Introducing Pam
Who’s Pam?
Pam is my van. A 1999 Roadtrek 190 Versatile. Essentially, she’s a motorhome built on a Dodge 3500. I found her on Craigslist less than 30 miles from home with only 41k miles for an outstanding price. She needed a little work, but for less than $2,000, we were road ready.
Why “Pam”?
Her name choice was influenced by my two-year-old nephew. It was really easy for him to say. And gosh, I know I’m biased, but hearing him talk about Pam is the cutest thing ever. He loves her. He can say lots of words though - basketball, toast, bicycle, mac & cheese, helicopter... If it were entirely up to him, I’m sure “chocolate milk” would have also been a contender.
Truth is, “Pam” just fit well with the other Office character names we already had going in my house; Kelly, Kevin the Corgi, Toby the Tabby… and now Pam the Van. Far from the most unique thing about Pam is her name, but I thought you all at least deserved an explanation.
Today, I want to talk about some of the features Pam has that make it possible to stay self-sufficient on the road and easy to consider her as my 22-foot long roamin’ home:
The Bathroom
Pam has a fully-functional shower & toilet, which comes in handy for, well, obvious reasons. This allows me to stay in remote or crowded places, and feel safe in a somewhat vulnerable state. Also, bio breaks are not impacted by the weather. (Something you never have to consider at home, that’s for sure.) Everything about the bathroom and shower process is different from house life. An entire post could be dedicated just to what goes into taking a shower & maintaining the convenience of a traveling port-a-potty. That being said, the shower & toilet are essential features, earning the bathroom the #1 spot on the list (pun intended), and among the best, most unsuspecting parts of Pam. I mean, look at her. You’d have no idea, right?
The Kitchen
Exemplifying the phrase, “small but mighty”, is Pam’s fully-functional kitchen, with sink, propane two-burner stove top, exhaust fan & light, microwave, and fridge. A late roadtrip discovery revealed there is even a pull out counter top within a drawer, which expands my available counter space by at least 40%. (That discovery was a bigger deal than it sounds, people.) While my tiny kitchen would make even the most amateur of cooks shudder, it provides me everything I need to make a meal on the road. I’ve cooked bacon, eggs, and coffee for breakfast in a gas station parking lot, and a full dinner with side dishes in the middle of the forest. It’s just that convenient.
The Convertible Bed/Table
I’m starting to wonder if it's a requirement as a vanlife influencer (of which, I am clearly not) to have a beautiful duvet-covered bed? While it makes for a nice aesthetic, living on the road requires more function over fashion than the internet leads you to believe. For this reason, my kitchen table/work space moonlights as my bed. Pam goes from a desk to bed in minutes by removing the table legs, laying the table top flat into ledges of the bench, and unfolding the cushioned seats. The duality of the space forces me to complete a simple chore home life lets me slip on, which is to start every day by making my bed. I am a better person for it, or so William McRaven says.
My Monitor & Work Space
I maintain an 8-hour work day from the road. I would have needed a retina transplant a week in if I was forced to work from only my laptop, so my TV is mounted to a flexible bracket that makes it a workable second monitor. And, I can still binge watch Netflix on rainy nights. I recently got a power inverter that allows me to not have to run the generator to use the TV - saving me money on gas and further enabling work from anywhere. It’s a pretty freakin’ sweet setup.
The AC/Heat
From the extreme heat and humidity of southern Georgia to the freezing temperatures of the northern Arizona desert, you learn quickly the “luxuries” of AC/heat are quite essential to survival. A week into owning the van, the 1990’s era AC unit went out. I thought I could survive without it, until day 3 of working from South Georgia Motorsports Park in September… I ordered an AC unit for immediate arrival to the track and installed it that weekend. No regrets.
Important to understand: the AC requires the generator to be running, so I choose to sweat it out until I absolutely need it. Thankfully, Pam has lots of windows, so I leverage those in creating airflow and capitalize on cross breeze. I also have a Fan-tastic fan that makes a big difference. That runs on the house battery, so its an easy, low resource fix for a little more air flow. Conversely, the heat runs on propane; it has a safety feature so that if it gets below 50 degrees inside, the heat will automatically kick on. It prevents things, like me and Kev, from freezing up when I have it parked. Pretty smart, eh?
Last, but certainly not least, LOTS. OF. STORAGE.
Living in a tiny space commands both storage and the sense to use it wisely. Everything has a place. Everything has a purpose. If it doesn’t serve a purpose, it doesn’t get a place. There is just the right amount of space for the things you need to live and I’ve been very intentional with that definition. For example, I’ve only packed practical pieces of clothing, and only enough that fits in three compact fabric cubes occupying only one cabinet. Hanging in the closet, I have 2-3 work-appropriate sweaters for Zoom calls and two jackets (rain jacket and winter coat). I’ve paired my clothes down significantly from my walk-in closet and overflowing dresser at home and let me tell you, it feels great. Using storage to keep everything neat and out of sight also prevents things from flying around while you’re driving down the highway, speaking from experience...
So there you have it. Pam is practical. Pam is unsuspecting. Pam is an essential member of the family. For all intents and purposes, Pam is a lot like her namesake. And she’s afforded me the freedom of seeing the country and given me a small traveling home (even if only occupied part-time).
Disclaimer: Some of these photos are before the mini reno. The cabinets are now white, I’ve changed the knobs, and even wallpapered. More in the plans, but rest assured, she’s been updated to this century.