Van Life Alternatives – Why we chose a Jeep Wrangler over Van Life
06-05-2020
Author: in Education
Van Life has become one of the most popular ways for people to live and travel full time or part time. Van life can offer all the creature comforts of a large RV or trailer, inside a smaller package. Most vans can fit in any parking spot, off-road (a little), go to drive throughs, and are smaller than typical RV’s making more enjoyable to drive. So… why did we chose a Jeep Wrangler over Van Life?
There are 3 main reasons.
This probably has you wondering to why Maddie and I (James) decided to not follow the trend of Van life and go with a Jeep Wrangler and trailer. There are a couple of reasons, but at the end of the day we wanted a “house” and a vehicle separate. This way we could off-road and not have to pack up all of our things, or run to Walmart really quick. We made a review of our 2020 19FBS Geo Pro camper.
In 2018 we had originally bought a 1977 Class C camper. We had this for around 6 months before realizing that we needed more room and wanted a “home” that was separate from a vehicle. Owning a class C for this short period of time helped us realize that we wanted to have a Jeep and trailer.
1 - Jeep Wrangler – Offroad and Expeditions
We wanted to be able to have the freedom of a vehicle that could off-road and reach certain destinations that a Van, Camper or truck could not reach. This played a huge role into us going with a Jeep Wrangler, because we could leave the camper at a campsite. This gives us the freedom to take the Jeep on amazing expeditions that we wouldn’t have been able to reach with a Van.
We have future plans to take the Jeep on the Pan American trail, without the camper. We have the ability to outfit the Jeep with a rooftop tent and off-road gear to embark on longer journeys. Some of the destinations we plan on shipping the Jeep in the future includes Africa, Australia, New Zealand and possibly Europe. We have talked about eventually living in just the Jeep while traveling the US and Canada. This will give us ultimate freedom to reach remote and beautiful destinations otherwise impossible.
2 – Working on the road in a trailer
Maddie and I both work fulltime on the road and need space to spread out and work. I (James) use two laptops, and a bunch of recording devices while working, which takes up a lot of room. Van Life would not have been able to accommodate my gear. Having an open workspace with room to move around and be comfortable was an important factor.
We both work for companies and are not 100% independent to be working with just a laptop for ourselves. Our ultimate goal is to be able to quit our jobs and use the blog and YouTube channel as our main source of income. When we do finally get to that point, we will have more freedom to choose how we live and work. A lot of people that travel fulltime live and work out of Van’s but a trailer or large RV will provide a lot more space.
3 – Jeep towing Trailer – Having a Car and Home
Towing a trailer with a Jeep Wrangler is not the most ideal tow vehicle but it serves us well. This can play hand in hand with #1 and the ability to go off-roading but it is more to do with living “normally”. We do not have to have to pack up an entire Van or RV just to run to Walmart, get water, medicine, gas or anything in general. If we want to camp somewhere for two weeks, we don’t have to pack up our home every time we leave. Having a home which is separate from our vehicle provides us more flexibility and freedom when we are staying put for a while. If we have plans to stay in a certain location for
over a month, it will be a lot easier to live out of a camper than an RV or Van if we want to drive somewhere.
Another reason that this is important, is because sometimes I need to travel for work. I am able to travel to work without forcing Maddie to go with me and she can stay with the camper. Jeep Wrangler and Travel Trailer over Van Life When it comes to deciding between Van Life, Jeep Life, RV or living out of a car it comes down to your own needs. Van Life is certainly an attractive way to live and we would love to build a van down the road once we buy a house and are financially independent.
If you plan on staying in certain locations for extended periods on don’t want to move around a lot than a trailer or RV would be your best bet. They give you more room than a Van and don’t have to be packed up every time you drive somewhere. Van Life is great for someone on a budget, traveling solo or for someone who plans to move around a lot. We chose the Jeep and Trailer life because it suited our needs the best, and gave us a little bit
of comfort and off-road ability.
This guest post about choosing Jeep Life is from Wanderus Living. Maddie and James are traveling around North America in their Jeep Wrangler and E Pro Camper. They enjoy sharing travel stories while traveling to remote and off the beaten path destinations.
There are 3 main reasons.
This probably has you wondering to why Maddie and I (James) decided to not follow the trend of Van life and go with a Jeep Wrangler and trailer. There are a couple of reasons, but at the end of the day we wanted a “house” and a vehicle separate. This way we could off-road and not have to pack up all of our things, or run to Walmart really quick. We made a review of our 2020 19FBS Geo Pro camper.
In 2018 we had originally bought a 1977 Class C camper. We had this for around 6 months before realizing that we needed more room and wanted a “home” that was separate from a vehicle. Owning a class C for this short period of time helped us realize that we wanted to have a Jeep and trailer.
1 - Jeep Wrangler – Offroad and Expeditions
We wanted to be able to have the freedom of a vehicle that could off-road and reach certain destinations that a Van, Camper or truck could not reach. This played a huge role into us going with a Jeep Wrangler, because we could leave the camper at a campsite. This gives us the freedom to take the Jeep on amazing expeditions that we wouldn’t have been able to reach with a Van.
We have future plans to take the Jeep on the Pan American trail, without the camper. We have the ability to outfit the Jeep with a rooftop tent and off-road gear to embark on longer journeys. Some of the destinations we plan on shipping the Jeep in the future includes Africa, Australia, New Zealand and possibly Europe. We have talked about eventually living in just the Jeep while traveling the US and Canada. This will give us ultimate freedom to reach remote and beautiful destinations otherwise impossible.
2 – Working on the road in a trailer
Maddie and I both work fulltime on the road and need space to spread out and work. I (James) use two laptops, and a bunch of recording devices while working, which takes up a lot of room. Van Life would not have been able to accommodate my gear. Having an open workspace with room to move around and be comfortable was an important factor.
We both work for companies and are not 100% independent to be working with just a laptop for ourselves. Our ultimate goal is to be able to quit our jobs and use the blog and YouTube channel as our main source of income. When we do finally get to that point, we will have more freedom to choose how we live and work. A lot of people that travel fulltime live and work out of Van’s but a trailer or large RV will provide a lot more space.
3 – Jeep towing Trailer – Having a Car and Home
Towing a trailer with a Jeep Wrangler is not the most ideal tow vehicle but it serves us well. This can play hand in hand with #1 and the ability to go off-roading but it is more to do with living “normally”. We do not have to have to pack up an entire Van or RV just to run to Walmart, get water, medicine, gas or anything in general. If we want to camp somewhere for two weeks, we don’t have to pack up our home every time we leave. Having a home which is separate from our vehicle provides us more flexibility and freedom when we are staying put for a while. If we have plans to stay in a certain location for
over a month, it will be a lot easier to live out of a camper than an RV or Van if we want to drive somewhere.
Another reason that this is important, is because sometimes I need to travel for work. I am able to travel to work without forcing Maddie to go with me and she can stay with the camper. Jeep Wrangler and Travel Trailer over Van Life When it comes to deciding between Van Life, Jeep Life, RV or living out of a car it comes down to your own needs. Van Life is certainly an attractive way to live and we would love to build a van down the road once we buy a house and are financially independent.
If you plan on staying in certain locations for extended periods on don’t want to move around a lot than a trailer or RV would be your best bet. They give you more room than a Van and don’t have to be packed up every time you drive somewhere. Van Life is great for someone on a budget, traveling solo or for someone who plans to move around a lot. We chose the Jeep and Trailer life because it suited our needs the best, and gave us a little bit
of comfort and off-road ability.
This guest post about choosing Jeep Life is from Wanderus Living. Maddie and James are traveling around North America in their Jeep Wrangler and E Pro Camper. They enjoy sharing travel stories while traveling to remote and off the beaten path destinations.
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