Adventures Begin

You've reached a different kind of van life blog; This one's more about your journey than mine. It's an ever-growing resource for people to learn all kinds of useful stuff about building and living in a van. Join professional amateur, Burtman, as he discovers how to build a comfortable home out of a 20-year-old van, and shares all the learning with you, warts and all.

We've Got Detailed Articles


Burtman's articles are the result of applying authentic technical guides to real-life problems and figuring out the difference. You'll learn to build and maintain your van with descriptive technical guides that include clear photographs, videos, tool descriptions and more; plus, you'll discover some great tips on vehicle security, parking, travel, maintenance, repair and preparation for the best and worst that van life has in store.

Check out the most recent technical article: Progress On This Section
And see what's coming up next...

We've Got Entertaining Blogs


When you're done with technical guides, put your feet up and enjoy some of Burtman's stories, photographs, videos and observations, plus soundscapes, interviews with other travelers and a hefty handful of creative extras.

Here's a sample - the most recent blog post: Airbnb, My Love

Where Did It All Begin?


Find out how this whole caper got started, over here: The Story So Far

Want To Support Burtman?

Support At Different Levels Support Level What's Included Free Membership
109 Articles Available

Free access to all the van-life articles, technical guides and discussions. You can leave comments in all sections and see occasional supporter content from higher levels.

Bronze
115 Articles Available

€2 a month: Additional blogs, which include some useful tips for part-time and full-time nomadic living, as well as looking after dogs while traveling.

Silver
140 Articles Available

€3.50 a month: Access to some of the creative archive, with extra travel photography and blogs, some of the soundscapes and the odd story from the road. Plus tips for making your travels more fun and less expensive.

Gold
161 Articles Available

€5 a month: Full access to the creative archive, including written, photographic and videographic collections, 'Stories From The Road', 'Journeys In Low Light', and 'The Rolling Archive', plus all the blogs, interviews, and practical designs for saving space and weight in your van!

Platinum
161 Articles Available

€10 a month: Access to all content as it comes, plus limited-edition artwork and one-off, signed instamatic photo prints by post! Platinum supporters also have access to a regular private chat and experimental features.

€180: Lifetime platinum membership - pays our server bill for a year. The best deal for you and a big help for us :)

Note:

While we rely on donations to keep this site going and paid supporter accounts have many extras, the most important information here is available to everyone for free. If you find this website useful, please share it with someone you know.

How To Send Your Support
Just click here and follow the instructions. Donations are accepted in the currencies below, but there will soon be a Patreon option, where you can use more traditional methods.

 

Sign Up

Join our simple, no-junk mailing list to get an occasional email when new articles are added. Your subscription comes with a free Burtman account that lets you comment on what you see and ask questions to Burtman and other members.

Huge thanks to my pre-launch supporters!
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