Who are you and what is your backstory?

We’re Blackhawk and Madi Jones, along with our three dogs, Lilo, Stitch and Burt. We both grew up in small towns in North Dakota, we met by chance in Grand Forks, ND at a party that neither of us had planned to be at.  But let’s go back a little. 

I, Madi, grew up in a town of 800 people and always hated being asked what I wanted to be or do when I grew up. I had absolutely no clue other than I wanted to travel and find love (you could call me a romantic, or a naive little girl, you decide). After graduation I decided that college wouldn’t be a wise investment for me and I became a nanny. Following that I jumped around jobs for a while working in retail before becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) which is the job I truly loved 

Blackhawk’s story is only slightly different.  He grew up in a town of 2,500 people and started working from a very young age, gaining an immense knowledge in construction and carpentry, as well as an incredible talent.  He had signed up for school to become a diesel technician, but decided against it a week before classes started and continued working his construction job.  

All this brings us to our life together in a town of 56,000.  We got married 6 months after we met and immediately started working towards our dreams, even though we weren’t sure what they were yet.  Blackhawk started his own carpentry company which was incredibly successful, and I worked as a CNA in hospice, which really instilled in me the belief that you need to go after your dreams because your health and old age is never guaranteed.  

After losing multiple bids on homes, and stumbling upon youtube videos of #vanlife, we decided that, with two dogs in tow, a van would be our next home.

 

Take us to the moment you decided to begin your Vanlife?

We had no fear when we decided to build a van and live on the road. In fact, it was only two weeks after we made that decision that we found the unicorn van of our dreams only six hours away from us. That weekend we drove down and traded Blackhawk’s sports car for it (he’s still a little sad about the car). 

Our families of course had plenty of questions and didn’t really understand. “You’re building a home in a van????” But we had full confidence that we could transform our van into a fully functional, almost luxurious, apartment on wheels.

 

Just do it. Seriously. The worst thing that can happen is you don’t like it and settle back into a stationary lifestyle. No harm, no foul, but you gained an entirely new experience.

 

We did plenty of research and watched a lot of van tours for ideas and inspiration. We spent the next two years working, saving, and planning our build and I think that time is what made all the difference for us.  We came up with so many ideas for the build throughout those two years that made a world of difference in the comfort of the van. We wanted to make sure that all our daily routine tasks were as simple as possible and that our living space was comfortable because when your routine tasks are difficult or dysfunctional, or if you spend your time in a home that isn’t comfortable, it makes day to day life very hard and unenjoyable.

To name a few of our favorite features from our first van, we put a 45 degree angle on the upper cabinets to ensure we wound’t be bumping our heads constantly, we built the TV into the cabinets so that it was hidden away and we weren’t always having to look at a big black screen in such a small space. Our advice to anyone building their own rig, be completely honest with yourself about the things you need to be comfortable. Whether it’s a toilet or a TV.

In those two years, we were also able to set ourselves up financially really well. Our strategy was to purchase all of our building supplies during these two years as well as pay off the van, and then save enough to pay our fixed bills and cover our travel expenses for two years, as well as a savings account for “whatever came next”. It certainly helped that neither of us had student loans to pay off.

Downsizing was pretty easy for us. We don’t consider ourselves minimalists by a long shot, but we aren’t attached to our stuff, because stuff is all it is and it can easily be replaced. We sold nearly everything that we wouldn’t likely need in the future, and stored the rest in one 16ft enclosed trailer.

 

Tell us about the advantages to the Van lifestyle?

Living this lifestyle allows you to really experience life and the world for what it is.  That might sound cliche, but it’s absolutely true.  Traveling by vehicle is vastly different from traveling by air. You might say you’ve been to Vegas, but can you say you've driven all of Nevada without cell service to get there? 

I think the biggest thing that this lifestyle has taught us is to just go with the flow.  Things will happen unexpectedly, plans will change, or you’ll make a wrong turn (which we’ve done a few times more than we’d like to admit). 

One of our favorite places we ended up wasn’t even a planned destination. We were driving through South Dakota on our first trip in the van, and we had taken a wrong turn and were now two hours in a different direction. We pulled up Google Maps and found a body of water and decided we would go to it and camp there. It ended up being an actual campground on a peninsula of a tiny lake. It was beautiful and we got to listen to the waves crash all night. And the best part was that we were the only ones there.

 

Tell us about the biggest challenges and downsides to the Van lifestyle?

Our biggest challenge living in our van was the slight lack of personal space. With having two dogs at the time, as well as two adult humans, it was a tight space. We really only noticed this issue on the rare days when we couldn’t be outside of the van as much due to weather. 

We really just lived by the seat of our pants. We didn’t do a lot of planning from spot to spot, instead we just decided what we wanted to see or do that day, how much driving we wanted to do, and then we would find a spot in accordance with that, usually on the iOverlander app.  We never stayed in a parking lot.  If you ever feel like thats your last resort, there’s probably a rest stop within a few miles with better food and bathrooms. 

We’ve been fortunate enough to never find ourselves in any sketchy or unsafe situations.  The worst day of vanlife for us was probably when we overflowed the pee jug on our nature’s head toilet. That’s a mess nobody wants to deal with.

 

How do you find a sense of community when you’re always moving? How do you maintain and build relationships on the road? 

Our relationship has grown so much stronger since being on the road. We’ve really learned exactly what we need from each other and when, and also what we don’t need from each other.  We’ve learned that we really enjoy each other’s company, and we know that when it comes down to it, that’s enough for us. But the nomadic community is incredible! We’ve never made it to any of the big meet ups, unfortunately, but the friends we’ve made even just online have been nothing short of incredible. And, of course, you always meet interesting souls on the road. 

One of our first encounters was in a tiny little nothing town in Montana. We hadn’t had the van very long, it was one of our first trips and we took it out bed and bucket style. We stopped in this town to sleep thinking there was a campground, but it was just a little parking lot near a park with an outhouse, but we went for it anyway. The next morning, we met a man who was traveling to Alaska in his Prius. He told us that he left his wife and phone at home and had only a paper map to follow. He told us that we were making a great decision to travel while we’re young and able.

 

How do you support yourself financially?

When we first took off we had set ourselves up for two years of travel without any income, and had a reserve savings for whatever came after that.  We totaled up our fixed bills for two years, and estimated our monthly expenses while living on the road, and saved according to that.  We started our YouTube channel with the hope that it would make a little bit of money eventually, but didn’t count on it, we mostly started it for something to do and learn since we wouldn’t be working, but we’ve been fortunate and have been able to turn our channel into a small income.

The transition was difficult for us, especially Blackhawk, to go from working 80 hour weeks to not working at all. It was like we didn’t know what to do with ourselves. It took us a couple weeks to learn how to slow down, take a walk, read a book, and just enjoy doing a whole lot of nothing, and embracing adventure when it comes.

Keeping Up With The Jones' - YouTube

 

What is your one piece of advice for people who want to do what you do?

Just do it. Seriously. The worst thing that can happen is you don’t like it and settle back into a stationary lifestyle. No harm, no foul, but you gained an entirely new experience.

 

What have been the most influential and helpful books, podcasts, blogs, websites or other resources? 

If you’re planning your own van build, or even just planning to live nomadically, your biggest resource is YouTube. You will find everything from planning and designed to how to do it yourself, to where to travel. For planning and Designing your build, Margaret’s van reviews are fantastic! ((2672) Ladi & Margaret - YouTube) And for building your van, well, there are far too many to count, but you can start with ours! (2672) Keeping Up With The Jones' - YouTube

 

What does the future look like?

We recently became stationary in Arizona and started our own business called the Carefree Camper Company where we build and remodel vans, buses, RVs, you name it! We also will be building an expedition truck as our next adventure rig, although that won’t be until later this year, or next.  We’re putting our focus on the business and working while we enjoy it and while we’re able to.  We’re grateful to each be working our dream jobs in a time when a lot of people have found themselves without a job at all.  

Ultimately we plan to travel indefinitely during different time periods, and someday own land in both Montana and Arizona. 

 

Is there anything that you need that you can’t find or anything you are seeking help with? 

With our new company being in business, we’d love for you guys to check out our website!  If you or someone you know is looking for an adventure mobile of their own, whether it’s a van, RV, truck, or Jeep, send them our way! - www.carefreecamperco.com

 

Rapid fire questions

 

What are the top 3 Van essentials that you couldn’t live without?

• Water filter  (We use an RV filter that attaches directly to the hose)
• map/gps  (Google Maps is your BFF, but always have an atlas on hand)
• Toilet (we love our Nature’s Head)

 

Top 3 favorite places you’ve visited?

• Ocean City, MD
• Yellowstone
• New York City

 

Where are you now?

Phoenix, AZ

 

How long do you usually stay in one place?

A few days-a couple weeks

 

When did you first start Vanlifing?

Oct - 2020

 

Are you full-time or part-time Vanlifing?

We were full time, now we’re stationary while working

 

How many weeks have you spent in the Van in the last 12 months?

We spent 2 months full time on the road in our van, and now live in a fifth wheel until we build our expedition truck

 

What kind of vehicle/rv/trailer/setup do you have? 

We had a Transit van and towed our Jeep Wrangler, currently we’re in a Forest River Wildwood fifth wheel, in the future we’ll be in our expedition truck and towing our Jeep

 

Where can we go to keep up with you and your adventures?

• (2596) Keeping Up With The Jones' - YouTube
• www.instagram.com/keeping.up.with.the.jones
• Blackhawk & Madi - Vanlife | Facebook