Van Tour: The 4-Season Camper Van That Replaced Their Tent
- Jul 14
- 4 min read
Some people want their camper van to replicate their living room. These owners wanted the opposite. After a lifetime of tent camping across the western United States, they came to Off Highway Van with a clear brief: a true base camp. Something they could drive anywhere, park anywhere, set up in minutes, and sleep in as well as they do at home.
They chose the Sundance Kid. Here's why.
WHY THEY CHOSE THE SUNDANCE KID 170
The layout decision for their Off Highway Van came down to honest math. This van carries two people on the vast majority of trips, with the flexibility to seat and sleep up to 4 when the occasion calls for it. That meant permanent extra seating was dead weight, and floor space became the real currency.
"What we liked about this is it had the most floor area"
Remove the two optional seats and the Sundance Kid 170 opens up into the most open-concept, usable interior footprint they found anywhere in their search. When a storm rolls in and you are living inside the van for a day, square footage stops being a spec sheet line and ends up being your quality of life on the road.
At 6'2", one of the owners can stand fully upright inside. His verdict on riding out a multi-day rainstorm in the van:
"very comfortable"
THE FEATURE THAT SOLD THEM: SLEEPING NORTH / SOUTH IN A CAMPER VAN
Every van shopper eventually confronts the bed question. In most builds on the Sprinter platform, wall thickness forces the bed sideways, so you sleep east-west, wedged between you van's walls.
Off Highway Van builds differently. Our aluminum and composite construction keeps wall thickness to a minimum, which does two things: it cuts roughly 1,000 pounds compared to conventional wood builds, and it reclaims enough interior width for a true north-south bed. You sleep front to back, the way you sleep at home.
"The other two vans we looked at, you're sleeping east to west, which sounds minor, but it didn't seem right,"
"This one is beautiful because we're sleeping in a natural longitudinal way. That was huge."
The main bed expands in seconds, and, by their account, it is as comfortable as their bed at home. A convertible cafe makes an additional sleeping space when the crew grows to four.
AN AWNING THAT WATCHES THE WEATHER: SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO
One feature they did not expect to love: the awning's wind sensor. When gusts hit a set threshold (and your awning oscillates enough), the awning retracts automatically. You can be five miles up a trail and your awning is already handling the situation without you worrying about if you remembered to put it in.
That is the difference between gear designed for a driveway and gear designed for where you actually camp.
INDUCTION COOKING, REAL COUNTERTOPS, REAL STORAGE
Our Series A aluminum galley runs on an integrated induction cooktop. Electromagnetic heating brings water to a boil fast, and (with our premium Porcelain countertop options) when dinner is done the cooktop disappears back into a clean, usable countertop. Surrounding it: storage. Lots of it.
For two lifelong tent campers, this is the upgrade that lands hardest. No stove to assemble. No fuel canisters. No wondering if the wind will let you cook tonight.
SEATS: WORTH A HALF-HOUR CONVERSATION
During their first visit to our Salt Lake City shop, these owners sat down in the van with their build specialist Colby and did not get up from their custom UltraLeather seats for thirty minutes.
"We were so comfortable in here. I didn't want to get out of the van."
We'll take that as a review.
A BASECAMP, NOT A HOME ON WHEELS
The owners are direct about what this van is not. It is not a rolling condominium.
"If we wanted a home away from home, we'd probably stay in a hotel. Or we'd get one of these massive RVs that gets poor mileage and can't park in a normal space. That's not what we were looking for."
What they were looking for: a vehicle that drives like a van, parks like a van, goes off-road when the trail demands it, and turns any campsite into a comfortable, four-season base camp within minutes of arrival.
A rig that opens up the trips tent camping ruled out, the dodgy weather windows, the shoulder seasons, the places where it rains for two days straight and you hunker down anyway.
Their advice to anyone shopping:
"Think about when you go camping, what kind of experience you want."
If the answer is every comfort of home, buy the big RV. If the answer is exploring the western United States, getting off pavement, and sleeping well wherever you end up, they landed exactly where you will: on a custom off-grid van build from Off Highway Van.
BUILD YOUR OWN CUSTOM OFF HIGHWAY VAN
Every Off Highway Van starts with the same question these owners answered: how do you actually camp? Three models, RVIA certification, a lifetime craftsmanship warranty, 5-year bumper-to-bumper coverage with no exclusions, and an 8-week build timeline.
You're not everyone; so why should your van cater to mass appeal? Talk to an expert today about your use case and get started on your Off Highway Van build today!
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