So, we bought a camper. A Vintage 1988 Scamp to be exact. It was 16' and one of the best fiberglass campers on the market for its age. Our goal was to restore this beat up beauty back to a gorgeous living space that felt like home and begin our travels. My girlfriend Andrea and I met in college on the island of Key West, FL in 2015 and with every bit of spare time, we would take an adventure of some sort, from exploring the local secluded beaches to hours in kayaks, winding through mangrove forests. It was the common denominator of a strong love for nature that pulled us closer together, we fueled off of each others fantasies for travel.

 

After a couple years, several long road trips and numerous other adventures, we started to seriously consider some form of living on the road. After leaving Key West we initially wanted to buy a sailboat and head back to the islands where we could avoid high rent and save our high pay rates for travel. After running numbers and ideas for a while, we decided against it simply for the fact that we had already lived there and wanted to see something new. Maybe a Van? An RV? What about converting a bus? For months, our weeknights after work consisted of curling up with a laptop and doing our research on all types of mobile living, sources of income, and everything else that went with the lifestyle. I think its safe to say we were obsessed with the idea. It was the dream we were chasing that got us through hard days at work and stressful financial times.

 

It took us a while until we really started looking into campers. I drove hours to see potential large work vans that weren't quite right, and even had a mechanic check out an old yellow school bus we were so close to buying, but turned out to be nearly impossible to properly insure. In the end it was an 88' Scamp that I bought the day it was listed for sale online. It made the most sense for us for numerous reasons; with a camper (pull behind) we could take it anywhere accessible by road and detach our home from our transportation for easier commutes to town, and the ability to leave our self sustaining off grid home in a stationary place.

 

Also with a vehicle AND a living space, we had much more options for storage. back seats, trunk space, new shelves in the camper, ect. This was a huge part for us considering we both have our art businesses that include 2 10x10 pop up tents, several large canvases, cases of jewelry, and all kinds of tools and accessories that went with it all. We knew we couldn't have it all clustered inside our living space so the rear end of the car and trunk were designated as the "Garage". The Scamp landed in my lap and I couldn't have been happier with the purchase. It was the only camper of its size that was light enough to pull with my 99' Lincoln Town Car and still had the vintage style and charm we were looking for.

 

Inside and out, the camper was ugly as hell, (Andrea aptly nicknamed it, "the rolling turd"), but the body was leakproof, the structure was solid and the possibilities of customization were endless (It also had a twin size bed area perfect for our German Shepherd, Zeus). It was two long months of every spare minute and late nights spent inside that camper ripping out the old and designing and building the new. After about two months and 3/4 done with the build, we left South Florida for Winchester KY, where Andrea's family let us stay on their land to finish the build. With no set plan in mind, no destination ahead, it was June 27th, 2018 when we started the engine and hit the road.