Back in the day, when I was working for a living (IT, website builder), after finishing a project or launching a website, it was important to do two things, 1 - Celebrate, and 2 - Have a post mortem meeting. Almost always, there was some aspect of a project that exposed a problem, caused a delay, caused panic, or revealed an opportunity for improvement. So before too much time passes, I’m going to do both steps after building a camper van and taking a month-long trip. I’ve had several days home with time to relax, so consider the celebrating part complete.

Who loves data? Me.

Distance traveled: 5900 miles.
Average fuel economy:19.8 mpg.
Best fuel economy: Eastbound on US 2, in Michigan UP where 60 mph is possible: 23 mpg. (Most of the Great Plains and Mountain West wants to go much faster than 60.)
Highest fuel price: $4.39/gallon in Washington.
Lowest fuel price: $2.69/gallon in Wisconsin.

When I left home, I had plans for the first 4 days, including camping reservations. After that, I winged it for 4 weeks. It was mostly camping, with a hotel night thrown in about every fourth evening. I also had some stays with family, which was nice.

Overall, I had no issues with the van, or any of the sub-systems in the van. Going on a handful of shorter camping trips during the summer helped to refine the experience. Most importantly, adding an additional mattress topper made getting a good night of sleep easy, no matter the temperature - which ranged from 37 to 100 degrees.

Here’s my list of things:

The DC to DC battery charger worked even better than expected. I can easily go 3 days on battery power and fully charge in under an hour while driving.
While my cooler worked well, especially with ice blocks, I am tempted now to try a 12V cooler to replace the melted ice for foods. Having a secondary cooler with ice for drinks is still OK.
While my attachable awning works well, I think for next year having a rack mounted awning that is quick to deploy would be better and worth the investment - likely in the $1500 range. I would have used it every single day.
I’m starting to research both heating and cooling solutions that can operate on a 12V system. I might need to add a dedicated deep cell battery, but it might be worth it, especially for a Texas trip.
The National Park Pass is an awesome value, especially for retirement age people. I did not realize until I was underway that there is also a nice discount on the recreation.gov reservation system for NPS pass holders. $15 per night at many sites is a great deal.
The quality of state parks is all over the map. I think some of this is just dumb luck - like timing a visit at a park that was fully rebuilt recently. I happen to stay at a couple state parks where all of the facilities were brand new (newly rebuilt). I just need to figure out how to find those in advance.