So if you wanted to live in a van....

I think no home would be complete (even if it is on wheels) without a 22 of some sort. I would even consider a 22 adult pellet rifle.

• I don’t live in a van, but use a small Mazda5 minivan, with stick no less, to pull a small motorcycle trailer. When doing off road riding, seats fold down flat, and I do sleep in it with an air mattress. Still gets 15-20mpg pulling a light trailer, 30 without it.

Space is limited, reloading is out of the question, except maybe if I used one of those Lee whack-a-mole jobs. I’d rather not.

My choice for a handgun would be a Glock 26. Good size, still concealable, most available center fire ammo, and takes all 9mm Glock mags from 10 to 33 rounds.

Easily fits in one of those small hidden cable attached car safes if it’s absolutely necessary to leave it in the vehicle.

I think if relying on what's available off the shelf (not reloading or having ammo shipped to you) I would go 9mm/22 and one of each since you'll be van life, party of two.

A little envious I must admit! I moved every two years until my late teens. Sometimes you get the wanderlust.

And to the poster who mentioned housing prices, point well taken! Like everything the costs have gone up and IMO aren't sustainable much longer. In that regard I guess I'm lucky to have taken a 30 year about ten years ago and am hoping to start making double payments. In my area, houses are 30-40k overvalued right now but folks fleeing the cities just keep buying them up..

defjon said:

And to the poster who mentioned housing prices, point well taken! Like everything the costs have gone up and IMO aren't sustainable much longer. In that regard I guess I'm lucky to have taken a 30 year about ten years ago and am hoping to start making double payments. In my area, houses are 30-40k overvalued right now but folks fleeing the cities just keep buying them up..

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I see mortgage rates today are up to 5-6%, this alone will start to knock house prices down.

Still a far cry from the 18% mortgage rate when we bought our first house in 1981. That killed house prices.

I run around in a 4x4 pickup truck with a camper on it. It's sort of like van life only I can go into rougher country. One major thing to think about is what if your vehicle gets broken into while you're not in it. If you leave your gun in the vehicle, then it's vulnerable to getting stolen, even if they don't steal your vehicle. I think a high percentage of the guns in the criminal underworld are stolen, either from house burglaries or car break ins. So what to do about that? My solution to the problem is to keep the gun with me all the time, if possible. And don't have any extra guns in the vehicle. So when I'm running around close to home I may have a rifle behind the seat, plus my handgun. But when I go to town or on a long trip, I leave the rifle home. What it all boils down to then, is what gun to take with me? For me that's something easily concealable on my person. In my case that's a S&W Shield Plus 9mm. I can carry it under an untucked shirt into Walmart, restaurants, etc (anyplace that's legal), and nobody knows I have it. And it won't get stolen if it's on me instead of left in the truck.

I was thinking about that too. We don't have a camper or rv but when traveling I won't leave a gun in the car or hotel. That is factored into what I bring.

A lot of our traveling is for outdoor/hiking / camping stuff, so I keep a small gun on me and the larger one goes in my backpack.

Seymour380 said:

I have been following the vanlifers for some time, and I while I would like to adopt the lifestyle and have the freedom, my significantly-better half wants nothing to do with it. I defer to her, but I can still imagine what one handgun (pistol or revolver) in 9mm or 22lr/mrf would work best for that lifestyle.

My guess is that 9mm or 22lr would be the best calibers for van life just based on ammo availability. There's not much room to reload 9mm in a van.

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Lee Hand Press Kit, plus die set of choice, and few other things (scale, loading blocks). Plus consumables. Carefully chosen, it would (probably) all fit in a backpack sized space. It's not high volume, but could be done.

My ideal van life handgun as of now would be a 9mm Smith & Wesson high-end revolver, or a compact semi-auto like a Sig 365/S&W Shield since space constraints would dictate only having a single handgun. Moon clips for a revolver would be ok by me.

What would be your pick for one handgun in 9mm or 22 to provide for self-defense, fun, and frugality if you were a vanlifer? (pictures welcome).

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I'm not pursuing that life at all. But, it seems to me a lot of it would depend on what jurisdictions you'll be in or traversing.

I would definitely want a 22 of some sort. As others have said, Single Sixes are great. So are K22's. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a nice automatic like a Ruger Mark, Browning Buck Mark, etc. Plinking (sensibly and carefully) out in the middle of nowhere is just pure fun.

9mm is definitely the easiest ammo to get. I'm a revolver guy, but luckily there are any number of 9mm revolvers. An LCR 9mm would be great for carry. Something like a GP100 or K-frame in 9mm would be good for target shooting or VD (Van Defense). There are also lots of non-rotating 9mm handguns, if that's your preference.

A 9mm like a g19 with a 22 conversion kit would be a dandy, provided two guns is decided against. I have a Cenier platinum cup upper for 1911. My golly that was a fine piece of plinking hardware. It ran flawlessly.

I see the Mercedes’ Sprinter vans in droves around my state. Most with California plates. Usually driven by what looks to be a late 30s early 40s tech exec with a Life is Good T- Shirt on. Doubt there is any gun onboard.

I have zero interest in being an RV’r but if I could only have one gun in the rig it would prob be my Dan Wesson Pistol Pack in .357. Would allow me to swap to longer barrels for range work and shorten it up for carry and VP (van protection)

Id have a top notch gun box discretely hard mounted to the steel sub frame to store it in for times I can’t carry.

What requirements does "van life" imply?

Are you traveling a lot so you need something 50-state legal?

Are you parking / sleeping surreptitiously on the street or overtly in a more controlled area?

Does the firearm need to be powerful enough to be employed from inside the vehicle and therefore must shoot through windshield and / or the metal sides of the vehicle and still incapacitate a bad guy?

Does the firearm need to be common enough so ammo is available nearly anywhere?

You get my drift.

-Stan

If I had to go 9mm and 22LR, I'd go with good quality midsized options. Probably CZ P10 and a Ruger Single Six.

I wouldn't worry about huge aftermarket or parts and stuff as I wouldn't be sending massive rounds downrange.

But honestly, if I were van-life-ing, I would go with a pistol that can act like a rifle. Kinda like the concept of the FK BRNO. But even a 10mm or 45 Super would be okay. Something powerful but packable. For all critters and vermin.

I would go with a S&W M&P10 and a Heritage Rough Rider 22 LR/ magnum convertible.

Oh wait ... That's similar to what I use for car camping already!!!

I don't live in a van but we have one to travel in, that we camp in, etc. I carry a G26 and three mags. I have an Idaho Enhanced CWP so am good for the majority of the states, but where I am not licensed and we are moving, the gun stays in a locked case, unloaded but with the mags in the case. It is locked to van structure so yeah, someone could take it with some effort but I've covered most of the bases. When we park for the night, the van turns into a residence, so the gun gets removed from the case, loaded and ready to go.

Edit: G26 = compact 9mm handgun.

We did the RV thing mostly on the west cost and SW for 4 years. You need to pay special attention to state laws when traveling with a firearm. My choice was a P-239 with an 8 rd mag. I was traveling through CA every year. Today probably a P30 SK with a light.

Get some carry insurance before you go.

When we travel a S&W Shield 9X19mm and a M640 38Spl on our person. "Keep It Simple Stupid" applies!

Seymour380 said:

Gila Dog,

You make a great point about keeping the handgun with you, and the possibility of thefts from the vehicle. Makes me think a single concealable handgun would be the best fit relative to my original post.

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In most states that will work. In some it won't. Your carry permit has to be legal in the state where you CC. In CA for instance, they recognize no other states CC permit. You get caught there without a CA permit, well, call your attorney because you're going to jail. Every state is different. Learn it, know it, live it.

If I were going to venture into commie blue states- 12GA Pump and a .357 revolver.
If I were sticking to free states- AR and a hi-cap 9mm.

You generally have to be a "resident" somewhere for purposes of driver's license, vehicle registration, mail, buying guns, CCW, etc. So for this hypothetical scenario, I'd establish residency in Ohio, because...I can.

So our hero (let's call him Frank) has himself a little house and a workshop. He decides he wants to do the van life. So he gets himself a '70's GMC MotorHome, just like the one in the movie "Stripes."

Then Frank thinks it wouldn't be a bad idea to be take some guns with him. He isn't a complete neophyte-he's got one tour each in Iraq and Afghanistan under his belt-so he has the general idea of how a gun works and how to use it.

He spends the winter researching the different state laws, and gets an Ohio CCW and likewise a Utah CCW. He's thinking about handguns, because he can take with him everything he needs to load his own ammunition, do his own repairs, etc, and it all fits in a big plastic tub. And then Frank realizes that by operation of law, he won't be able to carry in states like New York.

So what Frank does is this: he buys a pair of Ruger Mk IV .22 Target pistols and a pair of Glock 19 9mm pistols (because two is one and one is none, says everybody on The High Road). And then for the states like NY, Frank buys a pair of Mossberg 500 Retrograde 12 gauge shotguns. One of each goes with him, and one of each stays home as a spare. If he's going into a state that isn't gun-friendly, he can stop at home to leave his handguns there as needed.

Some terrific food for thought for this "re-newed" gun owner. Not a van-lifer, but decided to keep the "extra" Single Six I was going to sell. Thanks, guys.

a compact polymer 9 mm like a glock 19 or czp10c or similar. it likely will get banged around a lot. since you could only have one.

the 22lr would be more of a " for fun" gun so for me that would be an extra gun for plinking legally in wide open spaces.

jrmiddleton425 said:

You generally have to be a "resident" somewhere for purposes of driver's license, vehicle registration, mail, buying guns, CCW, etc. So for this hypothetical scenario, I'd establish residency in Ohio, because...I can.

So our hero (let's call him Frank) has himself a little house and a workshop. He decides he wants to do the van life. So he gets himself a '70's GMC MotorHome, just like the one in the movie "Stripes."

Then Frank thinks it wouldn't be a bad idea to be take some guns with him. He isn't a complete neophyte-he's got one tour each in Iraq and Afghanistan under his belt-so he has the general idea of how a gun works and how to use it.

He spends the winter researching the different state laws, and gets an Ohio CCW and likewise a Utah CCW. He's thinking about handguns, because he can take with him everything he needs to load his own ammunition, do his own repairs, etc, and it all fits in a big plastic tub. And then Frank realizes that by operation of law, he won't be able to carry in states like New York.

So what Frank does is this: he buys a pair of Ruger Mk IV .22 Target pistols and a pair of Glock 19 9mm pistols (because two is one and one is none, says everybody on The High Road). And then for the states like NY, Frank buys a pair of Mossberg 500 Retrograde 12 gauge shotguns. One of each goes with him, and one of each stays home as a spare. If he's going into a state that isn't gun-friendly, he can stop at home to leave his handguns there as needed.

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That's a nice piece of advice but lots of people stay on the road all year, or most of the year. They may or may not have a residence with a mailbox. When we were on the road we met many people who were in that situation. They weren't exactly your motor homeless with a broken down van either. A 200K motorhome with solar panels was common. Even if they had a residence it might be in NC when they travel through CA.

It's still a free country but some states like CA don't see it that way.

I lived in a van for close to a year, so here's my two cents. First, due to the circumstances, guns were really pretty far down my list. Only had two, a Ruger Mk 1 and badly bubbaed Mauser in 7x57, which ended up getting sold for the necessities.
One thing to consider is that the cops can pretty much turn your vehicle out on the slimmest of probable causes, no doubt helped by my age and appearance at the time (rough).
Definitely a good idea to have only one that goes with you, because a full van is tempting to thieves and the law equally.
Seriously, other than one evening when there was a disturbance not far from where I'd parked for the night, I never really thought much about needing one.
Now is a different story, but if I had any advice, stick with what you got and are comfortable with, and invest in concealment solutions. Mine was keeping the rifle underneath all my stuff and an old holster rigged up underneath the passenger seat for my Mk1. 70 VW busses have a surprising amount of room beneath the seats, I found.
Live small, don't attract attention, and listen to your gut instinct. When it feels like it's time to scoot, scoot. Lotta parking lots and quiet side streets to choose from, you develop an eye for safe and quiet spots to park. Try to stay out of high density population areas if you can as well as higher income areas too, cause they call the law on any strange vehicles. Don't plaster your ride with 2A or tool company stickers, matter of fact, try to make your vehicle's exterior as neutral as possible. Tint/paint over windows in the back to both conceal your stuff and keep it dark if you need to sleep in the daytime.
I could probably write a short book on doing it, just ain't doing it here. OP, if you choose the life, you'll find guns and shooting way down the list of priorities. Simple is best, and a good .38/.357, 9mm, or even a .22 like mine are all you need. Any more would be a pump shotgun on 20 or 12 and that should cover you, even in the deep blue states. Good luck.