Preparing For On The Road Living – Phase One Complete

Remember my post Where Have You Been? from the beginning of March? Wondering what in the world I was talking about? I got a lot of emails and Twitter messages after I published that one, so I wanted to fill everyone in on my plans and how much longer I have to go towards achieving them. So here goes…

My girlfriend and I plan on hitting the road for an extended period of time later this year in a truck and an Airstream trailer.

I have always wanted to spend time on the road living, working, and exploring the U.S. and the time has come for me to make that dream a reality. I recently moved back to New Mexico because California was just too busy, hectic, and expensive for me to live simply and comfortably. New Mexico is inexpensive, stunningly beautiful, and a good place to set up a home base to return to every once in a while to come in off the road if need be. Eventually I plan on buying cheap desert land out here and making an attempt to live sustainably on it using only solar and wind energy along with water catchment, but that’s a little ways down the timeline. For now, my focus is on getting ready to hit the road full-time later this year, and I just recently completed Phase One of my project by picking up this necessary item:

That’s my brand new 2011 Toyota Tacoma, which will be used to both tow the Airstream and serve as the exploration vehicle when unhitched from the tow. I loved my MINI Cooper S, but it’s not exactly the kind of car you can tow a trailer with, never mind drive on the dirt roads here in New Mexico. It’s a great truck with decent MPG for a V-6 with a towing setup, and it should serve me well for many years to come. But now that I have the easy part of my plan ready to go, next up comes the difficult part — finding a used Airstream that is in good enough shape for not an absolute ton of money. Airstreams are funny in that the same model and year (and % restored) can be thousands and thousands of dollars different in price, so you have to really shop around. I have been talking to people online who know way more about these things than I do, and it’s been incredibly helpful to learn about the differences between years, prices, and needed restoration. I am going to take my time in finding the one that is right for us, but I hope to have one parked here in my side yard within the next few months so that I can spend the summer repairing (if necessary) and fitting it with the equipment we would like to have with us on the road. It’s a major project that will take some time, but one I am looking forward to starting!

So there you have it — an update on what I am doing, what I am preparing to do, and what the plans are for later this year and next. I will be using this site to chronicle getting ready for this trip while trying to continually live simply and organized here in New Mexico, and eventually to regale you with stories from our adventures. I sincerely wish it will serve as inspiration for others who may want to try out a different lifestyle but may be apprehensive to get started, and I do hope you will come along for the ride.

Oh, and if you happen to be interested in letting us park our truck and Airstream on some property you may own here in the continental US, please do get in touch — we may just take you up on your offer!