VanLifers Connect

Invite-only community for van lifers to find trusted connections on the road.

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Inspiration

Three million Americans live the van life — and most of them are lonely. They chose freedom, but making friends on the road is hard when you're always moving. For solo female van lifers, it's even harder — safety is always on their mind.

When I first read through the creator briefs, Quin's app idea stood out but felt like a massive undertaking. I considered going with a different brief, but I kept coming back to this one. The more I researched the van life community, the more I realized there's a real gap — there are apps for finding campsites, dump stations, and wifi spots, but nothing for finding people you can trust. The community is tight-knit but scattered, with no central platform to connect them. That gap felt too real to ignore.

That's what inspired VanLifers Connect — an invite-only app where every person on the map was vouched for by someone real.

What it does

VanLifers Connect helps van lifers find trusted connections nearby.

  • Invite-only access — you need an invite code from an existing member to join, creating a chain of trust
  • Nearby nomads map — see who's in your area with activity and interest filters
  • Women-only filter — a free safety feature so solo female van lifers can see only other women nearby
  • Real-time messaging — direct message anyone on the map with instant delivery
  • Status updates — broadcast what you're up to ("looking for a hiking buddy", "campfire tonight")
  • Builder Connect — find trusted van builders by specialty (electrical, solar, plumbing) and distance
  • Snooze mode — hide from the map with one tap when you want privacy
  • Premium subscriptions — powered by RevenueCat with monthly ($4.99) and yearly ($29.99) plans

How I built it

Built solo over two weeks using React Native + Expo (SDK 54) for iOS.

Backend: Convex handles the database, server functions, and real-time subscriptions. When someone sends a message or updates their status, every connected client sees it instantly — no polling.

Auth: Clerk handles email/password authentication with JWT tokens verified server-side by Convex. The app never trusts client-sent user IDs.

Payments: RevenueCat SDK manages the full subscription lifecycle. A server-side webhook receives purchase events (renewals, cancellations, trials, refunds) and updates user access in real time. The app merges client-side entitlements with webhook state so purchases take effect immediately.

Location: Google Places API powers location search with autocomplete. Haversine distance calculations determine who's nearby.

Monitoring: Sentry tracks errors in production with custom normalization for third-party SDK errors.

Challenges I ran into

First React Native app. I come from a QA engineering and web development background (Next.js, React). Mobile was new territory — learning Expo, native navigation patterns, and platform-specific behaviors was a steep curve in two weeks.

RevenueCat + App Store Connect setup. Getting subscriptions working end-to-end was the hardest part. Products need prices, localization, review screenshots, and subscription group localization (which isn't obvious). The Paid Apps Agreement also needs to be fully active before StoreKit will serve products — discovered that one the hard way during TestFlight testing.

RevenueCat SDK error handling. The SDK throws plain objects instead of proper Error instances, which caused mysterious errors in Sentry. Built a three-layer error handling system to normalize these across the entire app.

** Apple review process and TestFlight delays**. External TestFlight builds require Beta App Review before testers can access them. Each submission takes 24-48 hours to review, and rejections - sometimes with no specific reason given - add another cycle. Debugging production-only issues (like a memory crash caught by the OS watchdog) meant fixing, rebuilding, resubmitting, and waiting again.

Real-time data architecture. Designing the chat system to be fast without table scans required careful index design and denormalized fields on conversations. Getting the unread count tracking right across two participants took several iterations.

Accomplishments that I am proud of

  • Built a full production app solo in two weeks — real-time messaging, map-based discovery, subscription paywall, invite system, builder directory
  • Invite-only trust system — not just a feature, it's the core product. Every user on the map was vouched for by a real person
  • Women-only filter is free — safety isn't behind a paywall. This was a deliberate decision that I believe sets the app apart
  • End-to-end RevenueCat integration — client SDK, server webhook, idempotent event processing, dual entitlement resolution, and a full audit trail
  • Server-side security throughout — JWT-verified auth, input validation, and no client-trusted IDs on any endpoint
  • Available on TestFlight — not just a prototype, it's a real app people can download and use

What I learned

  • RevenueCat is powerful but setup matters. The SDK integration was smooth, but the App Store Connect configuration has a lot of hidden requirements (subscription group localization, Paid Apps Agreement activation). Once everything is wired up, the webhook system is rock solid.
  • Mobile development is a different world. Coming from web, things like Keychain persistence, SafeArea handling, and platform-specific action sheets were new. Expo smoothed a lot of this out.
  • Real-time backends change everything. Convex's subscription model eliminated an entire class of problems — no WebSocket management, no polling, no cache invalidation. Messages just appear.
  • Community research drives better products. I didn't know much about the van life world before this project, but the creator brief gave me a strong starting point. However, there is so much more research and understanding I would like to do to truly build something this community deserves.

What's next for VanLifers Connect

  • Friend request layer - require mutual acceptance before messaging for added safety
  • Block and report system - community-driven moderation to keep the trust chain strong
  • Builder ratings and reviews - star ratings and comments from past clients
  • Events on the map - create events like "Bonfire Saturday 6pm" with RSVP and map markers
  • Group chat - for caravans, meetups, and local communities
  • Android launch - expand beyond iOS to reach more of the community
  • Partner listings - verified businesses listing van parts, accessories, and services

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