About Treeline Vans
I’m Jason Cole. Travel has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. About 10 years ago, I had the idea to find an old van and convert it into a camper. Once it was finished, the plan was to drive it down through Mexico and maybe even into South America. It was a fun daydream, but I still had a full-time job.
Then one day, I stumbled upon a beat-up 1986 Toyota Van sitting alongside the road with a sign that read, “First $500 takes him.” I was the first—so I bought it and converted it into a camper here in Washington state.
By the end of that summer, I knew this was going to become a real mid-term goal. One night over Mexican food (and lots of tequila), I decided to set a date and make the dream real. After plenty of research, I chose to ship the van to South America so I could truly take the time to learn about the land and its people. The date was set: May 2015. I saved every cent for over a year, sold most of my possessions (because storage units suck!), and prepared to ship the van to Peru.
Jason Cole | Treeline Vans Owner & Traveler
I flew to Cartagena, Colombia—because growing up, Michael Douglas in Romancing the Stone was my hero. It took six weeks to backpack through Colombia before finally arriving in Lima, Peru, to pick up the Lil’ Mule.
During my time in South America, I met incredible people traveling in all types of vehicles—cars, Unimogs, motorcycles, vans. What I learned was that the type of transportation doesn’t matter nearly as much as having the right level of comfort that lets you get out and travel.
After a year of exploring, I came back home. I had to get re-established, but I had another goal in mind. When the timing was right and I completed my next van design, I took the leap and with my carpentry background — the rest is history. Fast-forward to today, and I’m running Treeline Vans LLC full-time, building quality vans for both long and short-term travel.
