Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, covering a variety of topics and offering a new way to learn about different people, their lifestyles, and more. One particular podcast that continues to pop up in the van community is “Campers in Vans Getting Coffee”, hosted by Travis DeRose. Travis interviews various van lifers, asking them questions about their lifestyle, how they started their journey, details about their adventure rig, and more. Here is Travis himself to tell you more about his podcast, how the idea came about, and how he brought life to his project.
-Introduction by Katie Larsen
Like most people, once I discovered the vanlife hashtag, I was sold on the idea!
I knew that this was something I was extremely interested in and wanted be a part of! The concept of downsizing and joining the vanlife community just felt like the right move for me.
And so began my nights of endless scrolling on Instagram and browsing YouTube to find the coolest and best campers around. I also started to plan how I was practically going to bring my project to life. This required brainstorming practical strategies, like how to transition to online remote work, deciding on a budget for my van build, which type of vehicle I wanted, and began getting rid of my extra possessions.
I had all of these questions but no definitive answers.
I was truly just guessing at the kinds of things I thought I might like. On top of having starting from scratch, I wanted to get started now! I didn’t want to wait to save up enough money or build my van.
With so many questions and very little answers, the idea of starting a podcast slowly began to creep into my mind. The more I thought about, the more it seemed like the perfect thing to do! I would be able to research different van lifers and ask them a variety of questions to educate not only myself, but to also share with other interested listeners.
A podcast would give me an excuse to reach out and have in-depth conversations with van lifers.
I could ask them anything I wanted to! Plus, I knew that if I had these questions in my mind, then other people were probably curious about them too. The best part was that I could start immediately – a podcast costs close to nothing to produce! So I began reaching out to van lifers on Instagram and asking if they’d like to be guests on my podcast, Campers In Vans Getting Coffee.
To my surprise, I received a lot of responses!
Folks were very willing and happy to share their thoughts, tips, and ideas. Plus, they were nice enough to take a chance on me and my show that had yet to exist. This was extremely encouraging when diving into a new project.
Eventually, the ball got rolling and I launched the show in January of 2018. Things have been steadily growing ever since and I’ve been getting a lot of encouraging comments, messages, and reviews, which means a lot to me. This podcast has evolved into a fun way for me to connect with inspiring and interesting people who live on the road. Additionally, the fact that I get to share what I learn with the vanlife audience makes it that much better.
In every episode, of course, I always to get ask guests what vehicle they have, why they chose it, how they make money on the road, how they find campsites, and so on. It’s great learning about all of the different ways there are to do vanlife. Everybody is a little bit different and I pick up different tips and tricks from every single guest.
After talking to so many van lifers I’ve even changed my own mind on a few things I thought I was certain of.
For example, I was 100% positive I needed a shower in my van. But I’ve discovered that most folks overestimate the importance of a shower. Even people with showers in their van or bus tend to use gyms, friends and family’s houses, or other public showers. A lot of times it is just easier than having to deal with a supply of fresh water and dumping gray water. This is just one example of something I would have had a hard time believing if I hadn’t hear it from numerous people.
I’m excited to continue on this journey and can’t wait to see where and who Campers In Vans Getting Coffee leads me to!