Justin had made an appointment a couple days prior for us to all tour the Living Vehicle. The Living Vehicle is a camper/tiny home that is very well built and laid out. The guy who started the company and created the design used to remodel Airstreams. He took what he didn’t care for and what he loved in Airstreams and created the Living Vehicle which is designed to be lived in full time.
Justin and I had watched videos of it and Justin had done a lot of research on his own about them but it is very different to be IN the space. So, we figured it was worth checking out. This being said, if we did decide to buy one of these, our life would have to be dramatically altered to accommodate. I won’t go into details of our specifics but it would mean buying and selling and reconfiguring our life again. Big commitment!
In the trailer camper world, there are very few options for trailers that are well-built with materials that will last. Airstream is pretty much the only game in town for high-quality trailers large enough to live in full time (there are many trailer brands that make high quality small trailers). That’s why we were so excited to see a Living Vehicle– it’s a high quality trailer meant to live in full time. Like an Airstream, the outer shell of the Living Vehicle is all aluminum. But they take it further, building the frame and much of the interior out of aluminum as well.
Since Living Vehicle builds units to order, they don’t have trailers sitting in a lot to tour. Therefore, they have”customer ambassadors” who own the Living Vehicle and don’t mind showing other potential customers around their home. The Living Vehicle we visited was in Santa Rosa and lived in full time by the couple that owned it.
It was absolutely beautiful inside! We visited on a very cloudy and rainy day and yet without any lights turned on the space was very bright and happy. One of the perks and downsides to this camper is the box shape. It makes the inside space super usable and allows for you to use floor to ceiling space (unlike a curved top of an airstream). However, it also makes it harder to tow and look pretty massive. It is, after all, a house on wheels.
Some of my favorite things about this camper is that it would allow for us to have two different defined spaces (the bedroom has a sliding door that separates it from the rest of the space). This would allow the girls to have their own space. There is also a drop down bed over the living room made by Euro Loft which I am totally in love with. These beds are also found in some Class A RVs that we saw in Quartzite. They just make so much sense! You can keep them made at all times and when you are sleeping you lower it (with the press of a button) and when you’re awake, you simply pop it back up to the ceiling. Such a great use of space! Because it was a larger camper there was also an incredible amount of storage space compared to Wobbles. In comparison, the Living Vehicle is 30′ and weighs 8,350 lbs dry where-as Wobbles is 22′ and weighs 3,500 lbs dry. The Living Vehicle has A LOT more room than the extra 8′ of length would have you believe due to the height and rectangle shape.
Living full time in an RV isn’t something we’re ready to make the transition to at the moment, but it was fun to see and to imagine another possible lifestyle.