I have about 10 gallons of water for drinking and doing dishes that I keep in the sink tank. I often keep an extra 7 gallon tank in the front, and a little extra for showers and emergencies.
I can go about two weeks comfortably with the supplies I usually have on hand. Although I do enjoy eating local produce when im out in the middle of nowhere from the farms around me.
Ive never really had any kind of terrible issue on my travels. I brake things sometimes though. Once I left a glass of water on the counter and then starter driving which was catastrophic but really not the end of the world. Once I got a nail lodged in one of the tires and managed to drive across the entire US before noticing. I do a lot of repairs on the van myself and am pretty comfortable doing so. Some quirks include: the front doors dont unlock from the outside, I have to enter from the rear. Also whatever keeps the key secured in the ignition doesnt release when I turn the van off, so I have to reach in under the stearing wheel and release the mechanism myself. But again, really not the end of the world. I got one of the cheaper used vans I could find that was under 100K miles. Some quirks were expected.
My battery can last a week or two (depending on use) without being recharged. I have two fold out solar pannels I just plug into the battery when I need to. I have two to mount to the roof that I bought almost a year ago that I just...... never attached to the roof. The live slid in between my bed and the wall lol. I just dont have a ladder and my van is super tall and I cant reach the roof, haha.
Personally, I make a living traveling around gig to gig. I work in practical film effects, prop fabrication, and scenic art. I left my LA jobs and just go do whatever looks cool. The freedom to go do any job anywhere has been awesome.
The reason some folks see a lot of "van life" content on the internet is becasue that how a lot of people make their living on the road. haha. Its just convinent for them. Although I do often find the people I meet who do that a little annoying.
Independently of Sputnik, Ive been to all continental US states and have lost count of how many cross country road trips. Sputnik however, has really only seen the southern 50% of the US. Ive been to..... pretty much everywhere in the US. Most towns and locations.
I am partial to the west. (although I've been mostly in the east lately.) My favorite parks are Joshua Tree, Sequoia, Channel Islands, Badlands, Yellowstone. I used to park the van behind this huge rock right outside seqoia so it was private and quiet, and the spot faced a huge open canyon. I watched a bear family across it for a few months when I had the free time to go.
The only thing I dislike about living on the road is that Im very social. So Im always trying to see people and Im always missing something somwehere.
I do spend a decent amount of time in cities. For work or friends. When I do I just leave the van in a trusted location or friends driveway or what have you, and take public transit. Most offen was in LA. I miss the darkwave scene out there sometimes.