About Us

The KaraVan

About us and our adventure van build

Who are We?

We are Ken and Kara and we are building a one-of-a-kind adventure van. The word caravan [kar-uh-van] comes from the Persian word karwan meaning “group of desert travelers.” It’s also the term used for a camper that has a living area in it. The word Karavan, within our family, is what we call our 2016 Mercedes Sprinter van. My daughter Kara calls it “her van.” And there we have it, Karavan.

Our Story

Why are we building the Karavan? When Kara was 18 months old, we lost her mother to cancer. Ken needed a project to get his mind off the significant loss. More importantly, Ken and Kara needed a way to get out and spend good quality time together.

The Van Project

The United States offers a diverse range of geography from the coastline to the mountains, and there is much of it we have yet to explore. Having a reliable, fuel-efficient and comfortable off-grid home gives us the flexibility to explore what this country has to offer without feeling burdened by piloting a cumbersome RV down the road. We found that production RVs were not within our budget and did not necessarily meet our needs, so we decided to build our own.

While we have perhaps some mechanical aptitude, we have never embarked on a project like this before. We own only basic tools, such as a drill, a jigsaw and a miter saw. Although admittedly, we have recently purchased a used drill press and have needed to borrow a table saw on several occasions. If there is any take-home from this channel, it’s that you can do anything you put your mind to. We hope this channel inspires you to fulfill your dreams, as this is ours, and hopefully we are giving you some ideas on how to carry out your build from cargo shell to completed adventure van.

Check out our travels, documented here. Best wishes and thanks for visiting our site.