Limitations Apply
A day on the Bonneville Salt Flats! Read More »
Check out this highlight from a Vandoit content trip! We spend a few days riding dirt bikes and gathering pictures and videos. Not much better than spending an evening on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Vanlife Tips: Eating At Restaurants With Your Dog Read More »
Hi! I am Jena Newman, and live full-time in my Vandoit van with my husband Derek. We have traveled over 40,000 miles from Maine to the bottom of the Baja Peninsula! The entire time we have had our chocolate lab, Barry, with us.
Barry goes everywhere with us! Our hobbies include Barry–biking, hiking, boating, and, my favorite, eating!
One of our favorite things to do when we are exploring new places is to try new restaurants. We trained Barry to sit quietly while we eat, so we are able to take him to restaurants with us. Navigating this can be tricky when we are in a new place.
Some places are more dog friendly than others, so we have to do our research before showing up with Barry.
In general, we don’t expect or try to take Barry inside a restaurant. We prefer to sit outside anyway, so we look for places with patios. Once we find a place we like with a patio, I call ahead to be sure Barry is allowed. If we want a quick and easy search for a dog-friendly restaurant, we have used websites like BringFido to help us narrow it down.
We have come across places where it is against the law to have pets at restaurants, even if there is a patio. We respect this and come up with another plan. If it is cool enough outside, then Barry will stay in the van, or we will order our food to go. There is almost always a beautiful park nearby to stop by and enjoy our meal!
One of Barry’s favorite restaurants is Mickey’s Hideaway in Kansas City, Missouri. They have a very pet-friendly patio in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city.
Bentonville Brewing Company in Arkansas is a favorite because it has a dog park attached to it. Barry is able to get his energy out while we enjoy our craft beer and meal. They also have a kids’ bicycle pump track, and it’s adorable!
We really enjoy the patio at Eddyline Restaurant in Buena Vista, Colorado. It is right next to the Arkansas River and has a great view of the mountains. Barry loves it because there are always other dogs there to meet, and he knows a long walk along the river is in his future.
It is safe to say every restaurant in Baja, Mexico, was my favorite. They are so dog-friendly that Barry was welcome almost everywhere we went. We spent a lot of our time at Lazy Daze Beach Bar in Los Barriles. We parked our van a very short distance away on the beach for about three weeks. Barry was able to go off and swim in the ocean and then hang out with us while we played cornhole during dinner.
I have been training Barry since we got him at 8 weeks old. Being a dog trainer by trade, I knew that I wanted him to be a good canine citizen and be able to go everywhere with us. By starting young and focusing on certain behaviors, we have been able to give Barry the gift of adventure!
Here are a few of the behaviors I focused on with him to make taking him to the patios enjoyable. My personal favorite is sitting when he wants something. It is his way of saying please and showing self-control.
I taught him to lie calmly under the table while we eat our meals. He doesn’t beg for food but is happy to clean up what is left over or what has fallen on the floor.
He is also very good on his leash. He never pulls, which allows us to attach him to the legs of the table for safety, and we don’t have to worry about him pulling the table over.
Reach out if you are interested in training your dog to be better at restaurants! We do a lot of virtual training while on the road in the van, and I would be happy to help you.
When we find the perfect patio for Barry, we make sure he maintains his good behavior and doesn’t bother other patrons. Here are our tips for the best restaurant experience with your dog:
Our van makes these restaurant visits possible because we have everything we need to be prepared for any circumstance. We are able to store all of his toys to ward off any boredom he may have while on a patio.
It is also a safe place for him when he isn’t allowed to join us. We are able to give him a puzzle toy while we are gone and not have to worry about him getting bored in the van.
What are your favorite dog-friendly restaurants? As we travel around, we are always looking for places to eat with Barry. Maybe we can stop by your personal favorite, too!
This is Wicked! Vandoit Sponsors NEMBAfest Read More »
NEMBA (New England Mountain Bike Association) is a community of mountain bikers. They create epic riding experiences, preserve open space, and guide the future of mountain biking in New England.
Thirty-one chapters comprise NEMBA throughout New England. There are over 7,000 members. Its mission is to promote the best mountain biking offers, steward the trail system, and recreate and preserve open space.
NEMBA began in the late 80s when political groups wanted to ban mounting biking in Middlesex Fells Reservation and Blue Hills. As a result, there would not be any space for mountain biking in the region without these two locations.
A public meeting was held, which would decide the fate of these areas. At that event, NEMBA could trace its roots due to the actions of Heidi Davis. Heidi and her friends attended the meeting, where she got up to speak, representing the New England Mountain Bike Association (which didn’t yet exist).
After she spoke, several people wanted to join, and NEMBA was born. Davis’s one courageous action made a lasting difference.
NEMBAfest took place in Carrabassett Valley, Maine, on August 5-7, 2022. NEMBAfest is NEMBA’s largest annual fundraiser for all ages. It’s a giant 3-day party with lots of riding, clinics, music, movies, food, and beer.
It’s only fitting that this year’s NEMBAfest held the first ever Women’s Summit. The summit’s purpose is to encourage women to ride and provide a community of support and skill instruction.
The Summit featured guest speaker Kristin Motely, an endurance racer for Bicycle Express Racing. You can find her on Instagram and at https://www.rootedvermont.com.
NEMBAfest offered everything a mountain biker could hope for. It included guided rides, skills clinics, entertainment each evening, and plenty of vendors, food, and beer to enjoy.
This year’s NEMBAfest hosted the premier of Esperanto, which celebrated the universal language mountain biking has created across so many cultures.
2022 was the first year back for NEMBAfest after the COVID pandemic began and its first year at a new location. They held the event near Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Resort and drew over 1,300 participants.
Overnight campers set up camp here and had the option to ride a couple of miles down the road to the event or take advantage of the shuttle service. On-site amenities included several restaurants, a golf course, an anti-gravity complex, and also live music Friday and Saturday nights.
The skills clinics and group rides were the event’s big draws. These sold out well before the event, much to the disappointment of many.
Luckily, Vandoit was fortunate to be located at the ride and clinic site.
It was awe-inspiring to watch the jumping clinic, for instance, and witness the progression of riders’ jump heights in such a short time. Volunteers subsequently ran these clinics, and their professionalism and enthusiasm were very impressive.
Vandoit was a vendor sponsor, so we provided a financial donation and items for the gift bags.
We loved that several current owners and soon-to-be-owners stopped by the van to say hello. Although, Vandoit was not known to everyone and many were intrigued. They just had to stop by when they saw the sticker in the gift bag.
The most common response to seeing a Vandoit for the first time was, “this is wicked!”
We were the only van company at this event, showcasing a 2021 high roof LIV model with numerous features, including Backwoods Bumpers, QLift, KO2 tires, Mastervolt Lithium Ion batteries, and DC powered air conditioner, to name a few.
Sponsors for NEMBAfest included LL Bean, Pedros (thank you for the bike wash station!), REI Coop, Spot Insurance, Acorn Engineering and Carrabassett Coffee Company (great cold brew!). Vendor sponsor donations came from Vandoit, Bull Moose, Kuat, Wicked Girl Adaptive Sports Partners, and many more.
Vendor sponsors were also very generous with donations for the raffle items. As a result, many people won raffles. Proceeds are funding NEMBA’s Signature Trail Grant program to forward its mission of Trail Advocacy & Community.
Come see my Vandoit and me at another upcoming bike race or trade show!
Vandoit Packing Essentials: Ready, Set, Go! Read More »
My husband and I have owned a Vandoit for over three years; we are actually on our second camper van. We are in our high-roof LIV model for about six to eight months every year, not consecutively, but for several months at a time. From spring to fall, we go to mountain biking destinations near and far. In winter, we head west and southwest to the mountains to snowboard and snowshoe.
No matter what time of year we travel, there are items that live in our camper van year round. There are a couple of reasons for this. The obvious one is that the weather is unpredictable. The less obvious reason is that we are not predictable. We keep our travel plans pretty loose.
We typically have a destination in mind, but for various reasons, we may opt to keep moving. This might involve an entirely new direction and, with it, varying conditions. Being prepared for whatever may come our way allows us the freedom to be spontaneous and go wherever, whenever.
Years of van travel and two Vandoits have helped us to narrow down which items are essential to pack in our camper van–and which ones we can do without. We want to share those essentials with you.
Before we even get into the essentials of what to bring, let’s discuss how and where to store these items. In our first Vandoit, a 2016 GO model, we did not have any thermal curtains at all, so having window pockets was not an available storage solution. At that time, the storage modules Vandoit had available were limited to an overhead cabinet or two.
In hindsight, the lack of storage limited how much gear we could keep in the van year round. As a result, there was always something–or lots of somethings–that we didn’t have but could have used. There is nothing worse than being cold and knowing you have a great blanket and down coat that wasn’t packed in the van!
We keep a Rumpl blanket, down jackets, knit hats, and gloves in our thermal window curtain pockets. Rumpl blankets store small but warm big. The same goes for down jackets. We can pack our REI down jackets super small, along with a cap and some gloves.
Mexico in January or the Pacific Northwest in summer can have some cool nights, so cold weather gear is a must-have any time of year! I like to keep my mountain biking gloves in the van since they can be used for warmth and for biking. My preference for gloves is Dakine, as they are very durable and well priced.
Don’t forget to have something for rain too. We keep inexpensive rain ponchos by Totes on hand.
On the other end of the weather spectrum, we also keep bathing suits, sunblock shirts, and Keen shoes. Keens function as water shoes, but they are also great for hiking or walking around town.
I like Under Armour’s sunblock shirts because they provide protection in the water and out. We use Turkish towels for the beach and for showering because the towels take up little space and dry quickly. We carry two sets as they pack so small (a common van refrain), and doing laundry is not always an option.
Baseball hats or anything with a brim are good to keep on hand, as well as an extra pair of sunglasses and sunscreen. Zealios Sun Barrier SPF 45 is a favorite sunscreen of ours. It contains zinc oxide and still absorbs really well. They also offer a reef-safe version.
Dr. Bronner’s soap is always in our van. It’s a multipurpose wonder for washing dishes, the van, you, the dog–whatever. An added plus is that it is environmentally friendly.
When you don’t have the ability to shower, Klean Freak antibacterial body wipes come to the rescue. They are biodegradable and alcohol-free. We also use them for pup wipe-downs.
In the beverage category, we like Dometic water jugs, coffee cups, and camp cups. They are super durable and are designed to serve a variety of purposes. We also have some by Yeti and Klean Kanteen. You can’t go wrong with any of these hard-working vessels.
The water tanks that come with the Vandoit adventure van water system are BPA-free, so they are safe for drinking water. However, due to temperature control, we prefer to store drinking water in stainless steel containers.
Typically, we carry ten gallons of drinking water in the Dometic containers and six gallons of water in the Vandoit water system tank for the kitchen sink and showering.
For food, we keep protein bars, protein powder, and coffee in our air-tight containers, as they are a low-prep no-brainer. My personal favorites are RX Bars because I like the ingredients, and Shakeology because it blends well in a shaker cup, so you don’t need a blender.
For coffee, I like to find a local blend when we travel, so that is always up for grabs. All of these food options store perfectly in the hanging cabinet storage containers Vandoit offers.
Having these items in our Vandoit at all times allows us to focus on other aspects of the adventure. That’s the point of having an adventure van, right? Knowing we are covered with some of the essentials has saved us lots of time and frustration and made our trips even more enjoyable. We want your packing experience to be just as easy and hassle-free!
Why we use 6 gallon jerry cans over traditional RV water storage Read More »
Vandoit uses jerry cans to hold water in the van. They are super convenient and easy to use. They can be filled up at any water filling station and can be taken out and cleaned easily.
Find Us Where The Wild Things Are! Read More »
Vandoit allows you to tap into your wild side. This adventure van is the outlet to endless adventures.
The Oshkosh AirVenture: Airplanes, Helicopters, and a Campervan! Read More »
During the week of July 23-31, 2022, fans got to enjoy aircraft “neighborhoods”, The neighborhoods on the airfield showcased everything from homebuilt aircraft to seaplanes, twice-daily aerobatic air shows, a nightly fly-in theater, and flights in a MASH helicopter or World War II-era bomber.
The nighttime air shows included fireworks, and there was a space to watch remote control aircraft or fly your own drone! Daily workshops helped attendees grow their aircraft-building skills. The KidVenture area gave the littlest aviation enthusiasts the chance to build their own wooden planes.
The AirVenture Air Show undertook what they call the One-Week Wonder. This is the building of a single aircraft by a team of volunteers throughout the week of the show. More than 650,000 guests from 92 different countries and a record number of aircraft were in attendance – along with one remarkable campervan.
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Air Show has been running for over 30 years. This was only the second year Vandoit was among 839 vendors at the world’s largest air show, and Vandoit was the only campervan brand in the exhibition.
Vandoit Trade Show Rep Andy Brown brought a Vandoit DO model with a roofnest tent mounted on top. It drew lots of visitors looking for earthbound adventures, including Major Michelle “MACE” Curran, the second female lead solo Thunderbird Pilot. Curran shared that she would like to make a Vandoit her next vehicle purchase.
Other visitors commented on the van’s great use of space and how open the interior felt. “I love the way you can move things around,” one van enthusiast said about the new galley and storage modules. “Look at that electrical panel. I would show it off, too!” exclaimed another.
Brown described the AirVenture atmosphere this way: “It is truly impossible to convey the magnitude of the event. Thousands of private aircraft are spread out camper-style on the tarmac, most with tents under their wings. The airfield was surrounded for miles by tens of thousands of tents and campers of all types.
The event is pretty much non-stop airshows in the afternoon. Including everything from bi-planes to the Air Force Thunderbirds and massive cargo planes doing flyovers. There are even mock bombing runs and dog fights.
Everyone in the aircraft industry has an exhibit, from Boeing, Garmin, Beechcraft, Cessna, Piper, and anyone else who builds aircraft. Did you know that one of the Walton family member (the founders of Wal-Mart) builds carbon fiber planes in Bentonville (Wal-Mart headquarters)? It’s like the LA auto show, only bigger and for aircraft!
Vendors show up to sell salvage aircraft parts and anything related to flying. There is constant activity and noise. I met people from a dozen different countries, including lots of Australians and South Africans. The air show has a really positive vibe. Families and kids were excited about the air show, getting to tour a massive cargo plane, and watching a presentation on building a plane.”
Recap video: https://fb.watch/eJalKHrdCW/
Event photo gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eaaairventureoshkosh/albums/72177720300686785
At first glance, showing a campervan at AirVenture might seem a little out of place, but Vandoit has found that the air show community shares our sense of adventure, just in a vehicle that happens to be airborne. Vandoit is privileged to be part of an event that brings together so many people of diverse backgrounds with a shared sense of adventure.
Movement is Medicine | Travis Brewer Read More »
After a major injury in college soccer, Travis was told by his doctor that it was unlikely that he would ever be able to play sports again. He was motivated to prove him wrong.
After college Travis pursued a career in commercial real estate. Even though it provided him with financial success and stability, it didn’t bring him joy.
Vandoit Sponsors The 49th Annual RAGBRAI: Like The Tour de France… But Not Read More »
RAGBRAI can be similar to races like the Tour de France…but distinct differences exist.
The 49th annual RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) took place July 23-30, 2022. Over seven days, a total of 40,000 cyclists (and a few inline skaters) traveled from Sergeant Bluff to Lansing, Iowa. This number of participants matched pre-covid editions.
Presented by Tipico Sportsbook, this iconic cycling event gives bikers from across the country the chance to experience Iowa from a unique perspective. “There’s no better way to see a land and its people than on foot or bike,” said bike mechanic and RAGBRAI XLIX participant Brent Borgmeister of Chicago.
The ride winds west to east across Iowa’s cornfields and soybean crops, stopping in a small town each night to experience genuine Iowa hospitality. The organizers dedicated this year’s ride to John Karras, co-founder of RAGBRAI, who passed away in November 2021.
Like the Tour de France, cyclists complete the ride in daily stages. Unlike the famous French race, cyclists frequently stop for beer, homemade pies, and digging for fossils. RAGBRAI is less of a bike race and more of a carnival-meets-happy-hour.
Here’s a glimpse of the rural roadside atmosphere: One Iowa farmer offered lunch to riders in hopes of collecting donations for his church. The trailside attraction expanded as he invited a local school district to hold a dunk tank fundraiser for its athletic programs.
Soon a lemonade stand, a petting zoo, and a giant bull added to the fun, and an ask-a-farmer booth helped satisfy riders’ curiosity about the verdant landscape through which they’d spent the day pedaling.
At the end of the 454.1-mile ride, many participants dip their bikes in the Mississippi River for the perfect end-of-race photo op:
Video: https://fb.watch/eDPIvkL0Cf/
Ok, so it’s nothing like the Tour de France.
Vandoit was one of more than 80 vendors at this gathering that included a lineup of live music and the Tipico Sportsbook Fun Zone, where visitors could test their skills in baseball, football, basketball, and boxing challenges.
Vandoit Co-Founder Brent Kline and his family showcased a DO model Vandoit van at the expo that featured every storage solution imaginable.
Visitors adored the bungee cords stretched across ceiling sections and the cargo net under the bed platform. Baskets hung on the wall framing, and MOLLE panels (that also served as cabinet doors) created numerous attachment points for bike gear and gadgets.
Vandoit displayed a set of new galley storage modules in the van. They provided organization for the water system and drawer storage. They also served as a durable work surface, accommodating a twin-sized bed when not in use. This modular storage had campervan fans talking nonstop about the storage-oriented setup.
Ready to design your storage-to-the-gills camper van? Reach out to a Van Guru today!
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The Ultimately Transmogrifiable Van Read More »
They have been to Lake Leatherwood in Ark., Tinkertown Museum in Albuquerque, the red sandstone formations of Sedona, the White Mountains of Calif. and Nev., hot springs south of Lake Tahoe, and camping on the beach near Los Angeles. Their ultimately transmogrifiable van has taken them to various locations for paddleboarding, kayaking, hiking, biking, hammocking, and reading.
All in the first two months of owning their van.
You read that right–two months.
This couple knows how to grab life by the horns, strike while the iron’s hot. Any other expression you can think of to convey that their van is helping them live life to the fullest, in the present, here and now.
After shopping extensively for a camper van, Diana came across Vandoit in an online list of best conversion vans. When she opened a link to the Vandoit website, she immediately said to Kevin, “This is what we have to have.”
Watching videos of the vans and their components sealed the deal, and they reached out to Vandoit Van Guru Sharon Crandall the next day. Diana and Kevin enjoyed the process of working with Sharon to design their van. “She was very knowledgeable and provided great guidance. She helped us make choices where we were kind of on the fence,” Diana said.
Waiting a year and a half for their van was not as bad as they thought. They are thrilled with the aesthetic and versatility of the van. “Other vans look like another RV on the inside and only do one thing,” they commented, referring to the permanently fixed interior components often featured in other camper vans’ designs. They love that the components in the Vandoit interior can be moved to create a variety of layouts.
Diana was the first to get excited about van life; Kevin was skeptical at first. “Do we really need a van to live in?” he wondered. But as Sharon kept them updated on their build process and answered their questions, they found that Vandoit really was the perfect fit for them.
“What you guys do really fits our aesthetic. The ability to move things around really fits us,” Kevin remarked. Diana added, “We make things, so sometimes we’re going to need to load things in it and we have different kinds of toys, so it needs to adapt to all of those things. If you’re like us and like to do things in a different way, and have handy skills–just do it!”
They saw a Vandoit in person at an expo after paying the deposit on their van. “It might be crazy to spend so much money on something we had never touched. We felt confident even before seeing the van in person, but seeing one confirmed our confidence,” said Diana.
Coming from a background in the museum industry, both Kevin and Diana notice and care about details. They have been wholly impressed with Vandoit’s attention to detail in every aspect of the product. “It’s the ultimately transmogrifiable van!” Diana exclaims, referencing Calvin and Hobbes.
They picked up their van the day after the school year ended for Diana, a teacher, so they jumped full tilt into making the most of summer trips.
Very quickly, Diana and Kevin found three different layouts that work well for their van: One for when they travel together, one for Diana and their dog, and one for when Diana and a friend make a girls’ trip together. The modularity of Vandoit’s design allows them to quickly and easily rearrange interior components to suit each trip’s needs.
Kevin and Diana enjoy woodworking and creating, so they have enjoyed adding their personal DIY touches to the van, including fabricating their own wooden storage trays for kitchen utensils, and adding hinged wooden doors to the hanging cabinet, kitchen pod, and hide-a-toilet cabinet.
When asked what they enjoy most about their van, several things came to mind. Kevin says the van is a pleasure to drive, and they love that it helps them to be self-sufficient. “We don’t have to ask permission,” Diana shares, meaning that they can boondock or disperse camp, and they don’t always have to reserve accommodations in advance or make sure a location allows dogs.
The van empowers them to be more spontaneous in their travels and adventures. “You get to places that are unexpected,” says Diana. For example, one evening she was dispersed camping in the White Mountains, taking in the beauty of the Minarets, the Mammoth Lakes, and the Sierra Nevada Range. When she turned around, she realized the sun was setting behind her while the moon was rising over Death Valley–a stunning view you can’t get from a hotel room.
One of Kevin’s favorite features is the blackout thermal window curtains because there’s no need to make sleeping arrangements–when it’s time to go to sleep, they just go to sleep. “Van sleep is the best sleep!” Diana says.
Ready to jump into van life like Kevin and Diana did? Reach out to a Van Guru today!
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