I am not one to jump on a bandwagon but when a movement speaks to me I’ll grab a ride.  After our trek across Colorado, camping out of our Acadia we knew we wanted more opportunities like that.  We were obsessed with the vanlife channels on YouTube.  I love watching the conversion videos.  While we couldn’t take that on as a permanently lifestyle, a comfortable and cozy converted vehicle would make the opportunity ti just pick up and go that much easier.

We found a ’95 VW Eurovan with a pop up on Facebook marketplace just a town over from us of all places.  It wasn’t fit out with the full kitchen set up that the Eurovan traditionally has.  But that suited us just fine as we really didn’t want to cook in the van and there’s so much more room without the kitchen and traditional layout.

The bonus with the Eurovan is that I can use it on a day to day basis.  And all of my art booth supplies fit easily in the back.  And if I ever decide to travel for a show then I have my lodging with me.

We have great plans to make the inside look a little less drab gray velours track suit and more warm wood paneling with a classic plaid.  I have already started making slipcovers.  For now I have put in a plastic drawer unit but we plan to build something nicer once we start the overhaul.  Eventually there will also be new exterior paint.  Since the inside isn’t the traditional layout, I am not precious about keeping it so.  I want it to be fun, very me, and suit our needs.

Recently we rewired the shore power, so that these cooler and colder months make for cozier camping.  We can plug in an electric blanket, small electric heater, or electric water kettle.  Having the kettle inside is super nice to make coffee on chilly mornings and still stay cozy in the van.  Of course you don’t want to use all of these at the same time.  No one likes to hop out on a chilly morning to flip the breaker switch on the electric box at your campsite.

We aren’t interested in being stealthy.  I mean once you raise the pop top I am pretty sure everyone knows you are in there.  We just wanted something that made camping a bit easier to get out there and still be cozy.  Park sites and dispersed camping is enough for us.  Plus the van is just fun and cool looking.  We love old vehicles and keeping this up is just going to be another adventure.  It’s probably the most irresponsible vehicle decision we have ever made but its sure the been the most entertaining.  I guess you could call it our empty nest plan.