Has Van Life Seen the End of the Road?
My wife and I met these travelers during a trip to Utah to enjoy Zion and other parks. They said, they had planned on spending the summer traveling throughout the West in their early model Vanagon but had to return home eventually. They seemed happy enough, and that’s all that mattered.
It’s challenging to write about the Van Life movement . It means different things to different people. And, with the retail price of a new van large enough to live in reaching $190,000 or more… this thing that started out as a way to avoid a home mortgage has really spun out of control. But I’m optimistic that Van Life still makes sense.
My understanding is that Van Life began as an alternative to owning or renting a traditional home.
One question remains: is Van Life relevant today with vehicle prices soaring?
I think it is under certain conditions.
What Van Lifers do is “convert” any type of vehicle into a home on wheels, no matter how cramped it may be. Yes, most of the conversions are commercial vans, hence the name Van Life. Van Lifers tend to be people who leave traditional/conventional things behind… like a home mortgage. Many work remotely as they travel. Others just travel.
Yet a story I read caught my attention because I’m a sucker for gossip I guess. Read it with loads of skepticism.
It told of “Van Life” influencers revealing their nightmares of living on the road, and I thought I’d share it here. A warning though; this particular newspaper is considered a bit of a gossip rag, But check it out for fun and don’t take it too seriously.
The reason you can’t believe everything you read is that my wife and I spent two months on the road a couple of years ago living out of our 1986 Westy. We loved it. The $10 per night stays in National and State Parks and home-cooked meals inside the Westy were amazing. I couldn’t believe our good fortune. Then in British Columbia, mechanical failure struck, and it cost us hundreds of dollars to get the Vanagon back on the road, reminding us that nothing is free, no matter how cheaply we had traveled.
It is true the cost of getting repairs done on the road is 10 times higher than having a reliable shop back home, or working on your van in your garage. Food prices are higher, being without a hot shower sucks, hanging out in laundromats is not enjoyable. There are lists of things that Van Lifers must do daily that make it very difficult to accept that way of living. But I must say those two months were a mostly positive experience that I’d certainly repeat.
Automotive paint is one of the most difficult things to match correctly, especially when you are trying to match small areas of your vehicle’s body. I’ve gone round and round about color matching for so long I almost believed that there is no way to actually match a color.
I’m always on the search for new (to me) products for my Vanagon. I tend to go outside the normal suppliers and manufacturers to see if there are any not so recognizable independent shops that are launching products.
That’s when I happened upon Space Roofs. I didn’t know they’ve been around for 20 years.
If you’re going to sell your classic car there are some things to know before you list it. These are things I learned working directly with classic car dealerships and restoration shops.
Rust is not your friend. Stomp it out and never let it come back to destroy your classic Vanagon. This story follows rust removal from start to finish.
The man who could be President walked into my house without so much as a knock on the door. I don’t know what I was expecting, but Dan Gurney stood in my living room before I could get out of my chair to greet him.
What’s your workspace look like? Here’s what I see every day. It’s a 42- by 42-inch oil painting of a VW Split Window.
If your once beautiful driveway looks like a scene from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill maybe it’s time to pinpoint the source of those leaks. Vanagons (like British cars) are notorious leakers. I’ll attempt to point out the 7 common areas that you should check if you’re experiencing similar issues. It’s not only oil, but coolant and transmission fluid too. Obviously, I might miss an area or two, so just comment below and I’ll address it.
Automotive journalism is a great career if you have the chops to do the work. There is a need for high-caliber writers, photographers, and editors that can cover the automotive industry, but you must be prepared to start at the ground level and work your way up the ladder.
Looking back to the first time I experienced a manual transmission was laughable. I stalled it more than drove it. Finally I got the hang of it.
Is the Vanagon the next big thing? Yes, especially if you track the growing community of owners. Like the stock market, the prices for a used Vanagon are constantly fluctuating. Be prepared if you are thinking of selling or buying one.
Is the hobby of collecting rare or exclusive auto-related things a curse or a blessing? I think the answer lies somewhere in between.
The auto trans on the T3 Vanagon is a beast. It can run flawlessly for 250,000 miles. Problems arise when it begins to leak ATF or gear oil. I’m in the middle of the research but here’s a quick overview for those interested.
Vanagons with power door locks are prone to failure due to bad wiring, blown fuses and water damage. It happened to me.
Larry Saavedra
Subject Matter Experts. Specializing in content for automotive and outdoor projects.