If you’re anything like us — and hey, you’re reading Gear Patrol right now, so odds are good we’ve got something in common — you’re likely itching to hit the road and blast off into the great outdoors. Part of this is probably feeling cooped up after a year of coronavirus-related isolation; part of that is likely just good old-fashioned spring fever. Regardless of the reasons, the end result is the same: a gas flare of wanderlust burning hot in your chest.
So if you can’t go exploring and sojourning the way you’d like just yet, why not express that side of you in a roundabout way: by helping support an organization that protects and maintains America’s wild lands and natural wonders?
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In case you’ve never heard of them, Access Fund is a group that guards and attends to public lands and other wild places where climbers go to appreciate the world beneath their feet (and hands). And in order to help them keep climbing areas and the like, they’ve teamed up with Omaze and Vansmith on a sweepstakes that raises money by raffling off a damn sweet camper van.
In fact, if you win, you’ll have the chance to work with Vansmith to create the perfect camper van you’ve always wanted. The sweepstakes winner will score a four-wheel-drive Mercedes-Benz Sprinter cargo van, plus $80,000 worth of modifications from the Boulder, Colorado-based camper van maker. (Omaze covers the taxes, too, as well as the cost of either shipping the van to you or the cost of flying you to Boulder to grab your new ride.)
Vansmith’s own FAQ suggest that kind of money can get you a damn nice buildout, and as a quick glance through their previous builds will tell you, they can build you a gorgeous van set up for whatever your particular camping tastes may be — be it for weekend sojourns or long-term living.
Don’t wait to enter, though: this contest ends on May 28th.