{"id":16397,"date":"2018-06-13T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2018-06-13T16:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=16397"},"modified":"2021-12-22T08:05:01","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T16:05:01","slug":"a-guide-to-vanlife-for-the-weekend-warrior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2018\/06\/13\/a-guide-to-vanlife-for-the-weekend-warrior\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to #VanLife for the Weekend Warrior"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few years ago we spent a dark and\u2014literally\u2014stormy night driving around looking for a cheap motel. We had neglected to remember that in certain parts of the southeast the changing leaves constitutes a tourism boom and subsequent spike in hotel prices. In other words, we wouldn\u2019t find a vacancy that night that didn\u2019t require a heated debate over whether or not to hand over entirely too much money for a roof over our head and a supposedly clean bed to sleep in. It was on this night that we reached a watershed moment in our journey as intrepid adventurers: my 2003 Ford Taurus just wasn\u2019t cutting it any longer. We needed a vehicle that could take us where we wanted to go and discreetly convert into a mobile motel when necessary. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In full disclosure, I likely spend way too much time scrolling through perfectly curated social media channels of impeccably converted Sprinters and utility vans. But I run a business that necessitates a vehicle that\u2019s, well, just a vehicle. So when shopping for the perfect blend of function and potential, we had to keep in mind that as much as we might like to envision ourselves scrambling eggs with the sliding door wide open overlooking a postcard vista, the inside fully kitted for a life on the road, we had to plan for a multi-purpose ride that was easy to adjust and transform to our needs. We needed a rig that could tote half a dozen folks around for a shuttle, haul enough gear for multi-day trips with room for two sleeping adults, and still fit in our driveway from five-to-nine Monday through Friday. The answer: a 2001 Chevy Suburban.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The art of the temporary adventure vehicle boils down to the simple truth that most of us are only charging hard on the weekends, and we need it to return to the basic functionality of normal transportation the rest of the time. A permanent vehicle conversion just isn\u2019t in the cards (or budget) just yet, but that doesn\u2019t mean that you can\u2019t weekend out of your adventure mobile and still be back to face your inbox on Monday morning\u2026even if your gear never makes it off the roof and back into the garage before that weekly staff meeting. <\/span><\/p>\n

Traveling out of your vehicle might mean sleeping inside it or organizing it in a way that allows you to store your seasonal gear to be ready at a moment\u2019s notice so that you\u2019re less worried about whether or not the right gear made it into the rig and more focused on\u00a0the day\u2019s adventure. Either way, the more efficient you get at making the most out of your weekend warrior-mobile, the more time you get to spend soaking up your playgrounds.<\/span><\/p>\n