“Climate change has awakened and the desire to consume less in all aspects of our lives,” said Matthew Payne, an adventurer and filmmaker who, like Duckworth, turned a former military truck into a home on wheels. “Living in an old vehicle that has already been used and saved from scrap is far better for the environment than building and heating it.” It can also be very convenient; While Payne’s Truck Matilda has a brutal, militaristic aspect on the outside, its plaid pillows inside and the rustic worktops are reminiscent of a country kitchen.
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Much of Vanlife’s appeal lies in the opportunities it offers to learn new skills on the job, and the movement blends in with the British tradition of eccentric amateurism. It’s easy to imagine that it attracts the same folks who once spent their weekends building jet-powered shopping carts or honing the perfect all-in-one Wallace and Gromit style breakfast machine. In vanlife, as in all things, mistakes are part of the journey.
Or, as Duckworth put it, “You have to mess things up and pipes have to explode so you learn how to do better next time.”
Vanlifers gather to compare their builds and tell stories of their road adventures at Camp Quirky, an annual festival in Northamptonshire where tents offer workshops on solar panel installation, joinery and insulation, and other key van building skills.
One of those for whom vanlife was a leap into the unknown is Amy Nicholson, who tours the UK all day in her converted Vauxhall Vivaro. Originally from Kent, Nicholson’s first taste of van life was this classic Antipodean adventure: a trip around New Zealand in a motorhome. She now works remotely as a freelance marketing consultant from anywhere.
“I fell in love with the simple life that vanlife brings,” she said. “Because you live in such a small space, you can’t have that much stuff, which makes me less materialistic. It allows me to travel and see the world while still having all my things together and being able to work from the street. “