About VandogTraveller
1. Quit job 2. Build campervan 3. Travel
I started this blog in 2013. I’d never even heard of ‘Vanlife’, but that's all I wanted to do – get a van, make it into my self-contained home on wheels and just go, wherever I want.
This can't be it
I’d sit at my desk every day thinking ‘this can’t be it’…I couldn’t concentrate on anything. Nothing felt right. My mind was somewhere else. Totally distracted with a life I thought might be out there. It got too much…
I quit my job
I knew that for anything to happen I’d have to quit my job and tell everyone my plans. This was the first step. Then I’d have no other choice but to work on my dream. I had some money (£10k) saved up from working on offshore gas platforms in the North sea.
On the 20th September 2013, I gave my months notice and got asked many questions that I didn’t yet know the answers to myself. At this point, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was just trusting the next step would keep appearing before me, although I couldn’t really say this to my employer or colleagues
Moved out of my house
I put things outside onto the street (Sharrow Vale Road, Sheffield) with notes saying ‘free’. I gave away the sofas, the bed, chairs, and tables. One woman came with a van and took most of it because her friend was leaving her husband and needed to set up a ‘secret house’. She was grateful. I gave away my shirts, trousers and shoes to the charity shop On Ecclesall Road, sold my car and packed a bag to go back to my parents house while to work on the van – I hoped this would be one step back to take two steps forward
Converted an old van
I bought an old van (LDV Convoy) on eBay. I was totally overwhelmed. What do I work on first? The van was a mess. It got worse the more time I spent on it; more rust, more holes in floor, more oil leaks. It didn’t even run. It was an insurance write off. It even had forklift truck marks underneath where it had probably been shifted around a scrap yard. (see post: LDV Convoy – work done).
Like running through treacle. My thoughts and dreams were consumed with van conversions. I grew a beard and didn’t see friends for months. I had to do this.
February 2014: Progress made. The conversation was very close to completion. I put a few pictures around the Internet and on this site. Things went crazy. I got banned from my hosting. Over 70k visits in the first week of being online. I couldn’t believe it. This gave me a new wave of motivation just when I needed it – progress was slow and I was desperate to leave the country.
March 2014: a line is drawn. Van conversion complete! I documented the conversion here – my DIY van conversion
Drove south
March 8th 2014: I booked a last minute ferry ticket from Dover to Dunkirk and got my two friends (Ross and Matt) on-board for the first part of the journey. We drove South through France and Spain. The journey had started. I am doing my dream; I can comfortably live wherever I want. I am free and in control of what comes in and out of my life. My track and current location can be seen on the track and location page .
Beyond my wildest dreams
Things evolved. Following the clues. Wide open. Life went way beyond my imagination.
I’ve discovered things about myself, life and existence I never anticipated. These experiences have made my life.
Thank you!
Some of you have been here since the very beginning. Wow. And many I’ve met on the road.
It quickly became apparent: I’m not the only one with this dream.
It became a mission to help others to the ‘other side’, through this website and through my books. Whether it’s helps with their van conversion’s electrical system, or just moral support.
It’s been a crazy journey, and it continues. This is what life is to me. Thank you 🙂
