Savana Roselli and Wesley Watts were sick of the daily grind. They faced skyrocketing rent charges, inflexible jobs, and an insatiable desire to travel—that is, until they purchased their Sprinter van, which they now consider their mountain cabin, beach home, and everything in between.
Today, the couple runs a solar business for fellow van dwellers from the comfort of their home on wheels. See the full set-up for yourself at @our_landyacht.
Year, make, and model?
Savana: “2016 170-inch 4×4 Mercedes Sprinter”
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A post shared by Our Land Yacht ?? (@our_landyacht) on Nov 9, 2018 at 12:38pm PST
What did you do to renovate it?
Wes: “Everything we wanted to. We got the van as a cargo shell: there were no windows, nothing in it. It was one of the most basic 4×4 vans they sell. We put all the windows in, insulated it, installed radiated floors, put in a shower and wired up all the solar. We have all electric appliances, added a bed and kitchen … we did everything ourselves.”
S: “It took us about four months to do it.”
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A post shared by Our Land Yacht ?? (@our_landyacht) on Mar 7, 2018 at 9:17am PST
When and why did you decide to hit the road?
W: “We lived in a 2006 Dodge Sprinter for two years while we were going to college. That started this whole thing. We discovered that there was a need for solar for small projects like this. I was in school getting a renewable energy degree, and we knew we had the skills to start our own business. We started our company Tiny Watts and were already two years into van life, so we knew the market. Then we bought our new van in 2015 under the business name, so that’s our company car and our house.
Honestly, it was rent. We were living in an apartment and were moving around a lot, and it was expensive. Savana said ‘Let’s get rid of all our stuff and live in a van.’ We wanted to live that more flexible lifestyle where we could go surf, take off on the weekends, the whole deal.”
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Best view you’ve seen so far?
S: “I think Kings Canyon. We stayed up on this ridge that overlooked the Sierras all covered in snow. It was cold and crisp but our floor was really warm, so we were so comfortable. Waking up to the mountains covered in snow was so pretty.”
W: “Before we finished building our van, we slept on air pads [inside the van] to get an idea of the feeling of the space. We slept in Post Canyon in Hood River, [Oregon]. It’s a really popular mountain biking area. We went up a 4WD road and got to the top and were super surprised by a perfect pull-out with a view of the Columbia River Gorge with Mount Adams in the background.”
What do you both do for work?
W: “We run our own company. We are Tiny Watts Solar. I handle the system design, talk to clients over the phone and get the information to custom design their van, and Savana handles all the social media and marketing and the emails that come in.”
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A post shared by Our Land Yacht ?? (@our_landyacht) on Apr 26, 2018 at 10:08am PDT
Do you find it’s more difficult or easier to afford living on the road?
S: “Way easier. Everything we need is right here. We just buy food and gas. Expenses are always minimal.”–
W: “I think there’s sacrifices in daily comforts and what not, definitely. You’re living in a smaller space. We’re lucky because we get along, but there’s the fact that you spend a lot of time together. We’ve definitely grown in our relationship. In reality, our van payment is cheaper than any rent than we have ever paid, and it’s the nicest house we’ve ever lived in. It’s our beach cabin, it’s our mountain house, it’s everything. The avoidance of rent is so worth it.”
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A post shared by Our Land Yacht ?? (@our_landyacht) on Oct 15, 2018 at 9:28pm PDT
What is the biggest challenge of running a business from the van?
W: “We’ll jump into coffee shops or public libraries and use them as mobile offices. Sometimes we’ll pull up on the beach and use our hotspot to do some work on the road. We’re just learning how to run a business: how do you keep up with all these emails and organize finances, or handle insurance? It’s been a wild ride but it’s fun because it’s on our own schedule and we can be at work whenever we want.”
S: “We go in and out of WiFi quite a bit. Sometimes not having a great connection can be frustrating.”
Do you have a daily routine?
W: “I guess that’s something we’re really working on. Everything is always changing. We might be working on a project that has a deadline and we’re working late hours with everything life-wise on the back burner. Other times, we’re traveling between projects and have more time to set up a nice campsite and cook dinner. It depends if we’re on the road or gung-ho on a project.”
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How do you balance work and travel?
S: “Making a schedule and writing things down help. We’re able to look at everything and see clearly what we can do and what we don’t need to do. Making lists helps a lot, too, to prioritize things. We try to be open to everything. We do the best we can with keeping our schedule open to make it work for everyone.”
W: “Our travel plan, in a way, is dictated by where our projects are located. Some are remote and we just consult over the phone. Right now, we’re heading to Santa Cruz where I grew up, but there’s a project there that we agreed to do. We try to line the two up where we already want to road trip. You get really good at just going with the flow.”
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Where do you normally park the van?
W: “We park wherever we want. We pick nice neighborhoods, free campsites, and BLM land, and we like to be immersed in nature. We spend a lot of time outside going on hikes, so we’re always looking for natural parking areas, but if we’re in a city, we just pull in a neighborhood. We’ve never parked in a Walmart in three years, just because we haven’t had to. The nice thing is you really don’t ever have to pay for camping if you don’t want to.”
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A post shared by Our Land Yacht ?? (@our_landyacht) on Mar 6, 2018 at 8:40am PST
What’s your biggest tip for someone just starting their journey on the road?
S: “Do your van research. You want to get a reliable van because that’s huge. I definitely suggest getting something you know will turn on and not have issues. It is your house, after all. Any van that’s diesel, really. That way, you can install diesel heaters easier and a heated floor if you want it.”
W: “When we were building out our first van, we wanted to be excited to be in it. We spent a little extra to make our house comfortable. We wanted to be in the van and love it. So you can camp in a van and be hunched over and not be able to stand, but full-time, we went more comfort-level because we are truly living in it full-time.”
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Rapid Fire Q&A
Next destination?
W: “Santa Cruz”
One thing you can’t live without?
S: “Heat”
W: “Caffeine—so yerba mate tea.”
Favorite part of your van?
S: “The kitchen”
W: “Our general layout, or the roof deck”
Favorite winter activity?
S: “Snowboarding”
W: “Surfing—the surf’s the best in the winter”
How do you take your coffee?
S: “We actually stick to yerba mate tea and make it ‘bulletproof.’ We use a french press and add butter, coconut oil, and half and half. Then we blend it so it becomes frothy.”
W: “It has the same caffeine kick of coffee with benefits of green tea.”
(The couple noted that they love Guayaki Yerba Mate specifically).
