Couple Trade Apartment in New Orleans to Travel in a VW Van
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Dustin and Naomi met seven years before them had the chance to meet up with them and talk about their van life journey. They had talked about traveling since they met, specifically about buying a van traveling the country. They were living in an apartment in Uptown New Orleans, about a 1,800 square foot apartment right on St. Charles. It was in a beautiful part of New Orleans on the Mardi Gras parade route. It was a really good location and they managed to fill it.
They did an extended trip through California, and that was the trigger that sparked what they needed. It was a fall day. Naomi was at home cooking dinner and Dustin was at work when she called him and said. "look, I really need to talk to you." He said, "Honestly, I have to talk to you as well." When he got home they had this talk. She told him, "Look, I think we should do it. I think we should buy a van and pursue our dreams", and he said, "oh my gosh, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about." It was crazy the magic that they had. They’re the kind of people that would talk themselves out of things, so they had to just go headfirst into it.
They gave themselves two months to make it happen. They searched and searched for a van. It was only a couple weeks before our deadline to get on the road that they found their van, which was crazy because they were selling all our stuff. They found her in Mobile, Alabama about a two and a half hour drive from New Orleans. From there, the rest is history.
The van they landed on was a 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon aka Westfalia that they named Irie. The odometer doesn't work, so they aren’t too sure what the mileage is. They estimate about two hundred thousand miles, still going strong. They ended up mounting their bikes on the front by cutting a hole in the front bumper and welding a receiver to it. They upgraded their headlights to jeep headlights, LED Gpad lights, which are super bright. For them, it was a major upgrade.
The van has a 1.9 liter engine, which gives them about 65 horsepower. Not winning too many races, but it gets them around. On top of the van they have a hundred watt solar panel charging two 6v 230ahbatteries. That allows them to charge their laptops, camera batteries, everything they need to keep going. Behind that they’ve got their Yakima cargo box which has proven invaluable. They keep all their backpacking gear, camping gear in it, and any extra necessities like wetsuits up top, as well as a surfboard next to it on a roof rack they built themselves.
They have an ARB awning which is a game changer, as it allows them to expand their living room by about 64 square feet. With the added weight to the pop top, they also added some shocks, which helped. It still takes a bit for them to get it up, and it takes both of them to get it up, but they just acquired some shocks which they have not yet installed which should make the process a bit easier
Back of the van they've got a swing away toolbox mounted to the rear bumper, which gives them some additional storage space to keep tools and an extra three gallons of water which has an awesome filter that allows them to get water from any water source. They also have a solar shower that they’ve built themselves. It holds about five gallons of water. It's got a pressure valve at the top so they can put an air compressor on it and pressure it up and get pressurised showers, which is really good to have.
To store all their clothes, they use these little clothes bags to keep everything organized and here they have their little cubbies where everyday items are stored and can be accessed quickly and easily. They took the AC unit out of the van because it never worked properly, and with the extra space in the ‘headbanger’ cabinet they are able to store some more toiletries and lots and lots of baby wipes, which according to Naomi are a necessity while on the road.
Being a westfalia, it came stock with a full kitchen that includes a stove to cook on and a sink to do dishes in. They have an engel refrigerator to keep food cold. For additional storage space, they’ve embraced the use of magnets through magnet strips for all their knives as well as spices which frees up valuable space in cabinets and drawers while also keeping things that they use every day easily accessible. Under the bench they have a giant storage space which they’re able to store everything in from additional clothes to their battery bank. Along the front space they have storage for books that they’re reading an journals
While they do have a second bed in the pop top, they prefer to sleep on the bottom level as the bed is more comfortable. When they’re ready for bed, they usually move everything that’s normally stored on the bottom bunk up top so that they can pull out the couch into a bed. They also have a Propex heater which helps if it's chilly, but when it's really really cold they head south.
Naomi’s piece of advice would be to just do it. You'll figure it out. They planned everything, saying, "okay they’re gonna need this. they’re gonna need that.” You can theorize and speculate what you’ll need to make the lifestyle sustainable, but ultimately it isn’t only until you give it a shot that you realize the nuances and figure out exactly what is required to make the space functional. A lot of times, the things that you think will be important are really not as big a deal as you think they are, but you’ll never know until you give it a shot.
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