I've been on the lookout for a good RV US Travel Map Sticker for quite some time but all of the ones I've found up until now have been pretty cheesy. I came across this one on Instagram on a travel trailer and immediately the search was on! I finally tracked it down to this one, its a RV State Sticker Map made by Evolve Skins sold on Amazon. I decided to buy it and give it a go!
What I Used
The Stickers come in a simple wrapper but being well packed in a large cardboard box made sure the stickers weren't damaged during shipping. Oh and if you're a Amazon Prime Member it's FREE SHIPPING!
The overall US Map dimensions are about 11"x16". The sheet that the individual states come on is about 12"x21" in size.
I like the clean, simple, colorful design of this set. The other sets I've seen looked way too busy as the states had the license plate designs overlaid over the state shape. Too busy for my taste. This simple minimalistic design fits the feel of a Vanagon. Perfect match.
I have to give credit to fellow member Shannon Henderson for telling me about this Sprayway Glass Cleaner. Shannon hates dirty windows on his Vanagon so what better person to ask what the best glass cleaner is? This stuff works great!
Spray a light coat of Sprayway Glass Cleaner on the window you plan to apply your US Map sticker to.
Using a Scott Shop Paper Towel wipe down the solution while giving the window a good cleaning.
Now that the glass is nice and clean you can apply your US State Map to the glass. The nice part about these particular stickers is that they're not your typical vinyl decals with strong adhesive backing. This map can easily be lifted back off the glass in case you get the alignment a bit off.
Also, if you're an experienced decal applier person you may want to use the soapy water trick in order to apply the decal without any air bubbles (this I did not do. Lol). What's the soapy water trick you ask? Take a mixture of water and dishwashing soap in a spray bottle. Only a few drops of soap needed. Spray the area of the glass as well as the back of the decal thoroughly with the mixture. This will allow you to place the decal on the glass while still being able to slide it around and place it right where you want. When ready, you squeegee out the solution which will make the decal adhere to the glass. This method is a bit more cumbersome to do but definitely worth it.
If you choose the quick and fast option (as I did) you'll end up with air bubbles here and there. Good thing is the air bubbles can be easily removed with a prick of a needle.
Once the US Map Sticker is applied, you then simply add the states you traveled to in your van. Applying the state stickers is fairly easy and no need for the soapy water trick on these. They're small enough that they can be applied without air bubbles. And Yes. I've really driven my '87 Westfalia to all of those states. Next trip I plan to hit the east coast so I can mark a few of those off as well.
So far I love this sticker set. The only thing I may do is trim the thick white border a little and I may cut Alaska and Hawaii off altogether. Still debating on that one.
I'm sure this will be a great conversation piece at various VW Shows, Campouts and Meetups. I like it!