Choosing essential Van Items
There’s a huge question inside the nomadic especially van community.
Where is your bathroom??
The next thought people often have is because you live in a van your struggling on day to day necessities.
We’ve chosen this life, and most of us have designed our homes to fit OUR specific needs.
Just as you have certain needs within your home we have different needs in our home.
In the beginning stages of a van build you think of everything you truly need to live.
Make a List
🔹Can’t live without
🔹 Would like
Honestly this was the best thing to do for a build and making tough decisions.
Once you make this list take time away from it. Come back to it and re – evalute the list and make sure things have not changed.
The list was made, but then you must make choices on specific items.
Such as:
What toilet, if any?
What type of fridge, 12v or 110? Upright or portable/cooler style?
Stove top inside or portable?
Propane, or induction?
These little decisions make a HUGE difference.
My toughest decision were the size of my fridge and the toilet.
I was SET on having a Natures head composting toilet.
What kind of home is it if you can’t do your business there?
Once you start talking to others in the community you find certain ways to adjust going to the bathroom. Then you realize that you might not need the toilet you thought.
I was quickly surpised that I could get by without the natures head toilet.
Now that I am on the road I’m hearing more and more about the composting and very happy iwth my choice.
Honestly my dometic toilet is so simple. My only downfall is I got the really small one and I find I do have to empty it a lot. But I also drink a TON of water.
The nice thing about this toilet is how easy it is to use clean and dump.
This little toilet is easily one of my favorite things.
I went with the 2.6 gallon because it’s smaller and takes less space.
However I have to dump it a LOT more frequently.
Which also means less time to create a smell.
This is also another very popular portable toilet. My friends have this one and it functions the same as mine.
But the best thing is pulling over on the side of the highway and no longer having to run outside in a bush.
Now my Fridge
I chose the Dometic 75 DZ.
This is a portable fridge and a 12v.
Yes it is also the very big one.
I chose the dual zone because I like being able to open one side and not the other. Plus I can also make one side cooler than the other.
My reason:
I chose this fridge becuase 95% of my food is produce, and I knew I wanted the ability to hold veggies for up to a week.
The reason for a 12v was I didn’t want to leave my inverter on all the time. I knew I would be in climates when there was not always sun and did not want to be pulling that much power all the time.
The “cooler” or portable fridge is a good choice for a van because you could always remove it if you are leaving the van. It also works nicely in spaces. Mine was turned into a bench. Other people put theirs on a roller and place it under the bed or doorway.
It’s really great for space saving.
My Fridge:
This is the standard size fridge I would go for if you aren’t planning on holding mainly all produce.
In terms of a fridge I would strongly recommend this Dometic to anyone, what you spend on the cost now will save you so much on the inverter and the amount of battery you need.
Yes I got the large size, but you don’t need to go 75, I would suggest a 55 to anyone looking at this fridge.
These are two major decisions in a van build. I would strongly suggest making sure you look at your reason behind the fridge and toilet you choose and getting the right one for you.
And yes you to will love your tiny toilet!