She's Lived in Her Car for 6 Years with a $200 Build

Kind of my one luxury is a SodaStream. When I started out, I did have a big seven-gallon jug of water. However, I am apparently weak. My build was not expensive at all, probably under 200. I guess I should also talk about how I shower. And you could take the entire conversion out and you can put the seats back in and then it's a regular car again. Hi, my name's Rosa and this has been my home for the past six years. If you wanna learn how, keep watching. So this is obviously the back of my car. One of the best things I think about the Element that I would say a lot of Element people really appreciate is the tailgate. This is where I sit. This is also where I cook, where basically I do everything. I cook on my Coleman two-burner stove and that is the only cooking device I have. I do have a JetBoil, but that's just for backpacking. And then all of my cooking stuff is stored in here, pots, pans, teapot, everything like that. And then also over here is where I have my pantry. This is actually something I would change about my build if I redo it. I have to reach in here to access my pantry, which is very inconvenient and I'd probably do a pullout next time, but it works and that's what matters. There is extra storage a little bit back here. I really just store reusable shopping bags there because Washington no longer gives you shopping bags. So when you're in Washington, you need them. And then my bed here, it does fold up into a couch. I can confidently say that I have done that about twice since I did the conversion, but it does fold up into a couch and my entire conversion is actually held into my car using zip ties. And you could take the entire conversion out and you can put the seats back in and then it's a regular car again, which was important to me because I, at the time when I started out traveling, wasn't sure if this was gonna be a lifestyle. So I wanted to make sure I could resell my car in its stock form. But obviously after six years, I'm pretty committed to this being my home. I think a lot of people also wonder with a space this small, if possibly it gets, you know, claustrophobic or anything like that. I personally love it. The bed's built for a 5'6 person. I am 5'4, so it fits perfectly. I hang out here. But the nice thing about car life as opposed to a bigger vehicle is it's not so comfortable that you won't go outside. I feel like having a smaller space to live in really encourages you to go outside more and explore more because you don't just have like a place you can stand up and hang out in when you get back to your vehicle. So I think that's been really helpful in getting me outside more and exploring more. These are my window shades that are in kind of a state of disarray and they have been for a while. Half of them are finished and half of them aren't, but basically they have reflectors and then blackout curtains on the other side. So on the outside, if someone's looking, they'll see the blackout curtain, which blends in a lot better and makes it a little bit less obvious that someone is sleeping in the car, which is really good for stealth camping in cities and places where you would prefer not to get the knock. This is the only mod I've actually done to my car. I have this rear hatch release. So basically I can open the back of my car from inside my car and get out as opposed to having to go all the way around, which is just really nice safety and convenience. It's made my life a lot better. So before I was living in my Element, I just basically worked. I ended up not going to college after high school. So for the four years after that, I worked three jobs. I was working 80 plus hours a week and that was kind of all I was doing. So after those four years, I at the time was living with a roommate and we were watching, I think it was like a Planet Earth documentary and drinking a lot of wine. And we both kind of came up with the idea together. He wanted to move to California and I decided while drunk that I wanted to live in a car because I felt like I wasn't really figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. All I was doing was working. So I decided to quit all of my jobs and I started doing some research and I really wanted to live out of a car because I just felt like a van was a little bit too much. And back in 2017, this lifestyle wasn't as popular or normalized as it is now. So there wasn't as much information, but the Honda Element, whenever you searched top cars to live in, the Honda Element was kind of always on the list. And one of my friends at the time actually had an Element. So I was a bit familiar with the vehicle and I was comfortable driving it and I liked the way it looked. So I found one and yeah, I guess six years later, I can't get rid of him. So on this side, this is where I keep my shoes. I don't have many pairs, but I have a couple pairs of hiking boots, these boots. It also at some point became my beer storage. I don't know when that happened. And then up here I have kind of my one luxury is a soda stream. And then I also just have a simple bag cooler, currently empty, but that is the only refrigeration system that I have. And I haven't needed anything more than that. There is also hanging storage. I used to have like four hangers back here, but two of them broke. So now I only have two, but I do have a jacket and a flannel that is hanging. So there is a little bit of storage back there. Also, I have my shampoo and deodorant and things that I keep on my driver's side door. I guess I should also talk about how I shower. So I have a Planet Fitness membership and I've had one since I started traveling. That's where I usually shower. There are other options, hostels, rec centers, pools, things like that. But typically it's Planet Fitness or jumping in a lake or something like that. And also again, with the bathroom, because I don't have a bathroom, obviously, I use public restrooms or I go outside as the typical answer I think is. I really haven't, again, had any issues with that, but that's just me. So this is my shelving. This is most of my clothing storage and things like that. So towels and bigger sweaters. I also have socks, sports bras, underwear, things like that. I have a shirts one, I have a pants one. And then up above is where I keep my like really bulky sweatshirts that are rolled up. And then also I have a junk drawer because every home has a junk drawer, I feel like. Underneath the bed, I have a full laundry bin currently. And then also underneath is even more storage. So this is where I keep my backpacking gear, things that I use less often, my tire chains, some like electrical equipment and things like that. Just things that I don't need to access all the time because I'm not usually on this side of the car. In the passenger footwell is where I store my water and my tarp. I just have one gallon jugs of water that I refill at Walmart's or parks that have water fill stations and things like that. When I started out, I did have a big seven gallon jug of water. However, I am apparently weak and it was too heavy to carry around. So I found it a lot easier and more convenient to just fill one gallon jugs. I mean, I drink water and then, you know, I'll use it to wash my dishes, but I don't need a lot of water. It's really just for drinking since I don't have any type of shower or anything that I have to fill. The front passenger side is just kind of like my day use backpack goes and things that I can just grab and go. Nothing too permanent stays there. I do have a library on my passenger side door, which is just, I feel like I need some books. So, you know, Pride and Prejudice, Lord of the Rings, very important things to have. My power needs for me specifically, very small. I have no power bank. I have no solar, nothing like that. I have a couple of battery packs and stuff that I will charge from the cigarette lighter that's just in my car. And then all the editing I do, all the work on my laptop, everything, I go to cafes, libraries. Whole Foods has really great wifi, I discovered, and I do all my editing in there. So I just don't have any real electrical system in my car, which has been really nice because I don't have to worry about anything going wrong. So I bought my Element in July of 2017. I believe it had 66,000 miles on it when I bought it. I think they were asking for like 14,000 and I got it down to 11,000. My build was not expensive at all. I think it was just kind of wood from Home Depot, probably under 200. As far as making money on the road, I've done a bunch of different things. The first few years of travel, I worked seasonal jobs at different national parks, national forests, small towns. I worked at a couple of different subways and I would just stay for a few months, make money, and then continue on with the road. It was a really great way to make money in a beautiful place where you got to explore and go hiking right out of work because you were in the national park already. Like right when COVID started, I just finished a job in Bighorn National Forest, Wyoming, and I left and everything kind of started closing down, the lodges and everything like that in national parks. So I turned to DoorDash, GigWork, Instacart, and I did that for a year and a half, two years, I believe. And then a little over a year ago, I started my YouTube channel and now I just do YouTube. So everything basically on my car is stock. I don't have a roof rack. I have nothing like that just because, well, there's a couple of reasons. Stealth camping, I feel like if you have a roof rack or a lot of stickers on the outside of your car or anything like that, I think it makes it a little bit more obvious that someone's living in the vehicle or existing near the vehicle. So I try to keep it as generic and stealth as possible. I guess the only mods I've done is the rear hatch release. And then I also have a catalytic converter shield that is now on my car because that got stolen. So that's kind of the only changes I made to the stock model of the Element, which I kind of like. And it helps with gas mileage a lot. So if you are thinking about getting into this lifestyle, I think something that's really important to remember is you don't need the big van conversion. You don't need to have everything prepared. If you have a vehicle, there's probably a way that you can make it into a camper and there's probably a way you can sleep in it. Give it a try and see if it's something you actually enjoy before committing to a bigger rig. Or maybe you decide you actually just like living in a car and you just live in your car, as many people do. So I think just testing it out with whatever vehicle you already have, instead of pouring a lot of money into something you're not sure you're gonna like is a really good idea. So thanks for watching the tour of my home. I appreciate it. And if you're interested in tiny car living or anything like that, you can check out my channel. It's Rosa. The handle, I think, is Life in my Element. And yeah, maybe I'll see you on the road someday.