travel with more freedom and tranquility.  Also most forms and transport and accommodation don’t allow dogs in or require a lot of organization. It’s much easier to travel in a van if you have a pet.

 

  • What do you think is the best and the worse thing about traveling in a TINY van?

The best thing is tits stealthiness (few people think that someone is
sleeping inside) and the possibility of driving on narrow paths, which expands the chances of
finding wild spots. The worst… storage space and not being able to stand, especially on rainy
days.

  • What’s your favorite feature about your van?

Difficult to choose one … but I would say that the table as I can use it both inside and outside and most importantly it’s also
Hachiko’s bed.

  • Do you have any advice for ladies wanting to convert their own van?

Take into consideration your needs, hobbies, visualize your day to day life and start making templates with cardboard or any other cheap and easy to manipulate material. And don’t worry if once you are finished you start to see things that you
want to modify… It happens to everyone!

 

ELLEN AND POGO FROM @kangoocottagecamper

  • What gave you the idea of traveling in a van and who do you travel with?
I’ve always loved the idea of having a campervan - it’s your own little space that you can have with you at all times! I don’t travel full time unfortunately, but have weekend adventures mostly with my dog Pogo, and sometimes with my other half (but he’s a stinky boy who takes up too much space!)
  • What do you think is the best and the worse thing about traveling in a TINY van?
Best thing: As boring as it sounds, it’s SO PRACTICAL. I get great fuel economy with my Kangoo’s 1.5 diesel engine, I love driving down tiny wiggly little roads and don’t have to be scared to, I can fit where huge motorhomes can’t and feel far less intrusive about staying places.
Worst thing: clutching at straws for anything bad, but it is a bit too small for 2 people & a dog to enjoy an evening in cooking etc if the weather is bad. But maybe I’m just spoiled by having it to myself most of the time.
  • What’s your favorite feature about your van?
The colors! The fact that it is so ridiculous and mine, and people don’t expect what’s inside when I open it up! But I suppose that’s not really a feature, sooo… the hidden storage - my underfloor storage fits loads and isn’t obvious, and hideaway sink (people are always surprised when I tell them I have running water)
  • Do you have any advice for ladies wanting to convert their own van?
It can be done! I had literally no practical experience for anything like this, my van is one giant bodge-job which is only just staying together, but it doesn’t matter because no one else has to worry about it. Also make it yours, make it personal, get creative, don’t hold back on anything because it might not be to other people’s tastes.

MIMMI AND ALMA FROM @adventures.mimmi.me

  • What gave you the idea of traveling in a van and who do you travel with?  

I’m traveling alone with my dog Alma, a rescue dog from Spain. I spent a winter in Spain a few years ago, and originally the plan was to move back there. I wanted to drive instead of fly, and made a joke about getting a camper for me and Alma and taking a road trip to Spain. This got me searching online, and the first thing I found was actually Pam the Van! Following the travels of Marina & Odie in tiny van Pam was very inspiring, so I kept researching. This seemed like the perfect next step for us, so instead of just moving, we’ll be hitting the road full time to travel around Europe in our own tiny van!

 

  • What do you think is the best and the worse thing about traveling in a TINY van?  
The best thing about having a tiny van is probably that it forces me to be organized, and actually makes me like organizing and figuring out smart solutions!

The worst thing is constantly needing to shuffle things around! But every vanlifer I met told me they need to do that in their bigger vans too.

 

  • What’s your favorite feature about your van?

I love how cozy the van is, it’s so nice to just hang out there! But to choose one thing, the feature I’m most happy with must be the bed. Luckily I’m so short that I can have a fixed bed crosswise at the back of the van. This gives me lots of floor space by the side door, and still allows for plenty of storage under the bed. The bed is fastened to the sides of the van, which saves a little more space underneath as the bed frame isn’t standing on the floor. The bed has a small pull-out part on the side to make the bed wider, so both Alma and I can fit comfortably.

 

 

  • Do you have any advice for ladies wanting to convert their own van?  

Spend time in the van, just shove a mattress in there and try it out! The best ideas develop after using the space for real. I spent a few nights on a mattress on the floor, parked in my parents driveway, haha. Before my first weekend trip I built a simple bed frame and cut the mattress. One day I realized that I might be able to sleep crosswise, so I turned to the side and stretched my legs across the van to measure. After this I changed the bed again. I have also reorganized the entire van multiple times, and each time I find better storage solutions or manage to pack things a little smarter. Just start somewhere, it’s always possible to change and add things later on!

ANNA AND DARCY FROM @littlestcampervan

  • What gave you the idea of traveling in a van and who do you travel with?
I was already a camping convert because I wanted to take trips with my dog and the cost of hotels (if they even allow dogs) is ridiculous.
I was camping in a small tent one night and a storm came and I discovered that the tent leaked. Badly. I was soaked! So I crawled into the back of my Renault Clio and slept the rest of the night in there. It got me thinking again about my dream of owning a Campervan. Campervans stay dry in the rain! However, a Campervan was way out of my budget. So I started looking for ideas for how to camp with my car as the tent. I came up with a pretty good set up. A full length bed (180×75), and a little kitchen on the back parcel shelf. I did a bunch of trips in this and loved it but there was still the issue of rain. In Britain it will always rain and getting in and out of the car the bedding would get wet and I had to cook outside. So I started looking for something bigger, but not too big. I wanted something I could still park in my garage. I’d seen a few tiny vans, like yours, when I was looking for ideas for the Clio so I knew it could be done!

 

  • What do you think is the best and the worse thing about traveling in a TINY van?  
I can go anywhere a car can go, no height restrictions or tight turns get in my way. Also, no one expects you to be sleeping in a tiny van so you can be quite stealth without even really trying.
You have to be very clever about it. There is no spare space. If you end up with a wet towel and it’s raining, or you need to hit the road there’s nowhere to hang it to dry that won’t get other things wet too!
  • What’s your favorite feature about your van?
I think my slide out kitchen is my favourite thing about my van. I can use it inside with all the doors closed but if the weather is nice I can pull it out and have an outdoor kitchen. I also have an extra fold up flap so that I can have an in between option too. I can also pick the whole thing up and take it out of the van too so if I want to go totally outdoors and cook on the beach, I can!

  • Do you have any advice for ladies wanting to convert their own van?  
Just do it!
My main advice would be to do your research, look at what other people have done, even in bigger vans, and adapt it for how you want to use your van. Try to have as many things as possible do double duty. You don’t need everything to be very fancy, simple is best when it comes to such a small space. And if possible try to make sure that everything you need can be reached from inside, especially if you’re based in the UK!

RENSKE FROM @kangoo_camper

 

 

  • What gave you the idea of traveling in a van and who do you travel with?

 
I fell in love with surfing 2 years ago and I always wanted to make a surf trip with my boyfriend Russell. We rented a Volkswagen Caddy which was converted to a tiny van. We straight away fell in love with it. It had everything you need for a trip. A tiny stove, some mini shelves for our clothes and a roof rack for our surfboards. We drove across the entire Basque coast to find the best surf spots using a book called “the storm riders surf guide”. This was the best vacation of our lives and we were determined to repeat our journey using our own tiny van. And we did!

  • What do you think is the best and the worse thing about traveling in a TINY van?

 
The best thing about a tiny van is its mobility. In 10 minutes I can set up my van, pack up and continue my journey. Especially when you only stay at a certain spot for a few days at a time, you like to be super mobile. Another great thing about my van is that I also use my van as a car, which I go to work with in Amsterdam, which is a super busy city. With a giant van it would be a big hassle for me to find a suitable parking spot. Tiny is the way to go for me!

 
Not so fun are the rainy days. Our design of having a double bed with a giant storage underneath made it impossible to make a table. So when it’s too cold to sit outside or super rainy we are forced to play games on the bed or watch our favorite Netflix series, which does sometimes make rainy days the coziest as we do have a ton of leg space.

 

  • What’s your favorite feature about your van?

 
Of course electricity is an important feature to have, but for us not the most important one. We love our design of having a fold out extension bed, which makes the bed so much longer as up to almost 2 meters in length. Traveling can be very tiring, which makes having a super comfy bed the best thing ever.

  • Do you have any advice for ladies wanting to convert their own van?

 
I feel it is important to make your tiny van feel like home by decorating your van with cute lighting, pictures from your friends and family back home and maybe some tiny plants, which make your van feel as a really cozy place to be in.

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I have! Make sure you go and check Renske, Mimmi, Anna, Ellen Lorca on Instagram for more inspiration!

 

Are you a van dweller yourself? Wanna share your story? Reach out here!

 

WHAT, you didn’t know we have a Youtube channel? Go subscribe now to see traveling vlogs, how to videos or just Odie’s irresistible face.

 

2 thoughts on “5 LADIES 5 TINY VANS - Have a peek inside those home on wheels!”

  2. Fabulous just about to buy a vw kombi..thinking re a companion pooch
    What would you recommend. ..i will go to a rescue shelter ..but i would appreciate your thoughts xxp

    Reply

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