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Author: searchingamerica

Teddy’s story

Teddy’s story

It’s time for Teddy’s story…

I bought a van. And three weeks later, the pandemic started. 

At the time, I thought, Lord, what have I done? 

Supplies started to become hard to source. Plywood, at least, was not horribly expensive… yet. My parents were stuck in Florida at my sister’s house. This was not a big deal except that I was supposed to be building this van at my dad’s shop an hour and a half from my home. Normally, they’d be back in early April. In 2020, they didn’t get back to Iowa until June. 

In the meantime, I had a Maxxair fan installed in the van. This, ultimately, was the only part of the build that I could not bring myself to do. I just could not cut a fourteen-inch hole in my brand-new van. Call me chicken. It was worth it. 

While I waited for dad to return, I sourced supplies. Havelock wool insulation, Killmatz sound deadening, plywood, foam board insulation, Plus Nuts, flooring, window covers, refrigerator, Jackery 1000. All of this would trickle in over the summer. I was a frequent flyer at my local Menards. Save big money, right?

Dad got back in June. I would go over on Saturdays and we would work for about 24 hours before I had to head back home to work on Monday. We got the flooring done, started framing out the walls, installed the bed. We were getting into a groove and then… 

The Derecho hit on August 10, 2020. My home was hit with 140mph winds. I live in Iowa. We don’t have hurricanes. We have tornadoes. We had about 45 minutes warning that the Derecho was headed towards us. Floridians had DAYS to prepare for a hurricane. 

Once I knew the dogs and I were safe, all I could think about was the van. I was so fortunate that the van was fine. It was covered in storm debris and there was a large limb laying across the hood, but ultimately, it was fine. I was without power for two weeks, but luckily, I was an experienced camper and had a battery pack to use to keep things powered. 

We recovered from the Derecho and powered on! Walls went up. Installing the ceiling was a bear, but in it went. We started on the electrical and then winter showed up and it was time for my parents to head back to Florida. Once again, the van would sit for the winter until we could start working again. The spring of 2021 rolled around and we “finished” the van. We all know you’re never really finished with a van build. There are always projects and upgrades and repairs that need to be done. 

I traveled quite a bit in 2021 and there was always that full time van living thought in the back of my mind. Could I really do it? I love my time in the van. It’s my happy place. It’s relaxing and simple and minimal. My full-time wish didn’t go away. It just kept growing. Over the winter, I came up with a plan to remodel the area between the seats and the bed to make it more functional and full-time friendly. 

When the spring of 2022 arrived, I was ready. We remodeled in a couple months and I loved the new layout. It was definitely useable for full time living. 

Could I actually do it???

All. The. Emotions.

All. The. Emotions.

Y’all are going to have to wait for Teddy’s build story. 

Emotions… I am having ALL the emotions. 

I am terrified. I am excited. I am sad. I am happy. I am stressed. 

I want to do this. I have wanted to do this for years. I have researched and planned. I have organized and made list after list after list. I have watched countless hours of YouTube videos, and not just the happy #vanlife videos. I have researched products for my build. Solar generators, window covers, refrigerators, hotspots, internet options, tables, tires. You name it and I’ve probably watched a video on it. I did my entire build from researching on YouTube videos.  

I know this is what I want and it’s still so hard to break from the “norm”. I have a good job that pays well and has pretty good benefits. I have a cute little house and a great circle of friends and family. Why would I leave all that? Stupid, right? Remember those emotions? I’m stressed. I have been at my job for 30 years. That’s over half my life. I’m burnt out by the environment. I don’t mind the work. I LIKE to work. I need a change. What’s the saying? 

“We regret the things we don’t do more than the things we do.”

                                                                                                             — Mark Twain

I have been actively working towards this over the last few months, getting rid of things I don’t need (easy when you’re a minimalist at heart) and buying things I need for the van. I’ve gotten most things out of my house and had a visit from my realtor. The emotional part of this is that I have confided in a very few select people to keep my secret. It’s a big thing to keep quiet and that’s scary. What if my employer finds out? 

I need to find a new career. One that can support me and my dogs. That’s enormously stressful. I have not had an updated resume in, well, I think I had to write one in college. Don’t be me. Keep your resume up to date so you don’t have to start from scratch and then have a good friend basically rewrite it for you. Thank God for good friends. I know getting that job is probably the thing that will relieve my stress the most. 

I am through with shoveling snow in the winter and mowing grass in the summer.  I want to see so many things here in the United States that I will never get a chance to see if I stay, stagnant, at my current job. I want to see the Pacific Northwest, Arizona Sunsets, the Atlantic Ocean, Fall leaf change in the Northeast. There are so many things to see and places to explore in this country. I don’t want to regret not taking a chance. I am excited to visit places I’ve never been. 

I am sad to leave my friends and a nice city that I’ve been living in for most of my life. But, I can always come back to visit. And I will. Change can be scary and sad and exiting all at the same time. I am excited one minute and in tears the next. 

Until then… one thing at a time and breathe…

It. Will. Be. Ok. 

How did I get here?

How did I get here?

What have I done…. What have I done…. What have I done!

I’m going to be homeless. No! I’m going to be houseless. I have a home. It just happens to have four wheels.  

This journey unknowingly started for me many years ago. I traveled extensively with my dogs to shows and trials. A few friends and I felt we were “adventurous” and camped at these shows. Who wants to pay all that money for a hotel, right? 

Over the years, our camping in tents evolved into sleeping in our vehicles. Most of us had minivans, so it was completely doable. We invested in cots and window covers and sleeping pads and all the goodies one needs for camping. We had a blast! 

As we got older, some opted to go back to using hotels. Some decided to stay closer to home and enter local trials so they could sleep in their own beds. Some, like myself, graduated to larger vehicles. 

I started out with my minivans and those were great for vehicle camping. Then I discovered #vanlife. Those folks were the real deal! I kept my eyes peeled and found a Chevy Express passenger van. It was pure luxury! I pulled out the seats, built a bed frame, made window covers from Reflectex, and had a cozy place to “live” when going to dog trials. 

Life with “Walter”, the Chevy Express, was awesome until the day after Christmas in 2019 when someone failed to stop for a red light. I was fine, but Walter was totaled. Fortunately, the dogs were at home and spared that little bit of excitement. 

I spent the next two months searching for Walter’s replacement. I considered the “big three”: Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit, and Ram Promaster. They all have their pros and cons. I felt the Sprinter was out of my budget both for the initial cost of the van and the maintenance. I had originally wanted to buy the Promaster as it was the widest and most square which leads to an easier build. Unfortunately, the Promaster was going through a major recall at the time I was shopping. They were hard to source and, even if I could find one, I was not able to buy it if the recall work had not been done. This left the Transit. I was very fortunate to have a small dealer in town that specialized in cargo vans and they had several Transits in stock. 

On February 24, 2020, I brought “Teddy” home. Teddy is a 2019, 148” wheelbase, high roof Ford Transit. He is named after President Theodore Roosevelt, who brought about the creation of our national parks. 

Well, we all know what happened in March of 2020. That is a story for my next post. I think it needs it’s own space as it’s a bit of a doozy, as they say.