Our Van
I’m dedicating this space to some blathering about our van, our beloved van, and where we have driven her, how much we enjoy her, where we got her, etc etc.
Mike and I bought a converted Mercedes Metris Camper Van from Peace Vans out of Seattle, WA, in February. They are a pretty awesome company that restores old VW Westies and does a custom camper conversion on new Metris vans. They were selling a few vans from their rental stock as they transitioned to a new style, and we were able to snatch up the perfect van at the perfect time. Our van is a 2020, and had about 10k miles on it from its 2 years of service as a rental.
The van we purchased is, in my opinion, as close as you can get to the original pop-top VW campers, and is for sure drawing on our collective nostalgia for that vehicle. The reason we decided to go with a newer van instead of the original was that we are not car people. We need a reliable car… we don’t know how to fix anything, and I’m no trying to add that as a new hobby.
I want to give you a complete tour of the van, but we don’t have all day, so I’ll keep it to the best parts. In city mode the car has 5 seats, and drives like a mini van. In camping mode the back seats turn into a bed, there is a sink, mini fridge, and a stove, and cabinets to store essentials. The best part is that the top pops up, making room to stand, or when you pull down the roof but keep the tent popped, a lovely place to sleep. Unlike the old VW campers, in this van the upstairs bed is the most comfortable. It has springs and memory foam and is honestly really comfy! It’s a little smaller than a double bed, so it’s not exactly spacious, but it really does the job.
On top of that the front seats swivel, and there is an awning you can pull out to make shade next to the van. So far we have been happy as clams, especially in nice weather.
Our biggest trip so far was a drive down the coast to San Francisco and back, and it was a total delight. We both wish we could have stayed longer. Our hope is to take a mix of short, one or two night trips, with a handful of longer 2-3 week trips. We haven’t been able to take it out longer than 5 nights, but after 5 nights we were itching for more.
We are still accepting submissions for names, and happy to answer any questions you have about our van. We feel very lucky to be able to own and enjoy her. It just happened that these rentals were available when we were looking, and it felt like an opportunity we couldn’t pass up!
