Big news folks … We closed the “van life” chapter of our life, as we sold our 2010 Roadtrek!!!!
It was a bittersweet decision, but since we actually spent most of the last 2 years in one domicile in Alaska, it felt like we were moving further away from the “part-time van life nomad” and more into the “permanency” category. We are staying put for the foreseeable future, so we knew it’d be a waste to let our beautiful van sit in storage unused, especially up here in Alaska. Justin cringes at the word settled, so no one should be surprised if there comes a time when we hit the road again … but for now … bye bye van life!
Our 2010 Roadtrek, aka Wanderer II, was actually the 4th van we’ve driven around the country. Believe it or not, our cumulative van miles have topped 75,000 over the past 8 years. And amazingly, the only state we haven’t driven one of the vans through is Louisiana (how did we miss it?). And of course Hawaii!
Anyway, I thought it would be fun to write an ode to all the vans we’ve ever lived in …
Our most current van was the 2010 Roadtrek Adventurous RS Sprinter. We owned it for about 3 years, and put a little over 21,000 miles on the rig, driving through 31 states and 4 provinces in Canada.
Before that, it was our 1995 Chevy G30 Roadtrek Popular 210, aka the original Wanderer. We only owned it for 8 months, but drove it for 10,000 miles through 20 states (and in many mechanic shops).
In the summer of 2017, we borrowed the Superfeet Sprinter Van for 5 months for our New Zealand Speaking Tour, driving it about 13,000 miles through 31 states.
The van that wooed us into the RV world was Phil Koegan’s A3 Sprinter that we borrowed for 6 months for our Backpacker Magazine’s Gear & Go Speaking Tour in 2013. We had no idea we were going to turn into “van lifers” after that summer. Also, we had no idea what we were doing. Backpacker literally handed us the keys & said “drive safe.” We drove that one for 6 months, wracking up 30,000 miles through 37 states!
I don’t know which van has been our favorite. They were various lengths and had assorted amenities tied to each (toilet, shower, 4WD, etc), so it’s like comparing apples to oranges. We definitely love living in vans and seeing so much of the country. Like I said, I would guess we’re not done with our nomadic lifestyle, but we are certainly taking a break.
And just to end on a teaser for a future blog post, this van sale was intentional for some other plans we have in the works …
I have a feeling you will live the van life again in your future!
Exciting times! Sorry to see van life go for now but y’all are making a great life in Alaska! Maybe we can get up there again next summer to see y’all! Would love to put more time in at Denali!
As usual, I admire your flexibility and on-the-road life, but glad you have settled in peacefully in Alaska, the place you were meant to be. You look cozy in the vans–personally I might have gotten claustrophobic of the close quarters after awhile! Which one did you bring to Lakewood, the Backpacker one?