Interview: Full-time vanlife with Hayley & Joe

If I’ve learned one thing from spending our winters traveling around Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, it’s that we’re bound to make friends in the most random ways. Full-time travelers concentrate in Baja during the winter months; allowing us the rare opportunity to connect with our fellow nomads. This spring, on our very last day in Mexico, we met Hayley & Joe, an awesome couple living full-time in their van alongside their sweet dog Sammy. In short order, I knew they had to be featured here in our interview series and was so stoked when they agreed to participate! Below is their story from stationery life in Portland to selling it all and moving on to the road.

Enjoy!

What prompted your decision to ditch convention and move full-time into a van?

In our early 20s, we spent nearly all our free time outside. During our first year together, we skied nonstop and were constantly exploring the PNW. But as we settled into city life in Portland, that outdoor time slowly faded. In 2020, we bought a house and spent years renovating it and our weekends and evenings disappeared into that project. 

After our wedding in 2023, we realized something had to change. Life was good, but it felt like we’d lost touch with the things that truly brought us joy. So, we took our honeymoon fund and poured it into building a van. Once it was nearly finished, we sold our house, most of our belongings and then came the really scary part: we quit our jobs. Now everything we own fits in our van and a small storage unit. We live frugally on our savings, with side hustles we’re genuinely passionate about. We’re back to playing outside again and doing things we love! 

What has full-time travel provided you that stationery living could not?

Full-time travel feels like such a luxury! In our first year, we moved constantly, trying to see it all in 12 months. But a year was nowhere near enough. Now that we’ve fully committed to this lifestyle, we’ve slowed down. When we find a place we love, we stay a week, a month, however long feels right. That kind of freedom just isn’t possible when you’re tied to limited PTO and weekend escapes. This slower pace has let us really experience places, not just visit them.

Has anything surprised you about the full-time travel lifestyle?

Life on the road can be so so lonely. People always talk about the incredible places you see and the adventures you have, but they rarely mention going months without seeing friends or family. It’s hard, and you definitely miss out on things back home. But on the other side of that, the nomad community we’ve found has been amazing! We’ve heard it gets harder to make friends as you get older, but honestly, we’ve met some of the most genuine, lifelong friends on the road. A very pleasant surprise!

What are some valuable lessons you’ve learned (either about yourself, travel, or the world) since pursuing this way of life?

We met someone in South Dakota that gave us some wonderful advice that we’ve really tried to live by. 98% of people are lovely. The other 2% well that’s just bad luck you’ve run into them. If you avoid religion and politics – you’re bound to get along with anyone. 

Also, you don’t need to shower everyday. Go jump in some water if you need a little refresh. 

You guys built out your van yourselves and from the photos I’ve seen, it’s gorgeous.  However, you’re working on selling it and transitioning to a truck camper.  What about a truck camper are you excited about and what do you think you’ll miss about the van?

Thank you, thank you! We tried to sell the van this past spring and even had multiple offers but they all ended up falling through. After about a month of that, we decided we didn’t want to miss out on summer, so we did a quick remodel instead! We reworked the layout so we could fit bikes and skis under the bed and even added an oven (hello, brownies!) We love how it turned out, but we still plan to list it again this coming spring.

We’ve got our hearts set on a truck camper. Just the other day, we couldn’t make it to a trailhead because the van didn’t have enough clearance. As we walked the rest of the way, we just kept saying, “We need a truck camper!” So the biggest thing we’re excited about is more clearance so we can access harder to reach spots! 

The one thing we’ll really miss about the van is being able to open all the doors and hang out inside but still feel “outside”. Also being able to pee while Joe is driving is pretty convenient. 

What’s one of the most memorable and/or interesting things you’ve experienced while living on the road?

Oh my Baja. I mean, a humpback whale swam under my paddleboard! Then Canada.. so many grizzly bears! We’ve gotten to see so much wildlife on the road that we would’ve never gotten the chance to see in the city. 

What do you do for a living?  How do you fund your travels?

In our past lives, I was an elementary school teacher and Joe was a bike mechanic. This past year, I started a small personal assistance business called Flowstate Assistance, where I help organize people’s lives and support them in planning their passion projects especially for folks in the corporate world who don’t have the time to do it themselves.

Joe, as we like to joke, “drives the car.” But in reality, he does so much more. He manages our investments (he’s really good at stocks!) and makes sure we’re smart with our savings. He also handles all our photography and runs our YouTube channel, The Benton Flow.

We primarily live off the money we made from renovating and selling our Portland home, along with income from my business and a mix of small projects. We’ve even talked about picking up some seasonal work next summer so we can continue living on the road.

What is some advice you would give someone dreaming of full-time vehicle-based travel but is nervous to take the leap?

Download iOverlander right now. Actually though. The app makes living on the road affordable and safe. Also don’t get caught up thinking you need a fancy rig to make it work. We have friends who lived out of their CR-Vs and absolutely loved it. Also, remember: it’ll never be the right time and it’s okay if you end up hating it but at least you can say you tried!

Top 3 favorite pieces of gear or tech that you couldn’t live without?

Our camera gear is pretty near and dear to our hearts. We’ve been able to capture so many amazing moments and to be able to look back at them one day is pretty special. 

The Starlink Mini has been a game changer for us. We stick to the limited data plan (50 GB for $50/month), which is perfect because it keeps us mostly disconnected when we’re far out but we can use it when we need to check in or in case of an emergency.

Traction pads! We went to Baja without them and we’re so lucky people saved our booties and let us use theirs because we got stuck alllll the time! We ordered them immediately when we crossed the border. 

What are you most excited about for the future?

A truck camper! Kidding, we’re so excited to chase snow this winter and ski our little hearts out.

Thank you so much to Hayley & Joe for sharing their story with us! You can find them on Instagram @joeandhay or on YouTube @thebentonflow

If you enjoyed this post then be sure to check out our entire interview series with full-time vehicle-based travelers here!