Washougal family finds way to live ‘van life’ dream

While managing a recreational vehicle accessories shop, Ethan Sweet would listen to customers talk about their “van life” adventures and dream of someday making his own on-the-road memories. Ironically, Sweet’s job was the one thing getting in his way. “I was always helping other people get there and go out and do it, but I was never able to do it myself,” said Sweet, a longtime camper and outdoor enthusiast. Now, Sweet has stepped back from his day-to-day responsibilities at Panther RV Products, the Washougal business he launched with his father in 2010, and is free to begin adventuring in a modified van with his wife, Brooke, and their 2-year-old daughter, Everly. The Washougal couple plan to hit the road in May and will travel the country until Everly is old enough to attend school full-time. “We love to experience life, so I think this will be really fun, kind of like a new adventure,” Brooke Sweet said. “We just keep thinking, ‘There’s just no better time to do it than now.’ ” The Sweets are keeping their Washougal residence, which they said will be cared for by friends and family members while they’re gone. Though the couple hopes to keep a flexible itinerary to allow for a more spontaneous adventure, they do have a few places they’d like to visit, including Arizona, Florida and the Olympic National Forest. “And Yellowstone National Park,” Ethan Sweet added. “I’ve never been there. I’ve been wanting to go there. I heard that you have to spend a week there.” The Sweets’ road trip won’t be all play and no work, though. Ethan plans to launch an outdoor marketing firm and operate the business on the road using the van’s Starlink satellite internet system. “The van is almost like a prop for outdoor marketing,” Ethan said, adding that he has already procured around $20,000 from businesses interested in working with the Sweets as they document their travels on social media. “I already have a lot of connections with some of the companies in the industry, so I was able to get sponsorships.” Brooke, the owner of B. Sweet Imagery, a wedding photography business, said she hopes life on the road will give her the freedom to book photography jobs she otherwise would have had to turn down. “After Everly was born, I had to take a step back,” Brooke said. “But now that we have (Ethan’s) freedom, the van just kind of made sense because I can now go anywhere, essentially.” The Sweets purchased a Ford Transit cargo van, which has been undergoing renovation work at Van Haus Conversions, a Vancouver business owned by Erik Ferjancic, a longtime friend of Ethan’s. “I’m having Erik build the whole thing,” Ethan said. “We present the dream to him, and he’s kind of like, ‘Let’s be realistic and dial it back.’ I have a vision in my head, so we go back and forth a little bit, but ultimately find the middle ground.” The Sweets know they aren’t the first young couple to throw themselves into van life. The number of people who consider themselves part of the van-life community increased from 1.9 million to 3.1 million between 2020 and 2023, according to Yahoo! Finance. Rising home costs and an increase of remote-work opportunities during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic spurred the trend. “But most of these people that you see on Instagram don’t have kids,” Ethan said. “It’s single people and couples, and not a lot of kids. (Most people) make it look glamorous. We want to show it more down to earth, real-life style.” Brooke said she and Ethan think Everly will have fun on the family’s adventures. “We’ve always traveled a lot, so she’s really great in the car already,” Brooke said of her daughter, “and I think in the van will be a little bit more exciting for her, give her more to look at.” For more information, visit instagram.com/beyond.the.evergreen. Doug Flanagan: 360-735-4669; doug.flanagan@columbian.com

Related Stories