When the pandemic uprooted lives and put the country into an endless spiral of boredom, the trend of van homes skyrocketed in Oregon, according to Brendon Powell, the owner of a van-reconstruction company called Remote Adventure Design. 

As a state with beaches, mountains and endless forests, exploring Oregon became — and is — highly sought after for car camping. Powell took this opportunity to help others turn their aspirations into reality. Other camping lovers have also jumped on the car-traveling trend, including Rae Mossman, an Oregon YouTuber who documents her adventure tips. 

“I’m an adventurer at heart. But that’s a personal thing, you know, but I get to be a part of their adventures, too,” Powell says. He didn’t expect to start the business that he runs today until one afternoon at Home Depot. 

A woman in the parking lot knocked on his van door and said, “Can I talk to you about your van?” Powell recalls the woman showing him her van, which she was living in at the time. “Long story short, a couple weeks later, I didn’t have this shop yet, so I rolled her into my driveway,” he says, “and I built her this bed and a little miniature galley.”  

Before he knew it, he had created his business and began helping countless people start their journey. He eventually upsized his workspace to where Remote Adventure Design operates today in West Eugene. 

Today, Powell is joined by Joe Parker and Jack Osterloh, who have combined their efforts to create a business that designs comfortable spaces people can use for weekend trips or longer travels. 

“I get to be a plumber, an electrician, a mechanic, a woodworker and a designer too. I love it because it’s just the way I’m wired,” Powell says. His small team brings people’s visions to life with vans that have anything one would need: a kitchen, shower, full-size bed, storage and more.

Powell learned his handyman skills growing up, but still turns to YouTube when stumped on a project. When he first began working on vans, he started his own channel. “I had the time at that time to be doing YouTube, but I haven’t done YouTube for a couple years,” Powell says. He even got a job in California after posting his first van video. 

He recommends that those looking to build out their own cars, as he calls “do-it-yourselfers,” should use YouTube for helpful information and should also consider getting design help from a builder. 

“If you’re really serious about it, I think it is worth it to have a consultation with a builder. Even if you want to do it all yourself, get some tips and tricks from a builder. Mainly for the process, so that you start at the right spot,” Powell says. He enjoys helping teach people the best ways to get started on their vans, regardless of whether they need his company’s physical help. “What I like is that I have a lot of confidence in talking to clients.”Powell, Osterloh and Parker are currently in the process of building a van that will be available to rent. “We’re about to put it on a website called ‘Outdoorsy.’ It’s like a ‘VRBO’ for vans and campers and trailers and stuff.” 

Powell’s excited for this new opportunity, saying, “This will get the van out there and we’re hoping that it kind of becomes part of our business model.” 

“But, it’s just good people,” Powell says of the clientele, which he describes as full of inspiring people who are “at it for the right reason.”

Creating a full-lifestyle van is certainly not necessary to be a part of this culture. Mossman, an avid camper, found a passion in turning her SUV into a make-shift home for camping. She even works to create community and share her knowledge through her YouTube channel, @KamperGirl, and also organizes events. 

Mossman has always adored the elements of camping, but when she became disabled after an accident a few years ago, she decided she had to find a new way to maintain the hobby. “With car camping, you are set. It is so cool. And the thing is, it’s very nimble. I love the word nimble,” Mossman says. 

She began creating content to bring the camping community together and create spaces for all sorts of campers. She is looking forward to a woman-only car camping event she has organized, which will take place  August 20 to 23 in Fort Stevens. She says people have already signed up who are from Montana, California, Idaho and Nebraska. 

Although it is filling up fast, the trip still has available spots that women can reserve through her Facebook group, KamperGirl. Mossman says this is a great opportunity for campers of all levels. “It’s a great community. And those that come are very like-minded, so everyone usually makes girl friends very quickly.”

The group trip is a chance for women to check out other designs that they may be interested in building themselves. She says, “Even if you’re a beginner and you just got a sleeping bag and a pad in your car and your lunch pail and your clothes,” you can still, “walk around to everybody’s car before you’ve spent a lot of money on stuff you may not use and you can check out what’s really working, what’s really popular.”

“You can stay a week, you can live in it full time, there’s so many people that live in it full time. I chose it because of my disabilities; it’s just really easy to maneuver being disabled,” Mossman says. “I certainly want to encourage people who are disabled to actually give it a look.”

Find more info on Remote Adventure Design, at RemoteAdventureDesign.com.