They Went from Empty Van to Full Time Vandwelling in 30 days
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Meylin and Baraa are a lovely couple from Florida and California who decided to build out a van a live in it full time – building it out in a record time of 30 days with no previous experience. Even though the project was quite an investment, they knew that they would save on rents for the rest of the year. Meylin is a travel nurse and was used to going from contract to contract and airbnb to airbnb, so vanlife seemed just right to accomodate her lifestyle. Baraa was doing a lot of photography before he hit the road with his fiancée. Their van is called Frankie, a Dodge Promaster 2017.
Frankie has got a gray water tank installed underneath it, which they empty in the wild as they use biodegradable soap. The battery bank consists of two lithium batteries by Battleborn, a bit pricey according to Baraa but very worth it, as they could reuse them for any other project if they wanted to. They're powered through three different ways: through short power, three 100W solar panels on their roof and through their alternator, which is their main way of charging them – within a couple of hours of driving, the batteries get fully charged. In addition, there is a 3000W inverter and a RenOgy solar control – thanks to an additional bluetooth device, they can see the battery percentage on their phone. On their doors they installed Doberman Security devices, which release a very loud siren if someone was to tap on the vehicle's windows.
The lovely couple is accompanied by two dogs called Luna and Maple. Inside their home on wheels, the first thing they installed was their bed – a sofa that can be pulled out. They also built a partition wall with nice wood to split the living space from the front of the vehicle, in order to feel safer. The whole van is beautifully decorated, with a bookshelf from Target, a tiny plant-area, a small table to pull up and put a coffee mug on it and last but not least: they installed a proper TV to watch some Netflix. The whole space is very organized with beautiful small drawers. Their small dehumidifier makes sure that the humidity doesn't land in their wooden walls, as cooking with propane causes a lot of moisture in the air. Their small fridge and freezer are underneath the sofa and the kitchen area consists of an IKEA cabinet and some pantries for storage, a nice bathroom sink with taps for regular and drinking water. Their hearth has a nice oven, which they often use. Underneath the countertop and accessible from outside, they store their two 5L propane tanks, which they use for their Mr. Buddy Heater and for their stove.
The outside shower has hot and cold water, with a curtain they can hook up between the open back doors of the van. The hot water gets heated by a Bosch water heater, which only takes around 15 minutes to heat up. The toilet-area is still a work-in-progress.
Meylin and Baraa also have advice: “Really plan your layot, give yourself time. Know your skillset, know what you're capable of doing, be okay with that and go for it. When we went into this, we had zero experience with carpentry, building, materials, using our hands – but any burning questions or hesitations that you have, there's gonna be an answer for it on the internet somewhere.
There are struggles – but struggles happen with every other way of living! If you feel drawn to Vanlife, get out of your comfortzone and do it, because that's where the magic happens.”
Watch the full video here!
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