Herbert VanVanigan

Written by Ryan Helson

Meet Herbert VanVanigan, a 2008 Chevy Express with 135,000 miles (and counting!). Herbert is a beast. Since leaving a busy commercial career in June 2017 to go full explorer van, he already conquered a 3,000 mile journey–including two passes over the Rocky Mountains–even before officially starting the Shevanigans Adventure!

You might be asking: “Why take him over the Rockies not once, but twice?” The answer: Aaron Haack and Run Away Van. I owe Herbert’s unreal interior setup completely to the van-conversion mastermind and founder of Run Away Van, Aaron Hack. In July of 2017, Aaron busted out the beautiful build that gives Herbert VanVanigan life in a blistering 11 days!

And we’re off! Sarah and I are officially on the road. We started our trip September 5, 2017 at the San Juan Islands in Washington and headed toward the Olympic Peninsula and Olympic National Park.

With no jobs, even less ambition, and one kick-ass campervan, Sarah and I will spend the rest of 2017 touring the Western side of North America! The general “plan” is to hit Olympic National Park, make our way north through Vancouver Island, hop over to British Colombia, and work our way back down south hitting major National Parks and landmarks in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona. However, it is just a general plan. The only guarantee is that we will use the freedom granted to us by Herbert to go wherever, whenever. There are no bad options!

Photos courtesy of Shenanigans’ very own Sarah Draxton