SOLO AND 65, My Mom On Van Life After 4 Years
It’s been 4 years now since Jason’s mom (Mary) boldly decided to sell everything and ditch her city apartment for Van Life. It was a drastic downsizing and a huge leap of faith for a single, non-retired 60-year-old.
Van, RV, or boat, it’s a big lifestyle change with a steep learning curve on where to park, managing limited resources, and becoming savvy with new technical systems.
She has had a backseat pass to our nomadic journey over the past decade, but it isn’t the same as living it. And her life on the road hasn’t been an easy transition. Mary has been deflated, struck down, and shocked in more ways than one.
But WOW, we are blown away by how she has adapted over the years! So, grab a beer (Mary’s beverage of choice) and join us for a trip to mom’s house.
Mary’s Instagram
Other videos with Mary’s Van
- VAN LIFE WITH MY MOM: gonewiththewynns.com/van-life-mom
- VAN LIFE REALITIES – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: gonewiththewynns.com/van-life-reality
- VAN LIFE GUIDE TO MOOCHDOCKING: gonewiththewynns.com/moochdocking
Van Mods/Upgrades We Made For Mom
- 2 x 250AH Go Power Lithium Batteries (best direct replacement for her battery compartment size): https://amzn.to/3TceQ6W
- Hybrid Inverter: https://amzn.to/425LdYP
- 2 x 50W Solar Panels: https://amzn.to/2TJtkwM
- UV Water Purifier: gonewiththewynns.com/product/water-purification
- $100 off With Discount Code: WYNNS
- Wifi Booster: wifiranger.com/shop/product/158-converge-denali
- 5% discount code: WFRWYNN
- Battery Monitor: https://amzn.to/3mPiBmk
- Soft Start: gonewiththewynns.com/product/air-conditioning-off-grid
- $25 off discount code: GWTW
- Espresso Machine: https://amzn.to/2VV8DR0
🎥 CAMERA GEAR USED TO FILM THIS VIDEO
🎶 MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS IN THIS VIDEO
- Get 2 Months for FREE: https://bit.ly/artlist-GWTW
- Artist – Out of Flux
🙏 WE COULDN’T MAKE THESE VIDS WITHOUT YOU!
Thank you for watching! Ups, downs, and all around, we share it all. If you like what you see, there are lots of ways you can show your support.
Jack
Double Musky…good food and great view of the Sound.
ScottyRVadventures
Great video! It was funny about your mum having an issue with a cup while getting the slide in (or out?). It happened in our very first trip with our 40 ft diesel pusher…. I was at the control panel retracting one of the slides when suddenly I heard a bang!! and a splash of water right after…. what happened was that one of the 1 gl bottles of water that we had bought in Walmart, was left between the fridge and the slide and somehow the bottle made its way to the slide frame and it got crushed!! hahaha
Gene
Are you going to do any interviews with your Dad?
Curious Minion
Jason’s dad passed away when Jason was young. For more on their backstories, check this post out: https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/nomads-settlers-backstory
Curious Minion
Keith Rogers
Make sure your mom meets “the mayor” of Talkeetna when she comes up to Alaska! If she hasn’t been to that little place, she will enjoy it. Added bonus: there are some pretty great views of Denali right on the road there. I hope she is able to get down into the Kenai area. Places like Homer and Girdwood are must sees while in this neck of the woods. If she goes to Girdwood, she should make a reservation at the Double Musky and have a steak. It’s fantastic!
Kate Provost
Hey, Wynns…
Are you guys having a meet up in the Dallas area anytime soon??
Curious Minion
Hey Kate – as always, meetup info is available on Patreon. If you’re a member you should be getting the notifications. If you’re not, maybe it’s time to sign up!
Curious Minion
Greg Snyder
Wow 500 ah of battery power is quite an investment; but one I’m sure will be well worth it. I’m curious about the second battery and setup since the tray only looks like it can handle one battery. You briefly mentioned a crate or container for the second. Are you running parallel or is it a hot swap? Take care. Greg
Karen
Oh Mary, yes its a beautiful trip to Alaska, we’ve done it twice in our 4 Wheel Truck camper gone 7 weeks each time………enjoy!!!!!!!
Alan Solomon
What a great video Nikki and Jason. Mary is a great person to interview because of all the positive success she has had and the interesting fact that Mary chooses the RV life.
At any age, one can learn from their choices, experiences and adventures and enjoy their triumphs, learn from mistakes and have that good feeling and glow of knowing the satisfaction of succeeding as a full-time RVer. Congratulations Mary. Again, a great interview choice.
Have a safe and enjoyable trip to Alaska Mary. 👍
si
i wonder if shes had many problems with the mercedes part of the RV?
youve got a great mum there jason.
mary van
I will let you know. My DEF has had lots of issues this year and we are still trying to work it out. Besides this issue, the Mercedes side has been great!
Brian L Fink
If you love a good tea, then I suggest you try some Royal Blend tea from Fortnum and Mason (fortnumandmason.com) out of London. They have other good products but a bit expensive.
Betty Elder
I love the video. I am a fellow Airstreamer. We have a 28′ Excella that we full-time in. We would love it if in your Mom’s travels she stops at Top of Georgia in Helen Georgia. We have a wonderful park 5 miles from downtown Helen that is Airstream only. She will meet so many Airstreamers. Of course everyone is so helpful. Hope she will put us on her list to visit. We have great wifi and FHUs. Please pass it along! Kat
mary van
Hi Kat, When I make it that way again, I will certainly look you up. Thanks for the offer.
Candace
So cool that you are such an adventurer, Mary! Have a wonderful trip. I’ll follow you on IG.
Colin
You did not specify which water reclamation system your Mom has acquired but based on my experience with the Shower Miser install, I can understand why the dealer is unwilling to install it. They are a major plumbing interface complicated by the lack of access to any of the pipes you need access in order to make it effective. An it it requires drilling a hole in the shower wall. She needs to look for a firm that does RV rebuild/remodeling who are equipped and have the experience to work this process. The system changes the whole water availability considerably. I have used one in a Sportsmobile which is smaller in every respect than your Mom’s Airstream and a Born Free which was larger. Both doubled water availability with a shower every day.
Rick
FYI I have friends who RV. When they went to Alaska they put their RV on a train and rode all the way in a cabin. Reduces wear and tear on the vehicle. When they arrived at their destination the RV was unloaded and they rode all over Alaska for a couple of months before returning to MI. Don’t know if they returned on the train or drove but it sure sounds like fun even one way. Good luck and have fun for sure.
John S.
That was a great four year follow-up. First thoughts: yikes, that went fast. Second thoughts: really like the idea of Jason’s brother ‘kicking mom out’ of the business so that she can take several months to travel to Alaska.
If there is one “travel to Alaska” mistake that too many people make it’s that they do not give themselves enough time. It IS a long ways away and there ARE too many wonderful sights to stop and enjoy.
Other than the Alaska series mentioned (Gone with the Wynn’s) I think that other travel to Alaska ‘must watch for a better experience” video series is the Mortons on the Move Go North series.
I have told several friends to watch both the Nikki & Jason and the Tom & Cait videos while Alaska planning and they have all appreciated the suggestion.
Pamela
So the big question is…now that mom is winding down from work a bit, and her next big outing in the van was your last big outing in your van…will she follow suit and trade land life for boat life as her next big adventure?!?
Jay G.
hopefully not!
Mary Van
Now I have all the information I need to know about my RV at my fingertips. Thank you, Jason and Nikki!
Lisa Day
Mary – you rock! Have a great trip. I’ll watch Instagram for your pics.
Tom Pirwitz
I’ll have to wait to watch her video… It’s 8:40AM CDT and I’ll wait to grab a beer before until noon. (I’m a Midwest prude… :-)) I missed last week–I’ll have to see if I can find it!
Fair winds and following seas, Jason and Nikki.