Getting into van life is a challenging task. Doing some beginner research ahead of time before you dive in, whether that be part-time or full-time, is a smart move.
Now’s your chance to learn how to break free and live the life you desire.
Here are 15 of the best van life books you need to read!
1. How to Live In a Car, Van, or RV by Bob Wells
Bob goes into the lifestyle choices and consideration of this type of living. This book is straightforward, and to the point with advice from someone who’s been at this for years. Whether you’re planning to be a van dweller or RV lifer, the information still applies for any kind of nomadic lifestyle.
Many people find the book informative on topics like money, hygiene, small space, and WiFi/internet. The book also offers simple solutions to figure out the best vehicle for what you’re looking for. You can read more from Bob Wells on CheapRVLiving.com or his YouTube channel.
2. How to Live in a Van and Travel Book by Mike Hudson
This book covers a well written and motivating overview of van living. Although this is written by a young man from the UK, it’s contents are applicable no matter your age or where you are in the world.
With plenty of real-life examples, Mike explores implementable tips and strategies for living life in the open road. You can expect links and step-by-step resources throughout the book on how to live in your van.
The author covers why he decided this lifestyle, how to prepare, choosing where to stay, keep clean, cooking food, safety, entertainment, making money, van maintenance, and motivational advice for planning your travels.
3. Van Life: Your Home on the Road by Foster Huntington
A bit different from the practical overviews of the lifestyle, Foster introduces beautiful photography and eye-catching scenery that can inspire someone to get into this lifestyle. This book offers fantastic pictures of a wide variety of different types of van conversions and their owners.
If you want to look at pictures, it’s a great book, but if you’re looking for detailed advice for planning your trip, then look elsewhere at the other books on this list.
4. Vanlife Diaries: Finding Freedom on the Open Road
Stories and photos. These are what inspire interest in van life. Vanlife Diaries is an amazing flip-through book with a diverse range of stories from people who live on the road. The photography brings together each person and their experiences in the nomad lifestyle. Another coffee table book for great photos, yet, like the last one, not for practical step-by-step information on van life.
5. Van Life: An Expert’s Guide to Nomadic Living by Kombi Life
From the popular YouTube channel, Kombi Life offers their guide to nomadic living. This is a good book for someone interested in trying out van life. Inside you can learn about the considerations you need to take before leaping into the unknown. For the beginner, you can understand the ideas and become aware of the obstacles you’ll run into.
6. Walden on Wheels: On The Open Road from Debt to Freedom
If you’re looking for an inspiring and impressive story, then look no further than Walden on Wheels. Inside is the story of a young man who eliminated $38,000 of debt in 3 years by and working jobs in Alaska and Mississippi and living in a van for part of that time. The transformative journey captured inside these pages is a great read and recommended highly by many people.
7. Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century
Nomadland takes an investigative look into the culture of people living in vehicles and workampers. Instead of glorifying the lifestyle, it instead takes a dive into the realities that some people face. This book focuses on the older demographic within ages 55 to 70+. Yet, some people may see this as “depressingly informative” with the disparity among the nomad community.
8. Convert your Minivan into a Mini RV Camper
Want to transform your minivan into a camper? Then this is the book for you. With detailed how-tos and photos, you can go in with confidence. Transforming a minivan into a camper is a quick and low-cost way to get started in van life. Instead of going and spending big money on an RV or van conversion, you can test out the lifestyle to see if it’s right for you. With this choice, you can be ready to hit the road in comfort without breaking the bank or damaging/altering the van.
9. Self Build Campervan Conversions
Although the book is based on European models, you can find everything you need for building out your van. It’s an introduction to the types of things you’ll need inside your campervan. You won’t find the exact how-to on doing each part of the build (YouTube is better for that anyway), yet you will get ideas and a general direction to go in.
10. A Beginner’s Guide to Living in an RV
While not directly “van living”, this guide to living in an RV applies to any type of vehicle-based living. Inside you’ll find a complete guide that’s easy to read and covers all the basics within one book. You’ll learn all the things you need to know on how to make the shift to living in an RV. You can read more from Alyssa at HeathandAlyssa.com.
11. Be A Nomad and Change Your Life by Robin Barrett
This book covers everything you need to know as a beginner nomad. Known from her popular YouTube channel, Robin has written a book that lays out an upbeat and inspirational path to follow. Inside you’ll find a budget and helpful info to make a decision and take the steps to a life of freedom. You can find more of Robin at her YouTube channel Creativity RV.
12. Nomad: Designing a Home for Escape and Adventure
Coming from a custom tiny home designer, you have the book “Nomad”. This is a great guide for how to style and decorate your tiny living space. There are loads of unique photos of how people have personalized their homes. Not only that, but you can also find helpful information on the various types of alternative living options and things you’ll need to know for the lifestyle.
In the first half, you have featured stories and photos of people’s campers, and in the second half, you have full practical charts and tips for building your camper, living on the road, budgeting, and all the details you’ll need when deciding to go nomad.
13. Van Boondocking on a Budget
When looking for resources on boondocking, this book has everything you need to know. The book covers a range of topics from psychological health and ways to make money boondocking. For a budget-friendly approach, this book offers a unique look at the RV living lifestyle. The winning combination is when you can enjoy the freedom on the road while doing it within your means.
14. Vanabode happily camp, travel and live forever on $20 a day
Vanabode is another fantastic read in this list for those in the journey to becoming an RV or van dweller. This is a practical look at how to start the RV lifestyle. It’s comprehensive and covers topics like equipment, safety, legality, and how to do it inexpensively.
15. The Intrepid Woman’s Guide to Van Dwelling
“You don’t have to have it all figured out before you go” is a great quote to round out this list. Jess provides the story of preparation, travels, and challenges you’ll face along the way. Especially for the women out there planning to solo travel, this book is a must-read. She covers topics like security, self-protection, camping, build-outs, solar, and other details not covered elsewhere.
The Bottom Line
There’s a ton of different books that offer insight into this alternative lifestyle. For the bright-eyed beginner inspired by the beautiful photos on #vanlife, YouTube tours, and social media… it’s important to educate yourself before jumping in.
At the end of the day, it takes time to design your life around what you want to do. These books can offer guidance in those choices, but it’s up to you. What works well for one person may be completely different for someone else. This influences what vehicle to choose, part-time or full-time, income on the road, and everything else that goes into van life.
What do you find important? Why do want to live van life? Do you just enjoy looking at pretty photography? These are the questions that can help guide you in what book(s) to choose!