Van Life Couple Spends More Than Two Months Living at Texas Repair Shop as Both Camper Vans Start Failing

A broken camper van can turn a road trip into a costly delay. In Tory Delury’s YouTube video, she and her co-traveler, David, waited more than two months at a Texas repair shop. Their vans were also their only homes, so they couldn’t just leave the trouble behind.

David’s van stopped working, and each attempt to repair it brought more bad news. Outside the shop, where the temperature climbed to about 100 degrees, they filled water tanks, charged power stations, and washed dishes in the shop sink.

Then Tory’s van began to fail, too. Some days it wouldn’t start, and the air conditioning stopped working. Worse, the wiring and electrical gear inside were getting hot. With one van stuck and the other at risk, they began to fear they could lose both places they had to sleep.

The pair had even talked about renting an apartment. David went to see one, but Tory couldn’t imagine giving up life on the road. As their stay grew longer, they had to decide how much more they could take.

Still Not Moving

David spent much of his time with the mechanics, trying to get his van to drive again. One test called for him to hold down the brake while the van ran through a clutch procedure. When it was done, an error showed that the clutch hadn’t moved far enough.

That was just another failed attempt. At first, Tory had thought they were close to leaving. But after weeks of hearing that a fix might be near, she found it hard to trust any new hope. Each day came and went, and the van stayed parked.

Now Two Vans

While David worked on his van, Tory took a closer look at hers. A thermal camera helped her find parts of the electrical system that were running far too hot. One breaker read more than 200 degrees, and a wire near the wheel well was hot too. She knew she needed help with the electrical system.

The problems became harder to ignore when her battery display stayed at 45 percent, then jumped to 100 percent for no clear reason. When she pulled the plug for outside power, the lights just went out.

It was hard to make plans when she couldn’t count on the lights or even the van itself, but they tried to find some humor in the mess. One night, they made a pan of lasagna on the sidewalk by the shop. Trips to Sonic also gave them a way to cool off. Those breaks helped, but they couldn’t get either van running again.

Time To Go

Over dinner and a cherry slush, the pair wrote down every possible next step. They weighed the cost of each option and how long it might take, and in the end, staying by the shop no longer made sense.

They chose to return to Pennsylvania and stay with their parents until they could repair their vans. Before making the trip, Tory began calling van builders about having the faulty electrical system disconnected so her van would be safe to drive. David’s van still needed work, but they had no choice but to leave the lot.

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