I lived in a truck for four wonderful but difficult years before deciding I wanted a house without emergency brakes.
When I converted my 2006 Dodge Sprinter in 2016, being on the road full time wasn’t a mainstream lifestyle. After all, most people don’t have work that you can do remotely.
I wanted to travel and rock climb as much as possible, so I traveled all over the US and Canada, from California to Utah, to British Columbia, to Yosemite National Park and back. I also met great people.
But it wasn’t all poetic. By the time I moved into a Moab, Utah home in 2020, I had been driven out of several overnight parking spaces and had so much car problems that I lost count.
These are the main reasons for giving up my life in a truck.
To keep the truck running and all around it, I was busy every day with all kinds of tasks. I had much less free time than I do now because I live in a house.
My home in Moab has running water, wifi, a shower, a safe place to sleep, and a washing machine.
In my truck, these things weren’t foolproof, at least not on a daily basis. I spent time and resources finding and securing them in every town and camp I came to.
It often happened that after a day of climbing I found out that the local pool or gym where I usually showered was closed that day. Sweaty and exhausted, I couldn’t shower properly until the next morning.
These kinds of minor annoyances built up after four years and became too tiring to continue.
I was mostly lonely, and this lifestyle was hard on building long-term friendships.
from life It made me feel free and unfettered, but I was also very lonely most of the time.
When I visit a new place, I often see it through the eyes of a tourist. But at the same time, I isolated myself because I traveled alone and did many activities on my own.
Whenever I get the chance to socialize, I enjoy meeting fascinated people along the way. But I felt like I was always reimagining and building new friendships out of nowhere.
After days or weeks of new meetings with proposal rounds, I said goodbye and headed off to a new city where it all started all over again. This session was stressful.
I needed a consistent community around me and couldn’t build it out of my bus.
I am grateful for the time I spent on the road. But after four years I realized it was time for a change.
You are done searching for a safe place to sleep and looking for a reliable wifi connection. I was willing to be part of a community that would stand by me even when the weather was bad or the camps were closed.
More than ever I wanted to make friends who had time to get to know me.
I have not completely turned my back on this lifestyle. I still spend long periods on the bus.
Every summer I leave Moab’s heat in search of cooler, tempting temperatures. But I will travel knowing that my home and community will be waiting for me when I return.
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