#vanlife with no filter: couple records work/life on wheels

Shelby and Simon are wedding photographers from Ottawa, Canada who had become enamored by the hashtag vanlife. “We started getting hooked on it, all those Instagram pictures that we saw of people parked in state and national parks, oh check out this parking spot it’s on the edge of a cliff and I’ve got this campfire and we’re all singing and have got guitars, it’s just lovely, like that was a huge sales pitch right, and we didn’t know we thought that’s what it’s going to be all about, wicked, cool let’s do that,” explains Simon. “And then got into maybe like the first week of it and we were parked in the Walmart for like the third time and we’re like I think it’s not quite like that.”

The couple decided to buy a camper van (a 1992 Dodge Ram) and trick it out for long-term travel (solar, wifi antenna, extra batteries, and a generator). Given the seasonal nature of their work, they could spend 6 months of the year traveling and working remotely booking weddings for the summer months back home. www.SHELBYANDSIMON.com

“With the popularization of the tiny house and of the hashtag vanlife we’ve been romanticizing this idea, oh yeah, just like ‘live free, live simply’,” explains Simon.

After over six months on the road, the duo have realized that their romantic ideals around van dwelling are perhaps a natural by-product of most photographers’ desire to capture beauty at the expense of a fuller reality. “We’re photographers so we have this issue we want to be real but also we take beautiful photos,” explains Shelby. “There’s always this tension between showing something beautiful and also showing something real and are you telling the truth and is art ever the truth. So I think we’re trying harder than a lot of people to make it look like it’s real. To talk about the fact that we’re stuck in a storm, freezing wet and miserable, that are pipes are frozen or that we haven’t showered in a week.” Instagram/Twitter: @shelbyandsimon

Simon: “We had the expectation that this trip would make us better people but we didn’t understand what that meant and how we were going to become better people.”
Shelby: “In this small space we’re always hitting our heads, we’re always in each other’s way, something’s always broken because it’s old, we’re always tired, and then you realize that you just have to be happy inside yourself and at peace no matter what is going on around you because it’s always changing, it’s always chaotic.”
Simon: “It has to be something you battle with and then you find yourself. And maybe that’s what it’s all about, maybe it’s about putting yourself through the crucible of tiny living to come out the other side as a better more peaceful person.

[BernadetteSky]

I have been looking for REAL experiences living like this, or even Tiny Houses. So many people seem to just gloss over a lot of the problems. This couple gets along so well, and have navigated their lives from private to public in a really genuine and honest way. Living a nomadic life or a public one can be really hard. I appreciate them talking about the stigma they experience even though they are not poor and are working. Thanks.

[NinoNlkkl]

if this video was 10 hours long, I would've watched it all the way.

[Jordcurious]

As someone who is considering this lifestyle in the future, it was very refreshing and informative to see all of the non-instagram moments of van dwelling. Thanks

[cloudsrain]

To this couple bravo for your honesty.

[gerrylane]

Thankyou for a real account of van life. Seems like many of van life docs...it's all smiles, love, amazing experiences...basically fake, but this I think is more the reality of van life living showing the negative and the positive.

[Ceeboyforlife]

Personally, serving in the Navy for 5 years, forced to sleep in a twin bed with 6" of distance in front of you while on your back, storage underneath, and a small locker I completely understand. I believe the van is a huge step up from the living conditions of sailor forced to live on a boat with very, very minimal space for 6 to 9 months. What helped me get through it was not the avoidance of being bored, long drives, or the difference from our previous cushy life, but accepting the circumstances as it being our life; that this is what we are paid to do. Typically, a sailor can have long hard stressful lives day to day at sea, so sleeping in a bed at the end of the night, despite its size, tends to be very rewarding. I plan on living out of a van at the beginning of 2017 and I can't wait! I don't care to travel right now, I just want to save money, get a extra job and make more faster, then travel. I don't think I'll ever buy a house. I don't like traditional living like rent and mortgages. I want to put away money for retirement, I can afford it now. I want to buy and own a car, cash. I want to buy and keep my laptop and not have to sell it during tough times.I want to buy a heavy duty truck, a toy hauler and live life on the road unanchored. These videos are very inspirational.

[rawlawgirl]

Truly likeable and interesting couple. Very introspective. "People who always have to take a vacation from their life". Profound statement. I rarely take vacations and colleagues think "I" am sad. Truth is, I have designed my every day life in such a way that it is joyful and relaxing although I work a professional 9-5 job. When I do take time off from the office, I lay around the house or meet up with friends for Vegan pizza and so much laughter that my belly hurts. Not a vacation, but an extension of my day to day life! This video made me enjoy and value my simple life more. Most important, this video reminded me NOT to label or judge the next van people I see as homeless or those with "criminal intent". You never really know someone else's story unless you take time to talk with them and even then you get only a verbal glimpse of their soul. Thank you for such a profound video. It deserves far more views, but because it is the "other side" of "glamping", maybe there are less views.

[staceyw]

I'll always be a house dweller. But I think you guys are awesome. And awesome as a couple. Good humans. And a dog. :)

[IRDeezlSmoke]

Awesome video. Several really mature and thoughtful comments were made. I especially like the one toward the end about making a life that you have to take a vacation from. I see that far too often today.

[pamelaroy]

I want u guys to know that this video is one of these best I've seen on living the van life, I just loved it. I especially love the way u guys love and respect your dog, he's a good good boy 😊, I love dogs.
so what are u guys doing now? are y'all sticking with it? y'all go thru some bad times but thats anywhere in life, right? I envy the fact that y'all are doing this, be gratefull that y'all are ABLE to do what ur doing, making great and memorable memory's. wow what I wouldn't give. I own a three bedroom home and I want so bad to get out from under this load and live like y'all are living, but due to health issues I'm not able to.
again, enjoyed the video alot, loved it. so make the most of it u guy, good and bad, ENJOY LIFE AND LOVE GOD

[aldralee]

What an honest and lovely glimpse into this adorable couple's life. Absolutely loved this video. Such great insights, wrapped in tenderness and humor. I hope all their best dreams come true.

[Tipperary]

Thanks very much, Shelby and Simon. I appreciated the honesty and thoughtfulness to understand the journey (van) within a journey (mold, cold, space) within a journey (as a couple) within a journey (public/private space).

[RitaBatchley]

I liked this candid look into the reality of van life. Shelby & Simon rocked it! They prove, once again, that happiness is an inside job. Life is rendered to its most critical components when there is no place to hide. Bravo to both of you for following your bliss and finding your truth.

[SillyConeBaby]

I love this documentary so much! Thanks for sharing your lives

[DreamingCatStudio]

Thanks for this peek into van life! It's refreshing to hear the ups and downs, and their attitude of "here's all the stuff we're learning."

[now]

this was a great video. Thank you. This was very entertaining and eye opening. I guess it's just not all fun and games. But it does look like an experience.

[georgieocasio]

Love the video, love the lifestyle, life without hardships is boring, because you don't get to enjoy the success and triumphs of overcoming them!

[GotEmAll]

Awesome, real, and honest video. Love it. Really glad smell-O-vision hasn't been invented yet, though haha

[myadventureoutdoors]

I really enjoyed this video. This was a story well told. I liked their honesty and I felt like we were friends by the end of the video.

[katanaburner]

I think these two plus their dog made this work really well. Very nice and keep on rollin'.