My Vehicle Scheme

Polar New

So a few years back when replacing my old car, and my SCA habit was well underway and I wanted an easy way to get to war, I bought a little Ford Ranger, Wasn't he just so nice and shiny when he was new.

Polar is a good little truck, he helped me move and has gotten me and an entire encampment worth of stuff to war.  He's not as nice and shiny now, has a couple dings from parking on a college campus. He is still good.  Although, clearly if I want to drive across the country in my truck in winter I'm going to have to do something so that whatever stuff I take with me is protected from the wet and snow.

Polar Now

I could buy a camper top. It would basically turn my truck into an RV, but they are heavy and bulky and will kill my gas milage even if I can find one small enough for my truck and not designed with the idea of sharing it with another human.  The lightest ones require you to pop them up once you are parked and are still very bulky.  When looking at the used ones of this style all of them have holes in the fabric part that covers the space after pop up, worrysome.  New costs 12-15K, so that is out.

Next idea, build my own camper top.  Make it look like a little castle and then I can live in a castle and drive it around.  I don't have the knowledge or time to do this unfortunately, so what's next?

Buy a shell and build my own camper into it.  Much more affordable.  Just a regular shell is much more affordable and I then need to get some wood and design an interior to it.  This is harder than it sounds.  I want some sort of platform I can put a bed on, and thus store stuff under it.  And around it.  Then there is the window problem, I will need to figure out some sort of curtains, to keep light out and help keep warmth inside.  Off to buy a pickup butt cover as I like to call them.