4 Reasons Why Van Lifers Fail at #VanLife and End Up Sleeping at Walmart

I'm now 6 months deep into this van life lifestyle, and I have a question: why do so many van lifers end up sleeping at Walmart (or in any urban parking lot)?

As I moved out of an apartment and into the van, I was fully prepared for the experience of living in a van to not be quite as beautiful as advertised. I've talked to so many people who've said, "yeah, usually we just end up pulling into Walmart for the night," and I've read dozens of articles with titles like "5 Things No One Tells You About #Vanlife" that claim, for "every night spent in a location of beauty, I spend nine or more in a Walmart parking lot."

After 6 months spent living in a van, can you guess how many nights I've spent in an urban parking lot?

Zero. 

I haven't spent a single night sleeping in an urban parking lot, whether at Walmart or anywhere else.

I'm not choosing to live in a van so I can get woken up in the middle of the night by a big rig pulling through a parking lot. I'm not sacrificing the comfort of a house so I can open my door to the glowing neon lights of Wally World above me. I'm not leaving my close friends behind so I can spend my time with the "people of Walmart."

I'm living in a van to escape from civilization.

I'm living in a van so I can travel and experience the diverse beauty of nature in every corner of the continent. I'm living in a van so I can ride all the mountain bike trails (or at least pedal until my legs fall off), watch the sunsets, explore the mountains, and spend months watching the leaves change as I drive south from Michigan to Mexico.

My goal is to be out in the forest, not stuck in a parking lot.

So after contemplating this strange paradox, how I might be an anomaly even in this van life subculture, I've identified four reasons why van lifers fail at #vanlife and end up sleeping at Walmart... and what you can do about them:

1. Traveling to the wrong destinations.

The vast expanses of desert surrounding Moab, Utah, are chock-full of fantastic camping options. Photo: Marcel Slootheer

Every trip, even an extended one, begins with the destination that you choose for your travels. If you set your sights on a major metro area, especially in the eastern USA, chances are you won't have many natural camping spots to choose from. If you move into a van and then decide you want to travel to Chicago, New York City, Atlanta, and more, well... you might be doing it wrong.

It's tough to travel to a major metro area and then find a good place to camp that isn't a parking lot. That said, it isn't impossible: I've seen some of my #vanlife acquaintances score great spots in the heart of New York City.

But there's an easier way: choose instead to travel to small mountain towns and desert towns. These small outposts in the wilderness are usually surrounded by a plethora of fantastic camping opportunities.

If you've read this far, you know that I already avoid major cities like the plague. The name of my blog is "Outside 365," as I endeavor to go outside and be active every single day. My goal in life, my guiding light, my north star, is immersion in nature. And conveniently, traveling to areas with fantastic natural beauty usually means that there's some fantastic camping to be had, deep in the mountains, away from the rest of humanity.

2. Failure to plan.

A little time spent staring at maps and reading reviews online can often yield fantastic campsites.

"Fail to plan, plan to fail," the saying goes. In my mind, sleeping at Walmart is indeed a #vanlife failure of the first degree.

Oftentimes when I talk to van lifers about their future travels or their plans when they arrive in a destination, they say something like, "oh, we'll figure it out when we get there," or, "we're just following our noses."

While "following your nose" and traveling whichever way the wind blows sounds romantic, in actuality, the wind will end up blowing you into a Walmart parking lot more often than not. But if you just invest a bit of work into planning ahead, you can almost assuredly avoid getting stuck at Walmart.

This article can't provide an entire explanation of how to find the best campsites in a destination you haven't visited yet. Doing campground research from a distance is a true art form that's worthy of an entire article series. 

In short, suffice it to say that there's no end of resources available to you to help you research potential campsites. Apps like iOverlander and more are godsends for getting on-the-ground beta, but they aren't one-stop-shops. You can also do your own research using satellite imagery in apps like Google Maps and FATMAP to scout potential camping locations. Finally, don't discount paper maps. These now-forgotten resources might help you truly leave the crowds behind.

Ultimately, a little planning goes a long, long way to keeping you out of parking lots and in the woods. Even on massive cross-country drives or while snaking through the urbanity of the East Coast, you can almost assuredly find someplace to sleep that's better than Walmart.

3. Unwillingness to drive to a campsite.

Sometimes it can take a little driving (or a lot of driving) to reach views like this.

For a group of people that spend so much time driving, van lifers seem very unwilling to commute to a campsite. This might set me apart from many other van lifers, but I would rather drive 15-20 minutes outside of the city to sleep in the forest than simply put in the window covers and sleep at Walmart. I might spend more time driving back and forth, from wifi to the woods and back again, just so I don't end up sleeping in a parking lot.

Many times, that drive is what's required. You have to get behind the wheel and drive a little ways to get to the site. Often, even that drive doesn't yield the perfect, most gorgeous, most impressive campsite you've ever seen... but it's almost guaranteed to be better than Walmart.

4. Trying to save money at the expense of beauty.

This campsite was worth every penny!

Look, my favorite campsites are free. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that one of the reasons #vanlife appeals to me is the cost savings of not paying rent.

But if it comes down to sleeping for free at Walmart or paying ~$20 a night to sleep in a pristine campground, I'm going to choose the campground every time.

Yeah, free ninety-nine is the best price, and Walmart is usually a reliable place to sleep for free most anywhere you find yourself in the country. But I'd pay $20 every single night to escape the LED streetlights and traffic and instead stay in a beautiful, natural campground with access to a lake or a trailhead, a bathroom (or even a pit toilet), and a private spot to call home for the night (or week).

I'll gladly sacrifice some of my money savings if it means keeping me out of those god-forsaken Walmart parking lots.

Parting Thoughts

I know I'm an outlier in the #vanlife community by not having spent a single night in an urban parking lot. Realistically, I'm sure the time will come when I'll choose to sleep in a parking lot than drop a hundo on a hotel room for the night (or more—hotel prices have gone bonkers).

But if I can avoid it, I will. If I have to pay a few bucks for a campsite, I'll do it. If I have to drive a few miles to get away from the city lights, I'll do that too.

I live in a van so I can experience the beauty of the world around me in a deep, meaningful, and visceral way.

Not so I can sit in a tiny box on wheels in the middle of a concrete jungle.