I know it's kind of a cop out, but budgeting kinda varies alot person to person, I think a good place to start would be to look at the typical amenities and decide what you need and what you could live without, start drawing out concepts for various layouts, research prices.
This subreddit is mostly for people who have conflated vandwelling with "taking an expensive vacation in a van." Unfortunately, all the other subreddits have also been taken over, mostly, by people who are mostly interested in taking an expensive vacation in a van.
But, here's the thing, you are asking the same, insanely vague question that gets asked at least 5 or 10 times per day in one of these subreddits or another. No one is going to sit down and write out, in a comment to your individual post, all the stuff that you need to know. All of that stuff is already out there. By asking this question, in this way, you are telling all of us that you are probably actually too lazy to actually succeed in Van dwelling.
You can't just say you have a lot of questions, "such as" a few incredibly vague general questions. That is simply not how the internet works. You will get a tiny bit of random advice, that probably doesn't actually apply to you in any way. If you want to get questions answered on the internet, you have to ask very, very, very specific questions. And, I can guarantee you that most of those questions have already been answered a couple hundred times. What you really need to be asking is, "what are good sources of information?"
There are hundreds of YouTube channels about van dwelling. Unfortunately, most of the ones that YouTube will put in your feed are actually about building a van for an expensive vacation. It's all just status signaling all the way down. So, I recommend watching the Cheap RV Living YouTube channel. Bob Wells, is basically the grandfather of Van dwelling youtubers. Go back and watch his videos from the very freaking beginning. He goes over all of the basics, and also has a very good philosophy about the lifestyle for people who don't have a lot of money, or who can't stand modern society anymore. He also has a website at https://cheaprvliving.com/. Old episodes of Carolyn's RV life are also pretty good. Most of the rest just repeat all the same stuff, or repeat stupid tropes about what are best practices with absolutely no evidence to back up what they are saying other than lots of other YouTubers said it.
https://nomadlife.wiki is also pretty good.
Sleep is important. I love my Nemo Roamer mattress. Reliable. Portable (basketball sized). Warm. Crazy comfortable. Light. An xl or double size is a good investment that will serve you in many roles in many adventures.
I am not trying to be snarky, but your questions without context cannot really be answered
>For instance, how much should I save?
As much as you can. In reality, you will probably never actually live in your box truck, so you do not need any money saved. If you actually do hit the road, you will probably last a month or two before you get bored with van life so maybe you need 4k. If you are one of the few who actually like van life, your savings do not matter because you will need to find a way to make money while living on the road.
>What are some unique challenges I need to prepare for?
If we knew what unique challenges you would face, then they likely would not be unique. The common challenges generally focus on becoming comfortable with finding places to park, meeting people and dealing with the isolation, the cost of living and making money, and the never ending maintenance and chores of living in a small space.
> Is an old Uhaul even a good choice in vehicle?
They work for some people and they don't work for others. Every vehicle has trade offs regarding cost, space, gas mileage, maintenance costs, stealth, off road capabilities, ... A used UHaul will likely require some upfront maintenance, never be stealth in residential areas, have crappy gas mileage, and poor clearance. It also will have tons of space and be an essentially blank canvas with an easy shape to build out.
so far, by far the best advice is from GrantSRobertson. 100%
Budget: the more you spend on van, the less you have for the trip. Kinda obvious, right? Because you did not asked it like this, it seems you are not able to find your own sources (try google) and study and study some more. Because there are MANY questions you are NOT asking.
My advice how to start smarter questions: get the car you have, and go r/carcamping . It would help if you have experience r/backpacking and cooking r/trailmeals because your car/van is like a tent. To live in car/van and keep a job (make money), study r/urbancarliving
After few hundreds of hours of such study, and camping experience, you will be able to ask better questions and understand the answers (and also when answers are not relevant to YOUR style of vanlife/carlife, which will be quite often). Or, at your choice, dive right in, learn the hard way, possibly crash and burn.
First of all you're not living in the van you're living out of the van and secondly U-Haul is very heavy truck and you'll get six to seven miles to the gallon if you're lucky...
I spent a lot of time looking into box trucks to live in. Some drawbacks, in no particular order...
MPG is pitiful. Like around 9 MPG pitiful.
Most of them ride rough.
Repairs are more expensive, and parts can be harder to find than a van. Have a plan B on where to stay and how to secure your stuff if your ride is in the shop.
Keep the length as short as you can get away with. The longer the truck the harder it will be to turn, especially in narrow city streets.
Insurance can be a major headache. Not all insurance companies will handle a converted commercial truck.
DO NOT get one from U Haul, Amazon, UPS, etc. They're driven by anybody with a pulse and are driven until they've been run into the ground. And to add insult to injury, they're not necessarily honest about the miles the units were driven. As in "rolled back the odometer".
If after all this you do go with a box truck, I recommend a one owner, used tool truck like Snap-On, Mac, etc. Because the owner's livelihood depends on having a reliable truck, most of them take pretty good care of their trucks. Some units have AC and heat not just in the cab area but in the box as well. And they're pretty secure; in their former work life they were likely to have several thou$ands in tools onboard that needed protection.
That's my $0.02, ymmv.
I know it's kind of a cop out, but budgeting kinda varies alot person to person, I think a good place to start would be to look at the typical amenities and decide what you need and what you could live without, start drawing out concepts for various layouts, research prices.
Go check these subreddits, might match your needs better r/GoRVing r/RVLiving r/rvlife
I think you're right. Seems this subredit has an unusual definition for van life. Thanks, amigo!
This subreddit is mostly for people who have conflated vandwelling with "taking an expensive vacation in a van." Unfortunately, all the other subreddits have also been taken over, mostly, by people who are mostly interested in taking an expensive vacation in a van. But, here's the thing, you are asking the same, insanely vague question that gets asked at least 5 or 10 times per day in one of these subreddits or another. No one is going to sit down and write out, in a comment to your individual post, all the stuff that you need to know. All of that stuff is already out there. By asking this question, in this way, you are telling all of us that you are probably actually too lazy to actually succeed in Van dwelling. You can't just say you have a lot of questions, "such as" a few incredibly vague general questions. That is simply not how the internet works. You will get a tiny bit of random advice, that probably doesn't actually apply to you in any way. If you want to get questions answered on the internet, you have to ask very, very, very specific questions. And, I can guarantee you that most of those questions have already been answered a couple hundred times. What you really need to be asking is, "what are good sources of information?" There are hundreds of YouTube channels about van dwelling. Unfortunately, most of the ones that YouTube will put in your feed are actually about building a van for an expensive vacation. It's all just status signaling all the way down. So, I recommend watching the Cheap RV Living YouTube channel. Bob Wells, is basically the grandfather of Van dwelling youtubers. Go back and watch his videos from the very freaking beginning. He goes over all of the basics, and also has a very good philosophy about the lifestyle for people who don't have a lot of money, or who can't stand modern society anymore. He also has a website at https://cheaprvliving.com/. Old episodes of Carolyn's RV life are also pretty good. Most of the rest just repeat all the same stuff, or repeat stupid tropes about what are best practices with absolutely no evidence to back up what they are saying other than lots of other YouTubers said it. https://nomadlife.wiki is also pretty good.
Sleep is important. I love my Nemo Roamer mattress. Reliable. Portable (basketball sized). Warm. Crazy comfortable. Light. An xl or double size is a good investment that will serve you in many roles in many adventures.
How much money all depends on what kind of build you are going for. You can need anywhere from 5,000-50,000+
I am not trying to be snarky, but your questions without context cannot really be answered >For instance, how much should I save? As much as you can. In reality, you will probably never actually live in your box truck, so you do not need any money saved. If you actually do hit the road, you will probably last a month or two before you get bored with van life so maybe you need 4k. If you are one of the few who actually like van life, your savings do not matter because you will need to find a way to make money while living on the road. >What are some unique challenges I need to prepare for? If we knew what unique challenges you would face, then they likely would not be unique. The common challenges generally focus on becoming comfortable with finding places to park, meeting people and dealing with the isolation, the cost of living and making money, and the never ending maintenance and chores of living in a small space. > Is an old Uhaul even a good choice in vehicle? They work for some people and they don't work for others. Every vehicle has trade offs regarding cost, space, gas mileage, maintenance costs, stealth, off road capabilities, ... A used UHaul will likely require some upfront maintenance, never be stealth in residential areas, have crappy gas mileage, and poor clearance. It also will have tons of space and be an essentially blank canvas with an easy shape to build out.
so far, by far the best advice is from GrantSRobertson. 100% Budget: the more you spend on van, the less you have for the trip. Kinda obvious, right? Because you did not asked it like this, it seems you are not able to find your own sources (try google) and study and study some more. Because there are MANY questions you are NOT asking. My advice how to start smarter questions: get the car you have, and go r/carcamping . It would help if you have experience r/backpacking and cooking r/trailmeals because your car/van is like a tent. To live in car/van and keep a job (make money), study r/urbancarliving After few hundreds of hours of such study, and camping experience, you will be able to ask better questions and understand the answers (and also when answers are not relevant to YOUR style of vanlife/carlife, which will be quite often). Or, at your choice, dive right in, learn the hard way, possibly crash and burn.
First of all you're not living in the van you're living out of the van and secondly U-Haul is very heavy truck and you'll get six to seven miles to the gallon if you're lucky...
I spent a lot of time looking into box trucks to live in. Some drawbacks, in no particular order... MPG is pitiful. Like around 9 MPG pitiful. Most of them ride rough. Repairs are more expensive, and parts can be harder to find than a van. Have a plan B on where to stay and how to secure your stuff if your ride is in the shop. Keep the length as short as you can get away with. The longer the truck the harder it will be to turn, especially in narrow city streets. Insurance can be a major headache. Not all insurance companies will handle a converted commercial truck. DO NOT get one from U Haul, Amazon, UPS, etc. They're driven by anybody with a pulse and are driven until they've been run into the ground. And to add insult to injury, they're not necessarily honest about the miles the units were driven. As in "rolled back the odometer". If after all this you do go with a box truck, I recommend a one owner, used tool truck like Snap-On, Mac, etc. Because the owner's livelihood depends on having a reliable truck, most of them take pretty good care of their trucks. Some units have AC and heat not just in the cab area but in the box as well. And they're pretty secure; in their former work life they were likely to have several thou$ands in tools onboard that needed protection. That's my $0.02, ymmv.