Can You Live In An EV?
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A few years ago, I spent a summer Uber driving around the Phoenix metro area. As with all rideshare drivers, I met a lot of interesting people. Many were passengers, but fellow drivers at the airport and just people I’d encounter on the street often had very interesting stories and things going on. Unlike most people, I’m not terrified of the average homeless person, and occasionally I’d have conversations with them while charging or waiting for the next ride.
One homeless man I encountered didn’t even look homeless at first. He was parked near an EV charger outside of a restaurant and was sitting on the hood of his car enjoying the night air that was 80°F instead of 110+°F. He saw me plugging the car in and asked me, “Does that thing have free power?” Interestingly enough, the answer was “yes,” as I was using a Level 2 charging station while I went to eat. As the conversation progressed, he told me about living out of his car, and how terribly hot it got.
I came away from that conversation with an increased appreciation for EVs. I imagined being homeless and living in one, and saw that it would make for a superior homeless car. Not only would there be air conditioning without high energy consumption, but there’d also be lower risk of fire, less maintenance, and even free fuel in some places if you’re lucky (free charging was more common in 2018).
But, for obvious reasons, I wasn’t interested in trying it out. I like being able to sleep in a bed, shower, and do other things that you can only do in a home, apartment, or maybe an RV. So, this video of someone who actually lives in an EV was pretty interesting:
David lives in a Tesla Model S, and lives in the car about half of the time. The whole thing started after a breakup, and he thought he would temporarily live in the vehicle (it was the only thing he had left after the separation) while figuring out another place to live. But, after a while of trying to figure out a home, the nomad life grew on him. This continued right into the 2020 pandemic.
But, after a while, disaster struck and his parked Tesla was totaled by another car while parked, forcing him to switch to a minivan. This gave him more room, but he got to see what all of the disadvantages of an ICE nomad vehicle really were. So, as soon as he could do it, he bought another Tesla to get things like air conditioning back. Unlike high top vans, it also fits in parking garages and doesn’t draw attention.
This second EV was when he got serious about building a dedicated nomad interior instead of just making do with loose things piled in.
He started with a 2015 Model S because he was able to find one with lifetime free Supercharging. So, he can get a free refill on his utilities for this “house” anytime almost anywhere. It also makes his travels between cities for work (he meets people in-person for work) a lot cheaper, too. He drives about 40,000 miles per year, so we’re talking about some serious savings. He says that even if a bunch of money fell in his lap, he wouldn’t live any other way.
Inside the vehicle, he removed the passenger seat and center console to make more room to use it as a home. This left him room for a desk to use from his driver’s seat. This makes room to work, eat, and more. Eventually, he’d like to build a fold-out desk. He doesn’t cook in the car, buying food from restaurants. So, there’s not much of a kitchen. But he has a microwave and an ice chest for unusual circumstances.
In the back, he has removed the seat backs but left the cushioned seat bottom in place. This left him with a level place to put a thin foam camping mattress and sleep. Drawers go along the whole passenger side of the car, leaving him room to freely climb between the front and the back of the car without having to go outside. He’s a professional photographer, and keeps his gear in the back storage area and the frunk.
Creature comforts are always important. For power to run things like his microwave and charging his camera batteries, he has an inverter wired to the 12V battery of the car, which is kept topped up by the car’s main pack. For bathrooms, he uses public restrooms, and he frequently cleans himself with baby wipes. The video didn’t talk about how he showered.
After meeting with Bob, he made some improvements to the interior. First, he added a slide-out desk like he mentioned in the video, making for a desk that works in the seated position. Second, he painted more of his interior pieces black to make them less visible from the outside of the car for better stealth. It also looks better.
The Future Of This
Here’s the thing: most people are not willing to live in a car. I get it, because there’s just not a lot of room in a sedan or even most SUVs. It’s the kind of thing a single person with nomadic tendencies can do, while the rest of us probably experience lumbago even thinking about living in a car. OUCH!
But, we’re no longer watching an EV industry that only sells sedans and little hatchbacks. We’re seeing multiple manufacturers offering high-top vans, pickup trucks, and soon electric RVs. We’re already seeing people use electric trucks to haul campers, and I know of a few people doing frequent trips in electric cargo vans modified with a basic RV interior. But, setups like that are pretty expensive at this point.
As we see electric vans come down in price (think about what happens when Rivian Amazon vans start to hit the used market), we’ll start seeing a lot more people consider living in EVs. With abundant power and abundant room, things will be a lot different than they are now.
Featured image: a screenshot from the CheapRVliving video above.
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