The Plan II

Once we decided that Alaska was our destination and the Taco our means of getting there, the real planning began. We had to figure out the logistics of a long-term road trip. This includes routes, fuel, lodging, storage, and food. I started with the route.

While Google Maps assumes you're going to take the Alaska-Canada Highway, we wanted to see the western coast, which meant I had to create a custom route. I calculated mileage and hours to determine our stops. We also had a list of Must See's that were included.

It was a little difficult at first because I had not messed with Google Maps other than using it as a GPS when I needed directions. So I taught myself to create customized maps, which was time consuming, but pretty fun! I also ran into trouble when the mudslides and fires closed the highway we wanted to take, but we had enough time to plan, so we eventually got around to that part of the trip.

Now that we have a route and our stops, we had to figure out how we were getting there. We bought our 2011 Tacoma with the intentions of taking it out on road trips and doing a little overlanding, so that was the obvious choice. Once we had our camper shell, it was time to build some storage and a sleeping platform. We opted for this setup over the rooftop tent or a trailer because it has the least amount of restrictions. We have some long driving days ahead of us, so being able to just crawl in the back when we're tired will be so nice. We won't have to worry about setting up a tent or have to navigate a trailer off-road in the dark.

While there are many resources out there about building out the back of your truck, each vehicle is unique, so we had to do most of the calculations ourselves. Thankfully, Wes has some experience with construction and building with wood, so that helped a lot. I would have been totally lost on my own! We measured twice and cut once, and most of the time this worked. But we still managed to run into trouble with a few pieces we miscalculated. While this was frustrating, the whole process was a learning experience so I try not to be too hard on us for that. Plus, we worked together on this project, and that's time I'll treasure forever.

From there we had the easy stuff. All that was left was to calculate fuel, food, and the occasional lodging. I love making spreadsheets, so I made one that calculates our hours, mileage, and food costs. We rounded up on everything and got started on saving.

All of this took place over the course of two years, which allowed us to do things the right way. In these final weeks before we leave, we are just ironing out the details. Things like which hikes we want to take, and which secret forest roads we want to explore. It's getting close, folks! I honestly cannot wait!

-Bri