I’ve mentioned it before; I firmly believe moving out of my house in Venice, CA and into my van fulltime was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The decision to do so was equally met with criticism and excitement from my friends, but met, almost entirely, with criticism once I debuted my lifestyle change to the world on Bachelor In Paradise. That’s ok though, I don’t expect everyone to understand. That’s part of the fun.

So here’s my blog post on my van. The things I spent money on, the things I did right, the things I did wrong, and the things I would do differently. I’m not sure why, but I already know this will be the most challenging post I’ve written. I think it’s because I did a lot more wrong than I did right and, while I love my van, there’s a certain amount of shame that comes along with how much money I spent on it.

So…. Let’s get to it!

BUT FIRST ….WHY?

I can’t write a post about my pride and joy without first talking about why I decided to do this. It’s a great question I’ve been asked frequently but I don’t have an exact answer to it.

i have some buried photos of the bus somewhere but this is about the best shot of it that i’ve been able to uncover at the moment.

It’s important to me to mention that this isn’t the first time I have lived in an automobile. I was born in a small town (I think?) in New Jersey, the youngest of four kids. When I was just barely a year old my family packed all of our belongings into a 40 foot conversion bus. The reason for this remains a mystery to me, even to this day. I’ve heard a few different explanations from different family members but at this point it’s basically like folklore that’s been passed through too many channels to really know the truth. I don’t know what, or who, to believe. All I know is that for the proceeding four years of my life, that bus was our home.

As you can imagine, I don’t remember a whole lot of those years because I was so young. Between the ages of 1 and 5 we lived on that bus. From what I’ve heard, my father pan handled for cash on the side of the road, my mom sold temporary tattoos at gas stations and carnivals, and somehow they were able to feed 6 mouths during that time. I have just a few memories but nothing concrete. The most permanent thing I have from that era is the scar on my forehead that I got from stealing my sister’s bicycle when I was convinced I didn’t need my training wheels anymore (turns out I did).

you can see another bit of the bus here, with all the siblings gathered for a group shot, sporting our sweet haircuts and impeccable style.

Four years is a lot of time to spend living in that environment and I do think it ultimately brought our family much closer together. It’s a unique experience that not everyone gets to (or has to) experience. Eventually we found ourselves in an RV park in Carbondale, CO where my father started finding a lot of work in construction. After enough time, we were able to move out of the bus and into a house near Aspen, Colorado.

The purpose of shedding a little more light on that is because I do think it embedded something in all of us. Whether it’s a good or bad thing is purely subjective but there’s no denying that it instilled a nomadic spirit in me and my three siblings. I can only imagine that it’s affected us all in different ways. And how could it not? We all varied so greatly in age and we all had such different experiences. Sometimes I think about how maybe my yearning to move into a van was a way for me to somehow reconnect with my past.

no bus picture in this one, just wanted to supple more ammo for people to make fun of our hair.

Fast forward to January, 2019. At this point I’ve been living in Los Angeles for just under four years and feel like I’ve hit a proverbial wall. LA is a wonderful city with so much to offer but I felt like the things I was doing were leaving me unfulfilled and only left me ridden with anxiety. I think the biggest reason being that I stopped feeling challenged and, without experiencing growth anymore, I started to question what I was doing. I wanted to move to a new city and try something new but I didn’t know where, especially considering I had so many friends in LA, my podcast, and whatever else I needed to be local for.

It was about right after I saw Free Solo for the first time that I started to seriously consider the possibility of living in a conversion van full time. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, it’s a must-watch. Alex Honnold is an insane person in the best way possible. Seeing firsthand (through the television) how he was able to conquer a dream of his by devoting all his time, energy, relationships, and living space, is what ultimately ignited the fire inside of me to pull the trigger and start looking for a suitable van.

FINDING THE RIGHT VAN

The search for the right van began almost immediately. Picking out the van that was best suited for my needs proved to be more challenging than I thought. You really have no idea how many options are out there until you start seriously entertaining the idea of purchasing one.

At first I wanted to buy a VW Weekender simply because I loved the vintage look and feel of them. After extensive research I decided it wouldn’t be appropriate for my needs because I planned on putting a lot of miles on the van. Next I considered buying an extended Ford E350 4x4. The one I was looking at was an absolute beast of a car but, after enough consideration, I realized a low top van wouldn’t do the trick.

side profile of the green monster.

For those looking at doing something similar, I believe my boolean was something as simple as “conversion van” or simply narrowing down the exact make and model you wanted. The biggest advice I can think to give when looking on Craigslist is consider looking in different areas of the US. It’s no secret that states in the PNW or Rocky Mountain regions are going to have more suitable options. And I was certainly willing to fly a few thousand miles to procure the van and drive it back if it was good enough of a deal.

The thing with most conversion vans or vans that you would use to convert into a living space, if you plan on buying used, is that they are going to rack up the miles. I kept seeing Sprinter vans with more than 200,000 miles on them being sold for well over $10,000. My thought was; if I plan on buying and living in this thing, I want it to have low mile because I want it to last for as long as possible. Especially considering that I want to keep it for the rest of my life and will be putting a good amount of money into it.

Eventually I came across a listing in Colorado. But not JUST in Colorado, in the Roaring Fork Valley (as mentioned above). But not JUST in the Roaring Fork Valley, being sold by a man who lived less than half of a mile from the small house I spent my elementary years in in Basalt, CO. The van was listed for around $33,000 which was well over what I wanted to spend. My initial hope was to buy a van for around $10,000 and put another $5,000 to $10,000 into it. But it never works out how we originally hope, does it?

I took it as a sign from above, that my nation-wide search for a van lead me to the place where I spent my adolescent years. Before I met the owner of the van, I had to get my finances in order. My original hope was to take out a car loan but, buying this type of van, my bank wouldn’t give me that type of loan. My next hope was to take out a $30,000 personal loan, both to not take a big financial hit and to help bolster my credit worthiness (credit is something I’ve never been great at building). Unfortunately for me, however, my personal loan got denied so I had to pay out of pocket. I got a cashiers check for $25,000 and withdrew $5,000 cash. The listing price was $33,000 but I decided I wasn’t paying more than $30k and figured I’d start negotiating at a baseline price of $25,000.

my father standing in front of my new home on the day of purchase.

After a climbing trip in New Mexico, I took a bus from Denver to Basalt to meet the guy selling the van. It was crazy to take a trip down memory lane, as I drove up to his house in the small community I used to know so well. The van itself is a 2006 Dodge Sprinter 2500 high top with about 65,000 miles on it and painted a matte green color. I decided a high top was imperative because I knew I’d want to be able to stand inside. (Side note: that was a weird year for the Sprinter; the engine is a Mercedes Benz turbo diesel but the body is a Dodge.) The inside had already been slightly converted, the perfect amount for me to be able to get in there and apply a personal touch. The interior was insulated, lined with wood, and there was already a bed frame, roof vent, and auxiliary battery. It really was about as good as I could have hoped for. Low miles, high roof, already framed out which saved me from having to do the more difficult work of insulating and building the wood frame.

I was able to talk the seller down from $33k to $27,500 out the door which I was pretty satisfied with. From there it was simply a matter of driving it back to my house in California. The van handled the drive capably and, from there, the renovation process began.

THE BUILD

As I mentioned above, the build was far less involved than having to start from scratch. My father offered to fly out and help me convert the van, seeing how he had experience from doing the same thing to our mobile home over 25 years prior. I took him up on the offer and we got to work.

inside the van after gutting it and staining the wood.

The renovation really is an ongoing process but the initial push to get the van into a comfortable state took us just about five days. If you want to check out some of the videos I took, they’re uploaded on @dean_by_the_river on Instagram. I’ve done a poor job of continuously updating that page, however. We stained the interior to darken the wood and give it more of a log cabin feel. We installed wood floors, a kitchen sink, water pump, fresh and grey water tanks under the sink, cabinets up top for clothes and groceries, lights under the cabinets, and a garage space to store all my things.

The bed we built is honestly more comfortable than any other bed I’ve ever slept in. We built a full-size bed frame and bookshelf to house the mattress. I simply got 3” foam for a base and then a 3” thick memory foam mattress topper from Costco. If I were to go back and do things differently I would probably opt for a smaller bed, I really don’t need all that space to roll around in there. But it’s nice to have for when Caelynn is with me, or if I have friends sleep in it, rather than having to setting up a tent.

the back of the van, or, as i like to call it, the garage. before installing a heavy duty slider.

For privacy I got custom made black out curtains that match the size and shape of each window. They each have velcro and simply velcro to the window. I paid way too much for these because I had to get them rushed and I chose premium fabric. Another mistake I would have done differently if I knew better. For four windows it cost me about $450.

SOLAR

The idea of solar panels is what really sold me on the idea. To be able to generate energy from the sun and, theoretically, never run out of juice was too good to pass up. It did, however, turn out to be a little more expensive than I had hoped. I bought these solar panels on Amazon; 2 for $306 and these solar batteries, 2 for $413. The installation seemed too daunting for me so I brought the van, panels, and batteries to Rick’s RV Center in El Cajon, CA. They were able to squeeze me in that week and got the panels installed on the roof and ran the cables into the cab where the batteries were to be stored. They didn’t, however, complete the job by attaching the cables to the batteries. Pretty frustrating considering I spent over $1,400 on the install. On top of that, I was caught in a rainstorm in November and noticed a small leak coming through my roof. Needless to say, I’m not too pleased with the service but it is what it is. If you plan on going the route of professional install, I hope this info helps!

The biggest reason I haven’t put up more of a fuss about the solar panels not yet being connected to their batteries is because I have a small auxiliary battery underneath the passenger seat that gets recharged when the engine is running. Thanks to that battery I have enough power throughout the van to charge my electronics, power my water pump, ceiling fan, and internal lights. It is, however, very small and only lasts through the night before I need to turn the van on again and charge it up. Usually it just charges while I drive to a new location so I haven’t been severely inconvenienced by not having the solar hooked up just yet. I do plan on connecting it all myself in the next few weeks.

ROOF RACK

I knew I wanted a roof rack since I first got the van. Not only are they extremely practical and basically double your storage space, but it makes the van look so much cooler. Since I was going to have the solar panels on the front half of the roof and a rack on the back half, I had to get the rack custom made. I found a shop in San Diego that was able to do it all for just over $1,000. That sounds like a lot of money (and it is) but it really seemed like a good deal and I’m happy with their work. The model of van I have has these weird rain gutters on the side and mounting the rack to the roof of the van wasn’t as straight forward as you may think. If you’re looking for a roof rack, and you’re in SoCal, be sure to check them out here.

REPAIRS

Repairs are something I didn’t really take into consideration with the van but, as you can see, have proven to be pretty costly already. Any used car is going to have its issues, and sometimes you can convince the seller to have it checked before selling, but I always just go with my gut, for better or worse. The van made the 1,000 mile drive from CO to CA no problem, but I immediately took it into the dealership to see if there were any pressing issues that needed to be addressed. With it being a Mercedes Benz engine, the repairs are probably more expensive than most other vans like the Pro Master or E350. The first slate of fixes ran me about $2,000 and then a few other, more minor, things along the way had to be fixed. I’ve read horror stories online about these engines succumbing to things like the ‘black death’ and I’ll do anything I can to stop that from happening.

The most frustrating thing that’s happened up to this point was an issue with my turbo. The turbo would randomly go out, and leave me in limp mode, which makes the van top out at around 40 mph. I took it to multiple mechanics and paid around $800 to have it “fixed” but at the end of the day nothing was working. I took a closer look myself and noticed a small cut in a hose that I replaced on my own for $70, it has since fixed the issue. Obviously I’m more to blame than anything here, I should have tried to fix it on my own, from the beginning. But still, it was a nuisance.

MISCELLANEOUS

The miscellaneous costs that went into the van were things like wood, lighting, entertainment, etc. My dad and I were able to keep the cost relatively low on those simpler things which helped keep me from having to pay even more at the end of the day. I threw a 13” iPad ($413) in the back to make it easy to just download movies and shows on Netflix.

my closet sits above the bookshelf / entertainment area. the white faux stone is the top to a secret compartment where i keep small, loose items.

A few frequently asked questions I get: How do you stay warm at night?: I bought a cheap diesel heater on amazon for just under $200 that I haven’t gotten around to installing. Fortunately, I haven’t been stuck in many cold places yet and thus haven’t been overly motivated to get it hooked up. I do plan on getting it all together sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I have a top sheet, quilt, and weighted blanket I sleep with every night that seem to do more than enough of a job to keep me warm. In an extreme situation, I also have a sleeping bag rated for zero degrees that I could break out, if need be.

How do you cook food?: I’ve never been much of a chef so cooking food in the van doesn’t happen all that often. I have a Coleman camp grill that is ready to be bust open at a moment's notice but so far I’ve really only used that to boil water (and even that is only when I don’t know where my jet boil is). If I’m driving around, I like to try new food in whichever region I’m in. That certainly helps diminish the amount of time I spend cooking, for better or for worse.

Where do you go to the bathroom?: When I first got the van I really wanted to get this toilet to go under my bed. But with a price tag of nearly $1,000 I wanted to make sure it was something I really needed before pulling the trigger. After a few trips in the van, I realized it wasn’t necessary for me to have. If I really have to go to the bathroom I either go outside (if I’m in an appropriate place to do so), or find a bathroom nearby (if it’s number two). This system has done well for me so far. When Caelynn spends an extended amount of time with me in the van (2+ days), I always make sure to find a campsite with a bathroom set up.

my clean and grey water tank. both are 6 gallons.

Where do you shower?: In lakes, or rivers, or streams ;) …No but really, the showering component of van living hasn’t really proved to be too much of an issue either. The longest I’ll go without showering is probably 4 to 5 days which, to some, might sound like a lot but, to a dirtbag like me, really isn’t that long at all. Sometimes I’ll book a cheap hotel room to recharge my batteries and have a bigger space to relax for a night. And sometimes I’ll shower in a gym after getting a workout in. By the way, gym going has really seemed to take a back seat over the past 9 months.

What about protection?: I thought about whether or not I should include this in my write up, but, at the end of the day, it’s a question I’m often asked and this is the truth so there’s no point in not sharing, even though it is a bit contentious. The long and short of it is; I have a gun. I keep it in a locked safe in an undisclosed location in my van. I am the only one that is able to open the safe at all times and the gun is only available to me, if/when I would need it. I purchased the gun legally in California, have all the proper documentation for it, and have taken gun safety courses to ensure my handling of the weapon is appropriate. All things considered, it cost me just about $1,000 for the set up I have (not included in the price breakdown above) and it provides peace of mind whenever I rest my head in a new place. At the end of the day, I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

the sleeping quarters with the black out shades hung up and pixie lights turned on.

Where do you park the van to sleep?: There are a few apps and websites out there that are able to show you where you can safely, and legally, park your car for the night to sleep. I haven’t used much of those yet and haven’t run into too many issues. It’s widely understood that you can park in Wal-Mart parking lots over night without having to worry about being harassed. I’ve used that as an resource a few times. Typically, I like to get off the beaten path and sleep either in designated campgrounds (usually comes with a fee) or off a frontage road that doesn’t see much traffic. There have been a few instances where I’ve been forced to move, but that’s been very infrequent.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So there you have it, a pretty rough idea of why and how I moved my life into a van. As mentioned above, I ended up spending quite a bit more than I originally had hoped, and I still have a long way to go to outfit the van exactly how I want it. I do enjoy the idea that it’ll be pretty easy to redo the interior if and when I get bored of what I have and I want to upgrade. I’ve seen tons of van conversion companies that do this same thing but on a much, much higher level. From what I’ve gathered, that process typically costs north of $50,000 (van not included).

an up to date shot of the garage (could probably use a reorg).

I wanted to put more of an emphasis on traveling in 2019 and, by moving into a van, I was able to do just that. I still have so much to explore around the US and Central and South America but this move helped make me feel less guilty about traveling internationally so much too. Something about paying $2,000 per month to rent a bedroom that I only slept in about a quarter of the time didn’t sit right with me. If you crunch the number on that, I’ve been living rent free for 9 months, that’s $18,000 I’ve saved, which means I’ve already recouped half of my investment. Not bad!

As far as spending time in the van domestically; aside from a few dedicated trips I’ve made, I have been slacking on spending quality time in there. Over the past 9 months I’d guess that I’ve slept in the van between 40 to 60 nights. Now, that’s not so bad, and my injury has completely derailed a lot of things, but I do plan on spending a lot more time in there in 2020.

The van is definitely my prized possession and it makes me happier than I ever could have hoped. Gas mileage is pretty solid too, at right around 23mpg , it’s the most fuel efficient vehicle i’ve ever owned. Caelynn is a bit too timid to drive it because it’s so large and tall, it acts like a sail on windy days. That means whenever it’s her and me, I’m driving the whole time. I don’t mind though, I’ve grown accustomed to enjoying the long drives. When I have a buddy or brother on a trip with me; it’s nice to switch drivers and nap in the back when need be. I really feel like the possibilities are endless and I can’t wait to see where it takes me.

Thanks for reading! Do you have any questions that I’ve left unanswered? I want to be as much of an open book as I can be with all of this, so please feel free to ask away and I will do my best to shed some light for you. Also, if you have any recommendations for me, I would love to hear them!

closing note: the titile of this post is an ode to my late mother, who was writing a book entitled “Home Is Where You Park The Bus.” a book whose pages rest somewhere unbeknownst to our family.