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£30k is not exactly what I had expected to pay for a truck base, even though it IS a Unimog U1300L winch truck. That’s helluva lotta money just for a reliable set of wheels. Especially if you consider that I am South African, not European, and that amount is two years’ worth of salary to me, before deductions! And if I pay that out of my pension savings, there won’t be much left for anything else, even if I do most of the work on the habitat box, myself!
Heck, who am I kidding? The habitat box is going to cost as much, if not more, as the base vehicle! Box and components, not including labor.
Frankly, this is frustrating, not to mention depressing. It’s the “despair” half of Neil Gaiman’s twins making itself known in my psyche. I don’t think I like it. Not even on Mondays.
Anyway, I have a choice. I can sit here in front of my computer and feel sorry for myself, or I can plan to be able to afford that truck, that box, and all those thingamabobs and whatchamacallits that make up a proper expedition vehicle.
How?
- The first thing I need to do is to get myself out of my comfort zone. This is not going to be an easy project, no matter how I look at it. It’s going to take its toll on me, both mentally and physically.
- The second thing I need to do is to swallow my pride and actually ASK for help! I know I am of the “I shall do it myself!” persuasion, but nothing good has ever been achieved by a single person. It’s all about teamwork.
- The third is to take a good hard look at my budget. Where can I save money without compromising on either safety or quality?
- I shall have to do a serious lifestyle audit. What am I doing now that is costing me unnecessary expenses and how can I reduce or cut them altogether?
- How can I increase my income? Which income streams can I add? How? Where?
- How can I monetize this project? Is it the type of thing that I can crowdfund? Patreon? Can I make it into a blog or a YouTube channel, even if I haven’t bought anything yet?
- Then a skills audit. What can I do? How well can I do it? What can I learn? What should I rather leave to the professionals?
- I need to build an online presence for myself if I plan to become a digital nomad after this. Which channels will I be using? YouTube? Instagram? Twitter? Facebook? Am I going to write books about it? Podcasts?
- What will my goal be once I am done? Shall I merely use it as a mobile home, albeit a well-appointed one, or shall I use it as an expedition vehicle, traveling to remote areas of the globe and really exploring the planet? Am I going to get involved in the communities that I visit, or am I going to remain an outsider, looking in?
- Which climates am I preparing for? Hot? Cold? Both? Somewhere in between? Creature comforts?
- Am I going to be completely autonomous and off-grid or am I going to make use of shore power and water where available?
- Which appliances am I going to install? What can’t I live without? What don’t I really need?
- How connected am I going to be with the outside world? Satellite uplinks for data?
See? Now I feel better. I really don’t like feeling helpless.
I’ll get by with a little help from friends and strangers. In fact, I am sure that there is someone out there who can actually take the whole amount of this build from his back pocket, but I am not so sure whether I would like to be dependent on a single sponsor. That actually scares me!
So…
Let’s take the original £30k and treble it! Just for fun. That makes £90k. And let’s break it down into what I could crowdfund it for… (Credit to Tough times never last, but tough people do by Robert H. Schuller)
| 1 person | £90 000 |
| 2 people | £45 000 |
| 3 people | £30 000 |
| 5 people | £18 000 |
| 10 people | £9 000 |
| 20 people | £4 500 |
| 50 people | £1 800 |
| 100 people | £900 |
| 200 people | £450 |
| 500 people | £180 |
| 1000 people | £90 |
| 2000 people | £45 |
| 5000 people | £18 |
And suddenly it looks not only possible but easy! And maybe I can even do this without bankrupting myself in the process. Not that I plan on taking on any debt, but I might very well wipe out all my savings.
What can I put down as a reward? Well, I thought about doing “where should I go next?” contests, but sometimes mere recognition can do wonders. I’ll find a way to add some merchandise to the mix as well, and maybe involve contributors in other projects that I will be doing.
It’s really not as impossible as I had thought.
Anyway.
Now you know.
I am here.
And I am on my way!
Ps. I know you are as psyched up as I am now, so please feel free to drop a few pennies (or pounds) into my piggy bank. It would be muchly appreciated and used appropriately.
