Vanlife as a professional (9-5 suited)

I still live in a house, but I bought a van and am well into the conversion to a camper. I telecommute, so I plan to stay in campgrounds with wifi, or any BLM/USFS land I can find with a cell signal. I bought boosters and directional antennae for both. So far the hardest part seems to be finding a spot which both has one of these kinds of signals, and also is reasonably quiet and scenic.

My plan is to travel around the western third or so of the US - The Rockies and west thereof - and spend 2-4 weeks in each area before moving on. I've been to Yellowstone a dozen times and I've still barely seen any of it. I want to visit every National Park, and as many NPS units as possible, before I die. There are also a lot of amazing State and County parks, and there's some beautiful scenery in Canada that I might go see some day.

To me, "urban camping" (sleeping in the van in a city) is a last resort. You can always park at Pilot/Flying J and use their wifi with no hassle from anyone, but that's not exactly a good life.

Hygiene has many solutions. Soap and a week's worth of water are small and portable (depending on your choice of vehicle). The most basic is some kind of wet wipes on the smelly parts. Beyond that is a washcloth and bucket/basin/bowl. Above that is a portable water heater/shower or solar shower. The pinnacle would be using a full shower facility at a gym or truck stop, but I plan for those to be a bit out of my way. Working remotely, it won't be all that important anyway.

/r/vandwellers Thread