🔥 Quick Recap of Tonight's Virtual Open Campfire!

Tonight was a special one — our first virtual meetup call outside of The Vanlife Network, open to anyone interested in vanlife. And honestly? It felt amazing to see so many new faces, future vanlifers, and road veterans all hanging out together.

We had people calling in from Spain, Portugal, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium — even a few who aren’t in vans yet but are already dreaming about hitting the road. From the first minutes it had that classic campfire vibe: relaxed, curious, a little chaotic, and full of good laughs.

We opened with everyone sharing where they were and how they live on the road. From high-tech heated vans to military trucks, to tiny home conversions held together by zip ties. And a few people still living stationary lives but mentally on the road!

A few moments that stood out:

Stories from long-term vanlifers—5+ years on the road!—mixed with total beginners asking their first big questions.
Travel tips across Europe: Spain’s coastline, Portugal’s hidden gems, and why the Camino keeps pulling people back.
The “coffee cup on the dashboard” trick to meet other vanlifers… which then escalated into testing pineapples as a signal. (We’re all waiting for the field report on that one.)
Discussions about boondocking, wild camping, moochdocking, and even a Dutch network where people offer up their driveways for free overnight stays.
Portugal’s €2 wine somehow turned into a serious plan for a TVLC Christmas Wine Tasting.
A few running and hiking goals were shared—plus a couple of injured Achilles tendons and broken diesel heaters reminding us why we bond so well.
And of course the usual van chaos: broken locks, heater failures, repairs, auctions, recycling struggles… the full lifestyle package.
We wrapped up chatting about holiday plans, meetups, and the growing idea of doing open digital campfires more often to help new people find their tribe.

It was relaxed, funny, and surprisingly heartwarming. Thanks to everyone who hopped on—even for a few minutes. These calls always remind me why community matters. ❤️

See you at the next campfire! 🔥

—Rens & the TVLN road fam

P.S.

Want more of this? We do these virtual meetups twice a week inside of The Vanlife Network! ❤️ Just saying.. ;)

13 comments

🔥 Quick Recap of Tonight's Virtual Open Campfire!