5 surprises we didn’t see coming after buying a camper van
These people just bought a camper van. They have no idea what they’re doing!
Nearly 5 years ago, we did something kind of nuts.
We had never slept in one. Never driven one. Barely even stepped inside one.
And yet, we bought a camper van anyway.
At the time, we knew owning a camper van would change how we traveled. What we didn’t realize? How much it would change us.
Nature’s where it’s at
In the decade leading up to buying a camper van, we had started leaning more into outdoor travel. While living in California, we became passable tent campers — with a little help from our friends — on trips to Morro Bay, Big Sur and Santa Rosa.
In Washington, we rented yurts on the Olympic Peninsula and in the Cascade Mountains. We also spent a couple nights with friends in their fifth-wheel camper near charming small towns like La Conner.
But owning an RV? Never really crossed our minds.
Less than a year earlier, I had leveled up our camping gear with a stand-up changing room tent and a bucket toilet. It was COVID times, and I didn’t want to use the campground bathrooms — if they were even open.
This necessitated a luggage basket for the roof of my car — a way to haul the ever-expanding array of camping gear for us and the dogs.
We didn’t use any of it.
Camper Van Beethoven entered the picture and completely changed the game.
All that gear, both old and new, wasn’t just unnecessary. It was redundant. We donated it all — the five-person tent, the two-burner propane stove, the new toilet setup — to friends and Goodwill.
Our first trip in the van took us more than 2,000 miles across seven states. At the end of it, we became Midwesterners again.
Since then, we’ve taken the van to 18 more states. But the biggest surprise hasn’t been the travel.
Driving change
Since leaving the dealership lot, we’ve been continually surprised by how buying a camper van has overhauled our travel bucket list and reshaped how we think about travel. Here are five surprises that have risen to the top.
1 We didn’t expect to fall hard for the South
My Blue Ridge Mountain photos from spring 2023 still give me so many OMGs. This is the view from Sunrise Rock in Highlands, North Carolina.
Before the van, the South wasn’t really on our radar. Now it’s full of small towns, sunsets, beaches and waterfalls we can’t stop chasing. Every time we visit Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia or Florida, we fall a little more in love.
It’s the direction we point the van most often. It’s (relatively) close to home, the driving’s easy and the scenery is stunning.
There’s just so much to explore. We’ve barely scratched the surface of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Tennessee waterfalls, the Gulf and Atlantic coasts and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
We want to return to the Florida Keys — a place we’ve visited before, but not in the van. We want to see the Buffalo National River in Arkansas and North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
The South is every bit as exciting as any other region of the country, and we’re just getting started.
Surprise: The van’s given us more than just a way to travel. It’s opened up a whole new region of the country to explore.
2 We didn’t expect to stop flying
Landing in Fairbanks in late February 2020, we didn’t know a couple of things: That COVID would soon curtail travel and that it would be the last time we flew anywhere together for at least six years.
The last time we buckled airplane seatbelts next to each other was Mar 1, 2020. We were returning from visiting my aunt — and seeing the Northern Lights — in Fairbanks, Alaska.
COVID was already on the news before we left. A few days after we got back, Seattle — our home at the time — shut down its offices, restaurants, most commercial flights and more. Everyone was told to quarantine at home.
We mostly did, which gave us time to start plotting our move back to the Midwest — and eventually our camper van purchase.
It turned out to be the beginning of a whole new world of travel.
We wanted to use the van as much as possible. And the more we did, the less appealing flying became. Arrive at this time. Wait in that line. Only bring this much shampoo. Delays you can’t do anything about.
It just felt so rigid.
Meanwhile, Camper Van Beethoven, open roads and our own schedule? Pure freedom.
We still don’t have any concrete plans to fly anywhere together, although we’ve each taken separate flights in recent years.
Maybe in 2027 or 2028. TBD.
Surprise: The van hasn’t just changed how we travel. It’s changed what we want out of travel.
3 We didn’t expect to catch Zs in Cracker Barrel parking lots
Before the camper van, if you had invited me to breakfast at Cracker Barrel, chances are I would’ve politely declined — or gone very begrudgingly. Now, I look forward to it, but only on a van trip.
I’m not saying a Cracker Barrel parking lot is my favorite place to stay the night in our camper van. But it’s certainly not a bad place to wake up — a bathroom and a hot breakfast are just a few steps away.
The restaurant chain has more than 650 locations in 40+ states, and they’re known for letting RVs overnight in their parking lots. There are no electric hookups, hiking trails or scenic views. No picnic tables or campfire rings.
It’s simply a place to park on the pavement and go to sleep — perfect when you’re just passing through on the way to someplace else.
A night at Cracker Barrel rarely takes you far off your route. Most locations sit within earshot of major highways. And unlike some campgrounds these days, it’s easy on the wallet. The overnight stay is free, and breakfast the next morning is usually less than $15 each.
I love when a Cracker Barrel stay fits into our itinerary. The only conditions: the weather can’t be too hot — we don’t like sleeping with both the generator and air conditioning running — and the area has to feel safe, which you can’t always sense until you arrive.
We never go except on van trips. Still, the occasional Cracker Barrel night — and morning — is something I’ve started to look forward to.
Fried apples, anyone?
Surprise: Somehow, the van has turned a roadside restaurant chain into one of our favorite travel rituals.
4 We didn’t expect to want a camper van community
When someone at the campground has the same dog as you, you can only hope you’ll become friends. We met Oswald the Scottie dog (right) and his parents at Osage Hills State Park in Oklahoma this past June.
I noticed something last year.
We loved our paddle board camping trip in Kansas with friends. We had fun with my parents in Oklahoma, where they stayed in a Civilian Conservation Corps cabin while we stayed in the van.
We met new friends through campground chats in Oklahoma and Georgia. We talked camper vans nonstop with one of my remote coworkers and her husband over breakfast when we passed through their town in Tennessee.
And it became clear: Travel — and camper vans — are better with family and friends.
Before that, I thought it might be interesting to have a camper van community. Now I know it’s something I’d love.
A camper van community. Or maybe a Super Cool community of RV travelers of all types. I’m on the lookout for them on every trip now.
Because camper vans are like terriers. I could talk about them endlessly, but the conversations are much more interesting with other people who love them, too.
Surprise: The van has changed how, when and where we travel. It’s also changing us from solo to community-minded adventurers.
5 We didn’t expect to start a camper van blog
I’ve kept the banner image and the van picture at the top of Super Cool Van Trip’s homepage, but just about everything else has changed. The fun thing about a website — anything, really — is that it can keep evolving over time. This screenshot is from early 2024.
I didn’t set out on this journey to write about it. But, after a swift and brutal tech layoff, it felt right.
I started working at Outdoorsy, a peer-to-peer marketplace for RV rentals modeled on Airbnb, about 6 months after we bought the camper van.
I’d never had a job that mirrored my personal interests so closely. When it came to an end with no warning in early March 2023, I didn’t want to step away from the space.
Then I realized: I didn’t have to. I didn’t need someone to hire me to work in outdoor travel. I could build something myself.
And here we are. The reach of Super Cool Van Trips grows a little every month — slow and steady. Not to mention its my own space where I can play.
I’ve rewritten the homepage hero copy countless times, and I’ll probably rewrite it again. I’m getting at least a little better at photo editing. I’ve even opened a storefront on RockPorch, where creators can curate gear collections from hundreds of brands for their readers to shop. (Please check it out if you feel called to do so.)
It’s been fun shaping and expanding this space. I’ve grown as a writer, a content creator and a website manager — and I’m looking forward to growing in ways I haven’t even imagined yet.
And if you’re reading this, maybe you’re part of the adventure now, too. Sign up for our email newsletter to stay in the loop. You’ll get a mix of road trip ideas, camper van tips and more every month.
Surprise: The van’s given me amazing adventures and memories — along with a whole new way to share them and connect with people.
Looking back, buying a camper van seemed like a slightly outrageous thing to do at the time.
We had no experience with RVs. No way of knowing if we’d like owning one.
We just went with a feeling.
One that’s reshaped us more than we ever expected — from the places we explore to the people we meet to my personal creative outlet.
We’ve been on this journey for nearly five years. Long enough to confidently say that growth and transformation aren’t just byproducts of owning a camper van. They might just be the whole point.
We can’t wait to see where the van takes us next — and the surprises waiting there.
➡️ If you’re curious where the van (and other travel) has taken us so far, check out our favorite trips and destinations, all organized by state.
Let’s make it Instagram official
You’re invited to the party @supercooltrips
