I've always questioned whether a camper van would be worth the cost. I personally don't really need it for camping or cross country trips. My truck and GFC camper work fine for just myself and it's less than half the cost of a camper van, but it would be nice to have a quieter space to sleep overnight when I'm at Cracker Barrels or Walmarts while driving cross country. It's just hard to justify an expensive camper van when you're not full time van life-ing. Although, if it kept me from going down the 2nd home route; it makes more sense financially.
The ones I like are around 200k usd....but maybe I can get a used one in 3-5 years if/when my current Ranger dies. Or maybe by then, I'll just pull an insane YOLO justification. I figure once I hit 60; it won't be as easy to do the yoga moves when I drop down to the truck bed from the truck's roof top tent. Not in a rush to pull the trigger though.
I'm still hopeful Ford with make an EREV version of their full size Transit van after they launch the F150 EREV in 2027. Which is basically, all electric drive train, but 1/3-1/2 the battery pack of the F-150 Lightning. They add a gas generator for when you need to do long road trips, so no more worrying about the batteries running out of power. They're projecting a 700 mile range with a full tank of gas. Also, I'd bet they'd have an inverter on it to power an outlet or two for running power tools, which would be perfect for camping purposes too. Anyway, in the meantime, I want to focus more on bike touring while my body can still do it.
But today and yesterday (Monday-Tuesday feb 16/17 2026), Jacqui hung out in the xc ski house while I went xc skiing. It was 50-60F upstairs(10-15C); they had a woodstove heating the building on the first floor. But what if she could have hung out in a warm heated camper van? A camper with a fridge full of snacks and a coffee machine. A bathroom when needed. Starlink to stream whatever she wanted? A bed to nap on, etc. She said she didn't mind hanging out while I skied, but I still felt a little bad. If I'd brought my portable diesel heater, I could have set her up in the GFC roof top tent with an air mattress and quilt. That little heater can get it above 70F/21C when it's 32F/0C out. If there's a next time, I'll have to ask her if she'd like to try that.
I skied for about 3 hours each day, and I wouldn't have felt as guilty about it if Jacqui had a nicer hang out spot. After I finished skiing today, i would have had a nice spot to change or even shower before driving home for 3 hours.
I stole this photo to set the mood of my post above
Even so, I've struggled to justify a van because it's kind of overkill for just me, and I know off grid camping isn't something Jacqui would enjoy. My truck can get more remote and it only cost 85k total after I finished adding everything. $40k for the truck in Jan 2021, and then all this stuff, click here for google sheet summary. I think I'd also worry about leaving an expensive van at a trailhead. My friend always worries about his expensive Sprinter based camper van. He even installed custom deadbolt locks on all the doors. Still, there are horror stories of thieves just cutting large holes through the sheet metal with a cordless angle grinder, or smashing out windows. Your best protection is having a camper that doesn't look expensive IMHO. Hence, why I'd prefer a Grit van that's still solid but a little dinged up.
Anyhoo, for winter ski trips like we just did, it's actually hard to find a place to overnight in a van in the Northeast, so we'd likely still get a hotel room somewhere anyway. The dinner out and a nice Bed & Breakfast is why Jacqui would want to tag along most likely.
But I do like my bike/kayak/hike/ski outings. Now, that I've lost weight, I want to do even more outings. If Jacqui could tag along when she wanted, but had a mobile version of her bedroom, it helps me justify the cost of a van a lot more. It was a light bulb moment I guess. Maybe it makes more sense than I was thinking? Especially, if it helps me avoid the itch to get a summer house/cottage. I occasionally think about a small plot of land with Yurt, where there's nearby access to the outdoorsy stuff I like, but property taxes add up. And I know, land value goes up, vans depreciate. Study global warming. That isn't going to math that way much longer. It's not a matter of whether you believe in it, Home insurance companies are already pricing it in and denying coverage based on climate model projections. Capitalism has spoken.
Back on subject...
One last pro, if it's just me using a van on my own for a more local outing. I ALSO get a nice space to take a break, eat my weird bean/lentil health food, take a short nap, etc and maybe go out a second time before driving home. My truck has it's outdoor Joolca shower stall, but it would be nice to have a more private & warm space to change clothes/take a shower before driving home too. Especially as I get more old and wrinkly...lol.
I think part of my reluctance has also been I can't see using a van for long day drives like my friend does with his wife, and Jacqui and I wouldn't do cross country trips together like they do either. So I've been judging it through that lens. That's how they use their van, and Jacqui and I would never do that, so I've always landed on a hard NO to a van. At best, Jacqui would fly out and rough it a couple days before flying back or moving on to visit with nearby friends/family while I go off to camp more.
But... I do like doing lots of local outdoorsy activities. A van would make it way more comfortable for Jacqui to tag along (if/when she wants), let me do my thing, she could comfortably read/cross stitch in the van; and then after I finish and clean up, we could dine out somewhere and drive home.
I may have finally figured out a use case that makes sense for Jacqui and I.... Stay tuned! (jk it'll still be a few years)
