Country music legend Willie Nelson’s song “On the Road Again” often evokes images of a carefree lifestyle—traveling to new destinations, meeting new people, and freedom from the mundane and often costly responsibilities of life. Today, there are more than 3 million Americans choosing this type of lifestyle, living in recreational vehicles, vans, campers, and even converted buses.
A recent report from Yahoo Finance indicates that the number of van dwellers has risen by 63 percent in the past couple of years, with the most popular live-in vans offering an average of just 126 square feet. California, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and Washington hold the largest populations of “van lifers,” and about 80 percent of them opt for do-it-yourself conversions.
The van-home demographics range from Generation Z in their early 20s to baby boomers, 65 and older. Bayla Manders, 69, and her cat Shadow have been living in her van since March and tend to travel through Kentucky, Louisiana, and Florida. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she moved to Orlando, Florida, where she spent many years in the tourism and hospitality industry. She also worked at home for a while in customer service before deciding to take to the road.
“I didn’t really plan for retirement, and this is the only way I could retire,” Ms. Manders told The Epoch Times. “Now I can come and go as I please and spend my afternoons watching the pelicans fish at the lakefront.”
A regular fixture at Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Center in Kentucky, Ms. Manders pays just $50 a year to stay for two weeks out of each month. “Having to move every two weeks is a small price to pay for everything being free.”
When the weather turns cold, she often makes the trek down to Waterloo, Alabama, and settles into campgrounds near the Tennessee River.
“National forests are also great, and if you can get a picnic table, a fire pit, and a dumpster—that’s high-class living,” she quipped.
The Florida panhandle is another favorite destination for the winter, and Michigan for the summer.
“Nowadays, I drive only three hours a day, so some of the trips take a lot longer than others,” she added.
With her home base in Clarksville, Indiana, just across the river from Louisville, Kentucky, Ms. Manders can visit the doctor, dentist, eye doctor, and veterinarian. She receives her Social Security check every month via direct deposit, so she can withdraw funds from any ATM. She’s also able to qualify for a 90-day supply of medication, which can be called into any pharmacy when she needs a refill.
As for what some may consider the challenges of van living—where to use the bathroom, shower, cook, and eat—Ms. Manders has it all figured out. Many of the campgrounds offer shower facilities, and her van is equipped with a portable toilet.
Although the van lacks a refrigerator or running water, she maintains a large cooler and lots of bottled water.
“I don’t buy a lot of perishable food, and I’m not really a big meat eater,” she explained. “I also have two tabletop stoves, and I use one of my storage trunks as a table and my bed as a chair.”
Ms. Manders keeps only a minimal amount of clothing, a couple of jackets, and just five pairs of shoes. “I never was a big ’shoe person,'” she said. “I have four milk cartons under the bed where I store all of my clothes. I really am a minimalist.” She washes her clothes at local laundromats.
She has met several people on her travels over the past eight months and admits she always feels very safe, wherever she camps. “I make sure the doors are locked, and I always sleep like a rock,” Ms. Manders said. “I’m never afraid. I’m not a gun person, but I do have a can of bug spray!”
Ms. Manders said that her daughter, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her two grandchildren, was concerned when Ms. Manders first decided to take the open road. “I’ve always been an outdoor person, and I guess nobody understands what I’m doing, but to me, it’s my life,” she said. “If you do want to be out there on your own, you need to do your homework. There are a lot of things I learned from trial and error. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything, especially the peacefulness.”
Vanlife Outfitters, based in Sarasota, Florida, has also experienced the recent surge of new people opting for a home on wheels. With rents, home prices, and mortgage rates showing no signs of decreasing, the company has seen a huge increase in sales for its full range of products to convert a van into a mobile living space.
“People are continuing to purchase vans, and there’s a lot of ‘do-it-yourselfers’ who are willing to convert these vehicles into homes,” Vanlife Outfitters technician Mike Lyons told The Epoch Times. “It’s sort of like what yoga was 10 years ago. At first, there were just a few studios, and now they’re on just about every corner.”
Mr. Lyons noted that the van life is attracting people from all walks of life and all ages. “We’ve seen single people and couples in their 20s, up to singles and couples in their late 60s and early 70s,” he said. Years ago, Mr. Lyons himself lived in a Volkswagon van for 14 months. “At that time, I had only a good sleeping bag and not much else.”
Although vacation areas with mountains or beaches have traditionally attracted van dwellers, today you’re likely to see van homes in any U.S. town. “I think lately it’s become a financial issue with home prices out of reach for many average Americans,” Mr. Lyons said. “Or some people just prefer a more stress-free nomadic lifestyle and have the ability to work remotely.”
Fueling this interest are new apps or websites popping up to cater to this new clientele. Harvest Hosts, for example, offers almost 5,000 campsites across the United States, including wineries, breweries, and other attractions. Campers can join for as little as $99 a year. Hipcamp also offers camping locations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia. Its website indicates that the campgrounds are “everywhere, from national parks to blueberry farms.” Landowners who qualify can host RVs and vans in a system reminiscent of Airbnb.
Sydnee Larken, 33, has been a road warrior for the past six years and now lives out of a 6-by-12-foot cargo trailer-turned camper that she can hitch to her truck and drive just about anywhere. Before this, she was living in Southern California and commuting 86 miles one way to a job that she really didn’t like.
“I had to live so far away because that’s where I could afford to live, and one day I just realized that I was spending the best years of my life in the car,” she told The Epoch Times. “I had reached a breaking point. I was just barely surviving and not living my life.”
After selling household items at a yard sale, she spent $500 to fix up a used passenger van and took to the road, joined by Miranda Larken and a cat named Kit-Kat. Their first stop was Lake Mead in Arizona. “We were excited and terrified at the same time, but relishing in the newfound freedom,” Ms. Larken recalled.
Trying to secure “regular jobs” proved difficult, as many places required a permanent home address. Seasonal work at farms or campgrounds soon became viable options. “Some places will allow you to stay for free in exchange for work, while other places pay you for work but then charge you to stay there,” she said.
Today, Ms. Larken makes a living by helping others build, renovate, or repair their homes on wheels. She gets a lot of leads from social media and referrals from past clients. Her cargo trailer is equipped with just about everything a house would offer: a refrigerator, running water, a propane heater, electricity, a toilet, furnishings, and even solar panels.
As for household items and clothing, she has to be practical because of the limited space. “Generally, I like an item to have more than one purpose; otherwise, it’s not a ’must-have,’” she said. Like Ms. Manders, Ms. Larken plans her travels around the weather. Summers are often spent in Wyoming or Oregon, and winters are spent in and around Arizona. “I think there are only about six states that we haven’t visited.”
Looking back on her previous life, Ms. Larken acknowledged that she definitely made the right decision. “This forces me to realize the important things in life,” she said. “It’s not about having ’stuff'—it’s about having experiences, meeting new people, exploring new places, and not working away from the best years of your life.”
