When you start looking into nomadic living, there is one big choice. Travel trailer vs camper van?
By Sawyer Lane
When you start looking into nomadic living, there is one big choice. Travel trailer vs camper van?
Do you want something you pull behind your vehicle and can leave? Such as a travel trailer, pop-up camper, or even some models of truck campers which can easily be left at camper sites.
Or
Do you want your home to be the vehicle? Such as an RV, School Bus, Van, or camper that cannot be detached.
If you’re not 100% sure, we are here to help!
Below is our detailed list of pros and cons. Some of the pros you will see are also listed on the cons list. There are two sides to every coin. This list will help you figure out what fits your lifestyle so you can make the best choice for you before you make the big purchase!
With a van you can obviously put items out such as a camp chair, a folding table, a canopy, or even a tent. But most people are nervous that with minimal stuff left out, it may get stolen and don’t do this. When you have something you can detach, you have a hard shell you can lock that saves your camping spot from anyone who might swoop in and take it while you are out for the day. Until you’ve lived it, you’ll have no idea how cutthroat certain camping areas can be when it comes to securing a spot. Also, a warning to vanlifers, I have been known in a pinch to move those miniature cones that people stick in the middle of the desert to “save their spot,” because at a certain point it’s BLM land, you didn’t purchase temporary real estate there and it’s the government’s (and the taxpayers’) property, so fuck your cone. Point being, be careful where you leave your stuff. People like me might move it and other people might steal it.
I wash windows on the road, and trust me: you won’t want to drive your whole van or bus around, parking lot to parking lot, looking for work. It’s already annoying in an F-150. But, most people don’t do trade work on the road, and having a vehicle that burns less fuel than your whole rig (Bekah drives a Kia Rondo that is great on gas as well as being a little champion) is a huge plus when you want to drive a few hours to see the National Park or waterfall that is out of your way.
Unless you have a school bus or a big RV, you’re going to have more room between your trailer and your vehicle (likely a large SUV or a pickup) than you would in a van. Half of the backseat of my truck is a coat closet, for example, and our mountain bikes live in the back of my truck under the home-made topper.
Unless you have solar panels on top of your vehicle (and even then), it’s hard to judge if someone is sleeping in a van or if they parked it in that parking lot to stay at their friends’ place with a small driveway. Who’s to say?
This one is pretty obvious, but the prospects of finding a spot to turn a trailer around versus finding a spot to turn a long-chassis van around are very different. We happen to travel with two vehicles, so we can park the truck and trailer and go “scout car” with our other vehicle, but most people don’t travel with that many wheels and would probably just keep driving if they passed a narrow dirt road that could end without a turnaround.
Our best example is the few times we have driven all the way to a national park only to realize that the Parks Pass was in the other vehicle. And, you know, jackets, phone chargers, towels, shoes, skateboards, the dog’s leash, things like that. If everything is in the van, everything is in the van.
No matter what, you’re going to burn more fuel when you’re towing something. Light trailers and fuel efficient, turbocharged trucks are becoming more popular, but it’s not like driving a van (which isn’t like driving a little 4-cylinder either). Either way, fuel is going to become a constant expenditure when you’re on the road.
Finding a place to accommodate a larger rig can be tough, and turning around can seem impossible sometimes. You should definitely find a way to practice with a small trailer if you’ve never towed anything before.
Driving a big trailer on little streets and busy highways can be very stressful. You have more room to live, but you have more bulk to drive around. You wouldn’t believe how tiny some lanes are. In some rural areas, I can drive the trailer ON the white line and still have my driver’s side wheel over the double-yellow. It’s not a relaxing country drive at that point, and our trailer is only 16’x7’. People with trailers that are bigger than ours (and people with large motor-in rigs) even have to pay attention to bridge heights and avoid parkways. Sometimes, being compact is handy.
You have to drive your whole house everywhere. Let’s say you forgot an ingredient in the middle of cooking dinner. We can drive our car back to the store while the other one keeps on cooking. In a van or bus, you have to pack the whole kitchen up or go without whatever you forgot.
People might ignore or steal the items you used to “reserve” your camping spot, or you don’t reserve spots at all.
If you have any mechanical problems, you don’t have a way to go get parts unless you bring a motorcycle or moped. Our situation is a little different because we have two vehicles, but if something were to require attention on the trailer, you could take the truck to the RV center for parts.
In this long time debate we chose, drumroll please, trailer! We landed on trailer for three main reasons:
Hi! I’m Bekah, but you can call me Beks, all my friends do! I travel full-time in a tiny home on wheels that my partner, Sawyer, and I built from a cargo trailer shell in 2019. We started out in beautiful Colorado and have been all over the United States over the years. This space is designed to inspire and guide the nature obsessed nomad, weekend warrior, and future roadlifer. I’m so excited you’re here!
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Whatever you decide, you will be having such an amazing time on the road. Sometimes we are envious of people in their vans, and other times we wouldn’t trade our trailer for anything. Picture your lifestyle on the road and see what makes the most sense for you now. People upgrade their rigs all the time because their life circumstances change, so don’t stress too much about it.
Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts, questions, and person experience in the van vs trailer debate.
We wanted a watercraft for a long time, but didn’t quite know what to pull the trigger on. We wanted something that was durable and folded up nice and small. After watching videos of a jeep driving over the kayak and hit it with a hammer, we knew it was the one for us!
If you don’t already have a hammock, you really need to get on it! The Eno is a lightweight, packable, and durable hammock perfect for anyone living on the road. We have a single nest because neither of us seem to want to be in the hammock at the same time, but they do make a Double Nest if you are looking to cuddle up with your significant other in it.
Listen, everyone with photos of their van door wide open has flies. Adding a screen door was an absolute game-changer for us, plus it is attached through velcro so that you can easily remove it when you are ready to take those idyllic photos. If you haven’t hit the road yet, just get one. If you already have, this is the answer to your fly problem, you’re welcome.
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