Vanlife wasn't our plan

(First published in Issue 5, June 2022) We'd like to say that we were Vanlifers from the very beginning. We weren't. But we are also not like everyone else. We are Jo and Georg, with our dogs Momo and Nelly, and we live in our T4 called Quest.

Like so many others, we came to vanlife during the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve had the urge to travel for a long time, though we had imagined it differently.

Our plan was to backpack through Asia and maybe the rest of the world. Flights were booked, work paused, all arrangements made. Then everything changed, and circumstances forced us to decide: Do we postpone our plans indefinitely or find another way? We knew there is no perfect time — only the moment when you realize you can’t wait anymore.

So, we went through our options. One of them was discovering Europe with a camper. Georg was already familiar with this kind of travel; as a child, vacations meant going by the self-built LT28. For Jo, though, this was new. So we did well to take a “test drive” first. How would it feel to live on the road like this? We rented a T4 and drove across Germany for three weeks — one of the best vacations we’ve had so far. The decision to change our plan and get our own Bulli wasn’t difficult.

In May 2020, we finally set off, initially for 7 months. We didn’t add much or include sophisticated furniture in our T4 — quite deliberately. We visited Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, and Slovenia. From reindeer in Lapland, getting stuck in Sweden, huge floods in Germany, and hiking on the Zugspitze, we experienced everything, and we enjoyed every moment. While we sometimes looked with a bit of envy at the fancy, white rolling tiny homes on Instagram, we knew it had to be this way. After all, if we had done a major build-out before, we wouldn’t have learned two important things: what we absolutely needed while living in the bus, and what equipment seemed useful but wasn’t necessary for us.

We slept on the old folding bench in the back, Momo in the front. We had installed a rotating seat to push the seats together. That, along with a small shelf to store our luggage, was it. Shower? Sink? Toilet? A canister and folding spade. Refrigerator? A styrofoam box from our last order at the Chinese restaurant. Everything was a bit makeshift. Still, this was the only way we could learn what really mattered.

Once that was settled, our temporary home no longer felt like enough. If we really wanted to call our Quest a home for an indefinite period of time, it needed to feel like one. Plus, we now knew much better what was needed for life on the road. Two things were most important to us: First, we wanted to include a box for Momo. It would be safer on the road, and she would have her own retreat without us disturbing her. Second, we needed more space and less clearing. Previously, we had to move things from the back to the front at night to unfold our bed and vice versa in the morning. We didn’t want that anymore. Everything needed a permanent place.

One thing we still don’t miss is the refrigerator. It works fine without one, as long as you only buy groceries once a week. And if you want a cool drink, there are enough stores everywhere where you can just grab one.

So, we drove from Slovenia back to Germany to do the conversion with help from relatives on a farm. Momo’s box, unsurprisingly for a German shepherd, is quite large. We spent a long time planning every square inch. Still, we found a system where we can even take out much of the interior if needed — whether it’s because we’re stuck or just want to clean thoroughly. In the end, everything was put in its permanent place, just as we’d imagined. Overall, we’re very pleased. Our conversion is simple and efficient, and we didn’t have to invest too much time or money, which we prefer to spend on traveling.

In the meantime, we’ve been on the road for a year. How long we’ll keep moving, we don’t know yet. So far, our travels have taken us through France, Spain, Portugal, and the Canary Islands, where we spent the warmest winter of our lives. There, we went surfing, had a real car breakdown, and did volunteer work at an animal shelter. During this work, the youngest member of our family came aboard: Nelly, a little black mixed-breed dog. What’s next? We’ll keep going.

The next big step will take us across the Atlantic. By the end of the summer, we’ll head to the USA. We want to see more, explore farther, and discover America. We know we won’t live in our van forever, but it’s clear that we’ll spend a significant part of our lives in it.

By the way, our van’s name, “Quest,” has a reason: We don’t feel at home anywhere yet. We’re searching for the place we want to call home. We don’t have any concrete ideas yet, and maybe one day, we’ll discover that the place we’re looking for is the place we came from. Who knows?