We are dedicated to offering affordable, convenient options for unique and experiential travel. 

Our compact campervans are easy to drive and operate, yet offer convenient features and amenities to make time in camp more comfortable.

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Vander Outdoor is a veteran-owned small business in the Washington, DC area.

Vander is a local, veteran-owned small business in the Washington, DC area.  We are dedicated to offering affordable, convenient options for unique travel experiences.  We believe that quality travel is about more than just going places; it forms life-long memories and provides a foundation for strong, meaningful relationships.  Campervans have given us the flexibility to stop and take in unexpected vistas and roadside curiosities that would otherwise be missed. 

campervan
Our Story

The Backstory

Growing up in central Pennsylvania, our family loved traveling around the region, and camping was often more friendly for our parents’ budget and more fun for the kids.  We started tent and car camping, and eventually upgraded to a Coleman pop-up camper. During summer break, we often took camping trips to the south Jersey shore, the Williamsburg and Tidewater areas, and Virginia Beach.  Camping let us spend quality time in nature, hiking, swimming in a lake, and sitting around the campfire, while also enjoying and experiencing the other sights and attractions in the area. 

Fast forward several decades to a 2015 vacation in Australia, where we discovered a quirky compact campervan rental company that caught our eye in Melbourne. After a quick checkout, we were on the road exploring the Australian continent on the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide and up to Silverton on the edge of the Outback, before cutting East across to Sydney. We even took this seriously unsporty camper warrior out on the famous Bathurst (Mount Panorama) Race Circuit for a couple of laps (no records were set that day). The campervan let us experience the Australian continent and immerse ourselves in the culture in a way that simply would not have been possible hopping from hotel to hotel.

During the 2020 pandemic lockdown, this seed of an idea kept itching at the back of my head as I worked from home across the table from a bored, sixth-grade boy slogging through virtual class.  I finally told my son to pack up his school laptop, and we headed to California to pick up a new compact campervan from Cascade Campers and road trip it home to Virginia.  Over the next month, we would wake up early and hotspot my cell phone so the young scholar could dial in for class, and then we would spend the day hiking or exploring whatever uniquely American roadside attraction caught our eye as we meandered home.  Our highlights included Yosemite, Carmel-by-the-Sea, the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Gila Wilderness, Carlsbad Caverns, and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The trip was a priceless experience, and allowed father and son to connect over the course of weeks and and bond over a journey of thousands of miles, in a way that is rarely possible in our times.  

Upon returning home, I was surprised that there were not more options available in the mid-Atlantic region for this type of independent travel and adventure.  Campervan rentals companies are easily found up and down the West Coast and in Colorado, but not so much here near Washington, DC.  Given the area’s proximity to stunning National Parks, majestic mountains, rushing rivers, warm seashores and cool ocean breezes, all within a two hour drive of the nation’s capital, I decided that my next purpose in life would be providing the resources and opportunity for people to experience this unique form of travel for themselves. SO open yourself to new experiences and fresh perspectives through immersive travel, let Vander help get you on the road in a compact campervan.

My experience with Vander Outdoors was one of a kind.

From the initial discourse about our roadtrip to Maine, down to the intricate details of the operational elements of the van, Justin was outstanding.

- Brian D.