When Angie Peacock started Van Life five years ago, it was to solve a problem: she needed to travel across the United States for a press tour and didn’t want to fly. However, she didn’t realize how healing the experience would be: “Something I didn’t expect was that being in an RV, being in nature, and being on the road rehabbed me from post-traumatic stress.”
Now Angie travels in her Winnebago Revel to attend a variety of events as a motivational speaker, including sharing her healing journey with other Military Veterans as a speaker on the national campaign team for the Wounded Warrior Project. She is also a mental health consultant who loves to help others heal and find their life’s purpose.
Why Did You Initially Get into Van Life?
“I was in a film called Medicating Normal where I shared my story about being overmedicated for post-traumatic stress after I was discharged from the U.S. Military, and how I spent a long time readjusting and healing after coming off of the medications that caused me to have adverse side effects. The filmmakers let me set up a tour (because I didn’t want to fly) and I would just travel in a Winnebago View. I didn’t want to go back [after the tour] since I actually liked this way of life.”
How Did Van Life Help Your Mental Health Healing Journey?
“My sleep regulated because of seeing the sunrise and sunset every day. Being in nature helped regulate my nervous system. Being in the world helped me realize that the world is actually a safe place—it is not scary and dangerous the way that my body was telling me it was. People that I met on the road taught me that humanity is actually very kind and caring and loving, and people do want to support you. It was the perfect mental health treatment plan for me, honestly.
AND I built self-sufficiency, and I realized I could do really hard things … if a tire went flat, I could figure it out. It also taught me to just be in the present moment—you don’t have to worry about where you are sleeping tonight, you will figure it out. You don’t have to worry about where you are going to go next. It just has become a better way for me to live and be healthy.
When you are living in your purpose … magical things will happen to you. If magical things are not happening in your life, it might mean that you are not in tune with yourself or what your life’s purpose should be. Just being authentic to yourself, being open to new experiences, and listening to your intuition are all the best things – and you can use that for mental health, for physical health, for relationships, for friendships, for whatever.
What do you want to do? What is really inside that has been calling you, but you’ve been ignoring? You should follow that.”
Why Do You Think Van Life is a Good Fit for Military Veterans?
“There’s a lot of Military Veterans on the road. There’s just something about being on the road and having full control and choice and autonomy. You’re not stuck in one place, you have new experiences, you can try new things, and you meet this community of people that are all doing the same thing. There’s just something very healing about that.
For me, the van just became my safe spot. I know it so well and I know what its capabilities are. I know I have everything I need all the time. It has really helped me more than I expected.”
Note: If you are a Military Veteran wanting to get into RVing, there are multiple Facebook groups that offer a sense of community and a forum where you can ask questions. There are also non-profits that offer support to Veterans, such as The Wounded Warrior Project, as well as organizations like Mind Over Land and Warrior Expeditions which have a focus on healing through spending time outdoors.
How Did You Decide on Your Current RV, the Winnebago Revel?
“I am very loyal to the Winnebago brand because I went from a 2015 Winnebago View to a 2019 Winnebago Travato before I went to the 2023 Winnebago Revel. The Revel was my dream van, but I was so intimidated when I first came into this lifestyle that I didn’t think I would know how to work all that. I thought it was too fancy and had too many bells and whistles, so I felt that I had to grow into it with experience.
But when I purchased it, I was surprised that it was way simpler than all of the other ones. I didn’t realize that until I was living in it. When they handed me the keys, I remember thinking: ‘Is this real, do I really get to be a Revel owner?’ I was so excited!
When I first got on the road [in the Winnebago View], I was more of an RV park kind of person because I was really nervous, and I didn’t know how people camp out in the middle of nowhere. Then within the first six months, I started to try to park in the middle of nowhere to see what it was like and if I was afraid—I actually preferred it over the RV parks. At that point, I sold the View because it was just a little too big for me, but when I went to the Travato it was too small, and it didn’t have that off-road capability, so I got stuck a few times … and that’s how I got into the Revel. I tip-toed into it and then I fell in love with it.
The draw of the Revel was that it’s very simplified with a very minimalistic design. It had all the necessities and was easy to use, but customizable. The bed was a huge selling point for me! I really liked the use of space back there because I could have two living areas in the same area, one for day use and one for night use.”
How Did You Get Involved in the Van Life & Winnebago Revel Communities?
“I really liked getting connected to the Revel community because it is a really good group of people who will always help each other. I’ve made friends all over this country. Remember, if you are out there on the road, there are other people just like you that are out there, too.
The first couple of years I didn’t [attend events or participate in groups] because I was still rehabilitating myself and I could only handle a little bit of social interaction. It has only been in the last two years that I have really gotten connected, and it has enhanced the travel experience, I would say.
At my first event, I don’t think I even talked to anyone. I just went and looked at all the vendor booths and left. Then, at the next one, I camped overnight, and I would talk to my neighbor. Then the next one I was full-fledged, and I took an overland 4×4 course at one of the Revel rallies. I was really scared to do it and one of Winnebago’s Class B product planners rode next to me because I didn’t feel like I could do it by myself.
So, he rode with me and made me feel extra comfortable. It helped me learn the capabilities of my van and I learned that I actually am a good driver, and I can be confident that I know how to use the van that I’m driving. I think it is really important to take courses, if you can, or learn about recovery options. I’ve gotten myself out of some sand all by myself because I took courses like that!
Every year I make a whole list of every event I can think of or that I see pop up, and then I kind of play connect-the-dots across the country if I want to go to them. I’m part of a huge community of van life people, [which includes] overlanding Revel people who usually really get into the custom aspect. When I go to the shows every year, I can’t wait to see what they came up with. I never would have thought I would turn into a girl that gets excited about van parts, but I absolutely am.”
Check out angiepeacock.com
Instagram: @beinghuman
Photo Credit: Matt Cunningham @clamsjog clamsjog.com
