Camping and road trip enthusiasts, two young retirees, Marc and his partner, have had everything in terms of camping equipment: tent, tent-trailer, trailer, motorhome… to finally choose simplicity by adopting the Roadloft formula.
Passionate about sailing and ornithology, Marc opens his journal of a 45-day trip from Quebec to Florida in March and April 2024 with their Roadloft-equipped minivan. A joyful journey allowing them to say “bye bye” to the end of winter to return at the start of May. Thank you Marc for sharing your memories and tips as a seasoned traveler!
Happy reading!
As mentioned on the first page of my Roadloft journal, it all started on February 7, 2019, after discovering the removable camper conversion kit that Sam and Laurence were launching at that time. I discussed with my partner the possibility of purchasing it. Here is what I noted: “Johanne convinced me by saying: It’s happening now. We have to stop putting everything off until tomorrow.”
So I traded in my car for a Dodge Caravan. We added the Roadloft kit and we hope to travel more. Vanlife begins!
Enjoying a newly acquired freedom (retirement), we are leaving on March 13, 2024, heading south. On the one hand, we want to get back to the warmth but also visit the Keys and the Everglades to go bird watching. My list on the Merlin app only contains 74 birds and I plan to add a few more.
As mentioned on the first page of my Roadloft journal, it all started on February 7, 2019, after discovering the removable camper conversion kit that Sam and Laurence were launching at that time. I discussed with my partner the possibility of purchasing it. Here is what I noted: “Johanne convinced me by saying: It’s happening now. We have to stop putting everything off until tomorrow.”
So I traded in my car for a Dodge Caravan. We added the Roadloft kit and we hope to travel more. Vanlife begins!
Enjoying a newly acquired freedom (retirement), we are leaving on March 13, 2024, heading south. On the one hand, we want to get back to the warmth but also visit the Keys and the Everglades to go bird watching. My list on the Merlin app only contains 74 birds and I plan to add a few more.
Then begins a journey through time in fast motion. Each hour of driving represents approximately 3 days. First, the ❄️ snow melts before our eyes. What joy! Then, the 🌳 fruit trees are in bloom and the grass gradually turns green. Suddenly, the first buds appear followed by the first spring leaves of an extraordinary green that never lasts.
Finally, it’s summer. There are flowers everywhere and it’s 24 degrees. We then turn left towards the beaches and time finally stops. We leave the highways and tolls to wander on the winding roads that accompany the ocean coast of South Carolina and Florida.
We are no longer in a hurry to drive south but we continue anyway with frequent stops at campsites all different from each other. By the way, here are the statistics of the campsites that we used during our stay.
We noticed that Boondocking type camping is rather rare in Florida and even prohibited in Georgia. The businesses that welcome us for free, like Cracker Barrel, often helped us out and were very useful when we were traveling quickly. In any case, most campsites require a reservation the day before at least.
We had been warned about the fact that, in Florida, you must book several months in advance to get a spot. This is true if you want to stay on a site for a few weeks, as many travelers in large RVs do. But, if you agree to move often like us, every 1 to 4 days, you will find plenty of availability.
We even discovered a trick. Do you want a campsite in the Keys? Call the same morning or better show up at 9am and ask if there is a cancellation. You will often get one or two precious nights in a dream campsite.
It is important to know that these economical sites are not for everyone. First, there is no staff on site to ensure security and you have to find it, which is not always easy, but also you have to open the gate with the code mentioned in the reservation confirmation email. Good luck because there are usually 6 padlocks on the gate chain. The reward is the exceptionally beautiful campsite with only a few neighbors but always at a good distance. The services are limited to a table, a fire pit, a non-potable water pump and a well-maintained chemical toilet. It’s not bad at all for the price!
Our longest stay at the same campsite was 4 days and it allowed us to visit Florida in a satisfactory way. However, during a next stay we will probably try to book a whole week a few months in advance because we found the search for a campsite every day tedious.
It is important to know that these economical sites are not for everyone. First, there is no staff on site to ensure security and you have to find it, which is not always easy, but also you have to open the gate with the code mentioned in the reservation confirmation email. Good luck because there are usually 6 padlocks on the gate chain. The reward is the exceptionally beautiful campsite with only a few neighbors but always at a good distance. The services are limited to a table, a fire pit, a non-potable water pump and a well-maintained chemical toilet. It’s not bad at all for the price!
Our longest stay at the same campsite was 4 days and it allowed us to visit Florida in a satisfactory way. However, during a next stay we will probably try to book a whole week a few months in advance because we found the search for a campsite every day tedious.
As one of my goals was to enrich my lifelong list of birds, I had brought:
To my great surprise, birds are omnipresent in Florida. To observe them, you just have to sit down with a ☕ coffee and wait for them to show up. Great! Easy! One morning I was sitting at the picnic table and I turned to discover, only four feet away from me and at the height of my face, a Sandhill Crane.
From beginning to end, the following birds accompanied us daily: Northern Warbler, Carolina Wren, Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, White-eyed Vireo, Great Crested Flycatcher.
My partner is now passionate about ornithology and my lifelong list of birds has been enriched with 58 new observations.
Americans are very polite and they will inevitably reward you with a “how are you doing” or a “good morning” when you meet them. They will never ignore you and I consider that this is a great example to follow.
In addition, campers are easy to approach and you should not hesitate to approach them to initiate conversation. In addition, they all have a dog on a leash who is just waiting for that. We had our best encounters in the budget campsites and we even plan to see some of the people we met again.
📱 Have a co-pilot with a tablet and the Google Maps app to plan stops, the next gas station or campsite. The driver stays focused on the destination of the day, which is programmed on his cell phone.
🥘 A few dehydrated meals to help out. We buy them in outdoor stores. They are always very practical when we are on the move.
🧊A USB fan and good mosquito nets for the Van. I now mainly use the rectangular mosquito net bought online. It attaches with magnets in just 30 seconds so that I always install it even if the mosquitoes are not present.
⛺I also sometimes use the Napier tent when I am in the same place for a long time. It is useful because, when I leave to explore the surroundings, I leave it on the ground to signal that I will return later in the day. It is a good way to keep a site that we like.
🔋 A 720-watt (minimum) battery pack and a 120-watt portable solar charger.
📔 A logbook to note the campsites on the left page and the discoveries and people met on the right page.
All good things must come to an end, we headed north and the journey through time begins again. But this time, we go back in time. The flowers disappear. The leaves are going back into the bud. Incredible! The fruit trees are in bloom again. How pretty! The temperature suddenly drops and we take out the down jacket, the hat and the gloves. Fortunately, the snow was not waiting for us on arrival. Time, once again, stopped and began to flow slowly like the river that flows irremediably towards the ocean.
It was 150 hours of driving for 9100 kilometers spread over 45 days of travel. Fortunately, the Chrysler Pacifica is easy to drive and economical. We averaged 7.5 liters per 100 km. The campsites cost us an average of $30 CAN/day. Not bad at all! I never wished I had a bigger RV than our Roadloft equipped minivan, especially when I watched my very equipped neighbors prepare to leave the campsite. With my kit, it takes me at most 10 minutes. Magic! Long live simplicity!
It will be hard not to head south next year when our winter is frozen in place. We will then be able to enjoy, once again, this incredible journey through time.
I am writing these lines while observing my third spring of the year from the window. What a privilege I have!
After 175 nights, I can say that “it’s happening now” and that the Roadloft kit is the right solution for nomads who, like me, tend towards minimalism.
✍️ Marc Villeneuve
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