Is Van Life Safe?
Is van life safe? Any lifestyle will hold it's own dangers, van life is definitely not immune to that. But, I don't think it is as unsafe as most people think it is. Here are the dangers of van life, how they compare to "normal" life, and how to avoid or handle these dangerous situations.
Is van life safe? Short answer is yes, van life is safe. I personally don’t think that living in a van is any more dangerous than living in a “normal” house. Most people look at those living out of their vans like they’re either homeless or all of a sudden immersed into the world of criminal activity but that is just silly.
Yes, of course, there are things you need to be aware of and should know how to handle certain situations but that is the case no matter where you live. It is important to always be alert and most importantly, learn how to trust your gut.
This post is all about the dangers of van life, how they compare to the "real world", and how to avoid them.
The Dangers | How They Compare to the “Real World” | How to Avoid Them
Theft
While theft is a concern no matter where or how you live, it is a little bit different while living on the road because your vehicle is your home. Someone may be able to break into a brick and mortar house but they can't drive away with it. If someone steals your vehicle, that is your whole life, everything you own, possibly including your fur child.
For me, I have my cat Jack, with me and one of my biggest fears with this lifestyle is that someone will break into my van and either steal him with everything else or he will get scared and run out of the van and end up lost. I do avoid leaving him for extended periods of time because of this fear but sometimes there's no avoiding it, getting groceries, going into the gym, ect.
There's 4 main thing things you can do to try to prevent this disaster from happening.
1. Alarm System.
This will be the biggest deterrent for someone who is trying to break in.
2. Hide your valuables. It'll be more difficult to do this with such a small space but when you are leaving your vehicle ensure that there is nothing of value in plain sight, hide them or take them with you. You could even get a small safe if you have the space for it.
3. Pay attention to your surroundings.
If you feel like you are hesitant to leave your vehicle somewhere then don't. Listen to your gut and go somewhere else.
4. Get trackers.
You can put your own tracker on your vehicle in case the worst case scenario happens and someone steals your home, this way you can keep track of where it's at and help law enforcement retrieve it as quickly as possible. You can also have trackers for your pets in case they get lost in the midst of it all.
So, while there is no way to 100% prevent theft from happening, you can at least do what you can to try to avoid it from happening to you.
Solo Female
If you are a solo female, this will most likely be your biggest concern unfortunately. Again, this does not only pertain to women living on the road, solo females aren't safe anywhere. But this is the question I get asked the most about since starting this lifestyle. While I do understand the concern and it can be really scary as a solo female, I honestly think I might be safer on the road. So many crimes against women happen every single day and I hate to break it to you but almost all of them do not involve women living on the road. Majority of the crimes you hear about from women on the road are those involving their partners who are traveling with them.
Routines are a huge advantage to someone trying to cause you harm and while you're living on the road, routines aren't really a thing. If you are in town, where you'd be noticed, you'd only be there for maybe a day or two.
For me, I spend as little amount of time "in town" as possible. I want to be out in the middle of nowhere with nobody around as much as I can and I think a lot of other people living this way can agree with that. And while that might sound scary to you, it's actually much safer. Think about it...yes, there might be that one off crazy person who is wandering in the middle of nowhere but the chances of that are far less likely than encountering evil people in the city.
To all the solo females out there, on the road or not, my biggest advice to you to prevent something like this from happening is to learn how to trust your gut and always pay close attention to your surroundings. If you arrive somewhere and have any sense of uneasiness or just feel like something is "off", just leave. Don't second guess it or convince yourself that it's fine, maybe it would be ok but there is a reason you had that initial gut feeling, always better safe than sorry.
Also, always keep some sort of protection on you, whether that is a gun, knife, pepper spray, whatever you are comfortable using, just in case something does happen and you need to use it. For all my ladies not living on the road full time, switch up your routine, I know having a routine is super helpful in our busy day to day but switching it up even a little bit could help save your life.
Wildlife
Personally, wildlife sometimes concerns me more than being a solo female. When I am out in the middle of the desert or the woods I am much more worried about dangerous animals than I am people. This concern will definitley be heightened if you have an animal traveling with you.
My biggest advice for staying safe from wildlife is to try to do some research about where you are staying so you have an idea of what kind of animals to look out for as well as what to do if you encounter one. If there is a chance you might not have service where you are headed then try to do this research before you get there so you are well prepared if anything does happen.
Always be on the lookout for animals especially if you have a fur baby with you! Keeping a close eye on them as they explore the area will be your best way to avoid an unwanted encounter. I never let my cat wander far from me and yet we still have had 3 very close encounters with poisonous snakes. They can spot things before we can and usually don't know what can cause them harm so we have to make sure we are protecting them and ourselves!
Car Accidents/Vehicle Problems
People don’t realize how common bad car accidents are and most people don’t consider themselves to be in danger any time they get into their vehicles, but they are. Everyone on the road is at risk of running into mechanical problems, getting a flat tire, or getting into an accident.
A lot more is at stake though, when your vehicle is your house and everything you own is inside. If something happens to your vehicle while living on the road, you have to worry about a lot more than just being without a car for a while. You have to figure out a place to stay which will most likely cost quite a bit of money and you have to worry about the fact that everything you own is inside of that vehicle.
Unfortunately, there is not a ton you can do to avoid these things other than keeping up with the maintenance and driving carefully. But things happen, mechanical issues come up and you can’t control other drivers around you, so my biggest suggestion would be to have some emergency savings just in case something happens.
Fires
This may not be one you considered but fires start all the time for many different reasons. Let’s be honest though, most of the ones you hear about are house fires or wild fires. But, of course car fires can happen as well, and when you are living in your vehicle full time, you will most likely have an electrical set up which will bring the likelihood of a fire even higher.
If you are setting up electricity in your rig build you need to be extremely careful and do all the research you can and ask for help if needed, to ensure the wiring and everything is done correctly and safely. Wiring issues are the reason for a ton of fires in homes and vehicles so this will be the most important step you can take to prevent a fire starting in your van home.
And of course, always have a fire extinguisher available to put out a fire as quickly as possible if one does occur.
Do Things Scared
The question I get asked the most is, aren’t you scared? And the answer to that question is, yea sometimes I do feel scared. But I think my biggest advantage is that I don't allow that to stop be from doing it. If you want to do something, don’t let fear stop you. Sometimes you have to do things scared. That feeling of fear will never truly go away, our body is designed to protect us from things we're scared of but that doesn't always mean that thing or that feeling is a bad thing. And while it may never go away, I promise doing things scared will get easier and easier every time you do it. If there is something that you know would make you happy or improve your life in some way or help you reach your goals, do it scared.
These are the dangers of van life, how they compare to the "real world", and what you can do to avoid them. So, is van life safe? You'll need to decide that for yourself but for me, I don't think van life is unsafe and I hope this post helped you realize it's not as dangerous as everyone thinks it is!
