Road Trip USA: “In a Van Down by the River”
The other day I eived an email from Markus at “In a Van Down by the River”. That’s right, the name of his blog is “In a Van Down by the River”. The blog is about Markus and his girlfriend Angela’s upcoming trip around the continental US in a custom van. Currently they are just looking for a van, which they will then convert into some kind of living quarters, and drive it around the continental US, to really see America, one roadside diner at a time.
As I looked over their site, which is still very new, I was struck by the beautiful simplicity of the idea. It isn’t even an original idea, people have been cruising the US in camper vans and VW mini-buses for decades. However, for most of us, the idea never becomes a reality.
Practicalities
I have long wanted to take a multi-week roadtrip across America. The problem is that when you add up fuel costs, food, and the real kicker - accommodations, a trip across the US can cost a small fortune. Hotel accommodations can easily cost $100 a night, so over a short 3 week trip, you’ll find yourself spending over $2000 on just hotels.
This is where the beauty of the van comes into play. With your own van, customized with a bed you can completely cut out hotel costs. Throw in some electrical cooking appliances, a TV, and your laptop, and your van can function as a bedroom, kitchen, living room, and office.
If you don’t actually have a van, as most of us don’t, you simply do what Markus and Angela are doing, buy one! Why not? You buy a cheap van, put 10,000-20,000 miles on it, depending on the length of the trip, get the oil changed a few times, and you can turn around and sell it after the trip. According to Kelly Blue Book, the van won’t depreciate by more than a few hundred dollars (assuming it’s already a few years old). Below I have charted the Kelly Blue Book reduction of value for one “van” option: a 1998 Toyota Sienna (one of the more reliable mini-vans on the market), starting at 90,000 miles:
| Miles | Value | Depreciation from 90,000mi |
| 90,000 | $4,635 | |
| 95,000 | $4,535 | -$100 |
| 100,000 | $4,310 | -$325 |
| 110,000 | $4,110 | -$525 |
In this example, the vehicle will only lose $525 in value after adding 20,000 miles. Please note that the Toyota Sienna is just an example. You certainly don’t need to take the “soccer mom” approach to touring America if you don’t want to. An SUV, full-size van, truck, or even retro VW bus would all work, and have similar depreciation trends for sales after the journey.
You still have to consider fuel costs and food, but if you move slowly, and cook a lot of your own food from the van, these don’t have to be much more than your average daily cost of living. Overall, I think Markus and Angela have a great idea here. They are going to see more of America than most US citizens do in a lifetime, have an adventure they will remember for a lifetime, and do it all for a very low final cost.
Related Posts
Enjoy this post?Subscribe to more great free content from Go Budget Travel through my RSS Feed or by Email!
Why by a van? If costs are truly that important just camp. It’s easy to find camp sites all thru the US for 10 bucks a night. Slapping up a tent takes about 5 minutes. Don’t go overboard on cookware just basic stuff. The key is rapid inflatable mattresses! sleep like a baby on them. Put you van money in cd’s for when you get back! In fact you can camp within 12 miles of the White House for less than 15 bucks a night! (Greenbelt Park)
Thanks for the cost analysis - that’s a great depreciation breakdown.
It’s instructive to be thinking about the post-trip resale value of a used vehicle, but remember that a cross-country trip, while sleeping in the van, puts alot more wear on the vehicle than your ‘typical’ 20,000 soccer-mom driven miles.
Driving 500 miles a day for days on end is guaranteed to end up with the van needing repairs.
In the spirit of conservativism, I’d expect to lose 2-3 thousand in value on the van. Unless your van sold for less than 2,000 in the first place.
Reader Ken: Good point. Camping is a very good idea, and as you pointed out easily accessible and cheap in the States. There are, however, some down-sides to camping, like it’s difficult to do in urban areas, reservations are often required, gates close at a certain hour making nightlife difficult, etc. I’ve actually written another post on US Roadtrips that suggests this option coupled with hospitality exchanges - http://gobudgettravel.com/usa/kerouac-2000-roadtrip-usa-on-a-budget
Markus: Thanks, good luck with the trip. I’ll be interested to see which vehicle you guys end up deciding on!
MRB: Very true, there will likely be some additional repairs needed on the vehicle. Exactly how much is hard to tell though, and depends largely on the individual vehicle. You are right that a lot of miles will be put on the vehicle in a short period of time, but it’s important to remember that the majority of these miles will be “highway miles”. In general “highway miles” are not as rough on the vehicle as “stop-and-go” miles, so it can be quite hard to tell.
Brake-ware will certainly be a concern, and some tubes and belts might need to be replaced. If the vehicle is bought in good working condition, drive-train should not be too much of a problem, however you really NEVER know with a used, high-mileage vehicle.
You’re right, lots of question marks! But not a bad idea overall, I would say…
Hi - I found your site through Rambling Traveler. I had to laugh at the post title.
I have a friend who has just purchased a used van to travel around the US for 6 to 8 weeks. The journey just started and it got off to a bit of a rough start as he’s already encountered mechanical issues. His site is http://www.roadtrip20.com/.
Sheila: I’m glad Stacy pointed you my way!
Thanks for posting the link, I just looked it over, and it’s funny that they are based out of Durham, NC as I am from Raleigh, NC just about 30 mins away.
Will definitely keep an eye on it though. Their van actually looks pretty nice, definitely spacious. Too bad it’s already breaking down on them. It’s certainly true you never know what you’re going to get with a used car. Especially something as unreliable as an old, full-sized van!
Many Australians and Kiwi’s do this in Europe as well and I always wonder why there are not more Americans doing this.
We are a little over a year into an open ended multi year trip around the world as a family with a young child and doing a similar journey here in Europe.
We have done it for very little money and MUCH, MUCH less than our living expenses at home. We find that we can leisurely travel Europe and the world for much less than staying at home.
Love your blog, I just found it from Vagabonding!!