Security is one of the aspects that shouldn’t be forgotten or overlooked when choosing to live or travel in a van.
When we explore new destinations and find ourselves several hours away from our base camp, it’s always important to have a way to keep an eye on the things that are important to us and to protect ourselves in unknown areas. For a little more than a year now, we’ve always brought a Vosker camera with us when we head out on the road, and many vanlifers are doing the same to leave with peace of mind! Here are the reasons why we think a security camera is a worthwhile accessory for fans of vanlife.
1. Keep an eye on your van during the winter
Although some members of the vanlife community live in their vans full-time, many weekenders and part-time vanlifers need to store their vans when winter comes. While some of them are fortunate enough to have a garage or a nearby location to store their vehicle for the winter, others must opt to rent a space in a large warehouse.
Nobody likes to abandon their van for several months in a place that is more or less accessible on a daily basis, so why not keep an eye on it from a distance? By installing one camera oriented toward the interior and one oriented toward the exterior of your van, you can gain peace of mind by having access to images directly on your cell phone. There’s no need to travel to the warehouse to make sure that all is well!
2. Monitor a house or lot
When you live in your van full-time, it’s easier to monitor your house, since you always take it with you. But since we bought our lot and started building our CampDeBase, we realized that it’s not always easy to make sure that everything stays in order while we’re out on the road. So, we simplified our lives by installing a Vosker camera on the lot! Now, we can head off on our road trips with peace of mind, knowing that our home is protected.
Since the images are accessible right from our phone, there’s no need to have a screen or an additional accessory in the van. Activated by a motion sensor, the V150 camera sends notifications directly to our cell phone when there’s new activity on the lot. In just a few seconds, we can open the app and check if there’s a problem or if it’s just an animal crossing the lot on the way to its den.
3. Make sure that your gear is safe
Living in a van automatically comes with a smaller living environment. No matter the size of your vehicle, the storage is automatically limited, and it’s not always possible to take all your belongings or larger pieces of equipment with you. That’s why many vanlifers choose to store everything in a shed or locker!
Whether you rent one or use the shed behind your parents’ house, this place can easily hold hundreds of dollars’ worth of items that are important to you, such as bicycles, surfboards, or your old furniture. Placing a camera is therefore a great way to protect these items while you’re on the road. Since Vosker’s V150 camera doesn’t need WiFi or electricity to work, your shed full of gear can be deep in the woods without any problems! As long as you have your cell phone with you, you can rest assured that everything is safe.
4. Protect yourself on a daily basis in the van
Although there are many safe places to sleep when you’re on the road, you need to be alert and pay attention when sleeping in a van. As full-time vanlifers, we often try to avoid big cities or more popular areas, but even deep in the forest, there’s still a risk of a break-in or even a theft of a van part in the middle of the night.
Installing a camera right inside the van therefore lets us sleep with peace of mind. By installing it on the dashboard, it’s visible from the outside and already acts as a deterrent to anyone who might have bad intentions. In addition, if we need to take off and leave the van alone for a moment, the Vosker camera will send us a notification if it detects movement inside the van. If you want to monitor the surroundings, simply point the camera in the direction of one of your windows and trigger the time lapse mode! You will have access to nearly live images of everything that’s happening around your van.
5. Capture memories of your van conversion
Although it acts first and foremost as a security system, the Vosker camera can also help you create memories of your van conversion! Anyone who embarks on this adventure knows how worthwhile this process is when heading out in your converted van for the very first time. So, why not capture memories of these many hours of work for you, your friends, or even your social media?
With its time lapse mode, the V150 can capture images at regular intervals according to your chosen timeframe. You could therefore set it up facing the van during your work sessions and take a new picture every 5 minutes! By combining all the photos at the end of the day, you end up with a mini movie of the completed steps. Once you’re on the road, this mode can also be used to capture elements of nature, such as a sunrise or sunset! The camera quickly becomes a multi-purpose tool that can be used during the day with its colour photos and at night with its infrared mode.
