How to make the van life more sustainable

Whether as a way of life, or simply adding another tool to have when exploring the great playground known as planet earth, more and more people are converting vans into livable, drivable homes. It’s a trend growing in popularity. We know Instagram’s not the end all, be all, but simply looking at the #vanlife hashtag shows a 312% increase in posts from 2017 to 2020. It’s definitely becoming a more mainstream aspect of the cultural lexicon.

But at the same time, it raises some questions. Part of the appeal is seeing beautiful landscapes across North America. But at what cost? Are these fuel inefficient vehicles actually harming the very places they’re designed to enjoy? If you’re considering, or even part of, the growing number of people spending time exploring the outdoors in a converted van, here are some tips to help you stay eco friendly.

Sustainable living means always recycling

You’re probably heard the three R’s before: reduce, reuse, and recycle. When it comes to van life, this can be your best friend on the path to lowering your carbon footprint. If you haven’t started your “build” yet (the renovating of the interior of the van to make it livable), try to use as many repurposed materials as possible to lower waste. This can be anything from the old beer minifridge you don’t use in the basement, to getting used pallets from a garden center to use as shelves or finishing.

Every road trip takes strategy

When you’re going on a long road trip, you’re obviously going to drive a lot of miles. Bad for the environment, and your wallet. But planning and strategizing can do a lot to mitigate this. For example, the average American drives around 13,500 miles per year. Compare that to a well planned trip visiting the five national parks in Utah, doable in just 358 miles.

While you probably know the main places you want to go, having a predetermined route and destinations can dramatically decrease the amount of emissions you put out there. It doesn’t matter if you decide you’re over one location quickly, or want to linger quite some time at another. Once you’re at a destination you’re no longer producing carbon, regardless of how long you stay.

To effectively do that though, be sure to stock up on supplies along the way in larger chunks rather than making trips whenever you think of something. This helps reduce the number of short, inefficient trips you make, dramatically increasing your driving efficiency.

Vans can be electric vehicles

Of course, the best way to lower carbon emissions is to not emit them in the first place. And while there aren’t any mass produced electric vans yet, aficionados and trailblazers always find a way. The so-called Dalbury E Electric is a converted campervan powered entirely by electric energy, drastically reducing its carbon footprint.

This may be a niche industry at the moment, but a growing number of companies are finding ways to convert vans to be powered by electric. Something sure to grow as customer demand, and the number of charging stations, continue to rise.

And, in the near future, you’ll be able to buy one off the lot—Volkswagen will be rolling out a new, electrified take on their classic microbus in 2022.

Any home can use solar

Just because a home, or home away from home, is on four wheels, doesn’t mean it can’t utilize the benefits of solar energy. It’s becoming more and more common to see solar panels attached to the roof of an RV or van, and the benefits are similar to the ones you’d get from installing them on your home.

Panels make you more self-reliant, not needing to worry about a gas generator or charging hookups. They make you more environmentally friendly, using renewable energy to maintain your battery and any electronics you may need to utilize (like a coffee pot in the morning). And you’re able to generate power anywhere you go, providing you the sense of self-sufficiency that’s part of the appeal of seeing the country by van in the first place.

And while we wish we could say you could power your entire expedition with solar, unfortunately that’s not the case. Yet.