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{"id":9945,"date":"2022-07-15T14:46:52","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T14:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/15\/ventje-vw-campervan-review-work-from-home-from-anywhere\/"},"modified":"2022-07-15T14:46:54","modified_gmt":"2022-07-15T14:46:54","slug":"ventje-vw-campervan-review-work-from-home-from-anywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/07\/15\/ventje-vw-campervan-review-work-from-home-from-anywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Ventje VW campervan review: \u2018work from home\u2019 from anywhere"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/23203408\/ventje-frank-westland-review-price<\/a>
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Volkswagen might build the Transporter cargo van, but Frank Westland and his team at Ventje<\/a> in the Netherlands are responsible for turning it into something special: a camper that lets you take your work or family off-grid for an extended weekend and still serve as your daily driver upon return. It\u2019s \u201cthe only car you need<\/a>,\u201d according to the Ventje website.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an interesting proposition at a time when flexible work arrangements implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have gone from temporary to permanent. As many as 38 percent of American workers are now able to work from home full time, according to a new McKinsey survey<\/a>, with even more \u2014 58 percent \u2014 able to work remotely at least part time.<\/p>\n

As a full-time flex worker myself, I arranged a four-day trip in a Ventje (which roughly translates to \u201clittle guy\u201d in Dutch) with my wife and dog to see just how adaptable this campervan really is. I drove it 600 miles (1,000km) on a mix of dusty dirt roads, the \u00fcber-fast German autobahn, and the dense urban center of Amsterdam. I also brought my laptop and a Starlink RV internet kit<\/a> along for the ride because I still had to show up for work \u2014 in Slack. <\/p>\n

Afterward, I sat down with Westland and toured Ventje\u2019s production lines to better understand how a company of 33 employees is able to create such a clever vehicle.<\/p>\n

Westland and team deliver about one new Ventje each day, earning a loyal following in the process. A community event held in June playfully titled \u201cEventje\u201d saw about 700 guests and 50 Ventje vans descend upon the company\u2019s home in Culemborg, located an hour outside of Amsterdam. It\u2019s here, in a sprawling facility outlined by dozens of empty VW Transporters, where the Ventje interior is manufactured and assembled to create a multifunctional home on wheels. <\/p>\n

Ventje interiors convert from bedroom to office to kitchen to lounge and back again with surprising ease. Westland\u2019s team accomplished this through some inventive engineering and computer-aided design, by assembling parts produced with CNC precision, and with the assistance of over 100 magnets to keep all those sustainable wooden surfaces aligned and locked into place. <\/p>\n

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Ventje\u2019s layout took 10 years to move from Westland\u2019s brain to sketchbook to computer-aided design.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Inside Ventje\u2019s facility where CNC machines cut wood panels used throughout the interior, including this kitchen module.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYou have a lot of designers drawing up something beautiful that can\u2019t be produced. Or engineers making something really cool that\u2019s not very usable. For me, that combination is very important,\u201d says Westland, who completed a combined education in design and engineering at the age of 21. <\/p>\n

Ventje\u2019s design was forged from Westland\u2019s own travel experiences. It all started after he graduated and set off to explore New Zealand with a tent and small car. He returned to Europe after a year and learned that he couldn\u2019t just pop up a tent wherever he parked. That led to thoughts of a van. Lacking any experience with campers, he was unencumbered by traditional thinking about layouts. So Westland began drafting his ideas in a sketchbook before cobbling together his first vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought an old VW T4 and built a simple kitchen in the back with simple seating,\u201d says Westland, who then headed to Spain with it for a month and a half. \u201cI would stop somewhere and pop up the back and everybody would start looking. \u2018Oh, that\u2019s easy. You can just stand outside and cook.\u2019 That\u2019s when I first got the feeling that some people would like this layout and this way of traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than a decade later and people still stop to marvel at the kitchen \u2014 now highly refined \u2014 any time I popped the tailgate on the Ventje T5 I was testing. At one point, I had a half-dozen strangers simultaneously asking me questions about the van while parked at a festival campground. I heard literal gasps when I slid open a hidden drawer to begin assembling Ventje\u2019s flat-packed furniture set that uses the interior\u2019s cushions to create plush outdoor seating, complete with a picnic table.<\/p>\n

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Frank Westland and his personal Ventje at the company\u2019s headquarters in Culemborg.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Eat<\/h2>\n

Westland\u2019s team has developed a rather intricate foundation onto which everything is assembled inside the van. (I wasn\u2019t able to photograph it out of Westland\u2019s concern that others might copy it). This meticulous system avoids hinges that can break over time yet still holds the seat cushions securely while allowing them to be easily removed and reconfigured. The team even designed special rails inside the kitchen drawers so they can slide in both directions and still lock in place with the help of magnets. It\u2019s a nice touch that gives you access to everything in the kitchen from both inside and outside the van. <\/p>\n

My test van was one of the company\u2019s rentals that came stocked with everything needed to cook meals from scratch. My wife and I mostly cooked while standing outside since the weather was great, with the open tailgate providing shade from the hot sun. Hidden magnets hold the large cutting board in place when chopping or opening the fridge upon which it rests, while other magnets hold a lighter (for the gas stove) and catch bottle caps sprung by the integrated opener. We only accessed the kitchen from inside the van when making simple breakfasts \u2014 it was nice to start the day slowly before rolling up the magnetized window coverings to reveal ourselves to the world. <\/p>\n

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Technologies like Starlink RV made working from this festival in Germany easy.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Work<\/h2>\n

The Ventje proved to be comfortable and capable as a mobile office. My van was fitted with a 180W solar panel that fed power to a 95Ah battery that also received charge from the VW\u2019s alternator when driving. Each Ventje van has 4x USB charging points, 1x 12V socket, and 3x 230V European wall sockets conveniently placed around the interior. As a bonus, the large outdoor tabletop can be attached (magnetically) to the small interior foldout table for a more expansive workspace when you need to spread out papers or share the desk with your traveling partner(s).<\/p>\n

My daily power needs consisted of running the van\u2019s 26-liter fridge all day and night, a Starlink RV internet kit for a few hours, a 12V portable Nespresso coffee machine for about an hour, a portable fan and the van\u2019s own ventilation system for about eight hours each night, and a water pump for a few minutes when washing dishes. (The kitchen is fitted with two propane burners instead of induction to help save on the wattage.) The van also had to keep a handful of USB devices topped up, including two sets of AirPods, two phones, and a MacBook. Although my MacBook can charge over USB-C I still needed to use the less efficient AC adapter since Ventjes are only equipped with 5V\/2.1A USB-A jacks. Still, I was happy to find a pair within easy reach of the pop-top where I slept.<\/p>\n

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