2018 Quality Adventure "Bear's Van"

Last minute, we rented Joe's van for a 7-day road trip Moab to Escalante and back. Unbeknownst to us, we arrived in Moab the night of a total lunar eclipse. Absolutely spectacular kickoff to the trip. See Jorge's photo of the van at that location.

Thanks to Joe's generous 275-mile a day mileage budget, our 33-hour, 1,000-mile trip with our border collie, Scout, took us to Goblin Valley State Park, Petrified Forest State Park, Dry Creek Slot Canyon, Upper Calf Creek Falls, Escalante River Trail, Hell's Backbone Grill and Farm , Kodachrome State Park (unbelievable and highly recommend), Lake Powell (we need rain in the West!), and back north through Vermillion Cliffs and Monument Valley (also highly recommend. Budget time to stop at one of the roadside stands for Navajo jewelry!

The fridge was sufficient for basics like eggs, butter, and a few veggies. Joe loaned us his Yeti cooler for the beer and cold water. The included pop-up table was perfect for Bananagrams and cooking on the butane stove, which boiled water super fast. I wish I'd thought to ask for camp chairs as I've no doubt Joe would have provided those too. We couldn't find the French press, which I missed. We made cowboy coffee with hot water and it was just fine. We did not use the bench. I would leave that behind in the future as we stored it in the garage (under the bed) and didn't use it. Storage cubbies are endless and the magnetic closures for doors work well to keep all the doors closed. Before departing make a check that all the knobs are tight as they may loosen and pop off if you are on roads like that to Sand Creek Recreation Area in Moab.

The van parks easily in normal parking spots and has good visibility via a backup camera and large adjustable mirrors.

The bed was super comfortable. We both slept like babies and Scout sacked out alternating between the driver and passenger seats. (We vacuumed and cleaned it obsessively before returning.)

The first three days were miserably hot (high 80s, low 90s), but we were cool in the van. The aircon in the cab will crush your gas mileage, but be well worth it. (We averaged 16 mpg the entire trip.) The van comes with window shades that we used when we stopped to hike and they kept the van cool. We ran the two MaxxAir fans in the rear at night and covered one of the windows with the provided screen and were comfortable. One (windless) night we even left the van open to sleep and it was glorious.

The sink water is easy to use. Just remember to turn off the pump. The clean water is easy to fill and the grey water is easy to dump. We camped at Lake Powell mid-way through our trip and dumped at a station there. A hose connector would be helpful if you plan to do longer trips.

We had 0 issues charging all our devices on the solar and we have several cameras, phones, computers, etc.

Please keep in mind if you rent this van that you are renting in the desert. Winds are sometimes insane and we would clean/tidy the van to only a few hours later get a wind gust that blessed us with sand on everything. Enjoy the sand in your teeth and try to time your trip to a full lunar eclipse camped under a dark sky. You will not regret it and it will tempt you to request Joe's van again. Utah is spectacular. Unplug and enjoy.

We really enjoyed our trip and Joe was quickly reachable when the amber engine light came on ...and turned out to be a non-issue. I really can't speak more highly of Joe's van (and Joe) for a trip in this area. Do it!

We have rated our experience Great (5/5) because our experience ***with Joe*** was ... great.

We wish we could say the same for Outdoorsy and our choice for the "peace of mind" insurance. We experienced a rock into the windshield, cracking it on our way into Escalante. Calling the 877-723-7232 number included in the rental confirmation documents resulted in a "this is no longer a working number" message. Not a good sign.

Calling the 24x7 roadside assistance number 877-978-7222 led to 20 minutes on hold with the "Winnebago Customer Service Desk," whatever that means. We tried calling roadside assistance again and waited 20 minutes a second time hoping I possibly called the wrong number. No luck. We hung up and visited the local garage shop in Escalante who repaired the rock chip for $22. Needless to say, we question'd Outdoorsy's insurance and customer support processes. It hardly gave us "Peace of Mind." Instead in the future, I'll look to our regular car insurance company and probably skip Outdoorsy's "insurance" and "24/7 roadside assistance," which was useless.

Amazing vanbuild! Had a lot of fun while in town with Joe's van. Drove great, nice amenities. Would definitely rent again!

Van was very easy to drive. Bed was comfortable and having the solar panels was awesome. Overall wonderful experience!

Fantastic way to travel! Smooth to drive, convenient to park, easy for two to live in! Did two weeks of honeymooning and a few thousand miles and it held up well!

Everything worked. Drives nice. We had perfect weather so didn’t need the heater. Fridge kept drinks cold, tons of places to charge a phone and the bed was super comfortable….we brought pillows and sleeping bags with us. I would totally rent this van again!

The van worked perfectly for a road trip across the west! The owner was extremely accommodating and helped us sort out any questions before departing.