Van lifer politely asks burglar to get out and lock the doors behind him, thief kindly obliges
In February 2023, Dillon Slaughter had a house in Lansing, Michigan, and many other possessions he no longer has today. He says that month, he either tossed or gave most of his stuff away and left town with just a backpack. Since then, he’s lived rent- and car loan-free, paying cash for cars and DIY-ing repairs on the road as a van lifer.
Over the last year and a half, Slaughter bought a 1992 GMC Safari van (which some might call a Chevy Astro…virtually same/same) and turned it into a camper. He’s building, er, “unconventionally.” For instance, he bolted a porta-potty on the van roof to use as a second-story bedroom. When the van’s transmission blew from the weight of the build, he cut the front of the Astro off…and Frankensteined the snout-end of a 1993 Dodge D250 back on.
In August, while sleeping in his porta-potty/bedroom, Slaughter heard something down below, so he started filming. The exchange between a burglar and the van lifer had me cracking up…it’s got to be the most Midwestern break-in on record. (Heads up, there’s some language in the reel.)
“Did you take anything? I trust ya.”
Slaughter calls down to whoever he hears. “Where ya at, partner?” He soon realizes there’s a man rifling around inside his truck. Instead of panicking and throwing out harsh threats, Slaughter does what a true Midwesterner would: turns a stranger into a friend.
As the thief opens the right front door to flee, the van lifer asks him to lock it up. Funnily, the guy does, before apologizing to Slaughter for the disturbance.
“You’re alright…did you take anything?” Slaughter asks as the burglar walks away, getting a “No” back. “I trust ya,” the truck owner asserts.
“Wait – can you come lock the other door, too?”
Before the “gentleman” leaves off, the van lifer asks him to come around to the driver’s door and lock it, too.
The would-be thief obliges. He rambles over to the left side, opens the door, and pushes the manual lock down.
“I appreciate you…have a good night!” Slaughter calls down to the burglar, who smirks back up at him.
Then, the van lifer goes back to bed.
