How to travel on a budget

Elias Uribe
Nov 3 · 4 min read
Vehicle of choice 1984 Toyota pick-up ready for the road

2015 it was senior year of high school and I was trying to decide how I would travel to Vancouver Canada from San Diego California. I knew I wanted to drive, and camp along the way. But getting a tent was not the best option because the route I would be taking didn’t always offer a campsite, and I needed something more incognito for my late night rest stops in city parks and suburb neighborhood’s.

After bouncing some ideas off my boss Bradly who is a finish carpenter that specializes in custom hard wood dressers, cabinets and countertops he drew up a plan on graph paper. Drawer size, side boxes and height. We agreed that after work and on weekends I could use his shop for building my set up and if I got stuck on anything during the building process he would be willing to help.

The following day I went into a local supply store for gathering materials. The following is a list of everything I needed. Keep in mind this can be done for cheaper, I will mention a few tricks for cutting cost’s further down the line.

1x1 in. Metal tubing 10ft $8.05

Reds skateboard bearings 4 pack $77.72

4 Sheets 3/4 In. Interior grade plywood $60.00

Screws,washers,bolts $15.00

Exterior grade sealant $50.00

Sand paper $10.00

Saw bits $20.00

The fist step to building my truck set up

All together it took me about a week to build my setup and 3 days to stain. I went with a higher box height on the passenger side of my vehicle because I wanted more room for storing groceries and gear. also I knew that it would be an easier access point when parking on the street, hence traffic is usually speeding by on the driver side of the vehicle. I kept one box fairly low, just above the wheel well. I wanted my mattress to rest on top of this box to give me more room encase I meet some Canadian girls that are up for coffin like camping.

Skateboard bearing’s screwed directly onto boxes

Building the drawer was the most fun despite the expensive cost for skateboard bearing’s. Although it has paid itself off in the long run, because of how durable and long lasting they are. After years of use they continue to roll with ease. I took all four packs and spread them out equally between both boxes. As you can see I created the tract for my drawer to slide onto. Once these were screwed down I could start on the railing system that would be made out of the 1x1 in. metal tubing and go onto the drawer it self.

Railing that got screwed to the drawer

There was some light welding involved for this. If you do not have access to a welder, you can head down to you’re local metal scrap yard someone there would be able to do this for you. it would maybe take them 15 min or less. After the 1x1 in. metal tubing was cut and welded I attached it to the drawer. I chose 3 attachment point’s as I knew my drawer would have 50+ lb in it at any given time and I wanted to make sure that the railing could support the drawer.

Next was putting the finishing touches on my storage spaces. I decided to router the top’s of each space so the lid would sit flush with the box itself, this is just another way to save on unwanted space. Also it provides a flat surface for making sandwiches, folding clothes, or if you’re like me and just looking for something aesthetically pleasing.

This set-up is a simple concept for saving money while you travel. It offers ease, comfort, spontaneity. I never need to plan too extensively knowing I can sleep in the back of my truck while it’s parked in a secluded neighborhood, down a forest road, or even at a local Walmart. This gives me more time to figure out what I want to see in the city’s I drive through and the National Parks I visit. So next time you’re thinking of planning a adventure just know there’s a alternate route to saving money and living more adventurous.

all packed up and ready for the road

Tips for cutting cost’s: Buy used skateboard bearing’s, you can find these at local skateshop’s and they be 1/4 of the price of new bearing’s, if not free. Don’t go with 3/4 in. plywood like me. It made the wood more expensive and also made my setup much heavier, half In. will work just fine. Also I went with a full gallon of exterior sealant which was to much, half gallon will be sufficient.

Homo-sapien of the Pleistocene era

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