VAN LIFE ESSENTIALS I CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT | Must-Have Gear for Traveling & Living on the Road

0:00 Hey y'all, it's Charlie. Thank you so much for clicking on this video. If you're new here, like I said, my name is Charlie. I'm currently traveling around the US in my self-converted 2013 Ford Transit Connect, Faith. I'm going to be showing y'all about 10 of my van life essentials that I cannot live without.

0:15 Now, some of these things you might consider essential, some of them you may not. This is just me, the things that I use on a daily basis and what I think you need if you're going to do a simple van build like me. If you want to follow more of my life, I do all types of form of traveling, including van life, go

0:27 ahead and subscribe to my channel and follow me on Instagram and TikTok. Both of those will be on the screen. Let's get started showing y'all these van life essentials. First things first, how I get power is this little baby right here. This is a Jackery Explorer 300. It's really, really small, but honestly

0:42 does everything I need it to do. This thing practically makes my van life possible. It powers all of my everyday essentials, my phone, my laptop, my fan. So, even though I am doing more of a city life version of van life for this leg of my road trip, it does make it a lot easier for me to go anywhere I want.

0:58 It can be plugged into solar panels, but the main way that I like to charge it is usually while I'm driving or in Planet Fitness. Now, we're going to go inside the van so I can show you my second essential. Now that I'm in the driver's seat, let me show you my second van life essential. This is my dash cam and it is

1:11 so, so, so crucial to my van life. The dash cam that I use is the Wolfbox G900 Pro and it is amazing. So, most vehicles have a rearview mirror, you can look in there and see straight out the back. Obviously, I don't. I have this curtain here and even if I didn't, I don't have any windows in the back of my van. So, I

1:29 needed a way to be able to see behind. The Wolfbox G900 basically replaces my rearview mirror with a live feed camera behind me. When I first, first got in the van, I was very afraid to drive it because all of the blind spots from the sides and of course not being able to see right behind me. So, this has been a

1:43 complete game changer. I can see everything that's behind me in real time, which makes parking and changing lanes and just being in the van a lot less stressful. If I'm at a campsite, I can still see behind me even when the van is off and that's very important, just a little extra layer of security.

1:58 And since it has front and rear recording, it gives me a little extra peace of mind when it comes to safety and documentation. If you're from Florida, don't come for me, but I've heard you guys are really, really bad drivers. On this road trip, I've been here for about a month. Let's say I'm really, really happy I

2:11 have this Wolfbox because there's been some close calls where I was really glad that I had it recording. I thought I was going to need that extra documentation for insurance purposes. Luckily, with the Wolfbox, I've been able to park, change lanes, reverse, and just see all around me with complete complete safety

2:26 and confidence on the road. Just some of my favorite things about it, other than the fact that it really does keep me safe, how big it is, that it has reverse assistance, voice control, and touchscreen. So, whether you're watching this and you have a van, or you just have any old vehicle that you don't live

2:39 in, if you don't have a dash cam, I 100% recommend this item. If blind spots bug you, too, don't worry, I hooked you guys up. Prime Day is almost here. Do not miss out on the biggest deals of the season. Wolfbox is having a huge sale for Prime Day. Click the link in the description and enjoy huge discounts on

2:55 Wolfbox products during Prime Day. Y'all know I love you, and I want y'all to stay safe. Make sure you get this product so you can have that extra peace of mind. So, before I had my Wolfbox, which actually does come with GPS, I was using my phone a lot, and I still do from time to time. So, my next item is

3:10 my GPS setup is where I put my phone while I'm driving. Whether I'm using the GPS on my phone or on my Wolfbox, I do like to have my phone up here out of reach just so I'm not being unsafe and using it. It's got this phone clip, you suction cup it to the dashboard. Especially since I'm usually going

3:24 through unfamiliar cities and places I've never been before. Okay, so van life in Florida has definitely taught me that it's very, very important to stay cool while I'm sleeping. So, now we're going to head to the back, and I'm going to show you how I stay cool in Faith. Excuse the lighting, you guys. I'm

3:37 obviously filming outside, but even in a small van like mine, it's very important to keep it cool. Now, since I did a budget van build, I opted not to do a Maxxair fan in the ceiling, so I had to get creative. I've thought of lots of different ways and DIY ways to keep the van cool, but my number one thing is

3:53 this little fan. A small clip-on fan is so, so important, you guys, especially in this Florida heat. It plugs into my Jackery, and the Jackery runs it completely fine. I can do it multiple, multiple uses, which also shows you how great the Jackery is. So, this little fan does keep me cool

4:08 all night long. Other than that, I do crack the windows. I have window covers, but this thing saves my life every single night. Okay, my next van life essential. One thing that I get asked all the time is how do I shower? I actually just left Planet Fitness, this one right back back here. But, this is what I'm going

4:28 to show you guys. This is my shower bag. Now, if you think I'm about to pull out a solar shower, you're wrong. Since I'm doing city van life, that's not really necessary for your girl. Of course, I have my towels, my loofah, my rags, stuff like that in there. But, just some other shower essentials, just since I'm

4:41 already showing y'all, I keep my makeup in here. This is van makeup. I have my van makeup, and I have my work makeup. If you don't know, I'm a flight attendant. I do leave the van to go to work every now and then. I should probably work a little bit more, to be honest. So, I have this special makeup

4:54 that's specifically to stay with the van. Stuff for my hair, face wash, bonnet, makeup brushes, deodorant, stuff to shave, and some hair tools in there as well. Like I said, I just keep it all in one place, so I don't ever have to guess where it is. It's always going to be right here in this back compartment. So,

5:16 the essential for that one is not only my shower bag, but my Planet Fitness membership. Any membership to any 24-hour gym, I think, is 100% valuable. Now, once I go off-grid, I probably will get a solar shower or something for the back doors, but I'd definitely use it more if I wasn't doing city van life

5:32 right now, but I am going on a summer trip for a few months. After that, I will be back in the van, and we'll be heading to the West Coast. So, we're going to be doing a lot more off-grid, so I'm definitely going to need a solar shower. All right, back to the essentials. You can actually see the

5:46 next one right here. How I keep all of my clothes organized, these are my packing cubes. So, packing cubes are very, very important with keeping everything nice and organized. I have two. There's one here, there's one behind it. I also have these two little storage cubes on the side. This one keeps bathing suits,

6:01 underwear, bras, stuff like that. And I believe I have a couple bonnets in here as well. And that one is pretty much a catch all for everything else. Um hair stuff cords, cables, all that. Either way, packing cubes is what this is all about. All of my clothes are rolled and folded

6:20 into here. Now, along with my packing cubes, I also have these pillows. Excuse Papa Bear right here. Move him over. I also have clothes in here. So, even though the essential is the packing cubes, if you run out of space, you can always use throw pillows. I have two filled with clothes. For some reason, I

6:38 keep accumulating more clothes on this road trip. I need to be like Lizzie McGuire and be an outfit repeater a little bit more often. Beary. Listen, Papa Bear is lazy today. He won't sit up like a big boy. Okay. And that is my next essential. The next thing that we have for my essential is

6:56 my cooking setup. Uh if you see my vlogs, you've seen me cook every now and then. I use the Coleman Cascade camping stove. I use that every now and then. I should use it more often. I definitely do a lot more eating out, like I said, since I'm in the city. But at campsites, I was just at Kelly

7:12 Spring. I'm going to the Everglades soon, and I'm going to other national parks. I'm definitely, definitely, definitely going to be using the camping stove a little bit more often. And of course, I keep a couple of these babies on me as well. One day, I will do a full van tour for you guys, so I can show

7:25 y'all where I keep everything. If you're interested, let me know. Go ahead and comment it, so I know that's something you guys want to see. And I'll show you all of my cooking supplies and everything like that. But if you want a little sneak peek other than this video, go watch my vlogs, duh.

7:38 Something else that kind of goes along with my cooking setup is my hydration setup. up. there's a cop going by me. I'm trying to figure out if they're like being nosy or if they think I'm doing something I'm not supposed to be doing. Okay, whatever. Right here underneath the bed,

7:51 I have this water jug. It's not exciting at all, but it is very, very important. Clean water access is everything in van life. And there's someone riding their bike watching me record. They're pretty easy to refill. I refill it at Planet Fitness or either at campsites, at parks. I use them for

8:11 cooking and drinking and I mostly use them pretty much every morning for brushing my teeth. If I want to brush my teeth before I go into like a Walmart or Planet Fitness. Simple, but definitely, definitely an essential. Now, let's talk about some of the boring things that I hope I'll never actually use, but I do

8:25 have. So, along with my first aid kit that I actually do have in the van, I do have this fire extinguisher and this smoke detector {slash} carbon monoxide detector. The first night I was ever in the van, I was so, so nervous that I was going to like lock myself in here and you know, not alive myself by accident.

8:41 So, yeah, 100% would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it with all these items. The smoke detector, the fire extinguisher and the first aid kit. Just the way that I'm trying to be responsible and safe. And the last essential that is definitely not an essential, you can

8:56 kind of see it right here. No, not my garland. No, not my little janky bookshelf, but my string lights. Here's a picture of my lights on. You guys, my lights just make me so happy. They romanticize just sleeping in a car for me. Something about the string lights just make the van feel so much more homey. The ones

9:13 that you see here are cheapo ones from Walmart. They're battery operated. I haven't had to replace the batteries yet and I use them every single day. They are my main source of light when it's not, you know, bright outside, especially since I don't have any back windows. But, that's it, you guys. Those

9:27 are my van life essentials. Some are essential, some aren't. Thank you guys so much for watching this video. All these things will be linked in my description box, especially that link for Wolf Box. You guys, please make sure you get a dash cam. And if you're going to get one, you might as well get the best. So, that

9:43 link is going to be in the description box. Thank y'all so much for watching. I love you so much. Make sure you like, comment, subscribe, and let me know if y'all want to see that van tour. I'll see y'all in the next video. Have a blessed day.