After living the #vanlife, Matt and his fiancé, Grace, listed their van on Outdoorsy. Originally, this was just to rent out to family and friends. “We came back home and wanted a way to rent our van to friends and family while being insured for any accidents,” Matt tells us. But, things quickly took a turn.
After 3 weeks on the platform, we had 4 bookings and quickly after that, we were booked solid for 4 months. We actually had friends reach out asking about the booking calendar as it became booked out almost completely by strangers from the Outdoorsy platform.
Matt
Needless to say, the couple was booked and busy. So, to meet the demand, they added another van to their fleet. “We rented our first van (Louise) for 6 months in 2020 (4/6 months were filled) and after running the numbers, we decided to invest in another campervan during the offseason.”
The second member of their fleet is a 2006 sprinter van named Idgie that they bought and converted in Phoenix before driving it across the country back home to Virginia. And one thing is for sure — both vans make beautiful homes on the road.
Idgie and Louise have proved to be perfect sprinters to test out the van life, whether for a weekend getaway or month-long trips. Though, when it comes to testing out the waters of RV living, the longer the trip the better.
When we booked our first renter for a 6-week trip, we felt a huge rush of excitement for someone to experience the first extended trip with our van. Before that rental, we averaged 2-3 week bookings, which were great, but having someone really learn the ins and outs of the van and to create a routine is really when we felt the happiest during our trip in the van.
Matt
And with more and more people looking to travel in RVs this summer, a third WeVanWild RV may be on the horizon. So, stay tuned!
Looking to follow in Matt and Grace’s footsteps? Here’s their advice:
“Focus on your unique offering and carve out your place in the market. There are tons of options for renters and all types of vehicles out there, but we really enjoy our unique vans and we have a passion for educating renters in a more minimal lifestyle and the benefits of van life. We always enjoy the adventures our renters have as well as the side income, but the deeper meaning for us is inspiring others to question the status quo and embark on their own journey in the van and in life.”
All about Matt
Favorite morning beverage: “Coffee.”
Favorite campsite meal: “We love quinoa bowls and anything we can cram into our cast iron skillet.”
Music you like to play on the radio: “We actually curated a playlist on Spotify during our year on the road under the WeVanWild playlist, so we are biased to folk music and road trip songs.”
Best game to play on the road or at your campsite: “We always have a deck of cards and banana grams on board the van.”
Favorite season: “Summer is our favorite season for travel and for adventures. We enjoy mountain biking, kayaking, rafting, hiking, rock climbing, etc so summer offers the best weather for us.”
Last photo you took: “We just spent a long weekend on a lake campsite in Alabama and captured an epic sunrise on the water.”
If you could travel anywhere in an RV, where would you go? “We would love to travel to Patagonia in our van. We also have Baja on our list.”
