Ever Dreamed of Camping- Permanently?

Gorehamj · May 19, 2015

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
5/19/2015

Who hasn't dreamed of selling our possessions and hitting the road? No other country has this strong a road-trip calling. It is something all ours. Jack Kerouac made a career of it. Don Draper (Dick Whitman) did it and found inspiration for his best work.

GM threw out a press release today about camping with a Silverado. Sure, it's an ad, but the video attached is pretty good. Here's a couple that did it. Mark Christy and Nives Riddles both had good careers as support for the entertainment business. What started as a weekend trip to the Grand Canyon in their Chevy truck morphed into an open-ended camping trip. They sold all their stuff and took off. They are still out there. For how long? Christy says “We sold everything we own to get out. So there’s nothing for we have to go back to. We’re just going to keep going until we don’t want to anymore.”

unit731 · May 20, 2015

Yes, a well done video.

A dream? To live off the grid?

Well, many do and there are web sites dedicated to living off the grid.

But in reality, you still need an address. At minimum to pay for the vehicle insurance.

Then you do have to go to town for supplies. And that does require money.

Did you know that you can't just build a cabin in the woods anymore?

Here in my area in hill and mountain country - there are hundreds and hundreds of square miles of empty forests. Even if you were able to purchase a few acres in the middle of nowhere - you still need a building permit. And any living structure requires meeting state energy codes and such. Each state rules vary of course.

And after Ted Kazinsky and Homeland Security - all structures require a street number.

Yes, you could drop off a pop up camper without such. But it wouldn't be long before the authorities would find it. Each state now has two or more "free" drones - courteous of Homeland Security. They just fly around taking pictures.

But yes, the dream of just getting away from everything is a good one.