Van Life Blog on Create A Van Life

Why I Never Used a Generator in 8 Years of Van Life

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Eight years. One van. Karlee and I have driven through Florida summers, Colorado winters, New York Novembers, and long stretches of nowhere in between. We’ve run a chest fridge 24/7, two MaxxAir fans, a WeBooster, a laptop for remote work, and eventually an air fryer.

Running a Power Station in a Black Van in Arizona Heat

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A black 2017 ProMaster in Arizona in July is not a normal operating environment. The exterior absorbs heat aggressively. The cargo area can reach temperatures that most equipment wasn’t designed to experience as a daily condition.

I’ve run power stations through multiple Arizona summers in this van. Here’s what I’ve observed.

We Almost Went Off a Cliff: Van Life's Hidden Risk

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The hill looked fine. That’s the thing. It was snow-covered, but the snow was fresh and we’d driven on similar roads dozens of times. We started up it without much concern.

Underneath the snow was ice.

What Happened
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We felt the traction go the moment we were committed. The van stopped climbing and started sliding — not sideways, but backward, straight back the way we’d come, except now we couldn’t steer properly because there was nothing for the front wheels to grip.

The Alternator Charger That Changed How We Power Our Van

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

For seven years, our only way to charge the power station while moving was the solar panels on the roof. Three 100-watt Renogy slim panels from around 2018 — about 300 watts total on a perfect day.

On a sunny summer day, that was usually fine. Not always generous, but fine.

The Van Life Upgrade We Thought Was Overpriced

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When you work, navigate, find camping spots, and handle emergencies from the road, cell signal is infrastructure — not a convenience.

We understood this in principle. We still put off buying a signal booster for longer than we should have, because it felt expensive for what seemed like a marginal improvement.

The Power Upgrade That Changed How We Cook

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When we upgraded from the Goal Zero Yeti 1400 to the Bluetti Elite 200V2, I expected it to feel like more of the same but bigger. More watt-hours, faster charging, same general experience.

My partner Karlee noticed the difference before I did. The first week with the new station, she asked if we could try the Crispi air fryer we’d had sitting in a cabinet for months.

Staying Cool in a Van Without AC

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Let us start with the honest version: a van in summer without rooftop AC gets hot. This is not a problem that clever gear fully solves. The toolkit below helps significantly, but anyone who tells you a Fantastic Fan and some Reflectix makes a van as cool as air conditioning is not being straight with you.

Which Power Stations Can Expand Later?

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

One of the least-understood buying decisions in van power is whether a station can grow with you.

“Start small, expand later” is reasonable advice — but only if the station you start with actually supports expansion. Many don’t. Buying a non-expandable station and outgrowing it means selling it and starting over. Buying an expandable platform means adding capacity for less than the cost of a second standalone unit.

Solar Input Explained for Portable Power Stations

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Solar input is useful. But it is only reliable when panel sizing, weather assumptions, and charge windows are realistic.

The biggest problem with solar in van life isn’t the technology — it’s expectations. People read “400W solar input” on a spec sheet and imagine their station charging at 400W all day. That’s not how any of this works.

How Many Watt-Hours Do I Need in a Van?

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sizing your system starts with daily behavior, not product marketing. The right answer for a weekend camper is completely different from the right answer for a remote worker — and most buyers figure this out after they’ve already bought the wrong thing.

Cold Weather Killed My Power Station Charging

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The first time it happened, I thought the Yeti 1400 was broken.

We were in Colorado, deep winter, and the power station wouldn’t charge. I plugged it into a wall outlet — nothing. Tried the solar panels — nothing. The screen was on, the display showed a low battery, but it refused to accept power from any source.

Alternator Charging for Portable Power Stations

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Alternator charging is often the fastest way to stabilize portable power in real travel routines — faster than solar on a cloudy stretch, faster than waiting for a campsite with hookups.

But it only works well when you understand what limits it.

When Our Power Station Died in the Mountains — What We Did

Sat, 07 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Goal Zero Yeti 1400 battery percentage reset bug hit us at the worst possible time.

We were deep in the mountains — far enough from a city that getting a replacement wasn’t happening for days, maybe longer. The station would show 50–60% remaining, we’d pull a load, and it would crash to zero. Not dead — the battery still had charge — but the BMS had lost track of where it actually was, and we couldn’t trust anything it showed us.

Eight Years on 300W of Solar: What I'd Change

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Three 100W Renogy slim panels. That’s what I put on the roof of my ProMaster in 2018, and that’s what’s still up there eight years later.

It worked. Most of the time. The “most of the time” is what I want to tell you about.

Chest vs Upright Fridge for Van Life: Karlee Was Right

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When we were building out the van, I chose the chest fridge. The spec-sheet argument was clear: cold air sinks, chest fridges retain cold better per opening, the compressor cycles less, lower average power draw. My partner Karlee wanted an upright from the beginning. She couldn’t point to a spec. She just knew, from using fridges her whole life, that reaching into a chest every day would get old.

Why Your Power Station Battery Percentage Lies

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This has happened on both the Yeti and the BLUETTI. You’re looking at the screen, it says 73%, and then out of nowhere it drops to 10%. Or it says 80% and jumps down to 23%. Or it just dies completely — no warning, no gradual decline. The number on the screen stops meaning what you think it means.

Ventilation Mistakes New Van Lifers Make

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bad airflow causes more daily frustration than most first-time builders expect.

2 openings minimum for real crossflow

~1 pint water vapor / night, two sleepers

60–65 dB max-speed fan noise — loud at 2 AM

Mistake 1: No Crossflow Plan
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A roof fan creates low pressure at the ceiling, but low pressure alone doesn’t automatically pull fresh air from outside — it pulls from wherever air can find an entry path. In a sealed van with no intentional intake, that’s through gaps in the floor, around door seals, and through the cab. None of those paths give you clean, directed airflow through the living space.

Van Life Power in 2018 vs Now: What's Changed

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When I moved into my van in 2018, there were maybe three portable power stations worth serious consideration. The Goal Zero Yeti line was the established option. Jackery was emerging. The rest of the market was Chinese import units with inconsistent quality, no track record, and specs that didn’t always match reality.

How Much Power a Van Fridge Really Uses (8-Year Data)

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Most fridge power specs are measured in a 70°F laboratory. Your van is not a 70°F laboratory.

I’ve run a Dometic CFX65DZ chest fridge 24/7 for years in a black 2017 ProMaster, across Arizona summers, Colorado winters, Florida humidity, and New York fall. The difference between what the spec sheet suggests and what I’ve observed in real conditions is the whole point of this post.

Seven Years on the Yeti 1400: Why We Switched

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We bought the Goal Zero Yeti 1400 in 2018.

At the time, it wasn’t really a choice — it was the only serious option. If you were living in a van and wanted a portable power station that wasn’t a sketchy brand you’d never heard of, Goal Zero was the answer. Every forum said so. Every van lifer you followed had one. The reviews backed it up. So we bought it, put it in the van, and that was that.

The Truth About MaxxAir Fans After Years of Van Life

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

There have been two MaxxAir fans in my ProMaster for eight years — the 7500 and the 4500. Four fans total, actually: the originals wore out around year six and I replaced both with the same models. That re-buy is the most honest review I can give, and this post explains it — including the parts a short-term review can’t catch.

Is the Ram ProMaster Reliable? An 8-Year Verdict

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve driven a black 2017 Ram ProMaster 2500 full-time for eight years. Multiple climates, multiple states, thousands of hours on the road, some of it in conditions that were harder on the vehicle than any reasonable test drive would reveal.

Stop Obsessing Over Watt-Hours: What Actually Matters

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

When I bought my first power station in 2018, I looked at one number: watt-hours. More was better. That was the whole framework.

After eight years of full-time van life, I can tell you that watt-hours is the second thing to look at. The first thing is input wattage — how fast the station charges. Most buyers never check it. It’s buried in the spec sheet, not on the front of the box.

Power Station Charging Speed Explained

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

“How long does it take to charge?” is the first practical question most van lifers ask after “how many watt-hours do I need?” — and manufacturers answer it poorly.

The spec sheet gives you max AC input wattage. That number is real but incomplete. Here’s how to actually use it.

Why I Chose Portable Power Over a Fixed Battery System

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Three times in eight years I have picked up my power station, carried it into a coffee shop, and plugged it into the wall.

You cannot do that with a hardwired lithium system.

That’s the whole argument, really. But let me give you the situations, because they’re the kind of situations that don’t show up in gear guides — they show up in real van life.

How Much Solar Do You Need in a Van?

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Most people ask “how many solar panels do I need?” when the right question is “how many watt-hours do I actually use per day?” Panel count and wattage are outputs of that calculation, not starting points. If you begin with the load math, the rest follows naturally.

Budget Van Electrical: Simple vs DIY

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The internet van life community skews heavily toward full DIY electrical builds. Watch enough build videos and you start to feel like a power station is a beginner option you will outgrow quickly. That framing is wrong, and it costs people money.

What I Wish I'd Known Before My First Power Station

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I bought my first van power station in 2018 with a rough idea of what I needed and almost no framework for evaluating what I was looking at. I looked at watt-hours, assumed bigger was better, and bought accordingly.

Eight years later, I’d make the decision differently. Not because the station was a bad choice — it was a good one for its era — but because I now understand the decision differently than I did then.

Van Build Mistakes After 8 Years on the Road

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Most van build guides are written before someone has actually lived in the van. The advice is well-intentioned. The priorities are wrong.

Eight years of full-time use reveals which build decisions matter and which don’t — because the ones that matter show up every day, and the ones that don’t become irrelevant fast.

Remote Work From Your Van: Inexpensive Setup

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Remote work from a van fails more often from dropped connections than from lack of gear. Before you spend money on a dedicated setup, understand what actually breaks down — because it is probably not what the “digital nomad” gear lists say it is.

Van Conversion Tools: Buy, Borrow, or Skip

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Most van conversion tool lists exist to generate affiliate revenue, not to give you honest guidance. They pad out 10–15 items with things you probably own, things you can easily borrow, and things that appear in build videos but never appear in most real builds.

Solar Power for Van Life Beginners

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Solar is the most talked-about power source in van life and the most misunderstood. The conversation usually focuses on “how many panels” and “how many watts” when the more important framing is this: solar is one charging method, not the charging solution.

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