The best thing I saw at the Overland Expo was in the parking lot.
A simple 4x4 Tacoma set up for living with a Kimbo Camper gave me hope in a world of over bloated rigs.
I met Alex at the main gate to the Overland Expo at around 9 a.m. on Friday. Alex, the owner and operator of Fit Garage in Bend, Oregon, was displaying a few trucks from his shop at the show, and I thought, in preparation for the 10-year anniversary of Home Is Where You Park It, that it would be a good idea to see the latest in car camping at arguably the largest overlanding trade show in America. I generally avoid trade shows like the proctologist, and with my best attitude and Tim on a leash, I walked into the show to watch people watching and see where the car camping world is at long after I moved out of my truck and into the tree house. In the last 10 years, the market has grown substantially, and during COVID, it exploded in size, fueled by the work-from-home phenomenon and limitations in international travel. For many, a van or truck offered a sense of freedom in an increasingly rule-oriented time.
When I moved into my VW in 2011, your options for a 4x4 were a fraction of what they are today. You could get a VW Vanagon Syncro, a modern converted van like the Sportsmobile Camper, or some flavor of pickup with a poptop like the FourWheel Camper. Today, there are hundreds of options and a billion-dollar business offering people turn-key rigs ranging up to 750 thousand dollars. Driving around on the roads in the early 2010s, I remember the sense of comradery I'd feel when I'd pass a fellow traveler on the highway. I'd honk and flash my lights. Now they are about as common as seeing a midsize SUV with a stickfigure family or baby on board bumper sticker on the back.
I have very mixed feelings about watching something that had such a profound experience in my life be commercialized, mass-manufactured overseas, and sold in mass to people that I feel are missing the point. Normally, I'm only really confronted with this in my insulated life when I see an article online or a tale of some influencer on a meme or in the news, but walking around the Expo, that world was unavoidable. Like a pack of vultures circling a dying cow, businesses owned by holding companies manufacture the bare minimum and sell it for the maximum to, as far as I could tell, retired Boomers. These vehicles are our escape capsules to enjoy the beauty of the world around us and pursue a pastime like surfing, hiking, or hunting, but they're barely mobile condos with the amenities of a timeshare and a similar price tag. On more than one occasion, I've talked to one of these companies; they usually have a book I've made in their lobby and are keen to let me try one of their vans or rigs in exchange for promotion. I usually tell them that their stuff is very nice, but it's not for me. I'd like something far simpler, more modular, and priced in a way that I could actually afford. I'd help them with something like that, but otherwise, no thanks. These conversations fall on deaf ears. Pondering my small role in this large spectacle and the discrepancy between how I've used vehicles and seen them used in the thousands of nights I've spent on the road, I walked around the show for a few hours with Alex and my dog Tim. I left thoroughly revolted and concerned with the coming contraction that will wipe half of these companies off the map over the next few years.
On the way out, we walked through the parking lot and saw rigs from all over. These rigs showed signs of life and actual use. It was in the parking lot, in a sight of rooftop tents and vehicles far too big to actually drive off road, that I saw a small setup that changed my mood from cynic to optimist about the state of things.
I walked up to the truck and started taking photos. Through the open window, I started hearing Spanish, and a man in his 50s or 60s opened the door. For twenty minutes, Todd showed us around his rolling home and offered insights.
The business end of Todd’s electric, AC and internet system.
The trend in vehicles is bigger and better. Todd and Ana's approaches are very different. This truck is about as small as you can possibly get while having the space to live. Kimbo's are very functional campers, made of a composite honeycomb material with a really smart integrated heater and AC. Todd had upgraded the electrical system to 500 amp hours and a combined 600 watts of solar panels on a slide-out awning system. In peak sun, Todd said they were pulling over 35 amps. The camper and truck aren't fancy; nothing in the system was unnecessary. In the age of turnkey solutions and massive sprinters with rooftop tents, their truck is light and nimble. It's been their home for the last 14 months, and they show no signs of slowing down. Take a look at their YouTube channel here.
Todd and Ana have had great luck with their Starlink system. During travel, they pull it down and put it in the back of the camper.
Setups like this give me the same sense of excitement that I first felt when I started stopping and talking to people about the rigs in 2011 and make me excited for a 10-year edition of Home Is Where You Park. I'm going to be doing it with Huckberry. The book will have a new intro, a few update sections, some musings about vehicles I've had, and recommendations for maximizing smiles per dollar. Despite the oversized and expensive vehicles in the show and the reality of the amount of wealth concentrated in the Boomers compared to younger generations, I head back to my camper with a smile on my face, knowing that there are still people like Todd and Ana sleeping every night on public land in a little white pickup with a camper.
Thanks for yet another camping trailer option for me to research. Just when I think I have it all figured out, you show up and throw a curveball into the mix. :)
you are put off by companies pimping their wares, and yet . . . . .
hmmmm. what's the expo version of 'nimby'?