When it comes to people living unorthodox lifestyles–particularly full-time RVers, van lifers, and other nomadic folks–we can’t get enough. It’s amazing to see how people achieve the life they love, navigate the unique challenges of the road, and otherwise embrace full-time travel in a world of sticks and bricks.
As we draw inspiration from them, we thought sharing our own journey to this point might be a fun exercise. We wouldn’t necessarily call our path to full-time travel inspirational, but there’s no harm in laying it out for you to see!
Things to know:
We have a long history of traveling together. From tents to truck campers, we’ve traversed many miles and months on the road, and it has all led us here—to becoming full-time nomads.
From road trippers to full-time RVers
Like many who choose to travel full-time, our interest in the nomadic lifestyle started small. We didn’t jump straight from beach vacations and hotels to living in a camper; instead, the build to this moment was gradual.
The best way to document our journey is to give you a timeline from the early days of traveling together to now. It’s been quite the ride, so buckle up and enjoy!
Cold noses, warm hearts
Before we officially started dating, Riley dragged Hanna on a tent camping adventure in North Carolina. Little did we know that it would set the tone for our future together.
The year was 2016, and we had just reconnected after going our separate ways in college. Riley had been going to western NC with his family since childhood, and as a young adult, he still felt drawn to the area.
Rather than rental houses and hotels, he did what any broke college kid would do–bought a tent from K-Mart (yes, K-Mart) and traveled on the cheap.
After reuniting with Hanna, he had the grand idea to drag her on one of his ventures up I-75. So, we went and spent several nights in the mountains, sleeping as far apart in that little tent as possible.
We’ve been adventure buddies since day one.
We distinctly remember waking up with cold, wet noses from sleeping against opposite sides of the tent, the damp fabric walls pressed up against our faces. Neither of us was willing to break the ice and cross the line into something deeper than friendship.
In hindsight, it’s a hilarious and endearing story, and there’s no question that those adventurous college kids set us on a path for full-time travel today.
Shortly after this and similar trips, Hanna returned the favor. She convinced Riley to get on a plane (for the first time in his adult life) and go to Estes Park, CO. It was his first taste of the West, and he never looked back.
We had no clue what we were getting ourselves into when we flew to Colorado in the winter.
Big sky country and restlessness
By the time Riley got accepted into grad school, we were dating. So, when he decided to take his talents to the University of Montana, we had some decisions to make.
For the first year, he lived in Missoula, MT, while Hanna took up residence near Denver, CO. The long-term thing was difficult, but we both enjoyed experiencing the American West in full for the first time.
After the year apart, Hanna joined Riley in Montana, and we started planning our next steps together.
Our time in Montana only cemented our love for the West.
We weren’t ready to buy a home, and we didn’t really know where we wanted to be, so we did something radical–we bought a Jeep Wrangler, threw a rooftop tent on it, and decided to move into it indefinitely after Riley graduated.
While that didn’t last long–only about two months–it was our first taste of the lifestyle we could attain with a little effort, planning, and commitment.
Tearin’ it up in Tennessee
Our foray into adventure travel may have been brief, but it was just the beginning of our interest in overlanding and extended periods of life on the road. So, we tucked that experience in our back pocket, knowing full well that we would return to it in a more sustainable way in the future.
In the meantime, we decided to bide our time by moving to Tennessee and scratching our adventure itch in a different way–trail riding in Jeeps. This move coincided with Riley’s venture into aftermarket part design and manufacturing, so we bought a Jeep Gladiator as an R&D and marketing vehicle.
Our first stay in Tennessee was filled with days like this.
Equipped with a beastly new truck, we ran with a crew that enjoyed rock crawling, giving us our first exposure to the more extreme side of off-roading. While we still preferred camping (as evidenced by our refusal to ditch the rooftop tent), we enjoyed this new hobby for a year–especially when 2020 hit and we needed a way to stay sane while the whole world felt cooped up.
There and back again (to Montana)
Despite our good run in Tennessee, we craved the West. So, we packed up and headed back to Montana. Riley was still making Jeep parts, so we continued to find trails–this time with an emphasis on the camping at the end of the road.
Montana is a different ballgame from Tennessee in terms of remoteness, so we found ourselves pushing the limits of our backcountry experience. Here, we learned how to be a bit more self-reliant, plan for the worst, and be at home in the great, empty spaces.
You could say 2021 was the biggest shift from where we were to where we are now. Off-roading and camping evolved from hobbies into lifestyles. We knew then that we wanted to build our lives around this form of adventure.
When we got married in September of 2021, this passion for adventure travel was on full display. Instead of a traditional wedding and honeymoon, we lived in our Jeep Gladiator for three months.
Our elopement in Ouray, CO, was out of a fairytale (thanks, Tori of Come to Bliss)
We started in Montana, worked our way down to Ouray, CO, and then spent time in Utah before returning home. Along the way, we camped, explored trails, and eloped in the San Juan Mountains. It was the perfect way to start our marriage.
Even nomads get lost
Married life changed things for us–or so we thought.
Concerned by the trajectory of the world and wanting our new relationship stability to be reflected in our joint life, we decided we wanted to buy a house. Talk about poor timing.
In the post-pandemic market, prices started to soar. Unfortunately, we had already moved out of our apartment in Montana and headed back east in an attempt to find the perfect place to call home.
What followed was two years of biding time in Florida and escaping for a handful of months each year to retain our sanity. While it wasn’t the best use of our time or money–Florida is a long way from the western destinations we love–we made do and counted our blessings.
It didn’t take long for us to realize that the housing market wasn’t conducive to us buying and that we needed to come up with a different plan. Naturally, we went back to what we knew–pushing the limits of how long we could stay on the road at a time.
This prompted us to buy a Scout Camper Kenai–our foray into campers. While minimalist, this setup allowed us to live on the road for around four straight months, traversing from Florida to Washington, and then venturing throughout America.
Our Scout Camper Kenai took us to some unbelievable locations.
In the brief time we had the Scout, we covered over 20,000 miles, explored new places together, and even had the opportunity to represent Scout at Overland Expo East. It was a phenomenal camper, a wonderful experience, and a rewarding opportunity to get to know some rad folks in the industry.
Alas, all good things come to an end.
Returning to Tennessee and scheming for full-time travel
If you’re sensing a theme here, you catch on fast–we have a tendency to return to places we love, especially when we’re figuring out our next steps.
This second (and current) stint in Tennessee fits the bill. After two years in Florida where we paid rent despite being gone nearly half the time, we decided to commit to being in one place for an entire year–something that has been strangely difficult for us.
Tennessee is the perfect place for this phase of life, as it has loads of hiking and outdoor activities to keep our adventurous spirit satiated, a healthy helping of great food in nearby Chattanooga, and a reasonable cost of living compared to much of the country (especially western states).
In 2024, we committed to staying still (for us) and buckling down to advance our business and plan our next step thoroughly. While we flirted with home ownership again, the path forward for us soon became clear–we needed to embrace a full-time travel lifestyle now, or we would always have those lingering “what ifs.”
Round two in Tennessee has been pretty great!
From around August onward, we focused our efforts on determining what full-time RV setup would be best for us, calculating our budget, putting together a loose timeline, and frantically trying to get all our ducks in a row to kick off 2025 on the road.
While we haven’t quite made that goal–our camper is still in production at the time of writing this–we are a few weeks from being fully nomadic for the first time in our lives. Given the investment of time and money in this endeavor, it feels like the first time we’ll be embracing the travel lifestyle without the option of “falling back” on the security of an apartment or home base.
Our journey to this point seems chaotic, and it has certainly been filled with twists and turns. Looking back, however, it all makes sense. From the highs of finding new campsites to the lows of uncertainty, every inspiration and setback has played a part in leading us to this decision.
We’re excited about what this year (and the years to come) has in store, and we hope you’ll follow along as we learn by doing. Life is a big adventure, and we feel incredibly blessed to be on it together.
Feel free to drop a comment below or otherwise engage with our growing little community of wild spirits. We’re happy to have you, stoked to share our story with you, and hope to learn a lot from you as we head off into the unknown!
- Riley + Hanna