In Development

So there we were, sitting in our 600 sq ft apartment in Portland, Oregon, listening to the sound of garbage trucks and motorcycles rumble down the street beneath our window. We wished for serenity and thought longingly back to last summer which we spent traveling around the west in our trusty VW van: Westy Pete. We missed sleeping with the wind flapping the canvas, the sound of nature lulling us to sleep, waking up with the sun and the birds, having no plans - heading where we wanted, when we wanted, enjoying exploring and just generally being out and about in the big wide world.

We itched for more of the same. Several events had also been planned for this summer, almost on a monthly basis. This would require a bit of driving back and forth - if we were going to do that, why not string them together? And so it was decided we would go on another summer adventure. Westy Pete had a new home, Frosty was our new ride. How to make a Jeep provide the convenience of a Westfalia while maintaining its off-road capabilities? A lot of research ensued and some kind of a plan was hatched. We gave notice on our lease and jobs, and wrote lists... Many lists... Gear was procured and we spent so much time thinking about what we needed to get, we almost forgot we needed to pack up our apartment as well!

Moving mess...

On the 30th of April, we finally had everything in storage, the Jeep was packed, the apartment was cleaned and eventually at 4PM we hit the road, headed for the in-laws' for a week or two of final adjustments and installations to complete our rig.

So in the past week we have installed a lift, new bumper, winch and tailgate table, finished our plywood floor, and are in the process of installing our fridge and tie-down brackets. We installed a roof rack before we left, and arranged the pick-up and installation of our roof tent. Obviously such a project is never without it's set backs; we push on though and hopefully we will get out of here on time to attend our first event: The Overland Expo in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Just getting started

New buff bumper

Lift, bumper, wings, winch, fairing: done.  Add a bit of mud for authenticity ;)