Congrats on acquiring the van or bus of your dreams! Chances are, you’re staring into an empty shell, overwhelmed by the infinite list of tasks ahead. Whether you spend the next three or six months hammering away, I hope the following will ease you into your journey and help you embrace the process. Soon we’ll stand atop our tiny homes as we watch the sunset from Mt.Rainier.
1. Forego timelines
Having a goal is okay but a hard deadline will transform your van build into an experience riddled with anxiety. If you’ve ever worked with builders before, you know that there is almost never a deadline that is actually met. Everything will take twice as long as you anticipate, and mistakes will be inevitable. In order to embrace the process, you should forego a rigid deadline.
I was desperate to get on the road for snowboard season. December came and went. January and February as well. Only by mid-March did I actually get on the road.
Every time a mistake was made, I became anxious, looking at the calendar and wondering how many days it’d take to rebuild or recover. Painting and sanding should be meditative. I rushed and in the chaos, made more mistakes. I worked, not in peace, but in fury. Don’t be like me.
I was desperate to get on the road for snowboard season. December came and went. January and February as well. Only by mid-March did I actually get on the road.
Every time a mistake was made, I became anxious, looking at the calendar and wondering how many days it’d take to rebuild or recover. Painting and sanding should be meditative. I rushed and in the chaos, made more mistakes. I worked, not in peace, but in fury. Don’t be like me.
2. Embrace the mistakes
Your build will be perfectly imperfect, and that’s what makes it one of a kind. If you wanted a perfectly boring RV, you’d go get a mass manufactured one.
A woodworker becomes a master because they’re so good at working with and building around their mistakes. Just remember that there’s always a solution to everything, and that mindset alone carries you through the lows of the build. If anything, it’s a great mindset to carry with you through life.
A woodworker becomes a master because they’re so good at working with and building around their mistakes. Just remember that there’s always a solution to everything, and that mindset alone carries you through the lows of the build. If anything, it’s a great mindset to carry with you through life.
3. Keep your order of operations flexible
Some planning is critical, from the layout of your build to little details like where each individual outlet will be.
In reality, a lot of these steps will need to be interchangeable, and many steps can’t be completed in their entirety before another is started. For example, a great deal of electrical pre-wiring will have to be done in conjunction with insulating and wall paneling.
Some steps will require patience, like installing that beautiful flooring (which I would encourage you to save for the very end). Your van might look terribly incomplete until the very last day but don’t be deterred! It’s like this for all of us.
In reality, a lot of these steps will need to be interchangeable, and many steps can’t be completed in their entirety before another is started. For example, a great deal of electrical pre-wiring will have to be done in conjunction with insulating and wall paneling.
Some steps will require patience, like installing that beautiful flooring (which I would encourage you to save for the very end). Your van might look terribly incomplete until the very last day but don’t be deterred! It’s like this for all of us.
4. Don’t forget to breathe
If you look at your to-do list it’ll seem never-ending and impossible at times. It can be overwhelming. Take deep breathes along the way, and remind yourself how lucky you are to be building a van in the first place! The adventure doesn’t begin once you’re on the road. It begins now.
You’ll unlock an incredible part of your brain: the confidence to create anything, and the mindset to figure it out.
Aside from freedom, adventure, and all the other greatness van life has to offer, the courage to build anything is one of the greatest outcomes. It’s truly the most empowering feeling and an invaluable asset to carry on with you in life.
You’ll unlock an incredible part of your brain: the confidence to create anything, and the mindset to figure it out.
Aside from freedom, adventure, and all the other greatness van life has to offer, the courage to build anything is one of the greatest outcomes. It’s truly the most empowering feeling and an invaluable asset to carry on with you in life.