Part 4: Blue Springs, MO and Van 2.0
It’s the moment you have all been waiting for (or at least we have been waiting). Our adventures have finally brought us back to Blue Springs, MO to pick up Van 2.0 at Van Do It! It has been such a long wait but also not really! Let me walk you through the process real quick as a second-time van owner:
We started having discussions about a second van last April after a VOX (VanDoIt Owners’ Experience) in Bentonville, AR. We discussed a new model they were working on but hadn’t finished ironing everything out so we didn’t hear much more until Fall
The MOOV was released and they started taking orders on it. Being a new model, we wanted to have more information and more pictures on what to expect and we wanted to make sure we could get a second bunk for Maddie.
We started combing through the build sheet which was now 5-6 times longer than our original build sheet in 2021.
We settled on our must-haves and discussed giving Van Do It license to experiment with our van however they feel.
We put our money down (they call it a “phase one draw”) of 10% of what our build was expected to be in January.
Then it was a waiting game.
We had a few conversations during the process including convos with financing and with our “guru” (the person with all the info on the vans).
We got our VIN number and had a list of requirements for pick-up
In June we got the call that we could be ready to pick up second week in July so we made plans to get down there. We were already planning to cover the Expo in Bend, OR so it was a no-brainer to extend our trip and pick up when we were done!
From Friends Into Family
When we started our journey into “VanLife” we didn’t really expect to make a ton of friends. When you think about it… how can you? You’re essentially traveling all over nomadically and for us it was just on the weekends whereas others are all over the country sometimes full-time. But we have made some great friends since becoming a part of the Van Do It community.
One of the first families we met were the Kelly’s. We first met them a few months after we picked up BBV in 2021 at a VOX (VanDoIt Owners’ Experience) in Torch Lake, Michigan. Stephanie and Sean have 3 kids (Caden, Bellamy, and Declan) and we clicked almost instantly. Maddie, of course became best friends with Bellamy and they are so cute together. After VOX we had them over to our house (before we sold) since they were living full-time in their van and would be passing through.
And we’ve always kept in touch. Maddie and Bellamy not only message each other on kids’ messenger but they send letters back and forth. Now that they have settled in Kansas City it makes for a nice trip to visit them when we are in Blue Springs doing van stuff and have stayed with them a time or two. So, of course we had to see them while we were in town and even left Maddie with them on pick-up day, knowing it would be a long and boring day for her otherwise.
But the point is that Van Do It has made it possible for us to make friends ALL OVER! We have this network of “van fam” that we can drop in on or plan vacations with or just meet up with randomly because we’re in the same town. Last year for Spring Break, Rob and Maddie spent a few days with another van fam in Kentucky, the Raabe’s and its always such a great time.
Back to Pick-up Day
Pick-up day is always a crazy time. For us, we literally were transferring our belongings between 3 different vans because we had a “show van” while traveling for the Expo and had been living out of it for more than a week.
We got there on Monday and moved most of our things out of the show van into BBV. We, of course, said hi to all our favorite people at Van Do It and stayed there way longer than we intended to. But then we got out of there and went to see the Kelly’s for the night. Have I told you how amazing they are? They opened their home to us, fed us, let us use their shower, gave us a guest room to sleep in and kept our kid for an entire day without complaint. THANK YOU, KELLY VAN FAM!!!
Anyway…
We went back to Van Do It the next morning but had to force ourselves to take our time since we were told our pickup wouldn’t start until about 10am (we wanted to be there at 8am). So, we dropped into a CrossFit gym (CrossFit Fig) and got our sweat on in the Mid-West for the first time in a few weeks. What fun!
Getting to VDI is always fun and a surprise. You never know what you’re going to get! When we got there, they were having their weekly meeting and so we made ourselves busy. We finished moving our things out of the show van into BBV, made coffee, did our devotionals, journaled, etc.
This time can feel like a lifetime. It’s made so much harder by the fact that we knew this process already and knew we could just walk around the corner and literally see our new van but we resisted. Paperwork is never fun but we have to do it. We did all the loan stuff, liability, insurance things, etc. Then it was time!
The New Van
I don’t really know what I was expecting on our new van but this blew me away! Rob had to stop drinking coffee earlier in the morning because he was so excited. Walking around the corner to see this massive grey van was worth all of the waiting. As frustrating as it can be to have to wait more than a year for something you have set you heart and mind on, this van made up for it. And that is really all I can say!
We decided to upgrade our van because we needed more space and we needed to have Rob be able to stand up in our van. This new van delivered! We have cabinets everywhere! We have drawers! We have 2 beds and an extra table for an office space! There is so much in this new van we didn’t have before. We have 12! sets of outlets! We have lithium batteries that allow us to run our A/C without being hooked up to power. We have window covers… for all of our windows! We have heat and a small water pump off the back side. And did I mention the storage?!? As it stands after moving in completely, we have ZERO bins in the van. We had multiple in our last van depending on the trip we were taking!
No van pick up is complete without a thorough walk-through. Even though we are “previous owners” they walk us through the entire van and all of the systems and accessories in the van. It really is quite nice. You get a tour of your own van and understand (at least mostly) what everything does. You also have the chance to change anything that needs changing or moved or added. It’s such a great process!
Rachael’s View of the Van
I am so excited for this van. I am grateful we found VDI when we did because it really changed everything for us. While we were at VDI I got the chance to go on the podcast More Than a Van and talked a little about what van life has done for me and for our family (and you can watch it here) but let me explain a bit.
Before buying our first van, we were living in a house that was just too big for our little family and we weren’t really there all that often. Our basement was only used when family or friends came to visit and we didn’t spend any time in it. We had all these bedrooms that weren’t used and a yard I hated having to mow. When we got our BBV (Big Black Van) we got out even more and traveled even more. And within 6 months we decided we didn’t need that big house and made the choice to sell.
We bought a 37 foot camper and moved into it (at least in the summer). We’ve been spending our summers in our camper for the last 3 years and love it. We are now looking at buying a new house but what we want has changed. We don’t want to be in a neighborhood and we don’t want a big house. We want something small that is good for sleeping in. And the van was the catalyst to making that all happen.
This new van (name yet to come) is opening even more doors for us. Its going to allow us to take longer trips and do more and see more. We’re excited to go out west again and to take so many other trips. It’s indescribable the freedom having this van gives. I keep thinking about how blessed we are to be able to do this and thanking God that he sent us this route. It really is a blessing!
Rob’s View of the Van
Rachael gives a great back story of the last 3-4 years of our lives. The last 15 years prior to those were spent traveling the world in a different way. Rachael and I met in Japan, serving in the United States Navy, in 2008. We joined the navy in 2007. A couple years later rolled around and we decided to spend the rest of our lives together, on 9/10/11! Best 13 years of my life so far by the way. The reason I give the last almost 2 decades of backstory is important to tell because our mindset the last 3-4 years has really changed (drastically) since our military days.
I separated Honorably from the navy on December 6, 2022, after 15 years and 8 months. So close to 20 years, why didn’t you just do 20 and retire!? That’s when the mindset, faith, relationship aspect of our lives started changing drastically. I decided I wasn’t going to get the covid shot. Yep! I gave up a pension because of a shot. Everyone walks their own path, and mine wasn’t with the military anymore.
Rachael and I found out our identity was too wrapped up in the military. One of the biggest factors to us finding US again was our Big Black Van (BBV), and the relationship we built with the beautiful human beings at Vandoit. We got the van, and that started scratching an itch. An itch to sell the house, and everything in it. STUFF. We sold our stuff! Because at the deep roots of it all were God, our family, and our friends. Not all this shit we accumulated in our lives!
We try to stay grounded and connected. We aren’t perfect, we’re human. The van helps us do that in so many ways. When life is getting too big, and we need to get away and recharge. To remember why we are doing what we’re doing. To turn off the screens, grab each other’s hands, look each other in the eyes, and say, “This is how life is supposed to feel.” That’s the key reason for us going bigger and longer.
We owned BBV for 3.5 years, she was a mid-roof DO model. Van 2.0 is a MOOV model, high roof, and EL (extra-long). So, this was a huge upgrade. Every day I am so thankful for the opportunity to drive this beautiful van. I try to remember the 60 or so incredible human beings that work at Vandoit, and how much they’re changing lives. All because of a van! I hope that doesn’t get lost in the day-to-day grind of building vans. Not just the new van, but our first van too, has brought us together as a family in ways I didn’t know were possible.
We have had some of the best times of our lives on hikes, and trips because of it! We’ve also gotten through some of the scariest storms of our lives, both mentally and physically, because of this van! I tell people all the time that this van, among a few other things, saved my life. That’s the cold hard facts. But I could write a book about all that! I’ll leave it with this: this new van has so many upgrades! The smooth finishes they put on everything, the lithium battery power, the shocks/struts/springs suspension upgrade, the storage (WOW) space, the attention to detail that VDI gives, electrical in/out hook ups outside the van, etc.. Delivery day was amazing and spent with friends. Our amazing friends at VDI made us our own, unique to us van! And we couldn’t love them anymore than we do.
Vandoit, Thank you for being a huge part in how we see the world, each other, ourselves, and our lives!
We hope to see many of you on the road! We are always stoked to meet other VDI fam on the road!
Slow wide turns.
Maddie’s View of the Van
Q: Do you like your new van?
A: Yes! I like it because we have a big TV and a toilet that doesn't stink.
Q: What is the biggest difference in your vans?
A: Our old van had a stinky toilet and this one doesn't. I also have my own area and my own bed and I dont have to sleep on the floor anymore. (context: our old van had limited space and we would put her mattress on the floor to maximize the headspace for her.)
Q: What do you love most about VanLife?
A: I like that I get to sleep in a cool bunk bed. I like that I can wake up and be in a new place and go explore.
Q: If you could change anything in your van, what would it be?
A: NOTHING!!
Q: Where do you want to go next?
A: Florida! Because it's hot and I like it.
Where's the Next Adventure?
We left Blue Springs and headed to Lifest in Oshkosh, WI. Stay tuned for part 5 where we share a weekend living out of the new van listening to Christian music!
Much love & Blessings,
Rachael
留言