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Van Life

Blogs

  • How much does Van Life Cost? A Breakdown of Expenses

    How much does Van Life Cost? A Breakdown of Expenses

    When first researching van life and living on the road, one of the first questions that comes up is “how much does van life actually cost?” We’ve broken down the common van life expenses based on our real, personal experience and estimated costs each month. We’ve been living in our van for the past five…

    May 6, 2025
  • How much does a Van Conversion Actually Cost?

    How much does a Van Conversion Actually Cost?

    One of the biggest questions, and deciding factors, that comes with building a campervan is, “How much does it actually cost?” We love financial transparency so we can know what exactly we’re getting ourselves into before we dive headfirst into something. With rising material costs, tariffs on imported cars, and so much more, campervan build…

    April 9, 2025
  • Don’t Miss these TOP 5 features in a Sprinter Van Build

    Don’t Miss these TOP 5 features in a Sprinter Van Build

    There are many ways to plan and accomplish a sprinter van build, and it can be very overwhelming. In this article we are going to highlight the top 5 components, we’re thrilled we incorporated, and share why we recommend them in every sprinter van build. Each of the five components may not have much in…

    March 26, 2025
  • Best Starlink for Van Life

    Best Starlink for Van Life

    We live and work full time out of our sprinter van, Summit, and before that we lived and worked on our boat, Pivot. In each situation we had Starlink, and in this article we are going to share the best starlink for van life. Starlink is one of those features that makes you wonder, “How…

    March 26, 2025
  • Our Guide to RESEARCHING and INSTALLING a 12V Van Air Conditioner

    Our Guide to RESEARCHING and INSTALLING a 12V Van Air Conditioner

    Since our van, Summit, is our full-time home, we knew we needed to install a van air conditioner. While we planned to chase 80, we knew that inevitably, there would be heat spells or tough nights sleeping. An AC gives us flexibility and comfort while living on the road full-time! In this article, we will go over…

    March 25, 2025
  • The BEST Composting Toilet is the OGO Origin, and here’s why.

    The BEST Composting Toilet is the OGO Origin, and here’s why.

    We live full-time in our self-converted sprinter van, so having a high-quality toilet is essential to enjoying life. We’ve done a ton of research to determine what is important in a composting toilet and which brand makes the best head. Based on cost, build quality, features, and form factor, we determined the OGO Origin to…

    March 21, 2025
  • Camper Van Fans: How to STAY COOL in your DIY Van

    Camper Van Fans: How to STAY COOL in your DIY Van

    Keeping your van comfortable is as much an art as a science. When we built our 2023 Mercedes Sprinter Van, we spent many hours analyzing airflow and how we would stay comfortable in all the different environments while living full-time in it. In this article, we share the most popular fans to install in your…

    February 13, 2025
  • How we Insulated our Camper Van (A Detailed Guide)

    How we Insulated our Camper Van (A Detailed Guide)

    As we’ve been building our Mercedes Sprinter Camper Van, our next home, insulation has been a prime concern. If you’ve ever gotten into a car on a hot day, or left for work on a winter morning; it can be uncomfortable. Sure it’ll take only a few minutes to climatize with your cars heater or…

    September 13, 2024
  • Our SIMPLE, INSULATED, and BEAUTIFUL Camper Van Floor

    Our SIMPLE, INSULATED, and BEAUTIFUL Camper Van Floor

    When building our Sprinter van for full-time living, we found countless ideas for the camper van subfloor. From ‘Do you even need a floor?’ to ‘You need an intricately engineered floor for all these situations’ – there’s endless advice online. We took a reductionist approach and tried to take the best pieces of advice from all the…

    August 23, 2024
  • Beginners Guide to Powering Your Camper with Solar

    Beginners Guide to Powering Your Camper with Solar

    We’ve installed two solar arrays from scratch. The first time, we installed 700W of flexible solar, on our boat where we cruised full time for two years. The second time we, installed 825W of Walkable Solar on our sprinter van for full-time van life. We also wrote an electrical e-book for our boating audience, so hopefully, we can share…

    August 21, 2024
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Sometimes it’s not the bucket list but random mo Sometimes it’s not the bucket list but random moments that you’ll remember forever 🐶

After filming our YouTube series on Carlsbad Caverns NP and White Sands NP we had to spend one day in the park and just catch up on work. 

It was a little warm, but randomly running up the sand hills throughout the day was so worth it. 

It’s l moments like these that were so grateful to live and work out of our van. 

Follow @schoandjo for more slices of life as we explore North America. 

#travelcouple 
#van
#vanlife 
#diyvanbuild 
#nationalparks
#whitesands
And 2 seconds later, Summit was dirty again 😅 And 2 seconds later, Summit was dirty again 😅

As two East Coasters, deserts are so strange and wonderful. Both barren and full of life. 

We stayed on our first BLM outside of Carlsbad, NM, and we were greeted with something entirely new for us… a dust storm! 

We hadn’t washed Summit since being on the road, but that was the trigger for a deep clean. Coming from boat life, we’d just wash Pivot at various marinas. 

Now we go to car washes! I have to admit, that I was not really looking forward to the chore of washing Summit, but the feeling of a clean home was super worth it. With some good tunes, it was actually pretty fun! 

Follow @schoandjo for more, as we learn more about life on the road on our exploration around North America! 

#vanlife
#travelcouple
#sprintervan
#carwash
#newmexico
#duststorm
#rvlife
We were racing against the clock ⏰ When we firs We were racing against the clock ⏰

When we first stepped into White Sands National Park, we knew we had to get sunset photos, but while almost everywhere in the park is perfect for it, there is a cut-off time. 

You must be out of the park no later than 30 minutes after sunset. 

BUT, since the sun goes over the Mountains earlier than sunset, you have more gorgeous golden light.

Follow @schoandjo as we visit all 63 National Parks. This is park 7/63.

#whitesands
#nationalparks
#newmexico
#hiking
#photography
#travelfamily
Don’t Miss this Ranger-Led Tour ‼️ When we Don’t Miss this Ranger-Led Tour ‼️

When we went to Carlsbad Caverns this April, we were shocked to learn they restarted ONE tour. 

If you didn’t know, Carlsbad Caverns lost roughly half its front-facing staff with the NPS cuts. Due to this, they were forced to cancel all their ranger-led tours and just focus on keeping the park running. 

The park service desperately wanted to open a tour to help educate small groups about the park’s history, challenges, and wonders, hoping those people would then share why our parks are so important to keep open. They’ve found a way to stabilize and open one tour.

The King’s Palace tour visits scenic rooms closed to the public, so you’ll visit places very few people can see.

With this being said, every day is different, and as of now, they don’t know in advance if they will be offering the tour, so you’ll have to show up early regardless.

The visitors center opens at 9:00 am, so we sat outside since 8:00 am, ensuring we could get a spot. 

The other people who had heard of the tour started arriving at 8:15, and by 8:30, there was a decent line outside. If you want tickets, arrive by 8:30 am at the latest! 

You don’t need a timed entry as the tour will count for your entry. The tour is $10 USD per person, on top of standard park entry fees. 

The King’s Palace tour starts at 10:30 am, so you’ll need to take the elevator down, and then you’ll have a few minutes to wander before the tour. 

The tour lasts about 1:30 to 2 hours, so come fed and with plenty of time to learn about the Caverns! 

Let us know in the comments if you have any questions or have seen anything different in recent days. Huge kudos to the NPS for navigating these challenging times. 

Follow @schoandjo as we visit all 63 US National Parks, this is park number 7!

#carlsbadcaverns
#nationalparks
#newmexico
#hiking
#caves
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