Bertl Bikes

It's been cold here recently. Really bloody cold! Regularly hitting -20 overnight and sometimes that low in the Alpine up on the mountain too! I've been able to stay at a friends a few times recently though, which was great on the coldest, windiest nights. But the hardest part? Everything freezes, and then defrosts when you run your heater. I've thrown a small mound of fruit and veg away that has frozen and defrosted more than once and just gone off. The coold I can deal wit, but I'm very grateful I invested in a better here before the winter really kicked in! This is what I bought, and it's worked well: Buddy Heater I've also spent some time catching up with Anne, my fellow vanlife friend here in Revelstoke. She's great to chill out with, as you'll have seen in an earlier post, I've also been touring with her and her husband, so she can ski well too! There're a number of van-dwellers here, but it's not much of a 'community' - t...

First off, it's going to take more than one blog post to really answer that question! When we get down to it though, essentially; like any living space, the nicer it is, the happier you are to spend time there. To clarify: Last year I was in a van from Dec 1st till mid Feb, in Whistler, in a pretty standard winter. The reality? It was nothing like those Vanlife video's you see on youtube, it sucked. My van was too small (a 1996 short wheel base Dodge Ram van), cold, cramped and unhomely. This year I have a van that is big enough for a double bed AND 4' of changing space (a 2001 Ford E150). Because I bought it as an essentially bare van then kitted it out as I wanted, it has all the features I wanted, in the way I want. I have plenty of storage space, a double bed, a double burner stove, running water (when temps are above 0 degrees), a changing area, a power inverter, good insulation and wood paneling everywhere! The trade off is that this set up has, unsurprisingly, ...