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"An empty water bottle/adult diaper can become a luxury in the middle of the night to avoid putting on your clothes/shoes and exiting the van in the coldness"
by EngCanMan 4y ago
"An empty water bottle/adult diaper can become a luxury in the middle of the night to avoid putting on your clothes/shoes and exiting the van in the coldness"
You lost me when adult diapers became a luxury.
- ietktnz 4y agoI came here to quote this with virtually the same response. I will go so far as to say this is gross.
- rgrieselhuber 4y agoGross. Anyone who has camped knows that feeling of sadness when it’s cold outside but you have to go to the bathroom at 3am. But some of the best moments I’ve had outside are during that time. The air is cleaner, you can see the stars if it’s clear, you might hear coyotes or other animals yipping not too far off...well worth the momentary annoyance.
- nicbou 4y agoIt's a rare opportunity to see the stars. It's always worth it.
- bombcar 4y agoCamping in a remote environment is way different than parked in a parking lot on some highway exit - and now that Walmart isn't 24 hrs in the US you can't even just park there and walk in. Temperature also changes things - if it's above zero outside it's not so bad for a quick jaunt, but if it is -40º it's a whole different ballgame.
- rgrieselhuber 4y agoSure, but I don't know a lot of places in Japan that get to those temperatures, especially on the map indicated.
- bombcar 4y agoYeah, "van life" is going to vary wildly depending on the country and even where in the country you are.
- sva_ 4y agoReminds me of getting out of a hammock in the woods at night.
- throwaway675309 4y agoTrue, but at the same time I'd wager its rather difficult to appreciate the grand mystery of nature while you're sloshing around in a pee soaked diaper.
- turdprincess 4y agoA wide mouth Nalgene or whey protein container work well for both ladies and males. I’ve never heard of anyone using a diaper. Pee only of course.
- BizarreByte 4y agoIt’s hard to imagine putting up with stuff like this when for the same amount of money it takes to do “van life” in Japan you could live quite well elsewhere.
- bradleyjg 4y agoWhat does it cost to live in rural Japan? I was under the impression the countryside is depopulating, which I would think would mean reduced costs.
- rtpg 4y agoI have a hard time imagining it to be cheaper to live in this truck than most things. And the kid… I can’t imagine this is good for the kid. Obviously the point of the van is that you can move around a lot! Aside: vagrancy is illegal in Japan, so if you’re sticking to the law you probably need to rent somewhere (or use your parents) and have a registered address.
- jefftk 4y ago> I can’t imagine this is good for the kid. Why would you expect this to be a bad life for a 1.5yo? They get a lot of time with their parents, and a lot of time outside? I'd feel differently with, say, a 4yo where that this sort of life would mean not having friends, but a 1.5yo is too young for that to be an issue.
- scandox 4y agoThis is absolutely fine for a young kid. Kids are way less conventional than adults at that age. If a kid gets food, warmth and attention they're basically golden.
- dymk 4y ago[flagged]
- 4y ago
- ch4s3 4y agoYeah, this and the trash situation seem pretty unpleasant to me.
- nabilhat 4y agoFor anyone who's spent any time sleeping in a van or car in public parking, this feels like gently worded subtext that fits in with this from the 'safety' section: > While sleeping in normal parking I think it is important to keep discrete so people will not bother you and you will not annoy anyone. In much of the world, going outside to pee in the bushes in a populated area carries a nonzero risk of attention from law enforcement and a progression to sleeping outside minus the now impounded van.
- bitwize 4y agoTry "sleeping under a bridge the rest of your life". Public exposure is a registerable offense in some states.
- gambiting 4y agoFortunately there's plenty of world outside of the United States, where peeing outside does not make you a sex offender.
- prmoustache 4y agoDo you really expose to the public when you are turning your back to everyone?
- knodi123 4y agoPublic exposure convictions/registration from people who are innocently peeing somewhere they shouldn't is vanishingly rare. As in, I've never seen a report of a conviction that I found credible, but if I did, I'd bet lots of money that you couldn't find a second one. What I HAVE found is lots of people on the registry for indecent exposure who tell their friends "I was just peeing in alley, I swear", but I do not count those as credible.
- ericmcer 4y agoDiaper is gross, but peeing in a bottle while sleeping in the car can be nice. Just roll over, pee, roll back over and fall asleep again. Much less intrusive than getting up and walking to the bathroom, dealing with bright lights, etc.
- dieselgate 4y agoGoing in a bottle is not a solution for all of us unfortunately
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- bitxbitxbitcoin 4y agoThere’s a device called a she-wee and many female vanlifers report success with Folgers tins or large fountain drink cups, which then get poured into a bottle. Source: thevanlifecoach.com
- chrisBob 4y agoProbably not while laying down, but a wide mouth bottle, such as a dedicated Nalgene bottle, can work.
- dieselgate 4y agoit can work in a pinch but from personal experience can't recommend using water bottles for these purposes at all
- almog 4y agoWhile my personal urinating experience so far in life has involved a male urethra, I met on trail women who've been using Shewee for peeing in the outdoors. I imagine that if it works the way it's supposed to work, maybe it could work with a bottle.
- seszett 4y agoPeeing in a bottle while in bed is a tad more complicated for a woman.
- binanc 4y agoAgreed. Why not install a toilet in the van? I remember watching videos where peopled installed toilets in their van. Didn't seem too complicated.
- yreg 4y ago>Our van doesn’t have toilets, considering how difficult it is to dump trash I wouldn’t recommend using your own toilets while traveling.
- binanc 4y agoI don't buy it. What do buses and RVs with toilets do in japan? If it is that difficult to dump trash, then what do these guys do with their soiled diapers? Certainly there has to be better options than wearing diapers.
- yreg 4y agoI don't know, but I drove an RV for a month through Europe and we've never used the onboard toilet because we didn't want to have to deal with it. (We were also students on budget and wanted to avoid camps as much as possible.) Of course I would prefer the RV toilet to a diaper though.
- lmm 4y agoBuses with toilets probably have dedicated disposal facilities operated by the companies. Long-distance buses here are mostly run by big conglomerates.
- Vrondi 4y agoJapan has no campgrounds with RV hookups? At such facilities, you can hook up and flush out your sewerage.
- aliqot 4y agoI don't know, it's already unsettling when the person driving in front of me is leaving a trail of wiper fluid sprinklets
- whymauri 4y agoJust use a water bottle like the rest of us! I lived out of an Explorer for 3 months, not once did an adult diaper cross my mind.
- mynameisvlad 4y agoThis only works for about 50% of the population.
- stickfigure 4y agoMy wife disagrees: https://www.rei.com/product/407267/freshette-pee-funnel https://www.rei.com/product/407267/freshette-pee-funnel
- mynameisvlad 4y agoSure, products exist which make it possible, but the parent commenter said: > Just use a water bottle like the rest of us! That's not just using a water bottle. And certainly is specialized enough of a tool that you likely can't find it as ubiquitously as a water bottle.
- jacobriis 4y agoFunnels are a more specialized tool than adult diapers?
- mynameisvlad 4y agoFunnels that are specifically shaped for that purpose very much are, yes. I don't understand how that's even a question. Adult diapers' main purpose isn't peeing while on a van trip; I would imagine elderly people around the world need them day to day. A funnel specifically made for women to pee is an incredibly niche product with little to no day-to-day use. Nobody said that a diaper is superior to a funnel. The grandparent comment makes it seem like it's easy for half the population to pee in a bottle and I called them out on it. I didn't even mention the ubiquity of adult diapers, I compared finding a specialized funnel to a water bottle on purpose.
- ym705 4y agoAuthor here: Just to clarify: We don't wear diaper everyday... But it happened and was a good option during snow for the lady.. The luxury was an expression (I'm not English native speaker).
- innocentoldguy 4y agoMy Japanese wife would never go for that.
- gambiting 4y agoIf it was the middle of the night and she absolutelyhad to go I'm sure she would - anyone would.
- innocentoldguy 4y agoI wouldn't. I'd go outside in the snow. My wife claims the same. Don't take this as negative commentary directed at the author of the article. If this works for them, great! I'm just saying that it isn't a solution that would work for me and my wife.
- killingtime74 4y agoHe also said he doesn't bathe every day. Hard pass.