What involves mind when someone mentions “urban survival”? For many, the term evokes images of wandering alone through a barren, dystopian landscape akin to in I’m a legend or The walking dead. But the fact of urban survival is rather more practical – it’s about finding a strategy to live in a densely populated, fully functioning metropolis while avoiding confrontation with other residents or authorities. The so-called stealth camping movement is an interesting approach to this on a regular basis type of urban survival. One YouTube content creator referred to as Tales from the van filmed a 15-minute video showing how comfortable he resides under the radar in his innocent-looking Nissan NV200 van.
Evan, creator of Stories from a Van, says he built the Nissan NV200 with the assistance of his father, a carpenter. Aside from a small vent and just a few low-profile solar panels on top, from the skin it appears to be a wonderfully normal delivery or utility van. These small vans are common in cities so nobody will notice them unlike a bigger 10 seater van or Sprinter.
Construction began with insulating the inside and adding a layer of vinyl to cover the insulation. Custom picket cabinets have been built along your complete length of the van’s floor, offering space for storing in addition to just a few surprises akin to a shower tray and drain in the middle storage. Evan uses a folded foam mattress as a bed, and an easy Igloo refrigerator acts as his refrigerator.
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At the back of the van is a sink hidden under the desk surface, in addition to a clever U-shaped drawer that takes advantage of the dead space across the sink. Ceiling lighting and power outlets are connected to a custom electrical system built by Evan. It includes on-board batteries connected to solar panels, in addition to a charge controller connected to the van’s engine for cloudy days.
There can also be a custom hydraulic system on the rear of the van with two fresh water tanks and a gray water tank under the body. You can see that numerous thought has been put into this setup and we appreciate how discreet this stealth camper van really is. Check out the total video tutorial below:
