{"id":7478,"date":"2021-01-21T16:57:55","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T07:57:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bappashota.com\/?p=7478"},"modified":"2021-08-02T17:26:56","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T08:26:56","slug":"our-45-van-life-essentials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bappashota.com\/en\/our-45-van-life-essentials\/","title":{"rendered":"We Share Our 45 Van Life Essentials | Best Gadgets, Gear & Accessories List"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
Van life is a really fun and exciting way to travel and during the year of 2020, we spent over 230 nights in our self-converted camper van while travelling in Japan. During this time, we have kept luggage to a minimum and realised what items are required for a successful trip.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> When starting van life, it can be difficult to know exactly what items to bring. We want to share our knowledge and experience to help beginners and also give ideas to those who are already enjoying van life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> In this blog post, we will share 45 items which we believe are van life essentials for staying in a vehicle overnight and recommended goods to make van life more comfortable.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t A comfortable sleeping mat is one of the most important items required for a good night of sleep while staying overnight in a vehicle. <\/span><\/p> The easiest option is to use a mat like this one from Coleman and it’s best to check the measurements of your vehicle before ordering.<\/span><\/p> Since we converted our entire van, we used foam from the Japanese company softpren and made our own bed mat. Softpren<\/a> deliver custom measurements of foam based on the measurements required. <\/span><\/p> We wrote an entire blog post about how we made our bed mattress which you can read here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Sleeping bags are a great idea for van life since they keep your body warm at night but are very small and compact when packed away. <\/span><\/p> We like the sleeping bags from the Japanese company NANGA since the quality is very high. We recently purchased UDD 380DX NANGA sleeping bags for winter and we have slept in -5 degrees celsius and felt comfortable. NANGA has different models which cater for different temperatures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> In the summer, you can use a sleeping bag designed for warmer temperatures or if it\u2019s too hot, you can use a thin blanket instead.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t A comfortable pillow is necessary to ensure a good night of sleep. It\u2019s good if the pillow can also be used as a cushion so it can serve two purposes.<\/span><\/p> The Thermarest pillow is a popular choice for staying a vehicle overnight since it can also be folded compactly when not in use. There are a variety of sizes and colours available. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Ear plugs and an eye mask might not be required every night you sleep in your vehicle but we encounter noisy nights around once every two weeks so it\u2019s better to bring these items just in case. <\/span><\/p> It\u2019s most common to experience noisy nights while staying at roadside stations. The reason for this is because trucks park for the night and leave their engines running, vehicles are always coming and going and young people sometimes gather and make noise.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Some overnight spots might be near streetlights which will be very bright and make it difficult to <\/span>sleep so that\u2019s why it\u2019s a good idea to bring an eye mask.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t To ensure privacy in your vehicle overnight, curtains are definitely recommended. The easiest curtains or blinds to use are ones which are pre-made and you can attach them using magnets or suction cups. It’s necessary to check the window measurements of your vehicle first.<\/span><\/p> We decided to make our own DIY curtains for our van since we wanted to use colourful fabric. We wrote an entire blog post about how we made our camper van curtains which you can see here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tCategory 1: Sleeping Items\n<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
1. Sleeping Mat\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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2. Sleeping Bag<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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3. Pillow <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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4. Ear Plugs & Eye Mask <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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5. Curtains<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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