After last year’s road trip, we had a huge decision to make. Our brand spanking new F250 pickup was a fantastic vehicle, but as we learned more about what we needed, we realized we had made a mistake. It would have served us well if all we wanted was to drive to busy campgrounds on well-maintained roads, and use it a week here and there throughout the year.
But after one year of using it, we realized we needed something different for hauling the home we live in for over seven months of the year.
And, surprisingly, even though our camper is light by camper standards, and even though we purchased the smallest one Lance sells for 8-foot pickup beds, we had significant difficulties keeping our weight under the limit for the pickup. This was especially true because we traveled with almost everything we would need for that seven months. We also hike and cycle, necessitating carrying lots of equipment.
So, we bit the bullet, realizing we would lose money, and traded the F250 in for a vehicle that was built exactly to our specifications and needs—a 350 Dually.
On our way out of Seattle to start road trip 3 in our Dually we stopped at a CAT scale for a weight measurement. We were, as we suspected, easily under the weight limits for the 350, and we knew from previous experience with carrying similar amounts of food and water, that we would have been several hundred pounds over the weight limit of F250. On our last road trip, we never could, despite our best efforts at times, keep the weight under the limits for the F250.
Now we know we are safer because our axles and tires are rated for our weight, and we know that if we have an accident, we won’t be found to be liable for any damages because we are over the weight limits. We also heard that insurance companies will not pay for damages if one exceeds the weight limits. Yikes!
If we are going to have this life, we have to do it right, and safely. Now we can.
And yesterday our new rig really got to show its stuff. We got to use it in a way that gives us experiences we couldn’t have with most other types of RVs.
Big Bend National Park is a hiker’s paradise. Trails galore. And opportunities for off-trail hiking that are as limitless as is Death Valley or Joshua Tree.
And, the park has a large system of established backcountry camping sites that one can actually check out--reserve. Many of these backcountry sites are accessible only by backpacking, and many others are only accessible by high clearance 4-wheel drive vehicles. KA-CHING! THAT’S US.
So, even though our campsite at the Chisos Basin Campground was clearly in the top of campgrounds we have ever stayed at, beautiful and quiet, we wanted to try some of these campsites that were on roads that would be impassible for most RVs.
And, oh boy.
Our first site was five miles off of the main road. To get to it, you travel on a gravel and rocky single-lane road. It took us 30-40 minutes to travel these five miles.
In addition to the additional weight we can carry because of having the Dually, this vehicle was built to be able to handle these kinds of roads. It is four-wheel drive, so this gives us a lot of confidence. We purchased skid plates for the oil pan and transmission, so if the vehicle hits a low place, those aren’t destroyed. We got off-road tires, which means our gas mileage suffers a bit on highways, but the extra plies means we will be less likely to get a puncture if we hit a sharp rock.
It’s wonderful when lots of planning, research, and thought work out.
Thus, here we are this morning, at one of the backcountry camping spots. It is about a mile off of the “main” backcountry road. There is another reserve-able spot about ¼ mile down our “side” road, but if there is anyone there, we wouldn’t know it.
There are no facilities here—no picnic tables, no charcoal grills, no bathrooms, no water, no electricity, no trash cans. Generators are not even allowed at these sites. And neither are dogs! A paradise.
Just us, and the silence of the desert. It is exquisitely peaceful.
Last night, the stars were so bright, so clear. No lights from anywhere to affect their brilliance.
Early this morning rains began. We will have to see what happens to our hike planned for today, but the desert dries quickly, and the rain is light. We will find something to do—we always can.
And the smells from the rain! Strong, sweet smells of desert sage, probably from the mesquite. Almost overpowering. Almost feels like you can get high on the smells.
Our spot:
We continue to learn: before we take this kind of road again, we will tape the lids onto our refrigerated items.
The view from the top of the hill behind our camper:
We love it that our rig allows us to stay in places with full hookups, in RV resorts like in New Orleans, and also out here where we are completely without any facilities. And hard to believe but true, even with the initial investment in equipment, we have calculated that in about 6 years we will be at a break-even point financially—it is much cheaper to live on the road than it is at home. In other words, even with what we have spent now on two campers and three pickups, in about six years we will have saved enough money by living inexpensively on our road trips (including fuel and camping fees), that we will break even.
A better way of saying this: our seven month road trips are a better way of saving our money than putting it into the bank or investing it in the stock market.
Our second backcountry site:
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