Our Story.

 

In the fall of 2015, in hopes of escaping another Portland winter, we started dreaming of taking an extended winter vacation using an RV to drive across the Southwest. Minimal research proved that this was an expensive solution to a temporary problem and would not fuel our desire to travel across the U.S. and beyond. In February, after a few short weeks of researching vehicles, we found our dream truck - A 2003 4x4 Mitsubishu Fuso flatbed. We drove 8-hours north into British Columbia and a few hours later, had exported the vehicle into the U.S. (no easy feat, and one of just many confusing logistical issues we would overcome). 

 

Here is a brief timeline of our lives since then:

 

Spring/Summer 2017: We work primarily on Sundays to build out the truck. We finally sourced out the fabrication of the metal frame to District Fab in Hillsboro, OR, in May, as it took months to research and find a welder who specialized in off-road/expedition vehicles. From there, we continued researching; turning to the online global expedition community and forum for ideas, and set out to build this thing on our own.

 

August 2017: After many months of constructing the frame, inserting windows and doors, building the subfloor, and installing the fiberglass and insulation, we moved out of our home for the last 3.5 years, and set out to NH for a few months to finish the build with the help of our friends and family back East. Within this time we downsized tremendously, as we were about to move from a 950 square foot to a 100 square foot home.

 

September 2017: Will was able to take two months off work and with the help of our family and friends, we finished the interior, including building a ceiling bed, constructing the bathroom and installing our Nature's Head composting toilet, building the kitchen cabinets and a custom butcher block counter, and building the storage benches that would hold our solar system, fridge, and clothes.

 

October 2017: We are back in Portland for a few months finishing final touches on the truck, as well as the plumbing, and planning our next adventure with the truck house.