Episode 31: Family Road Trips & #VanLife with Kristen Bor

Mary Herendeen:

Picture yourself on the open road, long stretches of empty highway laid out in front of you, the orange red hue of sunset in the rearview mirror going wherever your will and the wind takes you.

Well, as it turns out, there is a growing number of people in America who are doing just that. Kristen Bor is an outdoor enthusiast who has spent nearly a decade balancing life at home and serious adventures on the open road. In 2014, she left a budding environmental policy career in Washington D.C. to spend more time outdoors. All of that traveling eventually led her to van life. Her website, Bearfoot Theory, helps aspiring short-term and long-term road trippers learn the ropes, or shall I say, the roads.

Today, you'll hear why she chooses to live a semi-nomadic life and about her plans for adventuring with a growing family. So listeners, start your engines. It's time for a road trip!

Perceptions about the nomadic lifestyle have really changed over the past 10-15 years. In 2022, it was estimated that over 3 million people in the U.S. are classified as van lifers. Why do you think people are so increasingly attracted to this lifestyle and how did it all start for you, Kristen?

Kristen Bor:

There are a lot of different versions of van life. There are certainly people who are on the road full-time, and that's what I did when I got my first van. I sold my car, moved out of my apartment, and hit the road in my van. Now it's a little bit different. I have a house in Salt Lake City, I have a car, but I also have my van.

So, we are typically on the road full-time from May-November and then we come home in the winter. We like to ski here in Salt Lake, so that brings us home. In the summer, I'm creating content for my blog and then when I'm home in the winter is when I am honing in on getting those bigger work projects done—where I have a little bit more time to sit in front of my computer. That's kind of what van life looks like these days for me.

Mary:

What makes van life and long-term road trips in general so popular?

Kristen:

During the pandemic, as remote work became more feasible for a lot of people, I think van life became something that people were more interested in. So I think that's really led to an explosion of the movement over the last couple of years, but people have been doing van life for decades. There are just so many different things that you can do from a computer now that you couldn't do 20 years ago. I think that that's led more people to seek the freedom that van life provides because they know that they can still support themselves financially as they're traveling. So I think that it's a combination of those things, but also Instagram and just the visibility that the movement has gotten. And I think people kind of romanticize what it might be like and that has just led a lot of people to want to try it out.

Mary:

Yes, I'm on Instagram constantly romanticizing the perfect vacation. But all the romance aside, you've gone through 3 different vehicles since van life began for you, back in 2016. How did these vehicles differ? What are some of the pros and cons?

Kristen:

In 2015, I went to New Zealand for 3 months by myself. I rented a camper van there, and that's when I decided that this was a lifestyle I really wanted to pursue. I had already purchased a van back in the U.S., but I hadn't really started building it out yet. When I came home from that trip, I had it built out into a camper. It was 144-inch—which is the short wheelbase—Sprinter van with 4x4. At the time, I was traveling alone in the vehicle.

Mary:

OK, what does a solo travel van setup look like?

Kristen:

I had a full bathroom with a toilet and shower. I had a couch that converted into a bed, a kitchen, and it was a nice open layout. Shortly after I met my partner Ryan and we got a dog, it started to feel like maybe the layout that I originally started with wasn't working. I never really used the shower. I came to the conclusion that that was kind of a waste of space in the van when you have such limited space to work with. I sold that van. I went back to the drawing board and ended up with the 170-inch wheelbase Sprinter and I had it built out by a company called Outside Van. They're based in Portland, Oregon. That one had a platform bed in the back of the van, which provided tons of gear storage underneath the bed, which is something I was lacking in the first van. Also, in my first van, I had to make and unmake the bed every day from dinette form to bed form, and I found that to be a hassle. I worked from the road full-time, so I wanted a place where I could sit with my computer.

Then I also had a galley and some open space; that layout worked really well for us. We traveled in that van for 3 years. I would've kept traveling in it longer, but we decided to start a family and so we needed a new van with a third seatbelt.

Mary:

Wow.

Kristen:

So now we are a family of 3. I had a son 4 months ago.

Mary:

Congratulations!

Kristen:

Thank you, and we now have 2 dogs so it's a full house. Our van now is also same exact van, 172-wheelbase, but we have a lot more places to like organize things, which I think is going to come in really handy with the baby. And then most importantly, we had to have a third seat. So, our whole build was sort of designed on needing to have a captain's chair with the seatbelt for the baby.

Mary:

What advice would you offer aspiring van lifers or someone planning to take an extended road trip?

Kristen:

Obviously, you spend a lot of time sleeping and one of the main reasons you get a van is to have a comfortable place to sleep. So, make sure you design a bed that's big enough. The biggest difference between car camping and van life is having adequate power, being able to charge all your devices, being able to run different electronics and never having to worry that you're going to run out of power. So, design a battery solar system that's going to support your needs.

Mary:

You mentioned working on the road. How do you manage that when you're driving or camping at such remote places?

Kristen:

I can get internet by tethering my computer to my cell phone plan, but you have to have a cell signal. If you're somewhere really remote, that's not going to work. For me, sometimes that means going into a town, going to a library if there is one, or going to a coffee shop. But recently, as of last summer, we have Starlink, which is this new satellite internet that allows you to get internet anywhere. As long as you have a clear view of the sky, you can get internet. It's a little, medium-sized satellite dish, but it fits in a nice box in the back of our van, and I can set it up when we're camped at really remote places where there's no cell phone service and I can still work from there. I can even do Zoom calls. Definitely gives you more flexibility as I'm trying to get things done when we're traveling.

Mary:

What else might be important for people to think about in terms of necessities on the road?

Kristen:

A fridge that runs off the battery is also a really nice thing to have versus a cooler that you're constantly having to refill your ice.

Mary:

Most people planning a road trip are thinking about the best kind of vehicle to take and choices usually come down to an RV versus a van. What are some of the key differences between the 2 for travelers?

Kristen:

So there's a few key differences. Obviously, one is size and just how nimble the vehicle is. I think one advantage of van life over having an RV is you're just able to go more places without the stress of, where are we going to park? Where are we going to camp? Are we going to fit on that dirt road that we see on the map? And we're not sure.

Having a van just gives you a little bit more flexibility and I think it's a lot more like a normal car to drive. Even though they look large, they drive a lot more like a car than a huge vehicle. A lot of times with an RV, you have to plug in, which means making reservations at campgrounds where you know you're going to have a power hookup. With a van, you don't need that. If you have solar, you can just go wherever and they're more off-grid capable. Obviously, an RV is a little bit more luxurious in terms of the space inside. It's more like a house whereas a van is kind of like a home on wheels, but you're definitely making more sacrifices with what you can bring in a van. I think it's a more minimalist lifestyle than traveling in an RV.

Mary:

Definitely a minimalist lifestyle. One aspect of that is showering, I understand you chose not to put a shower in your van. What can travelers do instead?

Kristen:

Most vans have a 25-gallon capacity for water, 30 at the most because the vans themselves have a limit on how much weight you can carry in the van and water is heavy. So, if you have a 25-gallon water tank and you want to shower, plus you're doing dishes, drinking the water, just using the water for other things that you need, it means you're going to be filling up your water tanks all the time. It's just another chore you have to do.

There's so many other places that you can shower; one of my favorite places to shower is recreation centers. They're in almost every town. They're generally very clean. It's like $5 for unlimited hot water whereas in your van, you're showering like military-style where you're getting wet, soaping up while the water is off, then you're rinsing off. You're not just sitting under a nice hot stream of water, so it's not really as relaxing as a shower at home would be.

Mary:

Now, for those who are renting a van or an RV for the first time, what tips do you have to help them choose the right vehicle for the trip they're planning?

Kristen:

There are a few different rental platforms that I'd recommend checking out. One is GoCamp, that one is a for-rent-by-owner platform. There's also one called Outdoorsy. They're both kind of like Airbnb, but for vans. There's of course established companies that have maybe 1 or 2 models and those are all over the country. So, finding a van that's in the right location where you want to travel is the first step.

Mary:

What did you find to be the most surprising thing about van life or that other van-lifers would say was most surprising for them?

Kristen:

As far as challenges, something that I didn't really realize is that you're just making so many more decisions when you live in a van every day than you do when you're at home. In a normal day at home, yes of course you're deciding what you're going to eat, but in a van, you're like, “Where are you going to sleep at night? Every day you have to make that decision. Every day, like what are you going to do? You're in a new place, so you might not be familiar. Everything is so new and you're making lots of decisions and sometimes that could be a little bit overwhelming and exhausting, and sometimes you're just like, “Ugh, I don't want to make any more decisions.”

Mary:

Now, in terms of cost of living, how does van life compare to the traditional, more settled way of life? And where do you spend more or where do you save?

Kristen:

If you're treating van life like your daily life and you're living in the van, and you're trying to do it frugally, there are certainly ways you can do that. I would say traveling slower, spending more time in each place because gas is one of the biggest expenses, especially right now. Your food costs are probably going to be the same unless you're going out to eat all the time. But if you're actually using your kitchen in your van and you're cooking a lot of meals, your food costs should be about the same.

At the same time, van life can be really expensive if you're treating it like a vacation. If you decide you're going to do van life for 6 months and you're going to explore the whole country, and visit all these cool places, and you're going to go out to all the restaurants, and you're going to pay for campsites, then it can really add up. I would suggest looking at your budget and figuring out what you have to work with as you start traveling.

Mary:

More and more travelers are choosing van rentals and RVs as vacation options for them. I know you've had the opportunity to see both the good sides and the bad sides of this influx. Tell us about it.

Kristen:

There's been a lot more van life events pop up. I actually organized an event called Open Roads Fest; it's in McCall, Idaho. We're not doing it this summer because I just had the baby, but we're hoping to get back next summer in 2024. At those events, you're bound to meet other people because everyone is drawn there for the same reason.

Mary:

It's great to get a big crowd together to celebrate and enjoy each other's company for the same reason. It sounds like a lot of fun. Now, are there any downsides?

Kristen:

They are having some issues in certain places like Moab with overcrowding and people not caring for the land in the way that they should. So, if people decide to go to those places that are being used frequently, make sure you brush up on your “leave no trace,” learn proper techniques for going to the bathroom outside, always pack out your toilet paper and your trash, and make sure you follow local regulations because as places get really blown up, the risk comes that they're not going to allow you to camp for free there anymore.

Mary:

You mentioned on your website that one of the best aspects of van Life is the ability to be closer to nature. National parks appear to be among the most popular destination for road trippers and van lifers. What is so appealing about the national park experience in a van or an RV as opposed to a more traditional hotel accommodation?

Kristen:

Camping anywhere just puts nature at your doorstep—whether it's a national park, a forest, or BLM land—it just puts you so much closer to the trails, the pretty sunsets, and the sunrises. And all the reasons that really draw me to van life: Being able to cook your own food, it's just so much easier than if you're staying in a hotel and then you got to go to a restaurant for lunch that just consumes so much of your day where you could be out hiking, swimming, and doing all the things that the national parks offer.

Mary:

Any tips or favorite spots to share?

Kristen:

I love the southern Utah national parks. They're amazing. Rocky Mountain National Park probably has some of the best hiking, as well as North Cascades National Park in Washington. That's another one of my favorites. A couple years ago, we went up to Olympic National Park in August and we had beautiful weather, and some of the beaches there are actually dog-friendly, so that was wonderful.

Mary:

When are the best times to go?

Kristen:

The best time to go is really going to depend on the park. So, southern Utah, the best time to go would be spring and fall due to the weather. It gets really hot in the summer, I would say that for any of the parks in the southwest. Obviously, for the more mountainous parks like Rocky Mountain National Park, that's going to be best visited in the summer when you can actually get to the high peaks and there's no snow.

Mary:

In a lot of ways, it sounds like living or vacationing in a vehicle simplifies a lot of things. You're not having to think about when and where to eat, and of course, you're not spending all that time packing and unpacking when you make a move, but I bet you definitely have to plan for seasons and weather patterns. Can you talk to us a little bit about why that's such an important factor for folks who are traveling on wheels?

Kristen:

Planning around the weather is also really important in a van because most likely, you don't have an AC system that can just be blasted 24 hours a day. Most people have heaters, but AC is not as common because of the power requirements. I think it really forces you to think about traveling based on where you can find nice weather.

Mary:

All the nature, the community, and having that home cooking, I bet it's hard not to get wrapped up in the romance of vacationing in a van or an RV.

Kristen:

What's really cool about the van is that it really just gives you a chance to learn how to go with the flow and just be more present, not be so focused on making perfect decisions all the time because you have more time.

Mary:

Before I let you pack up for your next adventure with your family, I want to know about your favorite trip so far. Can you share your most magical van life experience and what elements made it so wonderful?

Kristen:

There's one place we really like to camp outside, Crested Butte, Colorado. I spent my birthday there in 2021. We had this beautiful campsite with an awesome sunset view, hardly anybody else around, and the trails were leaving right from our doorstep. There's just been so many little amazing moments along the way, and I think the most magical is probably yet to come as I get ready to leave with my kiddo in tow.

Mary:

Yes, kids do bring a whole lot of magic.

In his generation-defining book, On the Road, Jack Kerouac wrote, “The road must eventually lead to the whole world.” For Kristen and her family, summers on the road mean the world is very often at their doorstep.

If you've been thinking about bringing the world a little closer to your doorstep, I'd encourage you to check out Kristen's website, Bearfoot Theory. There, you'll find everything you need to know about discovering the world on 4 wheels.

Kristen Bor, thank you so much for joining us and thank you to our listeners for being with us. If you're planning a trip, be sure to connect with a AAA Travel Advisor. Check out AAA.com/travel or visit your local branch. If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe. I'm Mary Herendeen, thank you for traveling with AAA.

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