Fitventure build and book
Turning a subcompact car into a camper for an adventure across the American West
The Problem
Burnout is real, y’all. After five years at a startup and two years of pandemic quarantine, I was itching to get on the road.
So, over a six week sabbatical in the fall of 2021, I planned an epic 8k mile route from my home in Austin. First, up north and west through Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana to the Canadian border at Glacier, south through Idaho and Utah, and east through Arizona and New Mexico back down to the Mexican border and back on home.
Outcome
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: Solo builder and semi-solo adventurer
I converted the car 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.
Process goes here
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.
Camp cooking in an empty field in Holbrook, AZ, outside of Petrified Forest National Park
Trailhead coffee after a sunrise hike at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah
