In this week’s video I did something a little different and recapped my vanlife experiences from 2023, and what to look forward to in 2024. In the second half of the video I went through the vanlife/camping-related Christmas gifts I received this year.

I have documented every one of my van-related projects and the vast majority of them took place this past year. In 2022 I installed my MaxxAir fan and made a couple of review-style videos, but my first official “Big Rob’s Van” video (BRV001) was recorded this past February. The bed and cabinet I built and all the things I installed took place in 2023. I’ve watched people on YouTube do entire van builds in less than a month. I’ve been working on mine for more than a year now. I guess I should probably get my butt in gear and finish everything by this spring. In 2024 I need to finish the walls and ceiling and build my desk/sink area.

Over this past year I filmed five camping videos. In the first one, recorded in June, I camped in my own driveway. In July, I camped in an essentially abandoned parking lot. I didn’t really hit my stride until November when I camped in the courthouse parking lot. I did two camps in December, one at the movie theater parking lot and the other next to Big Jim the Dinosaur. With each one, I’m getting a little closer to my “vision,” whatever that means.

If things go according to plan, I expect 2024 to look more like these last couple of months. I don’t know that I’ll have time to do one stealth camp a week, but if I could do two a month and supplement those videos with two project-type videos, I’d be pretty happy with that.

Another thing I mentioned in the video is creating accounts for BigRobsVan on Patreon and BuyMeACoffee. I use Patreon for my podcasts and enjoy using it for more intimate and introspective posts, and will be doing the same on https://Patreon.com/BigRobsVan for this project. I was on the fence about setting up an account on Buy Me A Coffee, but I’ve had a couple of viewers insist I set one up, so if you feel compelled to use it, there it is. These things don’t work unless you plug them so expect to see me throwing around the links, but don’t feel compelled or pressured into using them. I will never make money off of this hobby, but if I could “lose less” I wouldn’t complain, hah.

Two other things I set up in 2023 are my Amazon Affiliate Links page and my Links page. I think I’ve made about 10 sales through my Amazon Affiliate account which is enough to not get me kicked off, but not enough to get paid yet. Maybe it’ll catch on in 2024. As for the “links” page, I didn’t really “get” the whole “links in bio” thing until I dove into Instagram. It’s an easy way to keep all my links in once place.

The biggest thing I learned in 2023 is that… I’m having fun. I hope to have even more in 2024.