#2: How much did my 19 day, 6800 mile road trip to start Hiatus pop-up truck camper life cost?

After deciding to purchase a Hiatus hard-sided pop-up camper I was locked into making the trip from Washington, DC to Seattle. I completed this trip in February of 2021. In this second video in the series I breakout the costs I incurred during the trip. This video provides some context on the expenses incurred from longer road trips and truck camping, and may be beneficial for those considering purchasing a light-weight, boondock ready truck camper or just starting with one.
Also not common in the truck camper community is the use of our 2018 Honda Ridgeline as the base truck. Future videos will also include our experience with the Honda RL.

[@yasinbossman1500]

One thing you forgot to mention how much the camper cost you ?

[@rickm1380]

Nice trip! I am considering purchasing a Hiatus Truck Camper. How do like it

[@davewitty3307]

Hi Lee. From DC, own a hiatus as well. It’s not your fault as an east coaster but you missed the full cost savings of your rig.
1. No need to pay for campsites anymore! BLM, National forests, rest stops. For example: goblin valley. You could have driven past little wild horse canyon and found a life changing place to sleep.
I think you should come back out here and let me guide you on a trip that you’ll think about on your death bed and smile!

[@ianpixs]

Dave - would love to meet up when I am on sabbatical in 2026! Thanks for the invite! The trip to Goblin Valley and Dead Horse were done from Maryland as you pointed out :) and I had strict timelines I had to meet driving out and back to the West coast. 2026 seems far away but will DM when we are getting closer and take up on showing us the way! Thanks again!

[@mikec1711]

Do you still have this camper? how is the wear and tear after owning it for some time?

[@ianpixs]

We do. We moved to Hawaii and keep it in the Pacific NW now traveling a 1-2x a year until 2025-2026 when I will be able to take a sabbatical and plan to travel extensively. The structure is wearing well, no issues except some challenges with EcoFlow powering the fan. We have a couple of options for this - plan to resolve next months.

[@303carbonboy]

Any update on the camper? How much was the unit? Is it warm in the winter? Have you done any winter camping in late 2021?

[@DustinApple]

you forgot the cost of the $16,000 truck topper you attached to a Dolphin instead. lol

[@dougscrubjay3939]

Nice breakdown of costs. I like to think about "daily burn rate" and per diem. $100/day is actually pretty good for traveling as much as you did. Then there's the thought that you'd be paying for food and drinks if you were sitting at home - probably a lower amount, but still an offset of your costs. The drop in mpg from 22 to 17 is really useful information. Thanks!

[@ianpixs]

Thanks Doug. I do like the budget approach too, allowing flexibility while not spending too much. Sometime nice to eat out or do a more expensive activity and balance out. You make a great point that their is still a cost when at home. As an update our mpg when not moving as fast as possible is around 19-20 mpg. This is over an estimated 2000 miles going mostly into Shenandoah NP, West Virginia (Dolly Sods / Roaring Plains) and the the Maryland coast at speeds generally in the 65-70 mph as well as slower country roads.

[@patrickmckowen2999]

Awesome trip - great cost break down.
Cost of trip 2337, memories Priceless!
I was looking a new RL so I am looking forward to you vids.
Cheers

[@ianpixs]

Definitely an amazing trip! All good things to say about the RL so far!