John Putrino didn’t want to spend a fortune on flights etc like his friends were doing when they went travelling for gap years etc, he decided to explore his own country but again was stumped by the thought of spending thousands on a campervan. Instead, he grabbed a circular saw and a combi drill, wood supplies and built a “sleeping platform and storage system.” in the back of his car which cost him $250 (£200ish).
Once finished it was looking rather well equipped
The problem with travelling is you end up needing things like heating, cooking appliances etc. Because John was on a budget he couldn’t afford those luxuries but he did make it comfortable by insulating the cabin and setting up a decent cooking method a similar method to what we use in our Emergency Grab Bags.
He installed thermal insulation on the windows and panels of the truck and used thermal blankets to keep warm at night.
He didn’t have any electrics or heating in the rear of the vehicle so I would have been tempted to grab an Anker or RAVPower Solar panel system and combined with a couple of battery packs and some USB heaters.
His cooking setup
We admit this doesn’t seem that appealing, but if you combined with some fresh veg, noodles etc you could easily make some tasty dishes + remember he was doing this on a budget.
- Jetboil – Similar to the Solo Stove we use but a gas version, it heats 2 cups of water fairly quickly
- Plenty of granola bars, canned beans etc. Personally, we would grab some of these Grenade bars.
- Beef Jerky and other dried goods.
“I was like, ‘Wow, I love this, I’m going to keep doing this for the rest of my life,'”
“I love being out here all alone.”
Travelling in your own country
“A lot of my friends were going overseas and travelling abroad and seeing all these new places, but no one was really travelling in our United States”
How would we improve this?
- Grab a decent head torch
- Grab a wind up radio to keep you company
- Grab a Suspension Multitool
- Grab a LifeStraw
- rab an Anker or RAVPower Solar panel system and combined with a couple of battery packs and some USB heaters.
“I used the national parks as a way to keep it simple,” he said. “That was the easiest way to plan my route.”
The first night was the hardest, “It was windy, cold, and so dark that I couldn’t tell whether or not my eyes were open.” but when we woke up he felt “amazing”.
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Article based on Business Insider article
