If you鈥檙e a regular reader of this column or have followed my adventures over the years, you鈥檝e no doubt realized that I have a habit of changing adventure rigs quite often. My wife says I have a problem, but I think it鈥檚 fun to try new camping rigs and, as with most other outdoor gear, constantly tweak and dial them in.

Our latest rig is a camper van. Sarah and I tested a Wayfarer Vans Walt conversion last summer, and we liked van camping and traveling so much that we pulled the trigger on a van of our own late last year. After five months with it, I have a better sense of how a van compares to different types of rigs, and thought I鈥檇 break down why we made the switch.

Watch: Inside a Wayfarer Vans Conversion

Why We Made the Switch

First, some quick background. I spent six weeks last summer riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR), and Sarah joined me in the Wayfarer test van for the last two weeks of the trip. While planning the adventure, we began discussing logistics and what vehicle she鈥檇 take. The natural choice, to me, was to take our Tundra and 19-foot Airstream鈥攂ut after talking it through, it became clear that towing the trailer would be too much work and create a lot of unnecessary headaches. I suggested she just camp in the Tune M1 that lives on the back of our Tundra, but we haven鈥檛 built out the inside, and she rightly pointed out that living and working out of it for several weeks wouldn鈥檛 be comfortable.

All of that led to our interest in trying a van. We quickly learned that a van was not only the right rig for that particular trip鈥攚hich involved moving to a new location every day and lots of highway driving鈥攂ut it made more sense for the majority of our trips than the Airstream. Here鈥檚 why:

1. We averaged 20mpg over a couple thousand miles, which is nearly double what our truck gets pulling the trailer.
2. Navigating cities, small towns, and even gas stations was infinitely easier with a van half the length and with a better turning radius. While the Airstream was only 19 feet long, when you add it to the truck鈥檚 length, you鈥檙e piloting a 38-foot rig versus a 19-foot van.
3. We worried significantly less about getting stuck or having to back up for long distances on Forest Service roads. Even though our trailer has a 3-inch lift and all-terrain tires, the whole rig was much more difficult to fit in tight spaces than a self-contained van.
4. The van, despite being front-wheel drive (FWD), proved quite capable and went anywhere we needed to go. The GDMBR is made up of mostly dirt roads, some of which get pretty gnarly鈥攅specially in New Mexico and Montana. There were some particularly rough, rocky, and rut-strewn sections of Forest Service road between Seeley Lake and Whitefish that the van probably had no place being, but Sarah took it slow and made it through without issue.
5. The build was simple, high quality, and offered most of the amenities we were used to with our Airstream, such as running water, lights, a heater, and a fridge鈥攋ust with much less required maintenance.
   

   

Choosing the Van

When we got home from that trip and returned the test van, we were surprised by how much we missed it. We didn鈥檛 just miss camping out of it鈥攚e missed all the little advantages that come with having a campervan, like the passthrough from the cab to the living area and ability to make quick snacks in the kitchen on the road. So, we decided to sell the trailer and look for a van.

We were set on a Wayfarer conversion after spending so much time in one, which limited our van choice to either a Ram Promaster or Ford Transit. I labored over the decision mainly because the Transit is available in all-wheel drive, and I thought that might be necessary for some of the places we go. Ultimately, we decided that a van with all-wheel drive would still be nowhere near as capable off road as the four-wheel-drive Tundra in our driveway. The low clearance, limited suspension travel, overall size, and lack of low range really limits where an AWD van can go compared to a truck, so we decided to skip it. Besides鈥攚e鈥檇 already found the Promaster鈥檚 FWD to be capable of getting to most places we wanted to visit on our trip along the Divide.

Promasters can cost significantly less money than AWD Transits: A brand new, starts just over $50K, while a starts around $57K (though when you dig into it, it鈥檚 very difficult to find a 148鈥� High Roof, AWD Transit for less than $65K). Used Promasters are even less expensive, and when we were shopping it was easy to find a slightly used Promaster with 30,000 to 40,000 miles on it for $30K, which was a big factor in our decision. What really sold me on the Ram was . First of all, Promasters are more square inside and feel much more roomy to me than Transits, which get narrower toward the roof. At their widest points, Promasters are about 7.5 inches wider. A high-roof Promaster has about 6 feet, 2 inches of standing room inside after a Wayfarer conversion, but its exterior height is a full 8 inches shorter than a high-roof Transit (which, despite the tall height, only offers 2 more inches of interior head room). That might not sound like a big deal on paper, but I can assure you it makes a difference in high winds on the highway, low overhangs around town, and low-hanging branches on dirt roads. Heck, a mid-roof Transit, which only offers 5 feet 8 inches of standing height, is only 3 inches shorter than a high-roof Promaster.

There isn鈥檛 really enough of a difference in payload and towing capacity between the two makers to really matter, but Promasters get better fuel , which was important to us (we average around 18 to 20mpg in ours, while the AWD Transits usually average 13 to 15mpg). They also have about two more inches of ground clearance from the factory than the Fords.

There seems to be a consensus on the internet that Transits are more reliable than Promasters. While data from does sort of back that up, the Ram鈥檚 listed annual cost of ownership number is only $200 more, which wasn鈥檛 enough to sway me in the Ford鈥檚 direction given the Transit鈥檚 higher purchase price and lower fuel economy. I also asked the folks at Wayfarer about their experience with both vans, and they said from what they鈥檝e seen and heard from customers, there really isn鈥檛 that much of a difference between the two in terms of reliability. Both vans are sold all over the world, and there are plenty of examples of people traveling extensively out of each van with great success.

Ultimately, we chose to buy a used, 2023 159-inch wheelbase, high-roof Ram Promaster 2500. We opted for a 2023 because that model year came with a new, nine-speed transmission, which helps the van鈥檚 3.5L V-6 on the highway and in the mountains. We really appreciated the amount of space it had inside over the Transit, and were able to save a bunch of money by finding a great deal on a used van. Side note: Wayfarer is one of very few van conversion companies that will actually convert used vans.

The Build Process

Wayfarer Vans is based in Colorado Springs, and they have their conversion process down to a science. They can help you source a van, and once you鈥檝e got one, lead times vary from two to eight weeks for scheduling your install. Installs themselves usually take just two to three days.

Each is based on the van model you bring them, so our high-roof, long-wheelbase Promaster meant we鈥檇 be going with the same Walt conversion we tested. We optioned ours a little differently than the test rig, but it鈥檚 quite similar overall. The biggest-ticket options we wanted were the windows, bug screens, and heater.

Because we were moving from a 19-foot Airstream to a van, we really appreciated the Walt鈥檚 extra storage space for gear and extra seating. The Walt has one extra 鈥淏oot Box鈥� in the back compared to the Transit models and a larger galley cabinet for more storage. We often camp with friends, and being able to easily seat four or five people for dinner or board games inside the van if it鈥檚 nasty outside is awesome. As a side note, you can also spec either van with a if you have kids or travel with more than two people.

You can read a more detailed account of the van鈥檚 interior build in this article I wrote last year, but the moral of the story is that Wayfarer builds simple, high-quality camper vans that are completely modular and allow you to change the layout of the van depending on your needs.

Top Takeaways

We鈥檝e had the van for nearly five months now, and it鈥檚 already gotten more use than our Airstream did in the several years we owned it. That鈥檚 because now, in addition to a sweet camper, we also have a supremely practical vehicle that we use for other things than just camping trips. We鈥檝e hauled appliances and kitchen cabinets, driven to visit family across the country, used it as a production vehicle for my video business, and even used it as a daily driver because it gets better fuel economy and is easier to park than the truck.

I was also used to constantly working on the various systems in our Airstream, given it was 20 years old: I ripped out the black tank and replaced the toilet with a composter, lifted it and added bigger tires, added lithium batteries and a solar system, and more. With the Wayfarer build, we still have running water, a heater, lights, vent fans, solar-powered electricity, and even a portable composting toilet, but it鈥檚 all simpler and everything just works. It has a hand pump that pulls water from a 5-gallon jug, so there’s no winterization required. The electrical 鈥渟ystem鈥� consists of a , which works flawlessly and is simple to replace if it somehow wears out. All of the cabinetry is high-quality, Baltic birch plywood that鈥檚 completely modular and can be easily repaired or replaced if necessary. In practical terms, that means I now spend a lot less time futzing with systems and more time planning trips and actually camping.

We鈥檝e also found that it鈥檚 an infinitely better winter and ski camping rig than the trailer, due to the superior insulation, lack of plumbing to freeze, maneuverability and the fact that we are no longer dealing with trying to tow a trailer on snowy roads. The front wheel drive, paired with the I ran on it this winter, have proven to be totally capable of getting us to our favorite ski hills.

I鈥檝e already mentioned how practical the van is for more mundane tasks like moving furniture, but we鈥檝e also found that it makes for the perfect dog palace at trailheads or when running errands around town. The fans and windows allow us to keep it cool inside if we need to leave the pup in the van for a bit, and he鈥檚 got a comfy bed and a full bowl of water at his disposal. Bonus: The fact that there鈥檚 a always inside means we can keep groceries cool if we鈥檙e in town for the day, or just have cold drinks waiting for us after a mountain bike ride.

Off-Road Capabilities

But what about off-road stuff? You can鈥檛 do that in a Promaster! While the Promaster is an exceptionally practical vehicle, it鈥檚 also true that a huge, front-wheel drive, box on wheels is not an off-roader. But honestly, that鈥檚 part of what I love about it鈥攊t doesn鈥檛 pretend to be one, unlike some other vans out there. Despite that, it will absolutely get you down a gravel or moderate dirt road, which, if we鈥檙e honest, is really what most of us do with our built-out trucks, anyway. I do plan to modify mine just a bit to make it more dirt-road capable, which I鈥檒l cover in an upcoming article.

If I know I鈥檓 going somewhere that the roads will be really rough, I鈥檒l take the truck and sacrifice some camp comfort. I also love that the van also gives me the option to bring my e-bike or tow a four wheeler for further exploration (both of which will get further off road than my truck ever could).

Gear Hauling and Practicality

One other point in the win column for the Promaster is its gear hauling ability. Our van can not only tow more than 6,000 pounds, but has a payload capacity of 3,994 pounds. After the lightweight Wayfarer build, that means we still have plenty of payload leftover for toys and never have to worry about overloading the rig, which is something we鈥檙e constantly mindful of with our truck. If you鈥檙e an overpacker like me, a 戮-ton Promaster is a great option and can usually be found for significantly less money than an equivalent 戮-ton pickup truck.

If I鈥檝e learned one thing in all the years of testing rigs, it鈥檚 that no adventure vehicle is perfect. I always shied away from vans mainly because I assumed you needed at least $150K to buy one. Downsizing from a 19-foot travel trailer to a Promaster and Wayfarer conversion taught me otherwise. It鈥檚 also teaching me that, as with most things in life, simple is better.

More Gear Reviews

The Best Trailers, Truck Campers, and Van Conversions of 2025
The Most Exciting New Gear at Overland Expo West 2025
The 7 Best Sleeping Bags for Car Camping

The post Takeaways from Camping and Traveling in a Van Versus a Trailer appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Upon first sight, my younger daughter hugged the yellow . Arms draped across its cheerful face, she said, 鈥淐an we keep it?鈥� A reasonable question for a car that looks like it time-traveled from Woodstock to Haight-Ashbury via Pixar Studios.

The ID. Buzz is Volkswagen鈥檚 reinterpretation of its microbus鈥攁 car so entrenched in American counterculture that you would think it ran on patchouli oil. But this isn鈥檛 just an exercise in brute nostalgia that鈥檚 engineered to empty a former hippie鈥檚 pension. It鈥檚 a modern, all-electric machine that manages to embody the good vibes of its flower-power past.

Heading north toward Dillon Beach, the first revelation hit: Unlike its asthmatic ancestor, this bus moves. The all-wheel-drive version will get to sixty miles per hour in a very decent six seconds. And more than just my daughters loved it. Skiers returning from Tahoe slowed beside us, faces pressed against windows like kids at a pet store. At the Dillon Beach Resort, we became the parking lot鈥檚 main attraction. 鈥淚 used to have one of these,鈥� declared every old-timer. And then, the inevitable question after getting a good look at the car: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the range?鈥� I managed around 230 miles on a full charge and limited spirited driving. That鈥檚 not a lot compared to, say, the 320-mile range of a Tesla Cybertruck. But no one wants to hug a Cybertruck.

The interior is comfortably utilitarian and stops short of luxe territory, with the exception of the gorgeous panoramic smart glass roof that can transition from transparent to opaque with a voice command. This isn鈥檛 quite a #vanlife vehicle. Despite its ancestral connection to cross-country odysseys, the ID. Buzz is, at its heart, an exceptionally cool minivan. There鈥檚 no built-in kitchenette, no pop-top for sleeping under the stars. It鈥檚 designed more for Costco runs and car camping鈥攖hough aftermarket conversion companies are already drafting plans.

After about a day, my older daughter had heard me answer enough questions about specs that she could fill in as ambassador. The first rule of ID. Buzz Club? You will talk about the ID. Buzz. Exasperated after fielding so many boomers鈥� car questions, she asked, 鈥淲hy does everyone want to talk to us?鈥�

Which brings us to the question: Who exactly is this for? You can get more mileage and utility out of a or a . Those are definitely more practical. But in an automotive landscape where everything is starting to feel the same, the ID. Buzz does something radical: It prioritizes joy. Perhaps that鈥檚 exactly the revolution we need.

The post Meet the Electric Minivan Designed to Spark Joy appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

I love gawking at cool 4x4s and campers, and I also love a good deal. I have a buddy who suffers from the same affliction, and we have a text thread going back several years that鈥檚 filled mainly with Craigslist links to cool vehicles we鈥檝e found online. This affinity for adventure rig classifieds is how I ended up with a 2006 Power Wagon a few years ago and how he scored a killer deal on an even rarer truck and camper. Mostly, though, surfing the web for adventure mobiles is just a fun way to pass the time when we鈥檙e bored.

So, in an attempt to do something useful with this goofy habit and put all that time spent scrolling to good work, I鈥檓 going to start highlighting some of the coolest rigs and best deals I鈥檝e found recently in an installment I鈥檓 calling 鈥淐raigslist Finds.鈥�

Keep in mind that these things sell like hotcakes, so these exact listings may no longer be available by the time you鈥檙e reading this. The hope here is to provide some insight on what to look for and how to find a good deal on a rig.

Don’t miss: The Best Trailers, Campers, and Van Conversions of 2025

There are all sorts of amazing rigs sold around the world that we never got in the United States, like the Mitsubishi Delica, 70-Series Landcruiser, and a whole host of JDM, or Japanese Domestic Market, campers sold only in Japan. Case in point, this 1998 Toyota Camroad 4WD.

The Camroad was based on a Toyota Toyoace truck chassis and sold by different Japanese manufacturers in the 鈥�90s. This one, a Champ model, has a fiberglass camper affixed to the back of it and is about 16-feet-long and 6.5-feet-wide鈥攆or perspective, that鈥檚 shorter than many full-sized trucks and Sprinter vans on the market today. Japanese campers are renowned for their efficient use of space and excellent build quality, and this one certainly looks like it lives up to that.

It has a pass-through cab, meaning you can access the camper portion of the vehicle without needing to go outside, and looks like it sleeps at least four (two above the cab and two on a convertible dinette). The seller鈥檚 description isn鈥檛 the most detailed, but from the looks of things, it鈥檚 very well-equipped with a shower and cassette toilet inside, a 20-gallon water tank, a microwave, and more.

Like all JDM vehicles, this one is right-hand drive, which may take a bit of getting used to but is legal to drive in the U.S. This rig has an automatic transmission, which makes things a bit easier, and is powered by Toyota鈥檚 legendary 3-liter diesel engine. It even has push-button four-wheel-drive.

Because it鈥檚 nearly 30 years old and was never sold in the U.S., it鈥檒l take the right kind of buyer to fully appreciate and enjoy this rig. But, if you鈥檙e into well-made, quirky adventure vehicles with four-wheel-drive capability and Toyota reliability, this could be a really cool choice.

A Sportsmobile has always been an absolute dream rig in my mind. If you鈥檙e not familiar, the company has been making some of the most . The ones I鈥檝e always been most taken with are those built on the Ford E-Series platform鈥攖hey鈥檙e the old-school, boxy Ford van that was the predecessor to the modern-day Transit. Its truck-like, body-on-frame construction made it more suitable for off-road travel and all the modifications and accessories that go along with that, like suspension lifts, larger tires, steel bumpers, and winches.

These vans were never sold with four-wheel-drive from the factory, but a few companies, including Sportsmobile, , , and , converted them to four wheel drive, turning them into true adventure rigs. Sportsmobile is perhaps best known for their pop-top conversions, which allow for a ton of standing room and extra sleeping space when parked, but retain all the benefits of a low roof van on the highway.

While cool, Sportsmobiles don鈥檛 come cheap鈥擣ord stopped selling E-Series cargo vans in 2014, so even and hold their value. You can sort of still buy from Field Van (formerly Sportsmobile West), who has created their own custom fiberglass body that fits on an E-Series cutaway chassis, but it鈥檒l cost you north of $200K.

All that to say, this particular Sportsmobile is actually a pretty good deal. It鈥檚 a 2013 (so one of the last years of the E-350) with a Quigley 4WD conversion, and it has the sought-after 6.8L, V-10 engine with only 40K original miles. Lots of folks think the diesel engines are the way to go in these vans, but the V-10 is nearly as powerful and costs significantly less to maintain鈥攜ou鈥檒l just be buying a lot of gas because the engine is not known for being efficient.

The seller says the van鈥檚 interior was updated in 2018 by Field Van (formerly Sportsmobile West) and now has a quartz countertop with an induction cooktop. There鈥檚 also 200 watts of solar panels on the roof and four AGM batteries. Should those run out, it also comes with a Yamaha generator.

It鈥檚 loaded with extras like an onboard air compressor, front and rear, heavy-duty bumpers, an outdoor shower, and one of the cleanest interiors I鈥檝e seen in a long time. I鈥檓 a big fan of the floorplan on this one, too, which gives you more seating in the back and space to walk though to the back of the van. All in all, it鈥檚 about as drool-worthy as it gets.

This one is the most turnkey of the three vehicles, and a killer option for anyone looking for a true go-anywhere, haul-anything adventure rig. The Ford F-250 is a very popular truck for hauling a camper and doing serious work, and this particular one has two of the best options available for the model: the . The 7.3L V-8 puts out 430 horsepower and 475-pound-feet of torque and is a great alternative to a diesel engine, both for the lower maintenance costs associated with it and because regular unleaded is easier to find while traveling internationally. It鈥檚 also designed to be an exceptionally long-lived engine, so 76,000 miles shouldn鈥檛 scare anyone off.

The means the truck gets a slight lift, a locking rear differential, Ford鈥檚 Trail Control drive mode selector, a special rock crawling mode, and 35-inch tires. The seller also installed an onboard air compressor for quickly airing up those big tires.

The model鈥檚 max payload is 4,210 pounds, which means it likely doesn鈥檛 even know that camper is in the bed. As for the camper, this Four Wheel Campers Hawk looks to be a fully loaded, front-dinette model. It sleeps four, and the seller says it has every option available, including an 85L Isotherm fridge, a Thetford cassette toilet, inside and outside showers, 230 watts of solar on top, and Victron charging components, among other things.

If I were looking for a slightly used three-quarter-ton truck and slide-in camper combo, this rig has just about everything I鈥檇 be looking for. You鈥檙e getting a lot of value here, too, considering a new F-250 Tremor and a new, would be north of $40K.

More Gear Reviews

Our 4 Favorite Tents for Car Campers Who Like to Go Big
15 Pieces of Camping Gear that Aren’t Essential But Are Really Nice to Have
The Best Duffels, Packs, and Roller Bags for 国产吃瓜黑料 Travel

The post Craigslist Finds: Our Favorite 国产吃瓜黑料 Rig Classifieds this Month appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Have you ever thought about quitting the rat race, becoming free from rent or a mortgage, and hitting the open road?

Whatever your answer to that question, a lot of people do. For years, Instagram has showcased beautifully aesthetic versions of a more simple life on the road with the hashtag , which is populated with nearly 18 million posts. And the subreddit r/VanLife has almost 300,000 members who discuss the ins and outs of their experience and share pictures of their setups and views.

After spending some time talking to vanlifers and lurking in vanlife spaces on the internet, the most important thing I鈥檝e learned about vanlife is that there is no single version of vanlife. The moniker, I think, refers more to a state of mind that corresponds with a way of being鈥攁 freedom ontology that can be achieved through life on four wheels. Remove the tethers that bind you to a specific place (and the costs associated with them) and experience a more real autonomy and the ability to wander. There is no monolith, only your unique experience.

In many ways, it鈥檚 not surprising that this mode of existence exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when lockdowns and remote work created competing senses of containment and openness. At the same time indoor experiences became less likely, a lot of work could be done from anywhere. For many, it became the right time to take to the road and experience the outdoors from a new, built-out, moveable home.

Philosophy and aesthetics aside, there are also more material considerations that drive some to consider vanlife. As 国产吃瓜黑料 has reported on, the cost of living in mountain towns has steadily increased over the last several years, and American cities, broadly speaking, aren鈥檛 getting any cheaper.

Is #vanlife the answer?

I spoke to two vanlife pros at different points on the cost, build-out, and lifestyle spectrums to get a more thorough understanding of the expenses, benefits, and unexpected realities of living out of a van.

Bruce Dean, Ph.D., is a Wavefront Sensing Group Leader at NASA鈥檚 Goddard Space Flight Center. In that role, he helped develop one of the flight algorithms as a key component in aligning the James Webb Space Telescope鈥檚 mirrors. He鈥檚 a lifelong runner and endurance athlete, holds 14 U.S. patents, and currently lives in his van in Colorado. He鈥檚 been fulltime in his Mercedes Sprinter van since 2021. He also has a business founded on vanlife, build-outs, and life coaching called .

William Gayle spends summers working for the Parks Service in Yosemite, California, and the ski season in Mammoth Lakes, California. He has spent a number of his years in Mammoth living in a converted minivan that he built out with pull-out drawers and a platform bed.

The Realities of #Vanlife

Both Gayle and Dean offered me a window into their own unique vanlives.

The Cost of Insurance

For Gayle, the most terrifying moment of vanlife came when his van鈥攚ith all of his earthly possessions inside it鈥攚as stolen. Though he insures the vehicle with homeowners insurance, Gayle says it didn鈥檛 really hit him that his van is a moveable and stealable container of his life until he was walking around with only the clothes on his back. Thankfully, it was recovered within 24 hours, but Gayle never shook the worry that it created.

Dean also mentioned insurance as one of his most significant expenses.

General Expenses

Gayle told me that the daily cost of dining out added up quickly. His minivan didn鈥檛 have kitchen facilities, so for at least one ski season, he ended up spending somewhere between $40 and $80 a day on food and drinks. Although Gayle only used his vans for winters in Mammoth, that daily food cost annualizes to somewhere upward of $15,000. For context, the financial website that the average American household spends around $9,985 per year on food.

Dean hasn鈥檛 paid an electrical bill since 2021. He also told me he pays very little for water, and most of the time can refill at campgrounds for free. Many gas-stations are OK with letting him fill his water tank if they happen to have a water tap outside. The only housing related bills that he has every month are for Starlink (mobile satellite internet, currently $165 per month), gas, and insurance. He told me gas costs can vary widely depending on if you travel a lot. He has a full kitchen and cooks every night. He also runs every day and installed a shower so he can shower every night.

Romantic Relationships

When I asked Gayle if there were any elements of vanlife that surprised him鈥攁nd he鈥檇 want readers to know about鈥攈e mentioned relationships, specifically romantic ones. 鈥淚t made romantic relationships hard,” he said. “People want to get out of their own house; they don鈥檛 necessarily want to come hang out in your van where you can鈥檛 even sit up.鈥�

Builds and Fixes

Gayle said his build-out was relatively inexpensive. Modeling his design after truck-bed campers he鈥檚 seen, he completed his first version of a platform bed with underbed pull-out drawer storage in 2018 and modestly iterated from there, completing most of the work before the cost of lumber skyrocketed during COVID.

Dean is handy鈥攁nd can do most repairs and improvements himself. 鈥淚t pays to install the best components available, to help avoid problems later,” he said. “But these can be expensive, most notably, the batteries, solar panels, a refrigerator, and electrical components, these can really add up. That said, you would have anyway if you lived in a conventional home.鈥�

Gas and Tolls

Dean told me that a surprising part of vanlife, at least the way he does, has been the sheer number of toll roads and pay-to-cross bridges. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e more inconvenient than costly,鈥� he said.

Gayle used his van in Mammoth Lakes in winter, and he didn鈥檛 have heat. Driving around to heat up his vehicle ended up being a more significant expense than he expected.

How Does Vanlife Compare to the General Cost of Living in the U.S.?

To get a better understanding of renting in major cities and outdoor destinations, I used , and I picked a few desirable places to stack up against the average cost of vanlife that I discerned from the folks I interviewed for this story. There’s one important caveat I need to note about Forbes’s calculator when it comes to the cost of rent: the calculator uses the median of rent across all rental sizes, which means that it鈥檚 hard to say what square footage you鈥檒l get for your buck using the calculator. I鈥檇 like to believe that any apartment is going to have more livable square footage than a van, but at one point my now-husband and I inhabited a 400-square-foot studio apartment in Los Angeles, California, so I don鈥檛 think I can comfortably make that claim.

Without further preamble, here are a few relevant rental scenarios:

Asheville, North Carolina: $1,554 median monthly rent

Denver, Colorado: $1,899 median monthly rent

Morgantown, West Virgina: $995 median monthly rent

Portland, Maine: $2,582 median monthly rent

St. George, Utah: $1,627 median monthly rent

The Forbes calculator summarizes other relevant cost of living expenses in the pages it creates for individual cities, but it was difficult to discern overall cost with a single number using its capabilities.

That said, it鈥檚 almost definitely cheaper to live in a van if you鈥檙e conscientious about the additional lifestyle costs you鈥檒l need to consider. How will you eat? Kitchen or dining out? Where will you shower? What鈥檚 the plan for accessing water? Is your van paid off, or will you have a monthly payment? How much of a build-out do you really need?

Answer these questions, and you could be on your way. After all, as Dean told me, in a van, 鈥測ou have the added benefit of waking up in a different location every day, and having coffee in the morning overlooking some truly great landscapes. In fact, when I wake up in the morning and drive away from some location, it feels like I got away with something!鈥�

The post How Vanlife Compares to the General Cost of Living in the U.S. appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Awnings can be a great addition to an adventure rig. They can effectively double your covered living space and provide a nice shelter from the sun or rain鈥攂ut they don鈥檛 come without their downsides. After testing many different awnings throughout the years, I鈥檝e come to conclude that a permanently affixed awning is just more trouble than it鈥檚 worth

I鈥檝e owned several different rigs that had awnings bolted to their roof racks鈥攊ncluding a teardrop trailer that had both a and a legless 360-degree awning mounted to it at different times鈥攑lus multiple truck campers and travel trailers with awnings. Every single one of them had issues. They were heavy and added considerable wind resistance to the rig. Legs snapped in high winds. And set-up and break-down were never easy. Most took a long time to pitch, and most were a pain to pack back into their infuriatingly small cases. Permanently affixed awnings are also very expensive, often 鈥攐r more.

Once, I foolishly left my campsite with my trailer鈥檚 fancy, seemingly bombproof permanent awning deployed, and a huge storm cropped up while I was away. There wasn鈥檛 anything on the radar when I left, but I came back to a taco鈥檇 awning and a scratched-up trailer. Hell, I bought a used Airstream a few years ago that was missing its awning completely and had some scratches on one side. When I brought it to a shop for some other work, the shop owner immediately recognized the scratches as 鈥渁wning damage,鈥� meaning the awning had likely been left deployed and ripped off by wind, and told me that was one of the most common issues they see.

Needless to say, I鈥檇 pretty much given up on mounting an awning on my rig and generally thought they were more trouble than they鈥檙e worth. Lately, though, I鈥檝e seen several new, more modular products at trade shows that had me take a second look. (Plus, I do still recognize that it鈥檚 nice to sit outside in the shade sometimes.) Finally I decided to cave. Here are two of the best new 鈥渁lternative awning鈥� solutions I鈥檝e tried.

Moon MoonShade

First up, the . This product isn鈥檛 brand-new鈥攊n fact, I鈥檝e been testing and using one for a couple years now. If you鈥檙e unfamiliar, it鈥檚 a portable awning that sets up easily and attaches to pretty much any rig imaginable. The Original MoonShade provides seven-by-nine feet of coverage, and the upcoming MoonShade XL will provide twelve-by-nine feet, which works well for larger rigs like vans and is big enough to set up a serious outdoor kitchen underneath. The original MoonShade I鈥檝e been using weighs about eight pounds once it鈥檚 all packed up, and can be quickly attached to a vehicle鈥檚 roof rack, the side of a van or camper, or literally anywhere else thanks to a whole host of , like the included suction cups, or optional magnets and more. It detaches and packs down just as easily.

The structure of the MoonShade consists of two cross poles, which clip into a pitched sheet of 420-denier ripstop polyester, similar to the way you might set up a tent fly. There鈥檚 also another support pole that can be used for 鈥渘arrow base mounting,鈥� meaning you can set it up against something narrow, like the trunk of a vehicle, plus two telescoping support legs. Setup is fast and intuitive, and you can basically have shade anywhere within a couple of minutes. I鈥檝e found that it holds up well in the wind if it鈥檚 properly staked out, and the fabric sheds rain easily. As a tall person, I also love the domed shape of the MoonShade鈥攊t provides way more headroom underneath than a traditional awning, and the reflective fabric on the underside creates a nice ambiance if you string up a lantern at night.

The two best things about the MoonShade, though, are the price and the versatility. At $395, it costs significantly less than most permanently attached awnings, and since it鈥檚 not permanently affixed, it solves a lot of the problems I mentioned above, like excess weight on the rig. That also means you can easily move it from one rig to another, which is handy if you want to use it for a day at the beach but don鈥檛 need to take your overbuilt truck with you.

Dometic HUB 2 REDUX

If you want more versatility and an even simpler setup鈥攁nd don鈥檛 mind paying a premium to get it鈥攖he might be your shelter. I saw the HUB 2 REDUX for the first time at Overland Expo West in 2023, and was immediately intrigued. It鈥檚 an inflatable shade structure that Dometic calls an 鈥淥utdoor Activity Shelter,鈥� which is actually a pretty good descriptor. It鈥檚 a 7.5-by-7.5-foot, freestanding unit that鈥檚 similar in shape to one of those shade tents you might see at a kid鈥檚 soccer game or an outdoor trade show. The difference? There are no metal poles鈥攖he legs and roof section are made from inflatable tubes.

The Airpoles, as Dometic calls them, look and feel a lot like the baffles in a high-end packraft or inflatable kayak. The material is made from recycled plastic bottles, feels very durable, and is totally weatherproof. In truth, I was apprehensive the first time I took it out of the bag and set it up, assuming it would take a good amount of fiddling to get right. Surprisingly, it鈥檚 incredibly easy鈥攜ou just stake out the bottom of the structure, and then hook up the included hand pump to one of the corners. Within about 30 seconds, you鈥檝e got a very sturdy shade structure. Frankly, I was blown away by how fast and easy the whole process was.

I鈥檝e had good luck setting up the HUB 2 REDUX near the tailgate of my truck and on the side, and using the truck itself as an anchor point. The cool thing about the HUB 2 REDUX is that you can add several different accessories, like to the sides, a , or even an annex for an SUV that turns the whole thing into a giant tent connected to your rig. You can also easily use the HUB 2 REDUX on its own, say at a soccer game or tailgate, and you鈥檒l never have to worry about poles breaking in the wind, or damaging your rig. It packs down to the size of a backpack and weighs about 19 pounds鈥攏ot bad for a structure this beefy. At $750, I鈥檇 call it a pretty good value, too.

So, if you鈥檙e in the market for an awning for your adventure rig, I鈥檇 recommend you take a hard look at either the MoonShade or the HUB 2 REDUX before you bolt an expensive, heavy, damage-prone awning to the side of your ride. It may not look as cool, but you鈥檒l thank me later.

The post Tested: The Two Best Modular Awnings for Your Rig appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

I鈥檝e tried just about every type of camper there is over the years. In addition to testing for 国产吃瓜黑料, I鈥檝e personally owned a teardrop, a Casita travel trailer, two shell-style truck campers, an Airstream, and even my own homemade slide-in truck camper (yes, I have a rig problem). And yet, while we鈥檝e been willing to try pretty much every other setup on the market, my wife Sarah and I have always stuck to a single hard guideline: No vans.

We have never been van people. Sarah and I both find most of them too loud, awful to drive in the wind, not very capable off pavement, and, most importantly, prohibitively expensive. So, you can imagine my surprise earlier this year when Sarah looked me in the eye and said she wanted to take a van on an upcoming cross-country trip.

Actually, surprise might be an understatement. We have a perfectly good Tundra clad with a sitting in the driveway, next to a 2005 Airstream Bambi we鈥檝e been remodeling over the last few years. What could a van do that our campers couldn鈥檛?

A lot, it turns out. But first, some background on the trip. This spring, I was deep in the final planning stages of a 2,700-mile bikepacking trip along the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. My plan was to leave Antelope Wells, New Mexico, on June 1 and arrive in Banff, Alberta, sometime around July 15th. Sarah鈥檚 not a cyclist but she wanted to join for part of the trip. The plan was for her to meet me along the route somewhere in Montana and be the sag wagon for the last two weeks of the ride, after which we鈥檇 road trip home together.

She thought the trailer would be too cumbersome for some of the roads we鈥檇 be driving and a pain to maneuver through cities. Plus, understandably, she didn鈥檛 want to pull the thing by herself. The Tundra/Tune combo, while a perfect rig for off-road adventures and shorter trips, isn鈥檛 enormously spacious鈥攐r easy to work remotely from. Sarah also brought up something up I had never had to consider as a white male: a van would offer her more security as a solo female traveler since she wouldn鈥檛 have to get out of the vehicle, or pop anything down to leave if she felt uncomfortable somewhere.

So, I reluctantly set about looking for a van to try. Though, deep down, I was also a little excited (I do love a new rig, even if I never pictured myself giving #vanlife a try).

At this point, I鈥檇 been following for several years. The Colorado Springs-based brand originally offered interior kits for DIY builders, and have since switched to doing conversions themselves. In a world of $250,000, ostentatious Sprinter van builds, the idea of a high-quality camper conversion that sounded almost too good to be true. Only one way to find out: I called them up and asked about testing one of their vans. We ended up choosing a slightly more kitted out, $24,500 build dubbed “.” Here’s how it went.

Wayfarer Vans Walt Build: Review

If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside. Learn more.

How Wayfarer Works

Unlike custom van builders, which will do just about anything to any van, Wayfarer keeps costs down by only of Ram ProMasters and Ford Transits. You can bring them a new or used ProMaster or Transit, so long as it鈥檚 a 2014 or newer. These vans cost less than Mercedes Sprinters鈥攁nd typically have lower maintenance costs. It鈥檚 usually a lot easier to find a Ford or Ram dealer for service.

Wayfarer offer four builds鈥攄ubbed the Walt, Walter, Wilma, and Wilford鈥攚hich each correspond to the different van models, as well as a couple layout options within each build. But perhaps the biggest perk of going with Wayfarer is the time a conversion takes. Since they stick to a set number of models and floor plans, they have all their materials on hand and their builds dialed. That means they can convert a van in just a couple of days. To put that into perspective, a lot of van builders take weeks to complete a conversion. I鈥檝e even had friends wait for more than six months for a build on a new van.

The Build

The demo van we tried was a , which is based on a 159鈥� wheelbase, high-roof Ram ProMaster 2500. The buildout consisted of a galley cabinet with a sink and flip-up counter space, seating for three, a bed in the back, boot boxes, and overhead storage cabinets and compartments. For the furniture, Wayfarer uses UV-treated, 9-core baltic birch that鈥檚 water- and scratch-resistant, while the walls, ceiling, trim, and cabinet doors are composed of laminated composite materials.

Soft panels cover any other exposed surfaces, like the wheel wells. Wayfarer insulates each van with 100-percent wool batting, and includes sound-deadening insulation in the subfloor. All that insulation, along with smart touches like the soft panels over the wheel wells, gravity hinges, and more, contributed to a very quiet cabin and pleasant driving experience.

There were also LED lights in the ceiling and an insulated partition (which you can easily roll up and store out of the way) to separate the living space from the cab. Magnetic window coverings for rear windows are also included in the $24,500 base price. Our demo van had some bonus features, like a Propex heater, extra storage cabinets, and for the doors. (Wayfarer will add any of these to your own build for an additional fee.)

The Test

Sarah picked up our van at Wayfarer HQ in Colorado Springs and spent a few days road tripping through Wyoming and Montana, and finally met me outside of Lima, MT. By the time she caught me, she was already smitten with the van. The lower exterior height of the ProMaster and driver’s seat鈥攚hich sits higher than that of a Sprinter or Transit, and offers a better view of the road鈥攈ad proven to be far more comfortable for her, and the van seemed significantly less affected by wind gusts on the highway than the other vans we鈥檝e driven. It was also much quieter than previous vans we鈥檇 tested, presumably due to the lower roof height of the ProMaster and the amount of insulation Wayfarer uses to deaden road noise. And, thanks to the quality of the interior build, there was no noticeable rattle from cabinet doors or fasteners.

We鈥檇 most recently tested a 144-inch wheelbase, high-roof Sprinter equipped with an interior build from , which takes a different approach to interiors. 国产吃瓜黑料 Wagon opts to keep things modular with a lot of aluminum components. While we liked that van鈥檚 minimalist build, we found the interior was so loud you could barely hold a conversation at highway speeds, and we felt the Sprinter鈥檚 鈥淐rosswind Assist鈥� feature was overly intrusive鈥攁nd even a bit scary. Obviously there鈥檚 a lot that goes into making a van鈥檚 interior quiet, including the dimensional differences of the Sprinter and ProMaster (a high-roof ProMaster sits almost 10 inches shorter than a high-roof, AWD Sprinter, for instance), but clearly Wayfarer has figured out some secret sauce to keeping their interiors quiet, too.

After spending more than a month living out of a one-person tent, I felt like a king once Sarah arrived鈥攄espite the fact that Walt isn鈥檛 the fanciest van I鈥檝e spent time in. Compared to something like a Winnebago Revel, 国产吃瓜黑料 Van, or Storyteller Overland Build, it鈥檚 much more utilitarian鈥攂ut I actually appreciate that. The modern interior design is simple but beautiful, the cabinets and furniture feel extremely well built, and it doesn鈥檛 feel so fancy that you feel bad about tracking dirt and messy gear inside. It feels like it was made to be used as an adventure rig, not a showpiece.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

The longer we spent living in the van, the more we both grew to really appreciate Wayfarer鈥檚 simple approach to the build. In lieu of a complex, expensive electrical system, they power the camper鈥檚 lights, fans and fridge with a that charges via the van鈥檚 alternator and two solar panels on top. Instead of a traditional plumbing system with pipes to freeze and a water pump to break, two five-gallon water containers (one for fresh, one for gray water) sit under the sink. To get the sink flowing, you simply work a small hand pump. That saves water鈥攁nd means you never have to winterize anything since you just pull out the jugs or empty them when it gets cold. There鈥檚 no shower or bathroom, but there is space for a portable composting toilet. We just brought along our and rinsed off outside.

Downsides? Truthfully, I couldn鈥檛 find many. It was never really cold enough for us to use the Propex heater, but I could see some people preferring a gasoline-powered heater like a or that could be plumbed directly to the van鈥檚 gas tank, eliminating the need for an additional fuel source. I鈥檝e had good luck with Propex heaters in other rigs, though. Also, at six foot one, the van鈥檚 bed in the 鈥渞egular鈥� layout we had was too short for my six-foot-four frame. There鈥檚 an option for a 鈥渓ong鈥� layout, but you lose some seating to accommodate the longer bed, which is a bummer.

Top Takeaways

The van鈥檚 simplicity reminded us that a lot of rigs, including our Airstream, are overly complex, and filled with 鈥渓uxuries鈥� that, while seemingly nice, just tend to break and become one more barrier to getting out and enjoying a trip. For instance, while our Airstream has an oven with a built-in stove, a propane-powered fridge and a shower inside, we鈥檝e had our propane system leak and our water pipes freeze up. The trailer, and a lot of rigs, also have complicated power systems with wiring diagrams that you need to be an electrician to understand, let alone fix if something goes out. We had zero issues with any of the components in the Walt during our time in it, and I can鈥檛 really imagine having any given that there鈥檚 not much to fail or maintain.

We also found the ProMaster to be plenty capable, and we put the Wayfinder build to the test on some seriously sketchy roads. Once, Sarah was forced to spend several hours driving a dirt 鈥渞oad鈥� near Glacier National Park that turned into a rough two-track and then a shelf road over a mountain pass. It was slow going, but she made it, and the interior stayed rattle-free. We鈥檝e taken more expensive campers down lesser roads and had cabinets fall off of walls, refrigerator doors break, and more, which is a testament to Wayfarer鈥檚 build quality.

I think the thing I appreciated most about the van and Wayfarer in general is the value proposition. I鈥檝e always been drawn to value-oriented rigs to review because I think that鈥檚 what most folks can afford. Besides, nobody needs a $250,000 Sprinter, EarthRoamer, or other crazy expedition rig. With builds starting at $21,200 (or $24,500 for the Walt model we tried), and some ProMaster models starting around $50,000, you could realistically get into a brand-new camper van for under $75,000, which is almost unheard of these days. Bring Wayfarer a used van, and you can cut that cost down even more.

To be completely honest, I wasn鈥檛 expecting us to like the van as much as we did. I sort of assumed it would work for the trip, but we鈥檇 return the van and quickly forget about it. I couldn鈥檛 have been more wrong. Since we got back, we keep finding ourselves wishing we still had Walt. We鈥檝e even passed on a few last-minute trips because they sounded like too much work without a van, or we decided they would burn too much gas in the truck (we averaged about 20 mpg in the ProMaster, versus about 13 in my Tundra).

We鈥檙e so smitten, in fact, that we will be buying a van of our own, and bringing it to Wayfarer for a Walt conversion later this year. If that doesn鈥檛 tell you what I thought of the Wayfarer Vans Walt, I don鈥檛 know what will.

The post This Wayfarer Rig Made Me a Van Person appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.