OVERLANDJOURNAL FALL 201983Y
ouhearit timeandtimeagain,thestoryof peoplesetting
offonsomegrandadventuretoleavebehindthegrind
oftheirdailylives.“That’sthedream,”wetellourselves,“tosave
everypennyuntilyoucanfinallyaffordto quityourjobanddrive
offintothesunset.”It certainlyseemsromantic,butwhatif we’re
lookingat it allwrong?Whatif youweren’ttryingto escapeyour
9-5altogether,butsimplychangewhereyouworkedit?It’sa
thoughtthathastransformedanever-growingnumberof people
intodigitalnomadsandchangedthewaywelookat thework/life
balance.Careerscanvaryfromwebdevelopersandaccountants
toprojectmanagersanddoctors,buttodaywe’retakinga lookat
a photographernamedBasil Lynch and his Ford F-250 camper.
BEHINDTHEBUILD
WhenI metBasilseveralyearsago,hewaslivingin SanDiego
anddrivinga well-usedandevenmorewell-lovedFJCruiser.He
hadbuiltit tothenineswitha lift,armor,rooftoptent,drawer
system,andallthegoodiesyou’dwantforextendedcamping
trips,butsomethingwasn’tquiteright.“I wastiredoflivingthe
9-5lifestyleinSouthernCalifornia.Rentwasa fortune,traffic
was a bear, and as a photographer, I was working remotely most
ofthetimeanyway.I couldn’thelpbutwonderwhyI wasn’tdo-
ingthissamejobfromtheroad.”Thisquestionwouldcontinue
to haunthimas hiscareertookoff,andthetimespentawayfrom
hisapartmentincreaseduntileventually,therealitywasinescap-
able,heneededa biggertruck.“I realizedthattheFJCruiserwas
a perfectplatformformonth-longtripsanddailydriving,butI
wanteda homeonwheels,somethingI couldcomfortablyspend
timein whiletraveling.”
It neededto bemorethanjusta home,though.Basil’sloveof
surfingandhispassionfortheremoteregionsof theworldmeant
thatit alsoneededtobecapable,reliable,andabletoserveas an
off-pavementbungalowforextendedperiods.It wouldneedto
runonless-than-perfectfuel,notcosta fortune,andsupportthe
weightofhislivingquartersontheback.Hisanswerwasa 2000
FordF-250witha homemadecamperontheback.Thetruck
wasstock,witha shortbedaccesscab,four-wheeldrive,anda
7.3Lturbo-dieselmotor.Whenpairedwiththecamper,it was
theperfectcombinationfromwhichtobuild.Hepurchasedthe
truckandbeforelongtooktocallingit Bruce.“Itjustreminded
meofthegreatwhitesharkinFindingNemo,bigandaggressive
ontheoutside,butkindof niceontheinside.”
Overthenextyearanda half,Basilpouredhisheartandsoul
intomodifyingthistruck.Whetherit wasin a friend’sdriveway,
beach-sideparkinglot,ordistantcampsite,youcouldfindhim
wrenchingontheFordwhileperformingmaintenanceorinstall-
ingaccessories.I suspectfewvehicleshavebeenassembledina
greatervarietyofplacesthanBruce,which seems fitting for a
camperdestinedfor a life on the road.THETRUCK
Thefirstorderof businesswasgettingBruceoffhisbellyand
awayfromtherocks.Seemssimpleenough,butthisFordwas
carryinga heavypayload,andwouldneedtoendurethousands
ofmilesofdirtroadswithoutshakingitscontentstodeath.In
otherwords,Basilcouldn’tjustslaponsomefactoryspringsand
callit a day.Instead,heoptedfora customleafpackwithHellwig
BigWigairbagsintherear,andFordF-550springsand2-inch
dropbracketsin thefront.Bilstein 5160 shockswithheavyvalv-
ingwereinstalledallaround,alongwithfrontandrearHellwig
swaybarsandanIconextendedtrackbar.Thissetupmanagedthe
truck’sweight,whilealsogivingit a smoothrideandtheability
toarticulateonthetrail.Withalltheadditionalclearance,Basil
addedthenew35/12.50/R18F-ratedYokohamaGeolandarX-
ATswrappedaround18-inchMethodRaceWheels,whichwould
beuptotacklinganyterrainheencountered.
Sincethistruckwouldbeseeinga lotof roadsfarfrommechan-
ics,it wasupgradedwithquitea fewsystemstoimproveperfor-
manceandreliability.Themodsbeganwitha RedHeadsteering
box,whichensuredthetruckcouldturnallthatnewrubberlike
it was meant to do so from the factory. This made a big differenceBrucewas built for exploringeasiertrailsbut can tackleruggedtracks
whennecessary.Openingpage:Bruceand Basil,enjoying their favor-
ite place, Baja California, on a surf trip this past winter.