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A Life Less Ordinary

Tag: changing gears

Preparing for an RV Adventure to South America – Why Did We Switch Truck Campers?

June 15, 2022 / / 59 Comments

In April 2021, Mark and I sold our 19ft campervan Zesty, because we wanted something more robust and less “valuable” to travel in South America, our next major destination. While 15 years old, the van was unique and in immaculate shape; it was a good time to sell it.

(As always, click on or hover over photos in galleries to read their captions.)

Our 19ft campervan set up for living in Baja, Mexico – we loved this rig!
Moving all our belongings from Zesty into a small rental car, in April 2021
Selling Zesty in Tucson, Arizona

Based on experience and preference, we decided to switch gears to a 4X4 Ford pick-up truck (because of its off-road capabilities and the higher clearance) and a truck camper, also called cabover camper or slide-in camper.

The first truck camper Mark and I owned (for our year-long travels in Mexico and Central America) was much bigger than the last two truck campers we had… It sat on a four-door, long-bed Ford pickup truck and the camper itself was over 11ft long – spacious!!!
Potholed road in Costa Rica – similar to what we expect in South America.
Our truck camper with Kali and Darwin in Costa Rica in 2006 – happy times!
Our first F350 and big Lance truck camper
The first truck camper Mark and I had in 2006 was actually my second one
A young nomad with dogs Kali and Darwin inside the truck camper Mark and I had to explore Mexico and Central America in 2006

Some of you might remember the extensive research, time commitment, and cost this transition entailed, last summer, in Massachusetts. In a Covid market, trucks were hard to find and plenty overpriced. But our patience paid off and we eventually found a fantastic F350 for “only” a few thousand dollars over the usual, pre-Covid market price. The truck barely had 28,000 miles on the odometer and other than its color (black), we had no complaints.

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Swapping Truck Campers – #WordlessWednesday

May 25, 2022 / / 29 Comments

Before (Cirrus 820)

After (Lance 830)

Curious about a previous ten-year chapter in our nomadic lives, which includes eight years aboard a 35-foot sailboat in the tropics, check out the travel/adventure/personal memoir I wrote:

Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary

Available on Amazon and elsewhere

eBook: US$ 5.99

Paperback: US$ 13.99

Introducing Our New Home on Wheels & How Does a Truck Camper Compare to a Campervan?

November 18, 2021 / / 59 Comments

Mark, Maya, and I have been back on the road in this new-to-us camper for two months now. It’s time to properly introduce our new set-up. I haven’t done this earlier, because the post would be on the longer side (and require a lot of time to create), we have been contemplating a name for the two components, and I wanted to get a feel for our home on wheels first. Some of you might have been wondering how our changed living quarters are working out, why we swapped modes of transportation/accommodation, or how a truck camper compares to a campervan.

Meet T&T

Picking names is difficult for me – my book title, our dog, our previous sailboats, the marine product we invented and developed. The decision process takes ages and the label has to be fitting. Mark and I really liked the name of our campervan, Zesty, which we sold in April of this year. Once we finally found the right truck (which we bought after the slide-in camper), more naming was in order.

(Hover over or click on photos to read their captions in galleries.)

Thirsty without cargo
The tailgate had to be removed (and stored) to fit the camper in the truck bed.

For reasons you might guess, we have decided to call our black Ford F350 short-bed, extended cab, 4X4 gasoline pickup truck Thirsty. If you’ve followed our current expense reports, you would agree this is a suitable name for a vehicle of this caliber. Of course, our truck – like us – is thirsty for adventure and freedom as well.

Temp disconnected & rebuilding the truck camper frame in Newburyport, MA – take 1

It might come as a surprise that our nuCamp Cirrus 820 is not our ideal camper to take to South America. I’ll elaborate on why later, but we have been on the look-out for another truck camper (a Northstar Arrow U) for seven months. Because our current camper is supposed to be a temporary solution, the in-between version, we are calling it Temp. This particular brand and model – modern, streamlined, and fancy – was very tempting to buy and our #2 on the list. Add to that, that all campers can be temperamental… Since irony plays a big role in my life, I wouldn’t be surprised if we eventually end up keeping Temp, needing to explain its name with sarcasm. There is a lot to love about him.

Rebuilding the truck camper frame at a Home Depot in Albuquerque, NM – take 2

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Goodbye, Westy! – Changing Gears

May 13, 2021 / / 84 Comments

Mark and I owned Zesty the Westy, our home on wheels, for almost four years. This 19ft converted Sprinter Westfalia van was imported from Germany into the US by Airstream in 2005. Only a few remain. They are very sought after, because of their unique design, plethora of amenities in a tiny space, facilitating layout, and quality components. They keep their value and, at an average of 22mpg, have decent fuel economy for an RV (recreational vehicle). We loved our set-up and couldn’t have asked for a more versatile, manageable, all-in-one camper to live and travel North America in. You can find an introduction to our Zesty in my post “Welcome, Westy!” here.

Us with our Zesty in California (before Maya)

Summer 2020, New England, USA

“Now that the camper is empty and clean, we might as well take photos in case we want sell it at some point,” I suggest to Mark.

“Good idea,” he responds. “Whenever that might be. But let’s do it up in Maine, where the view is better.”

Front and back seats
Front seats with arm rests down
The cockpit
The spacious dinette area
Lots of storage
The engine

He and I – and Maya – are committed to spending the summer in our “room above the garage” at my in-laws in Massachusetts, because of the pandemic, Mark’s parents needing help, and my goal to finish my travel memoir in 2020. 

For a couple of weeks, we move to Maine to help out family with home renovations. There, we remove (and wash) all the covers and spend a couple of hours turning Zesty inside out, opening cabinets, converting the dinette into a second bed, pulling our main bed out, swiveling chairs, and taking 300 photos of any set-up and conversion possible. I’m sure nobody here has seen the original interior of our van, since we kept every piece of cloth – even the arm rests – hidden and protected since the beginning!

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