Hourless Life: Documenting Our Global Overland Adventure

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Thought Journal 002 - 2/17/21

We are 19 days away from starting the next phase of our adventure. We'll be a full-time overlanding family on or about March 6, 2021. Though we've been traveling full-time for the past 7 years already, this living in the Jeep full-time thing is next level for us.

While in South Texas, we've been soaking in all of the family time that we can. It has been wonderful to see family, good to see our doctors, and necessary to take care of all of the things we needed to get done to get on the road in a Jeep full-time. There are a lot of things that need to happen to make yourself fully location independent. We've had to square away our mail, bank accounts, get rid of most of our worldly possessions, set up our business accounts, meet with notaries, make sure our documents are in order and so much more.

Since my last Thought Journal entry, we've purchased the Gladiator, sold our RV, opened bank accounts, created a legal business entity, started working on a YouTube channel, and have been in discussions with several companies that want to get behind our global adventures. All of this was necessary to keep the wheels turning, fuel in the tank, and food on the table, but it is really not our focus. These things just speak to how we are going to be able to do what we'll do not why we are doing it.

What really matters is why we are doing what we'll be doing. We can't wait to immerse ourselves in the various cultures around the world, meet incredible people, see things we'd never otherwise see. Most importantly to do this all together as a family while we raise our son (currently 4 years old) on the road. We want him to have a global perspective of his own. To not allow the world to tell him what he should think of the world, but rather his experience inform his opinion.

As of now, our general schedule is still moving forward. March through July of this year we'll be primarily in Arizona, California, and Colorado. We'll be building out the Gladiator and putting it through some trial runs out west to make sure everything is working the way we need it to.

If all goes well, sometime around August of this year we'll head into interior Mexico again (this time with the new build) and spend 6 months there preparing for the Central and South America leg of our global journey. Then on or about February of 2022 we'll head into Central America and start making our way south.

When we first arrived in South Texas we thought we were only going to be here until the end of February, but several follow up doctors visits had us extend that until March 6th. The nice thing is that we are truly hourless. So we're flexible to make adjustments on the fly. Then there is still the COVID thing that is lingering over all of us globally. How this will impact our travels remains to be seen. We're hopeful that by February of 2022 and our planned entry into Central America, there will be more of an understanding of how to navigate our adventures.

Still, this cannot stop us from moving forward. If it did, we'd never realize our dreams.

~ Eric
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Announcing our newest partnership! Today, we are thrilled to announce our partnership with Goose Gear, the leading storage fabricator for overland vehicles. I think most people in Expedition Portal are familiar with Goose Gear, if you are not, they create cabinets, deck plates, and seat deletes that look clean, act smart, and are sexy as heck.

The timing couldn’t be better for us, since Goose Gear is actively releasing new products for our next home on wheels, the Jeep Gladiator.
✌️


As we prepared for our global vehicle build-out, we spent hours brainstorming and sketching what we needed as a family inside the Alu-Cab Canopy Camper. But when we took a look at Goose Gear’s offerings, they’d already masterfully created almost exactly what we were hoping to create ourselves. Why reinvent the wheel?

We’re still firming up the details on the specific products we’ll be utilizing in our build, but we’ll give you an update soon.

Really thankful and humbled that Goose Gear decided to partner with us for this global journey. ~ Eric
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Congratulation, on oh so many things... Few are lucky to Be this fortunate. Will be following along as much as I can.
Thank you Dibber. We definitely consider ourselves blessed to live this lifestyle, and humbled by those who have gotten behind us. But it wasn't always this way and we've worked diligently to get this point. If you are interested in our full uncensored story, you can find it here: The Long Game: How We've Worked 10 Years to Reach Our Travel Goal.

Appreciate the comment and following along in our adventure! Please do let us know if you have any questions. ~ Eric
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
After 7 years of full-time travel we've finally launched our YouTube channel today. For anyone that might have interest you can find it here: Hourless Life YouTube

Also I'm getting round two of the COVID Vaccine tomorrow so there's that. This is a good thing as we're guessing many countries will require it for entry once this pandemic starts to settle out. My thoughts and heart goes out to all who have lost loved ones and been negatively impacted in one way or another by COVID. ~ E
 

AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
It’s pretty nice that you have been able to already get set up for vaccine shots, especially when so many much older folks are still waiting at the end of very long queues to get theirs. Any tips? Care to share exactly how that all came about?
 
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Hourless Life

Well-known member
It’s pretty nice that you have been able to already get set up for vaccine shots, especially when so many much older folks are still waiting at the end of very long queues to get theirs. Any tips? Care to share exactly how that all came about?
No worries.

The only reason I got in early is that I'm Type 2 Diabetic and in Texas that qualified me to get in early for the vaccine. My much younger (and healthier) wife has not even gotten her first round yet, she's actually last on the list according to the state of Texas because of her health and age. So we'll see what happens. But at least this way when it's her turn, I'll be able to hang out with Caspian while she goes out to the line. (My first line was 7 hours. The one today was only 2 but you had to have a password and a "scheduled" appointment)

Hope that makes sense.
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Woke up to a random email today that we were nominated for (and selected) for an award in the overlanding space. And it's actually a legit thing. Had no idea it existed, but humbled that one of our followers nominated us for it. Apparently the announcement is taking place on Monday.

It's these little things that keep us encouraged. Not even the award so much as the fact that one of our followers took the time to nominate us. That is so humbling, encouraging, and kind.

To be honest this whole driving around the world thing is daunting and exhilarating all at once. As I mentioned in our YouTube teaser, we don't have it all figured out. We have 9 days left until we move into our Jeep full-time. As I write this, Brittany is at the laundromat washing out our sleeping bags, I'm fielding emails and working on logistics for our trip. Caspian is out with Mimi (that's grandma for you non-Texans) and the clock keeps ticking.

We're starting to feel the pressure of our push date. We have so much to do, but Brittany has been a whirlwind, a literal force of nature. I've been working from about 7AM to 10PM pretty much daily.

But at some point very soon, we'll stick the keys in the ignition and head west to start working on our global overland build. At that point what didn't get done, didn't get done.

Thank you to everyone who has offered to help, sent us a word of encouragement, liked our new YouTube channel, and in any small way has gotten behind us.

It all adds up and we feel your support. ~ E
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Yesterday and today have been inventory day.

We've emptied literally everything out of the Jeep. And I do mean everything.

We use an app called Evernote for our Master Overlanding Packing List. Our list is divided by location in the vehicle. Once inventoried, we put everything back into the Jeep and compare it to our list on Evernote.

I can tell you from a glance at my phone or my computer (the list syncs) where every single thing is that is in the Jeep. Need chapstick? I got you. Drivers side visor 2 sticks. Prybar? Passenger Side Cargo under platform. Headlamps? Driver and Passenger Headrest.

By the end of the inventory, there will be nothing in the Jeep that isn't on the list organized by location. You may feel reading this that it is overkill. But this is basically just an annual inventory.

As full-time travelers, it is imperative that we are prepared for four seasons and that we have an accurate count of our goods and consumables. So yes it is a bit of work. We don't believe it is overkill, we feel that it is an essential step in our process. ~ E
 

outwestbound

Observer
aggressive feral cats and clouds of mosquitos attack you while your down

OMG..what a horrifying reality to face! I got one of those nature's head toilets. I hope you all are set up well for the next trip.

Edit: I bought an old Navion 23J (no USLD fuel required) and heavily modified it for a 1.5 year South American tour originating in the US. We figured we'd upgrade after South America if the Navion fell apart. Yea, it's like driving a big marshmallow and will cost more to ship, but we're late 50s, so comfort and room to run our business was important. Yea, we'll miss out of some locations. We're ok with that.

My timeline is similar to yours. Originally, I was shipping from Galveston to Cartagena, but now I plan to insert into Baja Mexico (ship Panama City to Cartagena) and work south to Ushuaia over 1.5 years or so, as covid allows. As of this writing, I gather (but am not sure) that one can drive as far south as the norther Costa Rican border.
 
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Hourless Life

Well-known member
OMG..what a horrifying reality to face! I got one of those nature's head toilets. I hope you all are set up well for the next trip.

Edit: I bought an old Navion 23J (no USLD fuel required) and heavily modified it for a 1.5 year South American tour originating in the US. We figured we'd upgrade after South America if the Navion fell apart. Yea, it's like driving a big marshmallow and will cost more to ship, but we're late 50s, so comfort and room to run our business was important. Yea, we'll miss out of some locations. We're ok with that.

My timeline is similar to yours. Originally, I was shipping from Galveston to Cartagena, but now I plan to insert into Baja Mexico (ship Panama City to Cartagena) and work south to Ushuaia over 1.5 years or so, as covid allows. As of this writing, I gather (but am not sure) that one can drive as far south as the norther Costa Rican border.
Having owned a Winnebago View, we completely understand both the benefits and drawbacks you'll have with such a platform for such a journey. But the most important thing is that you are doing it and you know how you want to do it. Bravo! I'm sure if we are on a similar timeline that there is a possibility we may connect along the journey. That would be really neat.

We really enjoyed our time in Baja and think that it will be a great insertion point for your journey. The roads down there are MUCH better than they used to be from what I understand. We've only made one trip down the Baja peninsula and as far as the highways go, it was pretty much pavement all the way to Cabo if you wanted it. Plenty of campgrounds that would easily accommodate an 23j too.

Hope we connect!

Eric
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Well, we've done it. We moved into our Jeep on March 7th. We are officially full-time overlanders on the road.

We said goodbye to Brittany's parents and headed up from Corpus Christi to Bastrop, Texas. Once there, we popped the tent on a friends ranch for the night of the 7th. We enjoyed good conversation and a bonfire with our friends. Excited for them as they begin to build out their Skoolie for their own adventures. After this we caught a good night's rest before heading into Austin, Texas early the following morning for a doctors appointment, some last minute work on the Jeep at our Jeep shop, and a bit of grocery shopping.

Once all the errands were complete we headed out to Fredericksburg, TX in the heart of Texas Hill Country. We were invited to stay at a cabin for 3 nights by some dear friends of ours who are also global travelers.

Spent a wonderful first night here at the cabin in relative silence, and then today we pretty much took advantage of the building itself and took showers, as well as spent some time responding to emails and filming and editing a bit of video. This was followed by Rib Eye steaks cooked over an open fire by our hosts and a tour of their awesome home which used to be an Austrian Looming Factory. We spent all evening talking about Africa and South America; sharing stories and smiles. Recognizing that the people are really what make the journey.

Also today we were finally able to announce our partnership with WARN Industries as our winch and recovery gear provider for our global build. We're humbled and honored to partner with WARN for this journey. We'd been keeping that announcement at bay until everything was finalized, so it felt good to be able to share that with our other partners that have gotten behind us for our upcoming trip.

Tomorrow we plan to relax a bit more, maybe explore a bit of Fredericksburg and then spend one more night in the lap of luxury before hopping back into the Jeep to take on part of the Texas Overland Route between Fredericksburg and Mason on our way west. ~ Eric
 

smlobx

Wanderer
Subscribed to your channel!
As a Gladiator Rubicon owner we are building out our rig for extended overland travel as well and chose the Alu-Cab canopy after having used it on our Africa trips. I think you will absolutely love the Alu-Cab camper! One of the main benefits that we both will have is the ability to completely lock the canopy up providing security when you are off exploring the countryside.

Are you planing on doing anything to the suspension?

5AAC6298-E27E-4F07-8D71-6158B3938B29.jpeg
 

Hourless Life

Well-known member
Subscribed to your channel!
As a Gladiator Rubicon owner we are building out our rig for extended overland travel as well and chose the Alu-Cab canopy after having used it on our Africa trips. I think you will absolutely love the Alu-Cab camper! One of the main benefits that we both will have is the ability to completely lock the canopy up providing security when you are off exploring the countryside.

Are you planing on doing anything to the suspension?

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That's awesome! I look forward to hearing what your thoughts are with your unit as well! Any chance you'll be out west this spring/summer? Would love to connect if you are.

As far as suspension, the answer is yes. But we don't know what we'll be doing exactly until we know the weight of everything we've installed. Having heard from so many experienced international overlanders, we've taken payload capacity of the vehicle very seriously. We've also taken the advice to wait until we have everything completely loaded as we plan to take it around the world and then weigh it. At that point we'll determine the suspension requirements based on the weight. We may also add airbags which have been recommended as well. We'll see, but I'll definitely update on this thread. Thank you for subscribing to our channel. I look forward to getting to know you. ~ Eric
 

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