A big one called Bruce Banner
For seven years Kate worked as a fashion photographer in New York. Then one day, she decided to quit that life and start a new chapter – with an Mercedes Benz Sprinter 4×4 Overland and unstoppable freedom.
Hi I’m Kate. I’m Australian and moved to New York about 7 years ago where I worked in photography in the fashion industry. I had done a few road trips in rental vans and really enjoyed them, this made me realise I could actually do this full time! For the past almost 3 years I have lived the vanlife seeing almost all the states in America.
Growing up I had always been into camping and outdoor adventures. The idea that I could have a forever adventure with all the luxuries of home in a van made the lifestyle seem magical.
So far there has been two Sprinter vans in my life, the first was a 170 dually 4×4 and the second started life as a 2WD before having a solid axle swap out to be a true Mercedes Benz Sprinter 4×4 Overland. Mercedes is a great reliable platform to build on and having 4×4 capabilities is a must in my opinion.
The first van was DIY and the second we had TouRig do the interior. TouRig is a professional van conversion company based in Golden Colorado. We chose TouRig because they have a clean aesthetic, they use aluminium cabinets to keep the build light weight, durable and easy to clean.
The first van took a year to fully complete, we lived and travelled in it while adding piece by piece to the build. The second build by TouRig took the company around 60 days to complete.
Music is something that makes me really happy so I love to have good tunes playing. The van has an internal and external stereo by MBQuart which is connected to the house batteries. Being an Aussie I hate to be cold so the on board diesel heater is a fave. Living full time in the van and having an active lifestyle means I like to have a shower every day so adding a 40 gal water tank and a full interior shower has been quite a luxury.
I am a photographer and also work in marketing. I manage the social media accounts for a few outdoor brands and work doing photography for a lot of the brands I use on the van daily. This allows me to generate authentic in use content for the brands while being outdoors and adventuring.
I like to be as far out in the middle of nowhere as possible. I will choose hidden free camps over paid ones, with all the amenities on board there is no need for the services of paid spots.
The current Mercedes Benz Sprinter 4×4 Overland has a full stainless shower by TouRig with on demand hot water. The 40 gal tank usually lasts just under a week.
On board is a 65L freezer and 85L fridge with a diesel cook top. Its quite large but we host group tours where we cater for guests and it also allows for extended off the grid stays.
Being able to have everything you need with you is great. You get to travel and see different places while still having that feeling of ‘home’.
It can sometimes be tiring travelling full time and hard to keep to routines. I sometimes miss having the local community like a morning coffee shop or the gym to go to regularly.
Persevere with it because at first you can fell a little unsettled and weird but give it time like any new thing your mind adjusts to it and it begins to feel more natural. Once the lifestyle feels normal to you then you really get to start enjoying the advantages.
Absolutely! All the time, some friends have even caught up in multiple states which has been really fun.
