The Ultimate Road Trip: Traveling & Living in a Vintage 1974 VW Bus

Simplify
by Simplify

Hunter and Hannah are traveling the country in their 1974 VW bus.


The vintage VW bus started as a weekend trip vehicle, but as Hannah and Hunter learned more about the Vanlife movement and realized that they could both work from home, there was no reason not to travel and take their home with them.

Vintage VW camper bus

Hunter has always been a car guy, so it was important to him to have a vehicle he could take to car shows. The VW camper bus fit that requirement. It’s a symbol of van life and adventure. They purchased a Westfalia model with a pop top and camper interior.


The total bus and conversion cost $28,000, of which $6,000 were renovations to make sure that the vehicle was road-trip worthy. They added all-terrain tires because they like to travel off-road.


Hunter explains that the VW bus is good for offroading because the engine is over the back drive wheel, which gives the vehicle sturdiness and balance. They get about 16 miles per gallon of gas.


The space inside the camper is narrow and minimal, so Hunter and Hannah cook outside on their camper stove.

Inside, there’s a small table and couch with storage, and a sink, as well as a bench with underneath storage that can double as a pull-out bed if the couple has friends over. Hunter and Hannah sleep on a foldable mattress in the pop-top that they climb into every night.


For power, there are two Jackery portable power units, as well as a 100-watt solar panel. They use a cooler instead of a fridge to minimize energy usage.


1974 VW bus home

Together, this couple is traveling and working at the same time in a beautiful 1974 VW bus.


For more bus home stories, take a tour of this log cabin tiny house on wheels or this cool minibus home conversion.


To see more videos, check out the Tiny House Giant Journey YouTube channel.

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  • MaryAlice MaryAlice on Sep 22, 2022

    🤔 Yes I would!

  • Dia49596686 Dia49596686 on Dec 02, 2023

    lol, loved this story. My husband and I traveled 3 months in Europe the summer of 1971 in a VW we purchased in Richmond, VA and made delivery of it in Germany. Ours did not have the pop up top. Oh the memories we made covering nine countries on our own! Diane

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