The pandemic pushed more Americans to try out van life

IN 2019 LUCY JACOBSON and her colleagues at Rossmönster Vans flew to San Francisco carrying “suitcases full of cash”. They were on their way to purchase five retro Volkswagen vans made in the 1980s in order to drive them back to Longmont, Colorado and turn them into custom adventure-mobiles. The road trip home took them to Las Vegas (“to let our freak flag fly”), through Utah’s canyons and over the Rockies. It was the kind of expedition increasing numbers of Americans are hankering for.

About 140,000 vans, RVs or boats were counted as housing units in 2019 according to the Census Bureau, up from about 102,000 in 2016. The circumstances of people who live in their vans can be glaringly different. On one end of the spectrum are those who, like the folks in Jessica Bruder’s book “Nomadland” have little alternative. On the other end are van lifers or “digital nomads” who covet a bohemian, go-anywhere lifestyle. Type #VanLife into Instagram and more than 10m posts appear. Most photos feature pristine Western landscapes, some kind of van or mobile home that resembles a Manhattan studio apartment on wheels, and at least one smiling 20-something. Dogs are a popular accessory.

As social-media influencers spread the van-life gospel, a lucrative industry blossomed. A custom van renovation at Rossmönster costs customers anywhere...