“It took me roughly 3 months to build the van. I traveled for the next 8 months before landing in Denver. I went through 22 states and 24,000 miles….. went all the way south to Key West, along the Gulf Coast, through Texas and into the Grand Canyon….. went as far west as Portland and as far north as Glacier National Park.”
Check out this awesome Q & A with Kurt Bradler. Kurt has been living the van life for the past year after leaving a stable life and career at home in Chicago. Check out his Instagram page @kurtythings to see what he’s been up to. He’s currently in Denver, still living the van life, and building vans for a living. Check out his company’s website at www.contravans.com.
1. Tell me about your life leading up to your decision to live the van life for an extended time.
I grew up in Ohio and went to college at Grove City College (BA Business Management) so I could play division 3 football. Joined the Peace Corps in Guatemala from 2008-2010. Went to grad school at Booth, did management consulting for 3 years post-grad school. I hit the road at 35 years old.
2. What are the main reasons you wanted to leave the “normal” life and take a Year Off? What inspired you to make that decision?
I come from a small town and knew that Chicago was not a long-term plan for me, despite living there for 7 years. I had a growing list of things I wanted to do and places I wanted to see that I could never accomplish while working full-time. And I wanted to have enough free time to think deeply about important and not-so-important subjects.
I figured the best way to experience everything I wanted was to live in many places. Where’s the best place to live to visit the Everglades? Try Southern Florida. What’s the coolest place in Utah? Live there for 6 weeks. This was my method and reason for leaving “normal” life behind. The best way to make sure I could live in all the places I wanted was to live in a mobile home. I chose to build my camper van out of a Ford Transit.
3. How much money did you save for your Year Off? Were you debt free when you started?
I didn’t set a budget for the year. I just saved as much as I could because I didn’t know how to predict my costs given I was building a van for the first time. And I was NOT debt free and still had student loans at about $400/month. My van was financed which added $600/month. All in all, I was willing to spend $60K total during the year to gain the much awaited experiences.
I tracked every expenditure while I was on the road. Here are a few highlights:
Walmart $3,192 – mostly groceries and toiletries.
Gas $4,201
Subway $130 – I don’t care what you say, their subs are delicious when I don’t want to cook!
Starbucks $395 – I agree that this is obscene.
Amazon $614 – Amazon lockers and friends’ houses keep that Prime membership useful.
Home Depot $215 – Van updates like a new plywood countertop to fit the new stove I bought on Amazon.
4. How did you create the time for your Year Off? Did you quit your job or get approved for a leave of absence?
I quit my job in good standing. My boss was very understanding and said I could always come back. But that was not my intent.
5. Besides living the van life, what else did you want to accomplish while gone? What was the purpose of your Year Off?
The purpose was simply to do it. Secondarily, I wanted to have time to think and learn. Tertiary goals were to meet new people, find a new state/town to live in, discover new career opportunities, and contemplate starting my own business.
6. How did you eliminate all your expenses back at home?
Utilities are easy to cancel at any time. I didn’t have any restrictive contracts. I timed up leaving my job with the end of my lease. All items for storage were taken to my parents’ house to avoid paying for storage.
7. What was your last day at work like? Were you nervous? Excited?
I thought about doing this for at least 6 months before I left Chicago. I felt ecstatic to leave. Of course, it’s always weird to leave a place that’s comfortable. But I was ready to leave and excited to take on a new challenge. I had planned on this for so long that it wasn’t hard to separate myself from work.
I also had one-on-one conversations with everyone I was close with at my firm before announcing to everyone. The best conversations were in person. A few were held over the phone. So, my last day wasn’t full of goodbyes. It was simply a formality, exit interview, and the return of my computer.
8. Tell me about your van, what amenities it has, cool features.
My van is a 2017 Ford Transit Extended High Roof. It has the largest cargo room of any van on the market. Haha. When considering living in a van full-time, I wanted to be sure that I could live as “normally” as possible. So, I designed it to include a shower, sink, propane stove, refrigerator, toilet, heater, and PLENTY of storage. I installed solar panels on the roof that charge a battery bank that powers all lights, electronics, exhaust fans and the refrigerator. The bed is a full-size bed with an extra cushion that enables me to stretch out fully in all directions.
9. You’ve come up with many clever names for your van. What are your top 3 favorite names for it?
I can’t take credit for most of the names. Friends and family offered them at every turn. I still have dozens more to use! However, my favorites are: Vanny Ramirez, Vanna White and Jean-Claude Damn Van.
10. Give me a general overview of your itinerary, where all you went and for how long you were gone.
It took me roughly 3 months to build the van. I traveled for the next 8 months before landing in Denver. I went through 22 states and 24,000 miles. The plan was to get south for the winter and then spend the summer in the mountains and western states. I went all the way south to Key West, along the Gulf Coast, through Texas and into the Grand Canyon. I went as far west as Portland and as far north as Glacier National Park.
11. What were the top 5 places you visited?
I’m terrible at ranking things, so maybe this will work instead.
Most Surprising: Big Bend National Park. I thought this was just a time killer between Austin, TX and the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful and a really unique park.
Most Impressive: Zion National Park. There’s a reason it has 6 million visitors a year.
Coolest Hidden Gem: Loon Lake, Idaho. There was a plane crash there in WWII. If you can’t visit, it’s worth a quick Google.
My Favorite Type of Discovery: Slot Canyons. ALL of them.
Most Willing to Revisit: Montana
Biggest Tourist Trap: Coral Castle. But it’s definitely worth a stop if you’re ever near the Everglades and Homestead, FL.
12. What were your top 5 favorite experiences during your travels?
1) Three times a friend came to visit me, drive around in the van and visit some National Parks. Those were probably the best 3 weeks of the year.
2) Daytona 500 – I stayed there for a week and saw 4 races. Not everyone is a horsepower geek like me, but it’s such a spectacle that I think everyone should go at least once.
3) Countless hikes, especially at sunset.
4) Learning how to competently use a DSLR camera. Walking around Austin at night with a good friend and attempting to take good pictures.
5) Taking the time to relax and still my mind to find some answers, both personal and professional, that I was looking for.
13. What’s so awesome about living the van life? Tell me about the feelings of freedom you’ve had.
I think the best part about living the van life is the cost. I’m not just talking monetarily, although that is the easiest part to articulate. Living in such a small space, I’m not afforded the opportunity to continually buy more things to fill it like I did when I had an apartment. My van is already full! Haha. Rather than spend on utilities or a mortgage, I spend on a car loan and food, mostly.
Now that I’m not traveling all over, my monthly expenses will drop to roughly $2200. I could spend even less, but I still want to go out with friends and enjoy life. Cheaper living (I still have a car loan, student loan, and basic expenses) enables me to focus on spending money where it has the greatest value to me without worrying that I’ll miss out on something else.
14. What are your plans going forward?
Going forward, I’m continuing to live in my van. The time frame for living that way is indefinite. I actually joined up with a van building startup in Denver. One of the tertiary goals of this entire experience was to find a mountain town to live in. I didn’t find a small town, but I’m close enough to the mountains to be content.
Another goal was to find a future career. I’ve had a burning feeling for a long time that I wanted to create tangible products with my hands. Now I get to do everything that I enjoy. I’m designing new custom vans, selling them, building them myself, and running a small business. I don’t know what the next step in life will be, but I know where I’ll be for the foreseeable future…living in a van up by the mountains.
Questions for Kurt? You can contact him through Instagram (@kurtythings) or the company website (www.contravans.com). Keep an eye on the website for new van builds that are being launched. Their target audience is someone that doesn’t want or need a large, expensive van. They’re creating “kits” that are more affordable and can get you into a van and on the road in a matter of weeks rather than months for a custom build.