By Brooke King
A few years ago, if you had told me I would sell my condo, move into a Sprinter van, and travel around the country with my dog, Chloe, I’m not sure I would have believed you.
Today, Chloe is my adventure buddy, and Pearl, my Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, is our home on wheels.
But looking back, the idea had been building for a long time before I actually acted on it.
At the time, I was working as a Regional Sales Manager and traveling all over the country for work. I was grateful for the opportunity because it allowed me to see places I may never have visited otherwise, but it also gave me the travel bug in a big way.
I would fly somewhere for work, see just enough of a place to know I wanted to explore more of it, and then have to leave.
I kept thinking about how much more of the country I wanted to see, but on my own time and on my own terms.
And there was another really important part of it: Chloe.
I loved traveling, but I really missed her whenever I was away. I started wondering if there was a way I could have both. What if I could travel around the country and bring her with me?
The Idea I Couldn’t Stop Thinking About
Then I came across a Tiny Planet van on Instagram.
Until that point, I think my idea of living in a van was much more basic. But this van had a shower, toilet, bed, kitchen, heated floors, and so many of the comforts of a home, just in a much smaller space.
I remember thinking, wait... you can actually live like this?
Something clicked.
I realized van life didn’t have to mean giving up everything that made me comfortable. I could create a smaller version of home and take it with me almost anywhere.
After that, I thought about van life constantly.
For about a year and a half, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Eventually, I realized I needed to stop wondering whether I could do it and actually start finding out.
So I reached out to Tiny Planet.
Testing the Dream
Before completely changing my life, I wanted to make sure I actually liked living in a van and not just the idea of it.
So I rented a Winnebago camper van for a weekend.
I cooked in it, slept in it, traveled with Chloe, and experienced what it was like to live in a much smaller space.
And honestly, it confirmed everything I had already imagined.
After that weekend, I was 100% sure this was something I wanted to pursue.
Turning an Idea Into My Actual Life
Knowing I wanted van life was one thing.
Figuring out how to actually make it happen was another.
I owned a condo, and I knew I would probably need to either rent it out or sell it to make full-time van life possible.
I decided to sell.
I found a realtor, prepared my condo for an open house, received multiple offers, and at the same time started searching for the empty Sprinter that would eventually become my home.
Then I flew to Sacramento to visit Tiny Planet in person.
I had already seen their work online and talked with them virtually, but seeing the shop and walking through one of their finished vans made everything feel much more real.
I eventually purchased a brand-new blue Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 170.
Very blue.
Anyone who knows Pearl today knows she definitely did not stay that way.
Once my condo sold, Tiny Planet could begin turning that empty cargo van into my home.
Building a Home on Wheels
From the beginning, I knew I wasn’t trying to build the most minimal van possible.
If I was going to live in it full time, I wanted it to genuinely feel like home.
A shower was one of my biggest non-negotiables and one of the main reasons I chose Tiny Planet in the first place. I wanted a toilet, running water, a kitchen, refrigerator, comfortable sleeping space, reliable internet, and enough battery power to support everyday life on the road.
Chloe also influenced a lot of the build decisions.
Having enough power to run air conditioning was extremely important because I needed to know she could always be safe and comfortable.
And then there were the things I technically didn’t need, but am very glad I have: heated floors, a dishwasher, a skylight over the bed, and a rooftop deck.
Was all of that necessary?
No.
Do I regret it?
Also no.
I wasn’t just building a vehicle.
I was building my home.
What Van Life Has Given Me
When people ask me how van life is, I usually tell them every day is magical.
And I mean that.
Magic doesn’t mean perfect.
Things break. Plans change. Weather changes. You have to think about water capacity, battery power, parking, maintenance, and where you are going to sleep that night.
But then you wake up overlooking the ocean in Malibu.
You see a full double rainbow stretched across the desert.
You’re watching the sunset over the Tetons from your campsite.
You open your doors in the morning and realize that your backyard is somewhere completely different than it was yesterday.
For me, those moments outweigh the inconveniences by a mile.
That was the life I had seen online and dreamed about, and those beautiful parts really can be as spectacular as they look.
But van life has also given me things I didn’t expect.
Traveling solo taught me how capable I am of figuring things out.
When something goes wrong, you solve it.
Then something else goes wrong, and you solve that too.
Eventually, you start trusting yourself in a completely different way.
It also gave me intentional solitude.
Being alone and being lonely are not the same thing.
Van life gave me space to think, reset, explore, and spend time with myself somewhere beautiful.
And after a while, living in the van stopped feeling unusual.
I would come back from grocery shopping, walk toward Pearl, and not think, “I live in a van.”
I would just think, “I’m going home.”
That was when I realized this enormous life change had simply become my life.
I still don’t have a perfect conclusion to my story because my story isn’t finished yet.
And I’m okay with that. 🤍
What I Would Tell Someone Considering Van Life
If van life is something you keep thinking about, I think it’s worth exploring.
Rent a van. Walk through different builds. Figure out what matters most to you and give yourself the chance to see whether the lifestyle feels as exciting in real life as it does in your head.
And honestly, I think that applies to more than van life.
If something keeps calling you, even when you have no idea how you could possibly make it happen, don’t talk yourself out of it before you’ve given yourself the chance to explore what’s possible.
Sometimes the most beautiful chapters begin when you give yourself permission to see what’s possible.
Take a Look Inside Pearl
Want to see what life inside Pearl actually looks like? Watch my full van tour on Tiny Home, To Go by SoFlo Home Project:
