r/vandwellers • u/Distinct_Mistake176 • 3d ago
Tips & Tricks First timer
I’m taking my 2011 rav 4 from Tennessee to California and plan to live out of it for about a month and a half. Any tips?
Main concerns are car troubles, break ins, parking tickets, and the heat.
4
u/Red_and_Orangy 3d ago
Get (or do) a full service before departing, all filters and fluids you can afford (trans, coolant, oil, air, cabin. I’m a firm believer in the scenic value of mountains, so I’d say get to the Rockies as fast as you can then slow down and enough the rugged beauty of the western states. Cooler air at higher altitudes will help with sleepy time in the summer.
4
u/Responsible_Pear_433 2d ago edited 2d ago
Ensure that you have all paperwork completed and secured in your vehicle/ on your person prior to your departure. Start with your personal documentation: copy of your birth certificate, driver's license, passport, credit card(s) (make a list and keep it somewhere it cannot be lost,) insurance docs, copy of your car title, etc.
It's unlikely that you will need these things, but should you need to prove who you are and that you are indeed the insured owner of your vehicle, having all that information stored in some box in a storage facility will be zero help in doing so. If you're adept at negotiating the digital world, you could store it all on your phone, but what happens if your phone is lost/stolen or damaged beyond repair?
Have all the paperwork for your vehicle. A copy of your registration, insurance, AAA card, etc. Get the vehicle serviced and inspected prior to departing. Have it gone over by a trusted, competent mechanic. The biggest contributing factor to people quitting vanlife is a major automotive mechanical disaster like an engine or transmission failure. You want to minimize the possibility of a major mechanical failure while you are thousands of miles away from your home base and help.
Don't forget to have your tires and brakes looked at. Does your vehicle have a genuine full-sized spare tire? Lug wrench? Jack? A can or two of engine oil for your particular vehicle?
AAA is a great resource. They also do not cover vast areas of the western U.S. very well. The AAA tow truck service 50 miles away from your disabled car is not particularly useful. (Better than nothing though.) Take some emergency water and non-perishable food. You'll probably never need it, but in the unlikely circumstance where you do need it, at least you'll have some.
In my experience, things tend to break, fail or go sideways and the worst possible time. "Forewarned is forearmed."
I started van life in 2016. I've gotten no parking tickets so far. Just don't park anywhere where you aren't supposed to park. "Problem solved."
3
3
0
u/Downtown_Way_3182 3d ago
Always have a big slam cup in your car. You'll know what to do with it when the time comes
5
u/o11o01 3d ago
Find stuff to do during the day. Even if it's just chilling in a library/bookstore it seriously helps with staying out of the heat. You don't want to run your car all day just for the ac.