Is Van Life the Ultimate Escape? Exploring Life on the Road in a Winnebago Solis
Renting a van to traipse through a national park and hit a music festival seemed the perfect test of van life.
My husband has long wanted to embark on van life. From the beginning, I have been clear: I will participate in van life to a certain degree. I will drive/ride in the van for a few days, at which point I’ll be happy to stop at a hotel for the night. I need a real shower and real furniture to sit on. I think he felt like he could go for longer stretches, but that was the negotiated starting point.
Then we decided to see how great Van Life could truly be. For reference, van life is like traveling in an RV, but smaller; a converted van that usually has a bed, kitchenette, table – and sometimes even a toilet and a shower. The van has to also hold all the clothes and outdoor gear you’ll want to use on your trip. Often, people on social media will drive to exotic locations and post photos of gorgeous vistas out the back doors of the van.
We used to like camping in our younger days, and van life seemed like a good alternative to sleeping on the ground. When we got tickets to a music festival in a small town about 250 miles away, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try van life out for real. We tacked on a side trip to the Great Sand Dunes and felt our trip was a perfect trial run.
This story is 100% human researched and written based on actual first-person knowledge, extensive experience and expertise on the subject of cars and trucks. No AI was used.
Why Van Life and Not an RV or Trailer?
Most vans are smaller than RV’s and more nimble. They don’t have the complexity of a trailer towed behind a truck. Indeed, it’s a simpler setup.
We rented a Winnebago Solis Air that was 21 feet long and nearly 8 feet wide. The van stood just over 10 feet tall (it had an HVAC unit on the top). We could park the Solis almost anywhere we went, though the rear end stuck out of most parking spots, so we found spots with extra space around them. The Solis even had a rearview mirror that switches into a rearview camera. I’m so glad we had it, as it was almost impossible to see out the back. The camera could be adjusted using buttons on the bottom of the mirror. Additionally, the Solis had huge side mirrors with a wide-angle mirror on the bottom displaying the entire length of the van. Alongside the blind-spot detection system, the driving was really easy.
Our van’s V6 engine powered us up some hills and passes without much effort. It should be said that we didn’t hit anything with a super steep grade, but I wouldn’t have worried if we did. The gas mileage varied greatly depending on the road we were driving. The most reliable (and the most efficient) figure was 16.2 miles per gallon on the highway. The Solis is a Ram van, essentially, and has the UConnect system for your multimedia and navigation. That said, we used Apple CarPlay most of the time.
Settling Into Van Life in a Winnebago Solis
The front seats of the Solis swiveled around to face the rear of the van. It had a portable table and two additional seats behind the front seats. The front seats were comfortable, and had several adjustments including lumbar support.
But there are some complexities of using a camper van. These include the use of propane for heat and A/C, and a different battery system for lights and power for charging devices. Ours was nicely connected to solar panels on the roof, so we never ran out (but got close one day). Additionally, you must carry water for your sink, toilet and shower. You can fill up up at your home, or at a gas station with RV facilities. We even brought along an Aquatainer in case we needed to refill the water when we were far from facilities.
Related: We Fell in Love With this Camper Van for Summer Road Trips
A Bathroom in a Camper Van? Here’s How it Works
Speaking of facilities, you probably want to know about the toilet in the van. When you flush the toilet, the waste goes into a holding container called a cassette. The cassette can be removed from the van through a door in the side. It even has a handle and wheels on it to roll it to a dump station (again, at a gas station with RV facilities).
There are theories on the internet about how to keep the, ahem, solid waste, more manageable. This means using very little water when flushing the liquid waste and using a lot more water when flushing the solid waste. We wound up emptying the cassette twice, my honorable husband doing the chore both times. He was impressed with how easy it was.
The shower and the toilet are in the same little room. For showering, that means cleaning up in the same space as the toilet, which is weird for me. The space was difficult to negotiate. Even having elbows up around one’s head (like when shampooing) required moving around to find the right angles. The good news is that the water got very hot, so there was no worrying about whether the shower would be lukewarm or cold.
Related: Elevate Your Road Trip With a Roadsurfer Camper Van
Staying Mindful and Resourceful On the Road
Like camping, Van Life does require you to be mindful of your resources. I don’t feel as though I got quite comfortable with how much water we had, how full our tanks were, and how much power we had during this first trip. Of course, I’m sure we would have time to get familiar with all these intricacies if we had the Solis for longer, or had a van of our own.
Also like camping, van life really means outdoor life. So we packed our portable shade tent and camping chairs. We were happy to spend most of our time outside the van, like having an outdoor family room!
Sleeping in the Solis With a Mattress and Pop-Up Tent
Sleeping was interesting. Our Solis came equipped with cushions for a full-size bed in the main cabin. It also had a pop-up tent on top with space for another full-size sleeping space. BUT. The pop-up space does not allow you to put a mattress up there or even a 3” mattress pad. You won’t be able to close the tent.
Instead, you can use the provided thin foam pad along with their Froli sleeping system. Or you can use something thicker and more comfortable while sleeping, and remove it and store it when the van is in motion. It’s not an ideal situation if you are a person who requires a level of comfort when sleeping. We actually swapped out the main cushions that came with the van and put a mattress in there instead.
Embracing the Challenges and Finding the Comfort In Van Life
It should also be noted that the van doesn’t have the same leveling ability as a trailer. You need to be parked on a level site, or bring along blocks to level the van if you’re on uneven ground. Additionally, if the wind blows while the pop-up tent is up, then the van will rock back and forth.
The van was warm though, more so than a tent by far. I loved not having to set things up and take them down all the time. I loved simply getting settled in. We even had a junk drawer full of miscellaneous supplies almost from the jump. We laughed about that.
But make no mistake, van living requires staying on top of things to keep them clean and organized. It’s not much different than camping (or living, honestly) in that you still need to make sure things are pretty tidy and cleaned up to prevent wildlife from visiting.
Van Life: Fun, but Not Without Some Extra Effort
So did we have fun? Well, our photos sure made it look like we did! We really did have fun, but we also realized it was still more work than packing a bag, driving to a hotel or rental home, and staying in a place like that for a few days.
If we went farther out than national park campgrounds, then it might be more compelling for us to consider renting a van again. It’s great to have something a little more off-road ready. Now, I just need to hone my photography skills to get a pretty photo of the surroundings outside the van!
Categorized:Car Culture
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