How do you fund your expeditions?

[Sea Diamond]

Pick a direction and go

 

[64Trvlr]

I don't think of the time I spend in the shop wasted or some kind of negative money loss. I enjoy fixing and working on my vehicles enjoyable. After seeing some of the work "quality" shops put out and what they charge that's not an option for me. I know when I finish something it's done right wit quality parts.

As far funding I have 2 cigar boxes one I put spare or saved money. One is for near term trips, the other is for future trips. I also finally have my credit cards paid off, that helps with gas or emergencys.

 

[jimmyjamson]

This:


and this:


When I was pretty young, up thru my mid-20s, I was one of those typical kids who you hear complaining that "there's nothing to do" because I lived in a relatively small town. I joined the Marines, spent a decade away, then moved back to the same general area, though I'm in a larger nearby city now. I also had kids during that time frame.

Familiarity breeds contempt, and what my time away helped me realize is that there is tons of stuff to do in my local area (within a 1-2 hour drive), I just hadn't found much of it before, largely because I hadn't really been looking very hard.

As a consequence, most of my adventures are more pedestrian in nature, and are relatively local to me since they tend to take place over 2-4 day weekends. I still have lots of fun, and still get to enjoy off roading, camping, hiking, hunting, etc..., but it's MUCH more affordable than most things you see with #hashtagoverland on social media.

That being said, I am also planning to take two weeks off next year to attend Overland Expo West and explore the area while I'm there. I'll hopefully be able to pull this off by being stingy about using vacation time and putting in lots of extra effort at work (monthly budget is covered by my base, commission is for saving/fun), and keeping my spending in check by driving an older, relatively high mileage vehicle and sticking to the essentials with respect to mods and gear. For anyone looking to manage finances smartly during trips like this it is worth checking out https://help-center.pissedconsumer.com/the-worst-and-best-banks-according-to-customer-reviews/ to find the best banking options that work for you. Even though I am saving for that trip, because I'm being frugal, I am still going out camping at least once or twice a month, refining my gear, learning skills, and making awesome memories with my family and friends for not much more that I would have spent staying at home and doing the usual, boring weekend routine of eating out, going to see a movie, etc...

Adventure can be had every day, if you just learn where to look for it. By all means dream big, but manage your expectations and make it point to continue to enjoy the little things. I guarantee you that even the folks who have "made it" in the scene still take simple weekend or overnight trips just to get out there in between their epic expeditions; take that model an scale it appropriately to match your situation.

Sell your mechanical skills locally for oil changes, brake jobs and basic maintenance as your hauling setup gives you zero overhead. Flip items on Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp, tools and furniture move fast and you already have the truck advantage. Use Dolly or TaskRabbit to connect with people needing moving help during busy seasons. If you are already going on expeditions consider starting a YouTube or social media channel around it as overlanding content has real monetization potential over time. You can also rent your rig on Outdoorsy during times you are not using it, lifted 4x4s rent surprisingly well. And tap into the local overlanding community for labor to parts trades as plenty of people have spare parts sitting around and would swap for mechanical help.

 

[highboy4x4]

Very interesting topic that I didn’t know existed! This is the “exact” reason why I re-opened my RV business. To fund my build and trips. It all started in my last 2 years in the Army. Basically we rented RV’s and it was a boom… I could go on about that but that covid crap didn’t slow us down at all….
We had 1 RV, set it up to rent and it was out every weekend, sometimes for a week at a time! So my wife went on Fakebook and sought out owners that were renting their RV’s. We asked them if they wanted to co-sign to us and we did all the work and as they benefited! From November to June 2020, we had 6 RV’s. Let’s say I was busy!! We were turning away customers that wanted our 40’ Montana so we bought an Avalanche that slept more people! For another 1.5years, we killed it..Georgia Horse shows were very kind to us as it paid everything off in 2 years!!

Fast forward to a move to Florida post retirement. I built my rig and the $$ issue started to come up. So I re-opened the RV business but doing Onsite repairs!!!

Let’s just say, if you have basic electrical 120/12v skills, general carpentry skills, and plumbing and propane understanding, coupled with a concern for doing a good job for people, anyone can make a killing on repairing RV’s.
Going rate for a mobile RV tech is $150 hr. The 2 projects below will gross 9k. BTW, I rent the garage n the pics…If only it was mine..oh the things I could do!!!

If anyone wants to know more or need help determining if this is for them, I’m open to discussing!

My motto: I’m retired, I don’t have to do this. I do it because I “like” doing it!! Customers say they like that attitude

 

[MOAK]

Very interesting topic that I didn’t know existed! This is the “exact” reason why I re-opened my RV business. To fund my build and trips. It all started in my last 2 years in the Army. Basically we rented RV’s and it was a boom… I could go on about that but that covid crap didn’t slow us down at all….
We had 1 RV, set it up to rent and it was out every weekend, sometimes for a week at a time! So my wife went on Fakebook and sought out owners that were renting their RV’s. We asked them if they wanted to co-sign to us and we did all the work and as they benefited! From November to June 2020, we had 6 RV’s. Let’s say I was busy!! We were turning away customers that wanted our 40’ Montana so we bought an Avalanche that slept more people! For another 1.5years, we killed it..Georgia Horse shows were very kind to us as it paid everything off in 2 years!!

Fast forward to a move to Florida post retirement. I built my rig and the $$ issue started to come up. So I re-opened the RV business but doing Onsite repairs!!!

Let’s just say, if you have basic electrical 120/12v skills, general carpentry skills, and plumbing and propane understanding, coupled with a concern for doing a good job for people, anyone can make a killing on repairing RV’s.
Going rate for a mobile RV tech is $150 hr. The 2 projects below will gross 9k. BTW, I rent the garage n the pics…If only it was mine..oh the things I could do!!!

If anyone wants to know more or need help determining if this is for them, I’m open to discussing!

My motto: I’m retired, I don’t have to do this. I do it because I “like” doing it!! Customers say they like that attitude

For a few years after I retired I did interior painting for high end clients to finance our long range excursions. Once a prospective client understood that I was retired and did not have to paint, that I did indeed enjoy doing it, I was in. I also did charitable work for the not so high end clients. Retirement is a very odd shift. After a lifetime of saving and scrimping it felt odd to have a nice income without having to work. It took 7 years for me to mentally adjust to being a member of the comfortably retired class and no longer having to save money