In a house, most of us would never want to sleep without a working smoke alarm or CO detector. Smoke and CO can kill you before you wake up to know something is wrong.
When we were building our van, we had no thoughts of NOT installing these critical safety alarms. Early on we added them to our Walmart list and found spots for them in the van. The smoke detector is above the counter and the CO detector is behind the drivers seat. And despite these being one of the most important items you should install, we never mentioned them anywhere in our original van fit out or in the blog.
Many who decide or end up needing to sleep in their vehicles do not think about. Some have had fires but have survived them. Others have had more tragic outcomes. A family of 4 died in a California parking lot in 2018 and man died in Great Forks MT this January.
Whether you are building your van out like us, planning on catching some shut eye in your car from time to time or your circumstances require your vehicle to become your home, do not pass on these critical safety items.