The Early Years with Wally

We’ve been a part of the Wayfarer Vans family since 2019. After a series of mishaps with older vintage RVs, we purchased a Ram Promaster City, Ram’s smallest cargo van, and after briefly toying with the idea of a DIY build, reached out to the team at Wayfarer. At the time, Wayfarer was making a conversion van kit called the Wally. The kit, not unlike the current versions of the builds Wayfarer offers, was modular and could be installed fairly quickly and easily, and removed with a simple socket wrench. The Wally included a floor, magnetic insulation panels, kitchen boxes, storage boxes, a fold-out bed, and a fold-up desk. It had everything we needed to begin our camper van journey.

The van itself was small but it was perfect for us because it was great on gas, could fit into any parking spot or parking garage in the city, and it was, at $5000, affordable for our entry into the camper van lifestyle. We’ve since put 180,000 miles on that van and have enjoyed some of the best adventures ever in it. We visited every state in the contiguous United States and even drove the entire Trans Canada Highway in it. And seven years later, it’s still going strong.

Caroline hits the beach in their Wally conversion

Camper van cookin’

Enter the Wilma!

But when our little family grew by four paws (we adopted an Australian cattle dog/Schnauzer mix) we started looking for a van that offered more space and a bit more comfort. We needed something with heat and air conditioning so we could keep our dog happy and safe. And though we had a ton of fun in our Wally, the idea of being able to stand up in the van, plus the added bonus of having a sink and a bed that you don’t have to set up every night were three very strong reasons for making an upgrade.

Long story short, after lots of late-night internet research reading through the camper van forums and websites, poring over social media and Youtube, we found ourselves going back to the crew at Wayfarer. We trusted their build quality after having put the Wally through a very rigorous test which it passed (we can be quite hard on our gear because we tend to just use it rather than baby it) and were impressed with the numerous innovations and upgrades they’d introduced in the last several years. One of the features that really sold us on the Wilma was their new “Build Your Van” page on their website. We were able to build our dream van and see what it would look like from afar. After doing that no less than a dozen times, we finally decided upon the Wilma which is built into the Ford Transit Medium Roof van. And once we found our van, our Journey Architect at Wayfarer made the scheduling and ordering process super smooth.

The installation was easy thanks to the Wayfarer team. We dropped it off empty on a Tuesday and it was ready for pickup by Thursday afternoon.

Erin enjoys some hammock time 

Vandoff day at the Wayfarer HQ 

Wilma explores the desert

Have Van, Will Travel

I’m excited that we can basically just decide where we want to travel and get in and go. We don’t want to think about a ton of setup and maintenance. Our van, which we named LaVerne, is literally a memory-making home on wheels. Sometimes we have a trip planned out down to every little detail and other times we just get in and go and end up where we end up. The freedom feels incredible.

Caroline is pumped on the seat cushions and the ample storage space we’ll have. Being based in the southwest means big temperature ranges. In one trip alone we’ve packed puffy, down jackets and flannel jeans as well as shorts and tank tops so it’s great to have lots of room to bring whatever we will need. As I’d hoped, the heat and air conditioning have made a big impact on how, when, and where we can travel with our dog. So far we’ve slept comfortably in the mid-twenties.

Maggie supervising taco time

Caroline cooking it up in the van

We have plans to go everywhere. We’ve fallen in love with so many places over the years and always thought we’d make it back to them but somehow that rarely happens. The pull to experience something new always seems to pull us away from the familiar. But I’d love to see us head back into Canada. Their national parks such as Banff, Jasper, and Waterton were amazing. The cities, too. We both fell really hard for Montreal. I’ve also always wanted to travel along the coast of Baja California, Mexico, too.

Despite the destination, though, I’m always happy to just be on the road. It doesn’t really matter where we’re going. The little moments are what always sticks in my memory…an amazing sunset, a piece of pizza from a random shop, an epic trail run alongside a river, seeing a bear, meeting someone who changes your perspective, or learning something new. Traveling has always been a way for us to connect with the outdoors and with each other and with ourselves and I’m really grateful to have LaVerne to help us do just that. 

Erin McGrady and Caroline Whatley are photographers and filmmakers. They have been traveling in an adventure vehicle for the last decade, sharing stories about the outdoors and the people who recreate in them. You can keep up with them on Instagram via @authenticstoryco, @e.mcgrady, and @carolineperdue