Glenn and I recently became the proud owners of a campervan. Her name is Laverne, after the character “Laverne DeFazio” from Happy Days and later the Laverne & Shirley show…as well as Mork & Mindy for the trivia buffs out there.

She’s adorned with a monogrammed “L” on her front lapel (which is a fascinating generational marker that tests who does, and doesn’t, know what that is in reference to), and has “Laverne” emblazoned across her butt.

With knobby tires and all-wheel-drive, Laverne is tough and gutsy, just like her namesake.

I never would have thought a campervan would be something I’d want. I struggled to understand why people were drawn to RVs. It seemed a somewhat silly way to get out into nature. I was a “real camper” and was always going to suffer it out on a limp air mattress in a cold tent, thank you very much.

Several years ago, on our big round-the-world trip, Glenn and I rented a little RV when we were in New Zealand. It seemed the thing to do as the islands are set up with amazing infrastructure by way of countless RV campgrounds. While we were seeing amazing natural landscapes, we weren’t really camping. It felt more like we were just taking our hotel room with us on the road. As such, the experience didn’t inspire me to want to do more of that sort of travel when we got home.

But about a year ago, right as the COVID-19 lockdown doldrums where hitting full swing, we decided renting a campervan would be a safe and responsible way to get out of the house without putting ourselves or anyone else at risk. As we were driving out of town I commented to Glenn and Seaerra that “I don’t really know why anyone would buy one of these things? They are so crazy expensive! Why not just go camping instead?”

By the end of that trip I was a van life convert.

I spent much of the drive home talking about what I would and wouldn’t want in a campervan…in the off chance that maybe, someday, I decided I needed one. Ya know, hypothetically.

Then came the bottomless rabbit hole of online “van life” videos. It became addictive to read blogs and watch videos where people showed off their vans, often in minute detail. How they customized them. What they loved. What they would do differently next time. Their favorite meals to cook on the road. Do they need a toilet? How do they find a place to camp? On and on and on. There is a video (often multiple) for any topic you can imagine that might come up when contemplating life in a van.

Glenn fell into the same trap and together we would spend hours watching online videos and chatting about what we saw, what we liked, what we couldn’t comprehend. Slowly but surely Glenn and I somehow found ourselves designing our dream campervan. We wanted a bed in the front and a walkthrough kitchen galley in the back. We saw very few vans like this online and felt sure we had stuck upon a brilliant idea for a new and unique van layout!

We bought various versions of van design software so we could mock-up our dream layout. We contemplated building it ourselves (again, countless videos online showing you how to do this). We knew deep down, however, that we didn’t have the knowledge, skills, tools or determination required to pull this off…at least not without it taking three years and losing a finger, and possibly our marriage, in the process.    

The next thing you know we were stalking several van and RV websites where people were buying and selling used rigs. We seriously contemplated buying any number of them…but always chickened out. Many of the used campervans for sale are of the DIY variety – which is great, but Glenn and I know nothing about plumbing and electrical and insulation systems, so we didn’t really know what to look for in terms of buying something someone else had built. There was a very good chance we would buy a lemon.

Then one day the conversation turned to “what if we just had a new van custom built for us by a professional?” This was something Glenn’s brother Chris was in the process of doing. What if we did the same thing?!?! One thing led to another, and the next thing you know we are down at the Ford dealership buying an empty cargo van.

We researched custom campervan build shops. While they all looked great, we liked the designs built by the Overland Van Project (OVP) the best – plus, they’re located in Portland, so that was handy. We contacted them, talked to the owner Dustin (awesome guy!) about what we thought we wanted and immediately put a deposit down to hold their soonest available build slot…6-months down the road!

Then we waited. And waited. And waited.

It was agony. Having finally made the decision to make the investment we were eager to get on the road. But it took nearly 5 months for our empty van to arrive from the Ford factory, and then another 3 months for the inside to be built out to our specifications by OVP.

Our build design changed several times as the big day got closer. Our initial idea of a bed in the middle and kitchen in the rear wasn’t terribly feasible (which is why we didn’t see many examples of it online), primarily due to navigating the rear wheel wells, even weight distribution of the heavy and bulky batteries and water tanks, as well as maximizing the overall flow of the usable space inside. Once design aspects were mostly settled we got mock-up drawings to finalize the details, including the interior finishes we wanted for the floor, cabinets, walls and counters.

We spent the month before her completion date in an Amazon-buying frenzy. There is no shortage of things you “need” to outfit a van. From bedding to dishes to storage containers to drawer organizers. Again, we watched hours and hours of videos of people detailing what they carry in their vans. Which pots and pans should we get? What do people do with their extra shoes? How do people organize their clothes? Should we get an air-fryer or a smoothie maker?  

The big day finally arrived and with great anticipation we went down to OVP to pick her up. Laverne turned out better than we could have imagined. Everything was just how we wanted it. The craftsmanship was superb and she was filled with hidden little gems like a bazillion USB charging ports and lots of storage nooks and crannies.  

Laverne’s first official outing was to join several of our shoggling buddies (shuffling + jogging + jiggling) for a Sunday morning run, followed by Laverne-made waffles and coffee!

We then immediately loaded up the dogs and took off for her maiden camping voyage. We found ourselves outside of Sisters, Oregon, in an area called Camp Sherman. Our first night in Laverne was beyond beautiful. We gave her a serious go in terms of a rough and rocky dirt road but were rewarded with a beautiful view and some gentle snow flurries.

It was our first experience doing what is called “boondocking” – which is dispersed or wild camping outside of a formal campground. It’s where you basically pull off the road on public lands (e.g., National Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Dept. of Fish and Wildlife) and make yourself at home, typically for free. There are some guidelines you have to follow, but generally you can camp in any previously disturbed area – as boondocking campsites are found, not made! There are no services…so no bathrooms, no water, no electricity. It was just like camping…but without the limp air mattress! My old-lady-hips were in love.   

We returned home for a week because there were baby hummingbirds on the back porch about ready to take flight – see here, in case you missed that magic! Once Stella (the mama hummingbird) and her babies were successfully off into the great beyond, we loaded up the dogs again and took off for another trial run to the Alvord Desert in Southeastern Oregon.

When I started writing this blog post Glenn and I were camped in Laverne outside of Sedona, Arizona.

We’re both fully vaccinated now, which means that we feel more comfortable in terms of the ethics of traveling outside of Oregon for pleasure and recreation. Being vaccinated makes travel safer for us, as well as for those folks we might come in contact with. Yay vaccines!

We’ve been traveling for over three weeks straight now, meandering our way through familiar and unfamiliar landscapes. We often don’t know exactly where we’ll end up on any given day…we just head in the general direction we want to go and let the rest of the day unfold. We start looking for a place to camp around 3:00 in the afternoon so that we have plenty of time to find a spot and get settled before dinner.

We’ve generally had great success with finding awesome boondocking spots – often with the help of various apps where people post the coordinates, pictures and reviews of sites they’ve found (iOverlander being one of the best). A couple of times we’ve been within view of other boondockers when in really popular locations, but generally we’ve been the only people for miles around. We did spend one night in a hotel when we were in Death Valley, as camping in a vehicle in 101-degrees heat with no AC is just silly!

We’ve tried HipCamp, which is like Air B&B but for tent campers, campervans and RVs where you pay to park your van on someone’s private property. In this case we stayed in the large gravel driveway of a lovely couple with a great view of the Sandia Mountains north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. They had wild horses that frequently visit and a relaxing patio where we could get out of the sun. While we don’t expect to do this often, staying on private property was a nice break from straight forest camping and we got to hang out with some interesting and gracious hosts (I hadn’t realized how much I missed having prolonged conversations with humans other than Glenn!). Spending patio time with several of their sweet dogs and indifferent cats was also a treat.

As I type this, we are in an RV trailer park in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The places we could boondock here were a ways out of town and the weather this evening is going to be pretty dicey (rain, lightning and thunderstorms, hail, high winds). We decided being in the woods worried about falling tree limbs and flash floods wouldn’t make for a restful night. Glenn’s tickled because they have laundry machines, and doing laundry while traveling is one of his most favorite activities (seriously!).

We’re still working out what works best for us in terms of meals. So far it seems like simple fares are the best, especially for breakfast and lunch. We also aren’t opposed to swinging through a nearby town to grab a deli sandwich, some BBQ or maybe a burrito. Although Laverne has a nice stove and sink, doing a bunch of dishes from a big fancy meal can be a chore. Cereal or a can of soup has been our dinner of choice more times than I can count.

This wasn’t something I expected. I’ve always loved cooking elaborate meals when car camping so I assumed I’d constantly be doing that in the van as well. But, I think once the novelty of cooking on the road wears off a bit, meals that are quick, easy and have minimal clean up become quite attractive. Crackers and cheese for dinner anyone?

Because we aren’t in a rush to get to the next “first come, first served” campground to snag a spot, our travel days are leisurely and filled with little side adventures. We’ve enjoyed pulling off the road at random and far-flung locations to go for hikes that aren’t frequented by lots of other folks.

Laverne is all-wheel-drive and can get down remote dirt roads without a problem, and she’s small enough to fit in regular car parking spots at trailheads. She can go almost anywhere – except for serious 4X4 roads that require a lot of clearance or have deep sand (she’s a heavy girl, after all).

This current trip is open-ended. We might start heading home in a couple of days…or we might start heading home in a couple of weeks. We’re just seeing where the wind blows us and feeling out the ideal pacing and style of campervan travel we prefer. It’s pretty hot down here in the southwest, so before long we’ll be turning north to get into higher elevations and cooler climates.

Laverne’s given us tremendous freedom (along with the vaccines), with nearly all of the comforts of home. We’re able to travel and explore while keeping as safe as possible during the pandemic by getting away from people and off the beaten path.

Laverne’s become a loved member of our family and a kick-in-the-pants travel companion! We can’t wait to see where she’ll take us next.   

Laverne is a 2020 Ford Transit F-250, high roof, 19.8 feet long, with a 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6 engine. We went around and around on what sort of van to buy. We decided against the Dodge Pro Ram because there is a structural bar near the back wheels that reduces the clearance. We were very tempted to get a Sprinter because they have higher clearance and very dependable and long-lived diesel engines. In the end we went with the Ford because a) it was more affordable, b) we’d be able to find a mechanic most places that could work on it, and c) my feet could touch the floorboards and pedals (which I can’t do in a Sprinter)!

Laverne has side flares in the back that bump her width out a bit to enable us to sleep cross-wise rather than length-wise. We decided to have these flares painted black instead of the van body color based on the suggestion of Dustin, the owner of the Overland Van Project that did the build. It makes her look more like a passenger van with big windows all around. We love the look. We had to mount her spare tire on the back as it would no longer fit underneath the van once we got the bigger off-road tires put on. We like the look of that as well – makes her look a little more Sporty Spice if you know what I mean.

Laverne has close to 400W of solar mounted on the roof paired with 240AH of lithium batteries. We had a simple rack installed on the roof to help protect the solar panel from low-hanging tree branches, etc.

She also has a manual awning mounted on the roof rack.

The side sliding door includes powered running boards, a side table that folds down off the back of the kitchen cabinet (which Glenn loves to set up as his morning coffee making station), and a screen door that rolls up when not in use.

The inside of the van features a kitchen galley, bench seat, bed and lots of storage cabinets.

One of our favorite features is the murphy bed. It folds up quite easily, with all of the pillows and bedding remaining in place. When up, the bed reveals an extended kitchen counter with several storage cubbies (where we are currently keeping our cold weather and rain gear). While we don’t fold the bed up very often, it adds utility to the van by enabling us to use its cargo functionality if needed.

We have a very versatile, highly adjustable, 32″ Lagun table made of bamboo that can be mounted and moved between multiple different locations. In the photo above it is mounted on the kitchen cabinet, which places it in the center of the bench seat, or it can swing out to extend the kitchen counter space. In the picture below it is mounted on the side of the bench seat and can be used by people in the driver’s and passenger seats (which both swivel around backwards, although in the photo only the passenger seat is turned around).

Below the bed is an area people call the “garage” which is where the gear and toys are stored. For this trip we have containers filled with camping and backpacking gear (tent, sleeping bags and packs in hopes we’d do a couple of multi-day backcountry hikes), exercise equipment (yoga mats and blocks, weights, etc.) and daypacks. There is L-track mounted in the floor (silver strip running across the bottom) where front fork mounts can be easily attached to enable us to carry two mountain bikes. The bottom of the white cabinets on either side are open and we have a ton of less-frequently used stuff stored under there (camp chairs, emergency gear like tow ropes and jumper cables, tool boxes, water hose and pump, etc.). The black boxes are collapsable “trunk organizers” and seem to be working great for keeping our things organized.

The cabinet on the left of the garage contains all of the electrical equipment, including the batteries, inverter and shore power system. There is a very handy, well-labeled circuit breaker box off the back as well. I’m not going to pretend I understand what sort of magic is happening in this cabinet, but it all seems to work flawlessly and is beautifully installed!

The cabinet on the right contains all of the water and plumbing systems, including a 20 gallon fresh water tank, a 7 gallon gray water tank for sink water (mounted underneath), an electric hot water heater and an outdoor shower. For the shower, we have a shower curtain that magnetically mounts so that it drapes between the two rear open doors and a slotted bamboo mat to stand on so your feet don’t get muddy!

There’s a control panel behind the driver’s seat where we control the various systems including the water pump, inverter, heater, some of interior and exterior lights, cell signal booster, etc. There is also a panel which shows us how we’re doing in terms of solar generation, battery storage and water levels.

The kitchen galley includes a 2-burner propane stove (with a 1-gallon propane tank mounted beneath the sink), a deep sink with a flexible and extending faucet, an under-sink inline mounted water filter and an Isotherm fridge and freezer (which can hold a remarkable amount of food!). I’ve attached hot pot holders to little magnetic hooks and invested in reusable paper towels, which we’ve loved (from Marley’s Monsters out of Eugene, Oregon). We decided to get a propane stove instead of induction because I prefer to cook on propane and wanted to be able to use other high-powered appliances at the same time (like an air fryer – which has been working great for cooking meat, veggies and frozen foods).

The bench seat contains two compartments under the cushions. One compartment contains the toilet – a dry composting C-Head Shorty toilet. We debated having a toilet at all. In the end we decided to get one for when we just don’t have any other options. So far, we haven’t needed to use it – but it is nice to know it’s there.

The other side of the bench contains a much larger storage compartment. The Lagun table can be disassembled and tucks away nicely on the backside of the cabinet lid. We had a safe installed and bolted to the floor. We keep our expensive items in there like our laptop, drone and fancy camera, extra cash, etc. It gives us peace of mind to have those items locked away when we leave Laverne at a trailhead, etc. Otherwise, we just keep lots of other odds and ends in there that are too large to easily fit in the other storage compartments (like the air fryer!).

I’m quite happy with the system we’ve devised for storing pots, pans and dishes. The pots/pans have felt dividers, which keep them from scratching each other up and from making noise on dirt roads. We got Neoflam ceramic pans, which have worked out great. They are super easy to clean and have a removable handle. I also like our system of storing the bowls and plates on their sides in a metal organizer. They are packed in tightly, so they don’t rattle or make noise while going down the road.

Our clothes storage system has worked out well too. The soft felt boxes serve as our dressers, and the packing cubes as our dresser drawers. We’re able to fit all of our clothes (except jackets and rain gear) in this one cabinet. This cabinet is the only thing I would change about our build out. I wish it was longer…there are about 6-inches of wasted space past the end of this cabinet before it reaches the rear doors. It would have been nice to have the cabinet extended out longer to go all the way to the doors – as each additional inch of storage space is a blessing.

Lastly, the cabinet above the bench seat is our pantry. We can fit a remarkable amount of food in this cabinet…so much so that we often forget what we have tucked away in there! It works out pretty well, but we have found that chocolate and bread don’t like living in there when the temperatures outside get hot.

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know Laverne, I know we have. Stay tuned as there are more adventures to come!