FARGO — During a winter storm in January 2021, Erick Roder was working from his Fargo home, looking out the window at the snow piling up.
“I was in my home office, three miles away from my work office and I thought, ‘There’s got to be something better.’”
ADVERTISEMENT
If he could work remotely, why was he still working in Fargo, he thought. Why not see more of the country?
That was a key moment in Roder deciding to start his own business, renting out a Mercedes Sprinter van retrofitted into a camper and an office. The company is called Rodemerica, a combination of his last name and America, a country he loves to explore.
“Travel has changed my life for the better and I want to share that with people,” he said.
The vehicle, outfitted by Fargo's Vanna Adventure Vans , has Wi-Fi, desk space for two computer screens, a kitchenette with a sink, refrigerator, microwave and counter space for a hot plate and coffee maker. At the rear of the van are two queen-sized mattresses in a bunk bed formation with a hydraulic lift to raise and lower the top bunk.
“It’s sturdy enough for a hearty German man,” Roder said, referring to himself.
“I enjoy camping, but I’m 40 now. I’m past air mattresses. It’s really about working in comfort and sleeping in comfort,” he said. “Temperature control in a comfy bed is something you miss in a tent.”
Like those mattresses, the Sprinter van is a substantial build. Larger than the typical family van, it measures 12 feet long, 10 feet high and 12 feet wide, making standard parking spots a tight squeeze.
ADVERTISEMENT
The only thing that’s missing is a bathroom.
“I don’t want to deal with other people’s (stuff),” he said.
Roder rents out the van to people who want to travel while staying connected to work or home. The Wi-Fi allows users to hop online deep in California’s Redwood Forest or in Colorado’s Garden of the Gods.
Rates for renting the van start at $250 a day with a four-day minimum. Pricing is favorable to renting a car, a hotel room and going to a restaurant, Roder said.
“Get a room in or near Medora and it’s $400 a night, or you can rent this,” he said.
Roder’s not encouraging people to let their work creep into vacation, but rather allow them to have a more scenic, inspiring office view when they do have to hop online. The work/vacation balance also allows guests to not use up all of their time off on a trip while keeping in touch with the office or home from the road.
“It’s hard to take a vacation sometimes,” Roder said. “Working for two hours a day gives you enough so that vacation isn’t stressful. It’s so nice to get away and not come back to 500 emails.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Of course, the Wi-Fi isn’t just for work. During a recent trip to Minnesota’s Itasca State Park, he and his girlfriend streamed a show while they waited for the rain to let up and go back hiking.
Roder has been to Itasca three times with the van now, including its maiden voyage last September, which included Itasca, Duluth and Maplewood State Park — all in Minnesota.
“That first trip was terrifying because I sunk my life savings into this. But once I got out there, it was exactly what I wanted,” he said. “You don’t know how much you need a break until you take a break. I built this for myself, and if other people want to rent it, that would make the bank happy.”
He’s also taken it to Sedona, Arizona, and Moab, Utah, and called a trip to Arches National Park, in Utah, “spiritual.”
The venture has proved popular with those who have used it. Ashley Finley of Fargo rented it for a snowboard trip to Big Sky, Montana, and chose to stay in the van instead of hotel rooms for $500 a night.
“It’s definitely great to have something like that when you don’t need to stay at a dedicated space like a hotel or Airbnb. We were able to hop around to where we wanted to be,” Finley said.
While she didn’t do any work from the van, she used the Wi-Fi to stream movies.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’d definitely do it again in a heartbeat. It’s an incredible experience,” Finley said.
Someone took it to see the recent solar eclipse in Indiana when hotel room rates along the route were cost-prohibitive.
“Everyone who has used it has loved it,” Roder said.
When the van isn't being rented, Roder is busy making plans of his own, including going to Medora, Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, as well as The Black Hills in Wyoming and South Dakota later this year.
“I learned that my list will never end. And I’m going to go back to Zion and Yosemite,” he said. “The best camera in the world will not show you how grand the Grand Canyon is. You just have to go see it.”
The Trust Project
