I spent the summer of 2018 living a truck camper that I custom built in the bed canopy of a first generation Toyota Tacoma. Since 2015 I’ve lived in a Honda Element, an old VW Westy van, but after countless failed attempts to explore rugged backcountry roads across North America I knew it was time for a capable 4×4 adventure rig. The Tacoma was key, and my first home in the truck was small and comfortable, nimble and ideal for real off road travel. Unfortunatly one afternoon I was cooking lunch on my tailgate kitchen when it started to rain, and then hail. I stood being pelted under an umbrella stirring my boiling rice before retreating to the cab to wait it out. The next summer I upgraded to a truck camper with and indoor kitchen and a much more comfortable living space.