Why a camper van was right for us — and maybe you, too

Our very first night in Camper Van Beethoven was next to a stunning stream in Elgin, Oregon. The closeness of the campsites left us wondering if RV parks were for us. We've since realized that some are and some aren't.

You might call our decision to buy a camper van a little spur of the moment.

It wasn’t a hope, a wish, a dream or even a thought.

A camper van just wasn’t on our radar — at all.

I equated RVs with retirement. They were for people with lots and lots of time on their hands. Time to drive around in a ridiculously large vehicle burning a ridiculous amount of gas.

Even when friends our age started getting into RVs of various types, I found it strange.

It started maybe 15 years ago.

Friends in Missouri got an old Airstream. At the time, we didn’t know what they were, much less that they have a cult following.

Then, some friends in California bought a vintage Volkswagen microbus.

A couple in Seattle bought a ginormous camper. We even stayed in it with them.

My in-laws joined in too, getting a small travel trailer.

It was all rather curious.

Until it wasn’t.

We may have never visited and discovered that we absolutely adore Chattanooga, Tennessee, if we didn't have a camper van. 

Me to J-Wo: Let’s buy a camper van

The moment a camper van made sense to me was sometime in February 2021. We were planning a move from the West Coast, where we’d been for 16 years, to the Midwest, where we’re from.

We had three dogs and a cat at the time. For weeks, I’d been racking my brain over how we’d get everyone from Seattle to the St. Louis area — some 2,000 miles away.

Flying was out. I wasn’t going to do that to our animals, especially our older dog with heart failure.

Driving one of our vehicles was out. Two people and four animals in my beloved Toyota Matrix? I think not.

A U-Haul? Nope.

Then, I came across the idea of an RV rental. A big, epic adventure. Take in the sights and get us across the country all in one fell swoop.

But, womp-womp. I soon came to learn that one-way, long-distance RV rentals just aren’t a thing.

And, that my friends, is how I came to the very crazy idea of buying a camper van.

To my surprise, J-Wo was in.

We were moving to an area with a lower cost of living, after all. Not to mention, our 2002 and 2004 vehicles had been paid off for a long, long time.

All of a sudden, just like that, it made sense. So much sense.

Our inaugural camper van trip in 2021 also took us to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho. We were smitten with the scenery.

But, the move was just one of the reasons why a camper van worked for us.

There are loads more. And, yep, I’m going to share them with you after this very long lead-up to my list of the top 10 reasons why a camper van was right for us.

10 boxes a camper van checked for our family

1 Hit the road in comfort

You get to sleep in your own bed. You have heat and ac. A fridge to keep your food and your beer cold. You even have a bathroom.

For someone like me who always has to pee, that’s perhaps the best part. The next pit stop is never far away in a camper van.

2 No more outrageous Airbnb fees — or pet limits

Don’t get us wrong, we love a good Airbnb, whether it’s in the city near a brewery or concert venue or out in the woods. But, we really, really hate the cleaning fees, especially when you’re expected to do some of the cleaning yourself.

And, many times, the pet policies just don’t work for us.

3 Bring the entire crew — your toys, too

There are no pet restrictions in your own camper van. Load up the entire family and go.

Sure, the occasional campground or RV park has a limit on the number of pets you can bring. But, we just don’t go to those.

I’ve come across very few that don’t allow pets at all.

We often load our van with paddle board gear as well. Sometimes our small smoker grill, too.

It doesn't get much better than traveling with your dogs and your paddle boards.

4 Explore more remote areas

We spent years and years focusing on urban tourism. Living in Washington state, we began to enjoy visiting the charming small towns and the gorgeous wilderness. Traveling in a camper van is perfect for both.

5 Camp without the hassle

Tent camping has a magic all its own, but we’d outgrown car camping by the time we got our camper van. Supplies for two humans and three dogs just didn’t fit in the Matrix.

And, at some point, it dawned on me that our style of camping was a bit absurd.

We took loads of stuff from where we lived, digging it out from deep in a closet or dusty basement. We crammed it all into the car like a frustrating game of Tetris. Then, we wrestled with tent poles and air pumps at the end of a long drive.

All so we could live outside for a few days. It’s a lot of work, especially for someone like me who needs an air mattress in their tent.

Sure, there are simpler ways to camp, but these aren’t for me.

6 Way less loading and unloading

It’s so nice that our camper van is always stocked with essentials like blankets, pillows, dishes and toiletries. It makes leaving for or coming back from a trip that much easier and faster. And, we don’t have to make room in our home to store those things.

7 Goodbye, airline delays

Perhaps I had enjoyed extraordinarily good luck with flying most of my life. But, in the years leading up to the COVID shutdowns, that all changed.

An extra night in Palm Springs CA after a girls’ trip. Missing our first night in Scotland and spending it in Philly instead. Grounding in Grand Junction on the way to Denver. It was all starting to add up.

I was actually relieved not to fly for nearly 2 full years during COVID. Today, I still try to minimize my flights in order to focus on camper van travel.

Want to eat breakfast outside on a crisp autumn morning? A camper van lets you do it.

8 Do our own thing, in our own time

Many means of travel, including planes, trains and buses, are based on somewhat strict timelines — someone else’s timelines no less.

Camper van travel, on the other hand, is based on your timeline.

Leave when you want. Drive when you want. Stop when you want. That kind of freedom suits me. It allows for more spontaneity and more flexibility, and that just feels good.

9 More control of where we go and when

There’s also loads of flexibility in planning a camper trip. You don’t have to search for the right flight at the right time and the right price, trying to avoid long layovers and that dreaded middle seat.

Just get in your camper van and go. You even get to pick your route.

10 No need for a tow vehicle

A camper van is a fully self-contained tiny home on wheels. You have everything you need in the one vehicle. This was especially appealing to us because we didn’t already own a truck or SUV to tow a camper with.

The Matrix could maybe pull a teardrop trailer, which we did consider. But, in the end, we wanted a camping vehicle with more features.

Today, looking at how traveling by camper van suits us so well, it’s hard to believe we didn’t think of it sooner.

I suppose, despite years of taking road trips and traveling with our dogs, the time just wasn’t right. Until it was.

Who knows, you may wake up one day and realize a camper van or another type of RV is right for you. Or, you may just wake up and book a flight, a rental car and an Airbnb.

It doesn’t matter how you travel. Just that you enjoy it.