[Tomas]

Hi Rafael!

Great question, it’s surely something most vanlifers etc will have to deal with at some point. Most properly use their phones hotspotting. That’s good, but does rely on your phone, will drain battery so you need it on charge most of the time etc, so not my preferred method.

I would normally recommend getting a dedicated 4G/5G modem that can sit permanently in the van with a data sim in it. Then you’ll have wifi all the time. Or at least where theres signal. 😀

On that subject, I am actually writing an article on Starlink right now, that hopefully will be out soon. That’s the other solution. Starlink is satellite internet, and it works just about anywhere. It’s pricey but very very handy. So I have both a 4G modem as well as a Starlink with me in the van, and as a emergency backup I can share the internet of the phone. That covers me just about 100% of the time. 🙂

[Tomas]

Hi there Emily!

It’s a heated debate for sure, and I think many will have their own views on this. I’ll try to be as impartial as possible, adding onto that, I have installed both Lithium and AGM’s in vans.

Right off the bat, I think the main thing to look at here is the lifetime of the batteries. If you look over a 5-10 year period, I’d say Lithium is probably going to serve you better, and potentially even be more cost effective. They generally last longer. And that’s not to mention the lower weight, smaller footprint and the general easy of use. You can often connect smart devices directly to the batteries, you can get them with heating elements build in if you need to (one downside to Lithium is that they don’t like freezing temps). And if you go for non-big-brand Lithium, they’re honestly not crazy expensive anymore.

However, if all you’re looking for is a bit of juice for a phone and perhaps a laptop from time to time, no heavy consumers like fridge or induction cooktops, perhaps AGM will serve you well. They certainly will save you some money here and now.

Upshot from me: If you can fit it in your budget, get Lithium. If not, AGM will work just fine. 🙂

I hope that was helpful. Feel free to ask if there’s anything that’s unclear.

[Tomas]

A few pics of my van as well. 🙂

[Tomas]

Hi there Richard!

Oh well, that’s a big decision indeed. There’s many things that go into that choice, so let’s try to break it up.

1. First of all, do you enjoy working with your hands? Do you enjoy building, tinkering and mending stuff? If you don’t love that, then the journey will be that much harder building one yourself.

2. Do you have the $ to buy an already converted van, in good shape, build properly? Yeah, that’s tricky as they can go for very varying amounts, but you’d probably look at 10k at the very very least.

I’d always recommend building your own if you can and have the drive to do it. It rewards you hugely knowing that you actually build everything, and since you build it, you know how to fix pretty much anything. It’s SO satisfying. But it takes time, hard work, and some serious patience.

I believe we should choose the problems we want to have. Problems and challenges are part of life, but we can try to pick the challenges that we want to face. Is the problem/challenge of researching and building your own van, a challenge that get’s you excited? Or perhaps you’re more interested in the problem of saving up to buy one that’s ready to hit the road?

Whichever way you go, I think our course/e-book will help ya, and it’s free! 👉🏼 https://thevancode.com/guides/the-van-code/

• This reply was modified 1 year ago by  Tomas.

thevancode.com

The Van Code - The Van Code

The Van Code will not only help you choose the right van, but will help you build it the way you want it. This code is an accumulation of years of research and experience with turning cargo vans into tiny … Continue reading

[Tomas]

Thank you SO much for all that amazing feedback Jackie! You’re a rockstar, really. I’ve already begun to implement a bunch of it. 👏

I am happy you enjoyed the guide, book or whatever I call this thing, and I always welcome feedback.

[Tomas]

Well said! 👍🏼 Agree 100%.

[Tomas]

Very welcome! Just finished the article as well, if you fancy a read: https://thevancode.com/starlink-your-ultimate-guide-to-high-speed-internet-on-the-road/

Safe travels!

[Tomas]

Anytime! 🤙🏼

[Tomas]

[Tomas]

Hi Jackie!

Thanks so much for all the feedback, and the amazing words. THANKS!

Sorry for the late reply, I’ve just returned from a 6 weeks trip to Norway. Been amazing, but hectic so not much time for The Van Code. But now, things are going to happen.

Regarding the book, the plan is to make it available for free right here on The Van Code actually. I’m an effort to start building an audience here, so linking to it is very very welcome, thank you! We’re still not advertising the site or book anywhere, but we’re only a few weeks away from being ready. When that is the case, you are super welcome to link it on your blog. And we’d love to link back of course! In fact we have some idea’s on how we can publish little “teaser” blogs here on the site, that is leading to other great blogs, so we’d love to chat to you about that too.

I hope you get this, otherwise I’ll try and reach you on Facebook. 👍🏼

Thanks again Jackie, your help is really appreciated. 🙏

[Tomas]

True indeed! I believe a separate chapter on weight may be in order. 😱

[Tomas]

Thanks for that! I will absolutely have a go through on that! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼