• Zoe and Kelby Jecker bought a van for $45,000 to use for their frequent camping trips.
• They had just one month to renovate it so they could use it for extended trips.
• The finished van has a spacious kitchen, a king-sized bed, and a storage garage for their gear.

For some people, camping is an activity to be done once or twice a year as a respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.

For Zoe and Kelby Jecker, camping is a way of life. They spend as much time outdoors as possible, and in recent years, they have invested in truck campers so they can spend half the year adventuring.

In 2025, they upgraded to a van and decided to make it a more permanent mobile home. They renovated the van themselves in a month, creating the space of their dreams.

It's an understatement to say Zoe and Kelby Jecker love spending time outdoors.

Since the Jeckers became a couple in 2019, spending time outdoors has been central to their relationship. They told Business Insider they cultivated their love of it together, expanding the activities they do outside together.

"Our whole goal in life is to spend as much time outside as we possibly can," Zoe said. "We're always seeking out the next best way to spend time outside, whether it's hiking, backpacking, camping, mountain biking, or skiing."

As the Jeckers, both 28, got more serious about their outdoor time, they decided to invest in a truck camper in 2021 so they could spend longer stretches camping. They renovated it for half a year. Then, when they were both between jobs in 2022, they hit the road to explore the western US, hoping to find a new permanent home.

"We moved into it in the summer of 2022, and we planned to just travel in it for three months," Zoe said. "We ended up living in it for eight months full-time because it was easy, cheap living."

They also started making a bit of money from social media posts they made about their van during that first long stint.

"It covered the traveling we were doing because our only expenses were gas and groceries," Kelby said. After that, the couple was hooked. They became full-time content creators, sharing posts about their camper renovations and travels. They're based in Lake Tahoe but spend about half the year traveling.

In October 2025, they bought a van that they could make their own for their travels.

After buying their first truck camper in 2021, the Jeckers upgraded to a second camper. By 2025, they were on the hunt for a van, ready for a vehicle they didn't need to attach a camper to.

Kelby started looking online for a van when he spotted a contender on Facebook Marketplace in October 2025.

The van was a 2022 Ford Transit 250 148 Extended. Listed for $45,000, it had all-wheel drive, had already been remodeled into a living space, and had only 22,000 miles. Similar models cost $60,000 to $70,000 at the time, so Kelby knew immediately it was a good deal.

"We were about to go to bed, and I was like, 'Hey, this thing's going to go really fast. It's way too good a deal,'" Kelby said. They went to see it in person the next day and bought it on the spot.

Though the van had already been renovated, the interior wasn't right for them.

After they bought the van, the Jeckers spent some time traveling in it throughout the fall, seeing what worked and what didn't in its setup.

The van had a bed that could fold into seating, a shower, some small counter space, and cabinets near the ceiling. There wasn't a dining area, though, and the Jeckers didn't think the setup made the best use of potential storage space.

"Once we traveled in it in the fall, we made the decision that we needed to do a pretty big remodel on it," Zoe said.

When they demoed the van in March 2026, they removed everything except the subfloors, batteries, heaters, and air conditioner. They even removed the shower, a feature that's appealing to some van lifers. The Jeckers thought it took up too much space and decided it was worth showering at campgrounds, gyms, and truck stops to have more room in their van.

They had one month to get the van in shape.

The Jeckers started their renovation in earnest in April, giving themselves a month to get the van ready before their first trip of the season.

Kelby did the majority of the work himself, with a bit of help from Zoe's dad, relying on his experience living in remodels, working on cars, and previous work at a fabrication shop to guide him as he took on his biggest renovation project to date.

As they thought about the remodel, the Jeckers knew they wanted to add a third seat to the van, so they would have space for a kid someday or for a friend when they travel. It was also important to have a larger kitchen because they cook a lot.

Finally, they wanted to be able to sit up in their bed and have storage space for their gear built into it. With all that in mind, the Jeckers got started.

The new layout of the van kept the bed positioned at the back.

After the demo, the Jeckers had essentially a blank canvas to play with.

They decided to keep the general layout similar, though they swapped the shower for a dining area. The kitchen would sit in roughly the same spot, and they kept the bed at the back, building a storage garage beneath for any gear.

At the same time, it was important to Zoe that she could sit up in bed, so Kelby had to raise the garage to the right height to accommodate the bikes, himself, and his wife when they were in bed. He said he welded the bed frame to the van so it would take up as little room as possible and trimmed six inches off their king-sized mattress to make it fit.

They also positioned the bed "north to south" rather than "east to west" in the van, as it gave them the most storage space underneath — even their skis fit in the garage now. Not having to store items on top of the van is a huge win for the Jeckers.

"We've had the bikes outside before, but with the chances of them getting damaged or stolen, I like having everything inside," Zoe said.

Most of the van was DIY.

Kelby said wiring electricity into the van was the most challenging part of the build for him.

"My brain just doesn't work that great in electrical, and I've got two different types of electrical," he said.

Getting water running through the van was also tricky, but he managed. In fact, he built nearly everything himself, aside from the kitchen cabinets, which he said he had to purchase due to time constraints.

"With how close we cut it to a month, I'm glad we did," he added. "We wouldn't have been able to do it in that amount of time."

The van was ready at the very end of the month.

Zoe and Kelby pulled off the build in the month they gave themselves — barely.

"I was up from whatever the earliest acceptable working time was," Kelby said. "I found that to be 7 a.m. until midnight or 1 every night, which was fully self-inflicted. But if I didn't do it, it wouldn't have been done in 30 days."

"'The power of a deadline' is what we kept saying all month," Zoe agreed, saying the time constraint forced them to make decisions as quickly and confidently as possible.

Despite the stress, they were thrilled with the finished van.

The interior of the van has a mountain home aesthetic.

Zoe was in charge of the van's aesthetic, and she wanted it to have a "cozy cabin vibe."

"We've never been able to have a space that's completely designed by us," she added.

They chose wood countertops and painted the cabinets a bright green, Zoe's favorite color. She also made sure they had live-edge countertops for a natural look and an orange-and-white peel-and-stick backsplash to add contrast to the space.

"Those two things alone made it feel so cozy and added the character that I wanted without it taking a long time," Zoe said.

The ceilings and floors are wood, too, so it doesn't feel like you're in a car when you're looking toward the back of the van.

The front area can seat three and has a table.

The Jeckers placed the third seat against the edge of the countertop, behind the driver's seat, where the shower used to be. They also added a table that folds into the wall between the two seats, and they altered the front seats so they swiveled. Now, the third seat and the driver's seat can frame the table.

"The shower made everything feel tiny and so cramped in there," Kelby said. "As soon as we pulled that out and put the swivels in when the van was empty, I was like, 'Whoa, this van just feels a whole lot longer now.'"

The van's front can now function as a large dinette when they aren't driving, so the Jeckers can eat comfortably.

The kitchen balances functionality and aesthetics.

Zoe and Kelby were able to fit a three-burner stove in the kitchen, a refrigerator, and a larger sink that they cover with a cutting board when they aren't using it.

They have a bit of regret about the sink's placement, as it's right next to the bed and can splash onto their sheets, but it works well otherwise.

Kelby also wishes they could have fit an oven, but the cabinet space they have works well for them. In fact, their composting toilet fits perfectly in one of the drawers next to the stove, so they didn't need to modify the space for the toilet.

They took advantage of creative storage solutions wherever they could.

The Jeckers made sure their table could fold into the wall and added a flip-up countertop block that extends in front of the van door, giving them additional cooking space.

They also added shoe holders to the ends of their cabinets. Zoe said they're one of the most functional storage solutions they have found for their vehicle.

"They're so simple, but you are always wondering where to put your shoes in a van," Zoe said.

The storage garage in the back makes a huge difference for the Jeckers.

Kelby said the garage is the area he's most proud of.

"I feel like I nailed it," he said. "We've got these big trays that pull all the way out. They're 500-pound rated. So, those are expensive, but those were one of the best luxuries. When there's stuff in the back, you don't have to crawl in there and reach for it. You just pull the tray out."

Zoe loves the garage as well, saying it gives them more flexibility in what they can bring on their trips.

"Our last trip, we had our two mountain bikes, all of our camping gear, all of our climbing gear, and some extra outdoor cooking gear," she said.

Additional windows also warm up the space.

When the Jeckers started traveling in the van before they renovated, it had no windows, as it was designed as a cargo van. They quickly found that a windowless space didn't work for them.

"We were about to go to bed, and we heard a noise outside. We were like, 'What's going on? I can't see outside at all,'" Kelby said. "It felt like you were locked in a box."

The lack of windows also made it so there was no cellphone service inside the van, which didn't work well for a living space. Most importantly, the Jeckers wanted to enjoy the outdoors' ambiance while relaxing in the van.

"You're out there to enjoy the surroundings, so you want to be able to see the beauty," Zoe said.

Kelby added windows himself, drilling holes in the shape of the windows and then removing chunks of the wall to make space for them.

The windows make the space feel less stuffy. "We got two sliding windows, so that when we're sleeping, we can open those and turn on the fan," Zoe said. "It keeps it cool because it's a black van."

The van worked well for the couple on the first trip, aside from a minor hiccup.

The couple took the van on its first post-renovation trip to Yosemite, leaving as soon as it was finished. They were able to store as much gear as they wanted, so they spent time hiking, climbing, paddleboarding, and mountain biking during the trip.

"It has been amazing," Zoe told Business Insider of the van. "It felt like luxury living in this little tiny space. We just felt really proud of what we created."

"We were so stoked that we were able to enjoy it so quickly," Kelby agreed.

They did have one hiccup, though.

"One of the luxuries that we wanted was an espresso maker in the van," Zoe said. "We've never had that. And so we went to turn it on the first morning, and it cut all the power in the whole van. We thought we were going to have to come home. It was kind of a nightmare."

Luckily, Kelby was able to fix the problem temporarily during the trip, which seemed to stem from a battery issue that occurred before the Jeckers even owned the van. He replaced the batteries when they got home.

The Jeckers love that their vehicle lets them spend more time doing what they enjoy.

In the past, the Jeckers have sold their vehicles for a profit after remodeling them. They may sell the van someday, but they hope to keep it for at least a few years, especially since it's suited to have a third passenger.

Looking back on their renovation, the Jeckers credited their experience with other vans as the reason they were able to bring their own together so quickly.

"We've traveled in truck campers, but we've also rented vans in the past for travel in Europe and New Zealand," Zoe said. "You get an idea of what kind of space works for two people, what kind of bed is important, and the gear storage that's important."

For the Jeckers, the biggest benefit of the van is that they can spend longer stretches enjoying nature than they could have before.

"When we used to go camping in our car, we would feel disgusting, and like we desperately needed a reset to go home after four or five days," Zoe said. "But now, we can travel for as long as we want, and I feel like we're at home. We have all of the little luxuries that we need."

Read the original article on Business Insider