The Perfect Traveler Rig:
Our ideal set-up for a traveling adventure lifestyle
Imagine waking up along the Pacific coastline with morning light flickering off the water onto your sleeping bag. Or pulling off to the side of a remote Canadian highway late at night only to find yourself comfortably asleep 5 minutes later to the drone of logging trucks passing by. Or somehow sleeping peacefully (and safely) in hungry Grizzly territory along the Russian River in Alaska during a salmon run.
These are all experiences we have had once we transitioned to what we have found to be the perfect traveler setup: Lupé, our 2012 Toyota Tundra.
We unintentionally came to find that our truck set-up, with a built-in platform bed and shell, is the perfect investment for a couple of adventure-loving travelers! Not only have we put about 100k miles on him since in the last 4 years, but we have had countless adventures and memories of cozy nights sleeping safely inside along the way between contracts.
It took us time, and several mistakes, to settle on this set up, but the learning curve has been well worth it. Long before we started traveling, we were so proud of ourselves when we “paid cash” for a used Honda Pilot – feeling so adult-like as newlyweds making our first “big purchase.” We thought the Pilot would be the ideal vehicle for cross-country travel: good gas mileage and storage capacity that was within our cash budget. However, less than a year later, we were trading in the same Pilot for a car-payment on a certified-used Tundra purchased in one of the most expensive places on earth – Marin County, CA! All of this within 1 week of starting Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace live course – also in Marin – oops!
Like many good ideas, truck ownership was the result of a problem that needed a solution. Our “problem” was a move to Alaska for our second contract back in 2014. There was no way we wanted to drive two different vehicles all the way up there, and despite the Honda being quite spacious, the cargo area was nowhere near large enough for ALL our winter gear. Our rationale for upgrading to a truck was that a larger vehicle with better towing capacity would allow us (then a family of 3, including our pooch Layla) to travel together, and would have the towing capacity to haul our gear – bikes and skis to explore the arctic tundra!
Steve spent extensive time researching options, and despite the 4 door Tundra being more truck than we initially were looking for, it was actually quite a bit less expensive than the smaller Tacoma – likely because city people value a smaller trendier vehicle! By dumb luck it ended up being exactly the right size to grow into as our family has added a second fur-baby and a tiny human who requires a sizeable amount of luggage herself! Lupé also gives us the option to continue growing and potentially tow a 5th wheel or trailer, should we ever choose to. Thankfully we haven’t yet found the need to expand in this way – although we may need a small trailer for all the baby blankets Kinley has been gifted!
Once the purchase was made and we had recovered from our initial buyers remorse, we set about rigging it into a fast and light adventure loving fun-haver machine!
It was actually an incredibly easy to transition the 6’ bed into the ideal traveling therapist cross-country vehicle set up. After 1 failed attempt, we outfitted the truck with a light-weight removable platform that fits even the tallest storage tubs underneath, and allows enough head room for the perfect full-sized camping
mattress, an Exped MegaMat, along with some minimal head room when we need to sit up. Now, when we move between contracts we can fit all necessary earthly belongings underneath the platform, and never have to spend money on a hotel room if we don’t want to!
Finding the perfect traveler set-up won’t look the same for everyone, as each of our unique personal needs are different. We contemplated many options along a spectrum from 2 SUV/Hatchback type cars, to full-sized RV/fifth-wheel/trailer. The truck/topper set-up has been an ideal set-up for us, as it has many pros but several cons as well.
Travel Truck Adventure Machine Pros:
- Light weight and 4 wheel drive for un-paved adventures
- Spacious enough for all of our necessary possessions in the bed under our sleeping platform
- Option to expand the storage space with hitch, roof-rack, or bike racks
- Easy loading/unloading with storage tubs and gear
- No hassle/safe camping while on the road or on an adventure
- Drives like a car: no hassle with driving/parking an RV or Travel Trailer
- Tows like a truck: it is an easy option to tow if we ever choose to do so
Travel Truck Adventure Machine Cons:
- Not large enough to live in during an assignment (although we could if we were hardcore like our buddy Sarah at Tiny van big living!)
- Gas mileage – though we do get the same MPG whether the truck is fully loaded or empty, 15 MPG is still just 15 MPG…
- Not ideal for Home Health in the city
- More expensive than a car/suv/hatch-back for maintenance and gas
Although we have considered transitioning to an RV or trailer, we prefer the light and fast capability of traveling with a truck. So far we’ve always been able to find reasonable housing that is more spacious during a contract and we haven’t yet felt enough of a need to upgrade to anything larger. We’re happy with the wonderful memories we have made in the truck, either while on the move between and contracts, or on an adventure during a contract!
Written by: Ellen Stockhausen
