John and Diane Story Downsize to Travel North America
Writer / Renee Larr
Photography Provided
John and Diane Story have always loved to travel. When faced with the realization that their home was too big for the two of them, the couple decided to downsize. With their adult children living in South Carolina and Colorado, the pair decided to sell their five-bedroom Geist-area home, purchase a Ram ProMaster 2500 van, and travel the U.S. and Canada.
“We bought a brand-new, completely empty van and then outfitted it for our needs,” John says. “I spent the whole winter of 2022 building it out in the garage of our home. I added two layers of insulation so it stays warm. We wanted some light above the bed area, so I cut out part of the ceiling and added a boat hatch for a sailboat as a skylight of sorts.”
John also added the back seat of a golf cart to the roof as a seating area. The van has a shower, toilet, water tanks, mattress, kitchen sink, three-burner stove, oven, interior water tanks, television with Blu-ray, and Wi-Fi. It was essential for the couple to make the van a functional home.
One major non-negotiable factor for Diane was safety, so John installed additional lighting and cameras on each side of the van. They also added a safe to keep items such as phones, computers and passports safe while they’re out seeing the sights. Unlike traditional RVs, the van is also small enough to fit in one parking spot.
John and Diane say that while they do plan trips, they don’t necessarily plan how far they’ll drive each day, where they’re going or even where they’ll stay, until a whim hits them. They utilize Harvest Hosts, an RV membership program that allows travelers to stay overnight in unique locations like breweries, wineries, farms and golf courses across North America.
“We take a look at things like weather when we’re deciding where to go,” Diane says. “Earlier this year we were going to head down to Florida, but the weather in the Outer Banks looked really good so we went there. We stayed in national parks and it was great.”
Of course the Storys also travel to see their children in Colorado and South Carolina, and Diane’s mother in southern Indiana, with many stops in between. Diane even convinced John to stop in Roswell, New Mexico, to visit the International UFO Museum And Research Center. She says they look at a map and choose whatever interests them.
The duo needed to downsize their belongings as well. They sold their furniture and rented a storage unit for family mementos like photos. Diane says she had to get rid of most of her clothing because it simply didn’t fit in the van.
“We’ll go visit friends or family and it’s hard to convince them that we want to stay in our van rather than their homes,” Diane says. “This is our home and we have everything in it. We enjoy living here.”
John says they’ve utilized the America the Beautiful National Park Pass and visited national parks like the Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Carlsbad Caverns, the Smoky Mountains and Big Bend. He says they also like staying in state and county parks. John and Diane say they’ve made lifelong friends along the way.
They’ve even figured out how to work out. The Storys joined Anytime Fitness and work out every day. They utilize the showers at the gym to save water in the van. Occasionally they treat themselves to an overstay in a hotel to do laundry.
“We plan to do this for a few years and then think about purchasing a smaller home,” John says. “We keep an eye on the market and travel across the country in the meantime. Our kids have been very supportive and they love the idea of us seeing the county.”
So where do the Storys want to end up living after seeing all the beautiful places across the United States? They say, ironically, back home again in southern Indiana.
