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The Freedom to be there
Welcome to a little behind the scenes into Vandemic Campervans and how we got started into #Vanlife and building Campervans.
We have a passion for sustainable, off the grid living and we are so grateful in that we get to help others on their own path to FREEDOM!!
We help people realize their dreams of living on the road, travel and ultimate freedom by providing a customer service-based approach to the process. Vandemic Campervans specializes on the RAM Promaster 2500, 159 wb Highroof model.
Rick DohertyRick grew up in Rochester, NY playing sports and getting outside whenever he could.
He had a gypsy spirit from the start and by his early 20’s he was off to try life on in some bigger cities.
This led him to living in Atlanta, out to Los Angeles for a stretch, a soul-searching road trip back across country, re-landing in Atlanta for a bit, and eventually following his heart back to NY to “go see about a girl”.
Moving back to NY started a new chapter in his life. After a stretch of time in a more typical 9-5 job in banking, he felt unfulfilled. He knew that he wanted to find a way to live and work more on his own terms, doing what inspired him.
He made the choice to take a risk. He and a partner started a small Real Estate company. What started out wholesaling houses quickly turned into a house flipping company and eventually they started buying commercial property. He loved creating something out of nothing, seeing the transformation process and the freedom that having his own business provided.
Fast forward 8 years, Rick and Kori (“the girl”, and now life and adventure partner) moved out to Denver, CO to be closer to some better medical facilities for Kori.
Rick’s brother, Dennis, was already living in CO. Both were committed to a lifestyle based on freedom. Having some more time together, they began talking about creating a business that had this idea at the forefront.
Rick’s expertise in flipping over 200 homes translated seamlessly to the Campervan business with Dennis. Even more importantly than that though, was his passion for helping others have a vehicle to meet life on their own terms. This intention led to the creation of Vandemic.
Rick and Kori continue to live in Denver, getting out into the mountains and adventure out into nature with their pup, Bahni, every chance they get.
Dennis DohertyDennis was born in Rochester, NY, and moved to Philadelphia, PA when he was in high school. He and his dad spent a lot of time building stuff and tinkering as he was growing up, which contributed to Dennis’s passion for building and constructing.
After tiring of the constant overcast skies of the Northeast, Dennis moved to Vail, CO in 2009, where he lived for 10 years (aside from a brief 2 year motorcycle trip to South America).
When Rick and Kori moved to Denver, Dennis followed suit and started living the big city life, kind of… To avoid absurd rent and cost of living, Dennis moved into his Toyota Tacoma, but eventually realized he needed more space and amenities than his truck could provide. When COVID hit, he knew it was time to build out a van.
He drove down to Alabama to purchase a RAM ProMaster, and then continued to Florida to have his dad help him build it out. After some lessons learned, he had a new home on wheels, which helped inspire him and Rick to move forward with Vandemic Campervans.
Since then, they’ve been building out vans for excited van-life enthusiasts hungry to get off-grid and escape the status quo; some full-time, and others as an escape from their daily grind.
Dennis now lives in Wheat Ridge, CO with his pup Frank, spending his days building vans, and evenings planning their next big adventure.
Kori TolbertKori grew up in and outside of Rochester, NY. She has since also called the Florida coast, and now Denver, Colorado her home.
She has always loved travel, adventuring into new places, and meeting new people, but even more than that, drinking in the immense beauty that is our natural world.
Whether it was camp outs in the back yard as a little kid, climbing a new peak in the Adirondacks as a teen, or sleeping out under the stars in the back of a pick-up truck on her first solo cross-country tip, Kori has always felt most free, comfortable, and herself when immersed in nature.
She and Rick, her favorite travel buddy (besides their dog Bahni) discovered, and became a bit obsessed with van life after moving to Denver. They ate up all the information they could find about it, watching endless “how to” and van build videos, and then began dreaming and creating lists of what they would have some day in their very own van.
Once the pandemic hit, they were a few years into their own learning and adventuring.
Kori and Rick tried out different van layouts through rentals themselves and encouraged Dennis into his first van build and home on wheels.
Once that was done, they were off! They were hooked, wanting to help provide this opportunity with awesome and efficient build outs for others who wanted to get out on the open road!
Kori doesn’t swing the hammer or cut any holes in vans to install windows, and trust us, you probably don’t want her to, but she loves offering her artistic and esthetic direction on builds, creating and fostering van life community through outreach, creating our videos, and supporting the Vandemic team every day.
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