How safe is it to live in a van in New Zealand? This is a common question that people considering van life or a road trip around New Zealand often wonder. The short answer is that living in a van in New Zealand is safe. Take a few safety precautions and the following van life safety tips and you’ll enjoy your travels.
In many ways it could be safer than living in a house (not that there’s anything unsafe about living in a house either). The added advantage of a van – you can start it up and go at the first hint of trouble. But in saying that, I’ve never experienced a situation where I didn’t feel safe, and most people who live in a van and travel New Zealand would similarly tell you it’s safe. Here’s our list of top van life safety tips.
Tell Someone Where You’re Going
At the top of our van life safety tips is to always tell someone where you’re going and where you plan to stay for the night. This is especially important if you’re going to be out of cell phone reception. It’s a simple step to take but one worth taking.
Park Your Van Near Other Campers
Following on from the first of our van life safety tips is to park where there are other campers. If you’re staying in a campground there will usually be other vans, motorhomes or caravans for added security.
If you’re not confident staying on your own in a remote location, plan to spend the night at a more popular camping location. You’ll usually find at least another one or two campers at these places even in the middle of winter.
Some travelers have a buddy system where they travel with other vans or motorhomers. You don’t necessarily have to travel together, but you could plan to meet up at a set camping location every night or second night if you’re heading in a similar direction.
Have a couple of potential locations to stay the night in mind. If you arrive at the first place and it doesn’t look good, it’s isolated, no phone reception, and there’s no other campers, you have time to move onto your back up location. This leads into the next of our van life safety tips.
Arrive Early and Check the Place Out
As well as having a back up location in mind, arrive early and give yourself time to check the place out properly in daylight. Arriving by mid afternoon is always a good plan. You can see what the location is like, see who else is around, and spot any signs of trouble before it gets dark. And if you don’t like what you see, you’ve got time to move on.
Add Security Lighting
When you’re fitting our your van you might like to install security lighting to the exterior. Lights can be mounted on the van roof or roof racks if your van has them. Locate the switch by your bed, and at night if you hear suspicious activity outside your van you can flick the switch and light up the night outside your van. This can be enough to startle any would be intruder or suspicious person and gives you the ability to see what’s going on outside. It’s also worth investing in a good solar panel and battery set up so that you’ve got plenty of power for lights. Check out Sunny Tech in Auckland for good quality products.
Install an Alarm or Siren
Another of our van life safety tips is to add an alarm or siren to your van. The combination of an alarm or siren with bright security lighting can act as a real deterrent. Again, you’d install the switch in an easily locatible position to your bed at night, ideally alongside the switch for your security lighting.
Know Where Your Keys Are
Knowing where your keys are is one of those important yet often overlooked van life safety tips. It really is worthwhile being in the habit of always keeping your keys in the same place. When you park for the night, will you put your keys in your pocket, a hook by your bed, or some other place? If you need to leave in a hurry in the middle of the night you don’t want to be fumbling for keys that could be anywhere in the van. Having them in one set place solves this problem. Keep in mind that you don’t want to inadvertently lock yourself out of your van. It’s no good standing outside a locked van and staring at the keys on a hook inside.
Keep Your Doors Locked
If you’ve parked and are inside your van it’s worthwhile keeping your doors locked. This goes for any time of the day, not only at night time. But certainly at night, get into the habit of making sure your check all the doors have locked at night, and don’t assume the central locking has locked them all for you.
Don’t Park Yourself In
An important one of our van life safety tips is to ensure you can drive off easily. Don’t park yourself in. When you park your van, give yourself room in front and room behind to drive out forwards or reverse if necessary. Try to park in a manner that other vehicles couldn’t block you in if they wanted to.
Invest in Good Black Out Curtains
If you don’t know who your neighbors are, or you’ve arrived late in the evening ensure your curtains are closed earlier rather than later. Invest in good quality black out curtains that cover the windows properly. If you’re arriving at a location and you know it will be dark, consider stopping beforehand and closing the curtains so that you pull into your parking spot for the night with the van closed up prior.
Retain Access to the Drivers Cab
A van is the perfect vehicle to be able to climb through from the back, into the cab, and drive off. This is one advantage over the likes of a caravan or vehicle where you need to exit the accommodation to be able to drive. If you haven’t yet bought a camper, this is something you should seriously consider. If you’re in the process of building your van you might like to ensure you retain access to the drivers cab from the back.
Have Something for Self Defense
It’s worth having an item you can use for self defense. This could be as simple as a can of fly spray. Have a look around your van at what items you have that could be used to defend yourself if necessary. What’s in your kitchen drawer or your tool box. You likely have a mallet or hammer in your tool box.
One piece of advice I remember being told is to ensure you can properly use the item and consider how it could be used against you. If the attacker overpowered you and got your self defense item off of you, it can then be used against you.
Don’t Publish Your Location
With the popularity of social media it’s common place to post a picture of your vehicle at your latest location showing off your amazing view. Keep in mind that you never know who is able to see your posts on social media. You’re telling everyone your current location, which vehicle you are in, and if you’re traveling alone. If you need to post on social media consider posting photos after you leave so that your posts are at least a day or two behind your actual location.
Reading though our list of van life safety tips might make you think it’s a dangerous lifestyle. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s a safe way of living, traveling and seeing the country. But it’s always worthwhile being prepared. Taking these and similar precautions will make it easy to enjoy the lifestyle and you’ll sleep at night knowing you’re safe and prepared in your tiny home on wheels. Be sure to check out our van life tips for living the dream life on the road.