Turning a car into a camper and the ensuing adventure across the American West.

Extracurricular solo project

Problem
Burnout is real, y’all. After five years at a startup and two years of pandemic, I was itching to get on the road. So, over six weeks in the fall of 2021, I planned an epic 8k mile route north from my home in Austin through Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, south through Idaho and Utah, and east through Arizona and New Mexico. My little converted Honda Fit took me 7,885 miles through 32 national and state parks, 22 national forests, and countless towns and novelty museums.

Role
I converted my Honda Fit into a camper by taking out the back seats and installing a custom storage system and bed platform that fit my cooler, camping supplies and everything else for a 45 day journey. I designed the build in Fusion 360, had it milled locally, and made adjustments by hand.

Outcome
The build survived almost 8k miles, six different passengers, 45 days of continuous travel, one oil change, and a lot of dust. For my first CNC project and longest adventure yet, I don’t think it could have gone better.

Inspired by the epic scenery and the Feltron Annual Reports, I’m in the process of designing a book full of my sketches and writing, data visualizations, curated maps, and photos.

X-factor
My absolute favorite thing is popping the trunk after a morning of camping in a cold new place and making a cup of coffee on the pull-out stove. Can’t beat that feeling.

The build

The book

Coming soon…