On Memorial Day weekend in 2001, Andrew Barber first drove into the picturesque Animas Valley. With faith, good music, and a hopeful spirit, he navigated a rickety old E-150 work van he bought sight unseen to Durango. He was a bit stunned and wide-eyed as he strolled into town during the annual Biker Rally. He looks back at this memory with a laugh. After surfing the waves of the Pacific Northwest, building a van in New Zealand, and taking dozens of trips to Baja, Barber found his home in our beautiful mountain town. Here he met Gavin McCalden, a young man with a creative vision and a knack for tinkering and fixing things. Together, Barber and McCalden created Van Lab, a fabrication business specializing in custom adventure camper vans.
Barber was always known as the ‘Van Guy’ in Durango. Anytime you drove past his house, without fail, you'd see at least two Sprinter vans in the driveway. This sparked curiosity in many people. Barber couldn’t go to the gas station without someone coming up to ask him a question and often caught inquisitive stares at stoplights. At the time, van travel was not as popular as it is now; Barber was a trailblazer as he searched for the best waves to surf or another great trail to bike.
McCalden grew up in Fort Collins, CO, with a passion for mountain biking and rafting. He graduated from Fort Lewis College with a degree in Art Business. A match made in heaven, Barber and McCalden bonded over their mutual love for the outdoors and their artistic approach to custom fabrication and design.
Van Lab aims to create durable top-tier adventure vehicles that offer both fun and comfort. Barber states, 'We design these around the specifics.' With each build, everything is carefully planned and thought out to best tailor to the client's lifestyle, whether that involves traveling with five mountain bikes, backcountry skis, or snowboards. Some people seek more ease during travel and enjoy features like a pop-up roof with additional sleep space or an air fryer for convenience and cozy nights.
Van Lab is unique because they prioritize customization above all else. Barber emphasizes, 'We like anything that is custom because then we get to rework what we have already worked on. We get to design it... if we were building the exact same model/layout every time, it would be so boring. We don’t want to run a van factory; we want to make custom vans. And that's the difference.'
Recently, the Van Lab crew built a van for a woman in a wheelchair who lives an active lifestyle, traveling around the country from one music festival to the next. McCalden reflected, 'Every piece was custom, but it didn't matter because we could see the end goal was her mobility.' Local Durango resident Kirk Williams, also a wheelchair user who had a van built by another company years ago, consulted with the crew throughout the build. He assisted in perfecting the major details necessary for the client’s accessibility and comfort. McCalden described the process as requiring countless hours of trial and error and careful brainstorming, emphasizing that 'it all had to be done right,' as Barber added. This challenging build was one of their most detailed yet. When the client came to pick up her van, McCalden noted, 'The look on her face was different... it was different than anybody else we've built a van for. Her level of excitement was unique.' He continued, 'That was a super rewarding project.'
Reflecting on eleven years, two businesses, one major move, and a pandemic later, Barber and McCalden look back with smiles. They have spent thousands of hours working together, refining their craft, and creating beautiful, reliable, and durable adventure vehicles. This work is a blend of their passions, providing a creative space for innovation while highlighting their love for the outdoors and recreation. McCalden summarized, 'If it’s not cool, we're not going to do it. And if it’s not right, we are going to do it again.'
The Van Lab crew encourages everyone to go outside today, bask in the sunshine, feel the dirt beneath your feet, and always remember: adventure awaits!
With each build, everything is carefully planned and thought out.
If it’s not cool, we're not doing it.