Lana and Tomm plan to travel the entire UK coastline over the coming years(Image: Submitted)

'How we turned a rusty old campervan and YouTube tutorials into our full-time job'

03 Aug 2026, 15:00 by Bethia Wyborn · DevonLive

A South Devon couple have turned their love of travelling in a campervan into a full-time career after spending the past five years exploring the south west’s coastlines, villages and hidden beauty spots.

Lana Hartley, 33, and Tomm Dale, 35, began their van life journey after meeting during the pandemic and buying a “rusty, old” VW T4 campervan affectionately named Storky.

The couple said: “Buying Storky gave us the freedom to explore the UK in a completely different way, discovering hidden places and spending more time in nature.

“What started as weekend adventures has since grown into the Storky Adventures Instagram page and YouTube channel, and eventually became our full-time job as travel content creators.

“That was always the dream, but we never really believed it could become a reality.”

The couple spent eight months transforming Storky. They rebuilt the vehicle, repainted the exterior and even gave Storky a full engine transplant.

“There was a lot of watching YouTube tutorials, making mistakes, fixing them and slowly figuring it out.”

As they continued to explore Devon and Cornwall, the couple decided they needed more space and bought a Fiat Ducato in September 2025 which they also transformed.

“We only had the experience we’d gained from our first build, so we had to learn everything as we went.”

Now the conversion is complete, Lana and Tomm have continued exploring the South West and are planning to travel the entire UK coastline over the coming years.

They continued: “Probably the biggest misconception is that you have to travel huge distances to have an amazing adventure. We’ve discovered so many incredible places just a couple of hours from home that still blow our minds every time we go back.”

They also said people are often surprised by how social life on the road can be.

“We’ve made loads of friends over the years, whether that’s people we’ve met on campsites or other travel creators we’ve got to know through sharing the same lifestyle,”

Although they spend a significant amount of time travelling in their campervan, Lana and Tomm said it is not their permanent home.

“We’re not full-time van lifers in the sense that the van is our permanent home. We spend a huge amount of time travelling in it, but we do have a base to come home to between adventures, which gives us a nice balance.”

The couple said the changing seasons bring different challenges, with winter trips made comfortable by the van’s heating system while summer heatwaves can prove more difficult.

“The heatwaves have actually been the bigger challenge. It becomes a case of cold showers whenever possible, opening every window, keeping the extractor fan running and trying to park somewhere with a bit of shade.

"The colder months can actually be really cosy. We have a heating system in the van that does a great job, and it's hard to beat spending a winter evening somewhere like Snowdonia with a roaring pub fire nearby after a day of exploring."

Lana and Tomm say building Storky gave them the freedom to explore the UK in a completely different way(Image: Submitted)

It took the couple eight months to renovate the van(Image: Submitted)

Lana first experienced van life while travelling around Australia and New Zealand in 2014(Image: Submitted)

Before the van was renovated(Image: Submitted)