My husband and I had always talked about getting a camper van and taking it on epic road trips after we retired.
When I finally joined him in retirement last year, a van seemed to fall into our laps. We were at a car show and spotted a compact camper van from the ’90s that was well within our budget.
It had all the features we thought we needed, including a generator and kitchen space. Thinking it was fate, we bought it on sight.
The camper van seemed perfect until we actually used it. We recently sold it after months of trying and failing to make it work for us.
We found our camper van to be too small and to have a lot of issues. Marie L Mangin
I was really sad at first, but we learned a lot — and realized we don’t have to give up our road-trip dreams just yet.
The camper van just didn’t fit our needs — or bodies
The first time we took the camper van out, we stayed overnight in a cousin’s driveway to see a nearby concert.
We ended up sleeping for only a few hours in the van. It felt tight, and we didn’t rest well, but we attributed our sleepless night to excitement and thought we just needed to get used to everything.
Our second outing the following week was the true test. We attended a four-day music festival with no access to running water or electricity. Our camper van was fuller this time, stuffed with things like a large cooler, a grill, a big water jug, lounger chairs, and our duffle bags.
The tiny space felt jam-packed. We found ourselves continuously moving our belongings outside so we could have space to hang out inside the camper van and then bringing them back inside so they wouldn’t get stolen while we were out watching performances.
Though I’m only 5 feet tall, I found myself bumping my head on the top storage cupboards. My 6-foot-tall husband couldn’t stand up straight in the van.
We also discovered the van had several issues the sellers hadn’t been transparent about, including a broken generator and microwave. I wished we hadn’t just trusted their word and had checked the van thoroughly before buying it.
Even so, the costs of upkeep went up as we added mileage to the camper van. Plus, we had to pay for insurance and figure out where to store it when it wasn’t in use.
We’ll still do road trips, but we’re not tying ourselves to a big vehicle
In the end, it didn’t make sense for us to tie money up in a vehicle we’d use only a few times a year.
We sold the camper van to another couple, and we were up front about all its issues. Even after replacing the van’s tires, airbags, and windshields, we managed to recoup our investment.
After doing some math, we realized we didn’t need a camper van to do the road trips we dreamed of. We just need to be a little creative with our planning.
For now, we plan to just drive our car and book cheaper accommodations that come with free breakfasts. We’ll also save money on the road by preparing our own lunches and snacks and packing them in a cooler.
Hopefully our camper van suits the new owners better than it did us — and maybe we’ll cross paths on the road sometime.
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