Rubber tramping

Neon Canyon, UT

Canyonlands, UT (Needles district)

Spooky Gulch, UT

Lost your house? Lost your job and need to stretch your savings? Having trouble saving because of rent? No kids? Like nature? Rubber tramping might be the thing for you!

One person can live comfortably in a pickup truck. Two can pull it off if they are adventurous and thick-skinned. I know because I did this for a year. For three months of that I bummed around in little hideaways on the outskirts of the town where I worked, which was a '50s throwback with too many cops and nosy housewives. I never got rousted.

Here's how to do it: Trade in your car for a pickup truck with a back shell. A standard shell will suffice, and it only costs a few hundred extra. Make sure you can stretch out in the back with room to spare. Build a retractable second floor in the back, above the wheel wells, so that you sleep on top of your stuff. This keeps your stuff out of sight, keeps it from toppling over, and keeps the center of gravity as low as possible.

Pimp your ride hobo-style: Smash it up a bit, apply duct tape, and keep a good amount of trash in the front. Make it scream "Nothing worth stealing, move along". Just in case someone tries to steal the whole truck while you're out, hobble it in some easy but non-obvious way. Put a pebble in the lead to the distributor cap, or something. Don't just disconnect the battery, though you will probably want to do that anyway if you go on long hikes.

Get some NRA bumper stickers to encourage people leave you alone, but it's probably best not to carry guns (yet). Rifles and shotguns aren't much use if you are in a tight space. Handguns constrain where you can (legally) go, they give cops an excuse to mess with you, and the Democrats are working on a law which would give harsh penalties for having guns on Park Service lands. I advise spring knives and bear spray for protection.

If you're not tied to a job then go west, young man. The west has low population density and vast, uninhabited tracts of public land. BLM land is the best. You can camp in one spot for up to 14 days, though it is best to move frequently so as to change the scenery and avoid attention. You can also have fires, guns, and do almost whatever you like on BLM land. Don't get caught with drugs or it will be a federal case.

National Forest land is the second most desirable. Truck stops are next. National Monument and National Park lands are the least desirable because there are generally fees, camping restrictions, fire and gun restrictions, rangers checking up on you, etc. The regulations may change, so know what levels of freedom you have on each type of land before you set out. In a pinch, you can often find a secluded spot to ditch in any small town. Don't touch cities or suburbs unless you know the place.

At least every week you will want to come into town to call home base, shower, do laundry, eat at a buffet, and charge batteries. There are many RV campgrounds with good facilities. Expect to pay a few bucks for just a shower or about $10-$20 to stay the night, depending on location and season. Aside from buying the initial equipment, your main expenses will be food and gas, but these are variable. For $25/day, you can live well and explore all around. For $10/day, even novices can get by.

When out, don't do anything stupid like leave open food that bears can smell, camp in a dry wash, crap near water, leave a smouldering fire, put on your boots without shaking them out, etc. If you have to ask what is stupid, you should buddy up with someone more experienced. Make sure you are always in a position to survive the failure of any one piece of equipment, including an engine or a leg. Even better if you can survive the failure of any two pieces of equipment.

Another advantage of going west is that you don't have to drive a thousand miles to change the climate. All you have to do is change altitude: Mountains in summer, deserts in winter, high plateaus in spring and fall. New Mexico, Utah and California have good mixtures of terrain. I prefer southern Utah because the scenery and the hikes are spectacular- it's like exploring a whole different planet. Consider it to be a long, cheap vacation, a survivalism experiment, a life experience, an excuse to get in shape, or all of the above. Break out the harmonica and do it now, before it all goes Mad Max.

Essentials:

• someone you trust to hold and open your mail and notify the authorities if you don't call in
• plenty of blankets and wool clothes. Deserts can get surprisingly cold
• long underwear, sweatpants, gloves, hat, coat, many kinds of socks. Avoid cotton
• best desert wear is light, long-sleeved polyester shirts (think '80s business), light, many-pocketed long pants, gore-tex boots, and a sombrero with a good chin strap
• decent gas stove plus canisters, cookware, and utensils
• pen-type water purifier and backup iodine pills
• multiple lighters and emergency firestarter
• cheap food staples like beans, rice, oatmeal, pasta, canned food, cooking oil, salt
• high resolution water-resistant Nat. Geo topo maps; usually about $10 at local outfitters
• good hiking boots with toe room
• cellphone (remember it won't work in canyons)
• first aid kit
• LED headlamp
• plenty of water bottles, which you keep mostly full. Leave an air gap so they can freeze
• fishing line and a range of hooks
• sleeping bag
• vitamins and supplements
• emergency gas can
• prepackaged poncho
• emergency blanket
• duct tape and basic set of tools

You should have most of this stuff anyway, as part of your bug-out plan. Basic stuff like clothes, blankets, and cookware will all turn up at thrift stores fairly quickly. Most of the other stuff can be had at Wal-Mart pretty cheap. Don't get your boots, stove, or water purifier from Wal-Mart.

Luxuries:

• standard electricity in the back, using DC/AC converter
• books (trail guides, survivalism books, uses of plants, anything by Thoreau or Edward Abbey)
• digital camera with good collection of compact flash cards
• National Parks annual pass ($80)
• inflatable sleeping pad
• earplugs, strap-on sunblocker so you can sleep in
• backup MREs, nuts, canned meats, and dried fruit

Optional range extenders:

• Road engineering gear: shovel, pickax, crobar, winch, two wooden planks with sand glued-on (to put under wheels)
• Bike pump, to reinflate tires after driving on sand
• truck maintainance stuff (fan belt, radiator sealant, fuses, voltmeter, wire, extra spare tire, extra battery which you swap every two weeks)
• rock climbing gear (pricey)
• rope, hooked bungee cords (for strapping down gear)
• sturdy dome tent for harsh winds- few hundred $
• tent repair kit, super glue, epoxy, sealant
• tough, comfortable, light frame pack- few hundred $
• light versions of major essentials- few hundred $
• GPS
• 4WD

Most of the range extending gear is expensive and probably not worth it in these times, unless you are really paranoid. Also, if you're going deep into the wilderness, bring a partner to share the load and go for help if necessary. Don't let these issues spoil your plans- there is still an entire universe to explore if you're solo or on a budget.