The undermount gray water tank arrived last week and I will admit, I was a bit intimidated. For one thing, working under a vehicle is not something I have a lot of experience with. Until Carey showed me how to do an oil change on my old Subaru a couple years ago, I’m not sure I’d ever even been under a vehicle. Now along comes a project that involves many hours of sub-vehicle effort.
I’m determined to do as much of this project on my own as I can, but the tank mounting seemed like a two person job. Undeterred, I pulled up the manufacturer’s installation video on YouTube and watched it closely. At one point in the video, the installer referenced another video that seemed like it might be helpful. I went to their channel and started scrolling through.
That’s when I saw a reference to a vanlife festival in 2025 and got curious. I googled “Peace Love & Vans 2026” and the results came up March 6-9, 2026. I stared at the date. Isn’t that today? Where is this festival? Another quick search and I found that it was only an hour away. Sometimes the universe provides exactly what you need, when you need it.
After three weeks of building all by myself, making slow but steady progress, and realizing just how huge this project that I’ve taken on is, I had an opportunity to see hundreds of my peers living their best van-lives. I hopped on the website and bought a $10 day pass for the next day.
Saturday morning I woke up early and made the drive to the Tampa area. A line of mostly vans stretched toward the entrance as I pulled in and waited my turn. I was given a map and a schedule for the day with workshops and vendor demonstrations, and directed to park in a field. For the next 9 hours I wandered all over the park, attending workshops on safety for solo female travelers and kitchen essentials, and touring dozens of DIY vans with a similar layout to what I have in mind. The van owners were generous with their time and their knowledge, and I came away with many ideas, photos, and lots of inspiration.
The festival could not have come at a better time in my build timeline, just as I was finalizing my floorplan, but the biggest gift was how it normalized vanlife for me. Prior to the festival, I had watched many YouTube videos but I hadn’t met any other vanlifers. There was something so comforting about being around so many people who have chosen this life for themselves, and hearing how many of them took on the task of building their van with no prior experience. I made four new friends at the festival, and joined two new Facebook groups. My concern with going locationless was not having neighbors or roots. This festival helped me see how I can build a new kind of community. I finally found my people.
Inspired and armed with new ideas, I came back to the build for another week of learning new skills. I spent 7 hours one day building a sturdy wooden platform to support the fresh water tank in the “garage” space. I used the orbital sander, scribing compass, step bit, and deburring tool for the first time. And yesterday I spent 5 hours installing the gray water tank under the van. I did it by myself—but it doesn’t feel like I’m doing this alone anymore.
Let's Go, Jane! 
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