We rented a van and tried the van life for a week!
We’ve been talking about selling our home, buying a van, and living on the road for a year (or more). But before we went all in, guns blazing, we decided we needed to try it out for a week to see how we did. To get a feel for a family of four living in a small space. We know it can be done but we had no idea how it would be for us.
If you’d like to read the simplified itinerary, check that blog post out here!
the van
A little about the van we found! We rented a RAM Promaster on Outdoorsy. The van was about 3 hours away from where we live so we packed all our things and drove to pick the van up on Saturday morning. It had a convertible bed in the back with plenty of storage above and below the bed. There was a shower with a wet toilet (which just means it stays in the shower rather than coming out when using the shower), a kitchenette, and a bench seat that fit both car seats. The kitchenette had a sink, microwave, fridge with plenty of space, a cooktop with two burners, and plenty of storage. It also had a pop-top so we could use a second bed on top of the van if we wanted to.
The planning
We didn’t want to go too far since we only had the van for a week. Our goal was only a few hours of driving per day so we kept that in mind when finding places to stay. Our ultimate destination was Florida (thinking we’d be able to swim in the ocean). Turns out, February is not the best month for swimming.
the adventure
Day One – Saturday
We picked up the van around 1pm and went over all the things with the owners. We’ve never done something like this so we learned all about the water hook ups, electric, dumping, etc. We made a stop for lunch and got on our way! Our first night we planned to stay in Atlanta which was about 4 hours away. That was the longest chunk of driving we wanted to do at one time. We have family in Atlanta so we figured staying close to their house might be a good option for our first night, kind of ease us in to sleeping in the van. The house was right there if we needed it! Which happened to be a good thing. Elijah got sick and we needed to wash everything. We did sleep in the van though and made it through the night.
Day Two – Sunday
Plans for the day were to get up and get going on to our next stop in Florida. But unfortunately, plans change. We attempted to turn around in the yard and got stuck. We were told it would be 45 minutes for the tow truck but that turned into several hours. Again, thankfully we were at the house so we were able to go in and wait inside where it was nice and warm instead of turning on the propane to heat the van. We snuggled with Roxy that Great Dane (check out their channel on YouTube – Rockin with Roxy) and watched a movie. After some miscommunication and the wrong kind of vehicle being sent to tow us, the correct tow truck came and rescued the van! We hit the road to make the drive to Ichetucknee Springs campground. Arrived there at 11pm, put the window shades on, hooked up to the electric, and went to bed. I can’t tell you how nice it was to just be able to park and be done for the night. No setting up a tent. No unpacking a whole bunch of stuff.
Day Three – Monday
We woke up to an overcast sky. Ate some breakfast, made some coffee, and went to explore the campground. It’s a family owned campground and everyone was super friendly! They have lots of farm animals (pigs, goats, ducks, bunnies, and a cow) and several dogs. You can pet all of them and they have food to feed them! Super fun! If you are ever in the area, we highly recommend camping with them! I’m already looking forward to being there again. We planned to explore the local spring (Ichetucknee Springs State Park) for a little while which was right down the road. It costs $6 per vehicle to get in. The spring is a constant 72 degrees. Might feel pretty nice on a hot, summer Florida day but on the 60-something degree day we had, I was not getting in. Jake did and both of our boys attempted! Jake took his snorkel gear in and got some cool underwater shots with his camera. You do have to watch for alligators here; thankfully we did not run into any!
We ate some lunch in the van and then drove to the Tampa area. We did try to stop at two other springs on our way but due to the time, they were not admitting any more people. It’s important to check on their websites ahead of time to find out when the last admittance time is. We did not have a campsite booked for the night and we wanted to have the experience of boondocking in a parking lot so we found a Walmart lot to stay in. *It is important to check what lots allow people to stay overnight because not all of them do.* When we pulled in there were already several other campers and a truck parked so it felt a little safer. We cooked dinner and Jake took the boys for a safe walk around the side of the parking lot to get some energy out. Obviously it’s not quite as nice as when you have your own campsite but we made it work. Bedtime was a little rough because neither of the boys seemed very tired (blaming late naps). A downside to parking in a lot means you can’t just get out and play or run energy out.
Day Four – Tuesday
The really amazing thing about being in a van is that when you are ready to go, you can just go. We woke up, secured moveable items, got the boys buckled in, and drove off! We drove about an hour to get to Honeymoon Island State Park. Honeymoon Island costs $8 per vehicle. We parked in a lot right by the beach and backed the van in so we could see the ocean from the back doors.
It was amazing. Cold and windy but the view was perfect. Especially with a cup of coffee in my hand (IYKYK). The island has some hiking trails and a playground so we spent some time playing and walking around. We moved the van to a different beach area and spent a few hours just sitting by the ocean. It’s worth mentioning, the seagulls here are NOT afraid of people. They will fly right at you to snatch food. I had to use an umbrella to try to fend them off while the boys ate some snacks. A friend of ours lives in the area so he met us at the beach with his two dogs. It’s nice knowing people where we travel! He gave us some good suggestions for food and places to go. We picked up dinner at a Wawa gas station (Kelli’s favorite) and ate in the van. We didn’t have a spot to camp for the night again so we found ourselves at a local Walmart. We didn’t get good vibes from this one though so we moved on. I found a website that lists places you can stay overnight and there was a Sam’s Club not far. We parked and Jake went inside to just do a courtesy check, which ended up being good because they said we could not stay. So off we went to find somewhere else. We ended up at a Cracker Barrel. There were several other vans/campers already parked for the night so again, it made us feel a little safer.
Day Five – Wednesday
Since we spent the night at Cracker Barrel, we decided to eat breakfast there. Kind of as a courtesy but also because we love their breakfasts. There is something about their pancakes y’all! After breakfast was Clearwater Marine Aquarium. If you are familiar with the movie Dolphin Tale, this is where Winter was rehabilitated. We got to see dolphins, turtles, sting rays, pelicans, a nurse shark, and other fish. We paid an extra $20 to feed the sting rays which neither of the kids decided they wanted to do. It was a fun visit and was nice for something to keep us occupied but I will be honest and say we personally didn’t feel it was worth the price of admission. We drove across the bridge to Clearwater Beach. It was SO much more crowded than we expected for a Wednesday in February. We found parking a block off the beach ($13 for the day), made lunch, and walked to the beach. It was super windy and cold. The sun was bright and beautiful though so that helped. We didn’t stay too long. Our friend had recommended an ice cream shop in the area that we decided we needed to try. It was worth the stop! The ice cream was delicious. If you are in the area, check out Strachan’s. They have five locations and an award winning carrot cake flavor. Jacksonville was our next stop and we didn’t have camping lined up so we just decided to drive as far as we wanted. We stayed overnight at a Cracker Barrel right outside Jacksonville.
Day Six – Thursday
First stop today was the beach! If you can’t tell, we like beaches. We found a small parking area in Atlantic Beach next to a public access. It was SO peaceful and quiet out on the beach this morning. We laid out some towels and just relaxed for a while. Still too chilly to get in and swim but the boys had fun just running around on the sand. We ate some snacks and fended off some seagulls. We stopped at some shops in town to look for souvenirs and a plus of the van is that in can still park in normal parking spots! We were not limited on where we could park. We were only about 10-15 minutes away from the campground we were staying at that night (Hanna Park Campground). Funny story, Jake made reservations for the wrong day… Thankfully they were not booked up and were able to get us a campsite for the night. This campground has a lot to offer (several playgrounds, beach access, bathhouses, laundry etc). We were able to just relax for the rest of the day. We built a campfire and roasted some marshmallows which is always a hit with the boys!
Day Seven – Friday
We packed up our campsite and drove 1.5 hours to Jekyll Island, GA. This was a stop my parents just made on a trip of theirs and they highly recommended it so we fit it into our schedule! Our other option was Savannah which we both like but we figured the boys would have more fun exploring around the beaches. A cool little thing Jekyll Island does in January and February is a hide-and-seek game with plastic globes. According to their website, “In the early 1900s, east coast fishermen used hollow glass balls, or floats, on their nets as markers. Occasionally, the floats would break loose and wash ashore for lucky beachcombers to find and keep. Collecting these rare, highly sought-after glass floats became a hobby in the 1950s.” Each day they hide globes around the island and if you find one you can redeem it for a real glass float! (You can also buy them). We searched but did not find any. They also have other events throughout the year! Check out their website for more info, Jekyll Island. Our first stop on the island was Driftwood Beach. Super cool area! It looks other-worldly! The boys loved climbing all over the driftwood. We also explored the town center and Great Dunes Beach. My parents found tons of sand dollars here so we wanted to see if we could find any. I found one little one and Jake found one! They were dead (we double checked) so we brought them home with us. **Please do not take living sea creatures.** The island also has a really cool historic section but we didn’t have time to explore it. I’m already looking forward to a trip back here! We stayed the night at Sweetwater Lake Campground in South Carolina (about 3 hours away). This campground is on private property and does not allow South Carolina residents to camp there. It’s based on an honor system so you just pull in and park in an open spot. It seemed like there were a lot of long term guests but everyone was friendly. They have a beautiful lake and some very friendly dogs. Also a large fire pit for anyone to use and a small area for kids to play. We asked if we could put our drone up which they were fine with so Jake got some cool drone footage. They also have a bathroom with showers. We made another of our Mountain House camping meals for dinner and spent the rest of the night relaxing.
Day Eight – Saturday
We made arrangements to return the van by 1pm. We got up and did some breakfast at the campground. The drive back to North Carolina was just over 2 hours.
Summary
This trip was not a vacation by any means. It was an experiment to see if we liked living in a van and feel like we can do it for an extended period of time. We needed some time to process the whole trip and make a list of pros and cons. We did really enjoy it and had a fun experience as a family. We had made the plans to travel to Florida thinking we may be able to swim. In hindsight, we wouldn’t have traveled so far since we didn’t get to do any beach swimming. We would have stayed closer and spent more than one night in the same spot. Hindsight is 20/20 right? I also wish we had booked more campsites. We wanted the experience of boondocking in a parking lot but I would have been okay with just one night of that..
Pros of the campervan
- easy to park and move around
- relatively good gas mileage
- you can be discreet with it
- easy to boondock with
Cons of the campervan
- small for 4 people
- price (the vans themselves can be pricey, especially if you buy one ready to go)
- time (if you don’t buy one ready to go, it’s going to take time to do the build)
- didn’t like the layout of this one in particular (personally would have used the shower space for more space in the van and done the shower/toilet differently)
- we needed two car seats so the table was unable to be used the entire time which meant lots of eating on the bed