Nearly fourteen years after we first met Michele DeVries and Mark Sprague, they’re still exploring in the same truck and camper, still embracing life on the road, and still discovering new reasons to love it. Is the dream as good as they imagined? You bet.
In nearly every interview we’ve done with fellow truck campers who have gone full-time, the same core realizations emerge. First, you don’t have to follow society’s traditional life path. Second, purging a lifetime of accumulated possessions is cathartic on a level that has to be experienced to be fully understood. Third, what really matters is your mental and physical health, and your time. Finally, there’s an undeniable calling to break free from the confines of four walls and embrace the bigger world of travel, meeting new people, and experiencing everything life has to offer.
So what happens when we catch up with these full-time truck campers a year later? How about two years later? Five years later? What about nearly fourteen years later? Does the full-time dream live up to those life-changing realizations that inspired it? Is the unconventional adventure, free of unnecessary stuff and focused on living life to its healthiest and fullest, still the answer?
If you ask Michele DeVries of Two Happy Campers, the answer is a resounding yes. Not only that, but Michele and Mark are still traveling in their original truck and camper, still embracing the same vision, and still exploring the freedom they set out to create nearly fourteen years ago. Even better, they’ve documented their adventures, shared the experiences of other full-time travelers, and turned their hard-earned knowledge into a website, two books, and a guide. Nearly fourteen years later, they’re not looking back. They’re looking forward to whatever adventure comes next.
Michele and Mark on Comb Ridge in Arizona
When we featured you in 2013, you were balancing a busy wedding photography business with truck camping adventures during our off-season. You’ve now been living on the road for six years. How did that transition happen?
We quickly fell in love with traveling in our truck camper. Every trip became a little longer than the last, and we found ourselves not wanting to go home. Square footage and nice possessions are the measure of success in our culture, but the pursuit of those things had left us feeling unsatisfied. Our truck camper showed us how little we truly need to thrive, which caused us to rethink what it was we wanted out of life. Once the idea to live on the road full-time took hold, we couldn’t shake it.
In 2017, we sold our house, pared down our possessions, and hit the road. It was a leap of faith, and the following year came with a lot of highs and lows. Essentially, it was a crash course in nomadic living. Then, an unexpected job offer took us to Idaho for two years, but the road continued to call to us. When the pandemic hit and turned everything upside down, it turned out to be our opportunity to return to this lifestyle that we love so much. We were able to apply everything we learned in 2017 and have really found our rhythm these last six years. We can’t imagine returning to a solid foundation anytime soon.
Michele and Mark’s 2001 Ford F-250 and 2012 Four Wheel Camper Hawk
You’re still traveling in the same 2001 Ford F-250 and 2012 Four Wheel Camper Hawk. Tell us how that rig has remained the right choice all these years later.
A lot of possessions have come and gone in our lives, but both Mark and I have what is probably an unhealthy attachment to our truck and camper. It has been the literal and figurative vehicle for more memories than I can count. I imagine it would be easy to get caught up in upgrading rigs or constantly seeking the perfect fit. Mark and I believe there’s no such thing as the perfect rig; there are always compromises to be made.
Their 2012 Four Wheel Camper, Comb Ridge, Arizona
Our truck gets us to all the hard-to-reach places we want to go. And because it’s old, we don’t worry about beating it up, which we love. At the end of the day, our mission is to create as much freedom for ourselves as possible while simultaneously immersing ourselves in all the wild and beautiful places we can find. Being debt-free is largely how we’ve afforded that freedom, which is why we love having a truck and camper that is paid for.
Arapaho National Forest, Colorado
As for what stories come to mind when we look back on all the miles we’ve logged in our truck, it’s difficult to home in on just a few. Five years ago, we began spending our winters in Mexico—primarily Baja, but we’ve also traveled the mainland. The memorable experiences we’ve had there were coming at us so fast and so frequently that I began sharing daily stories about our travels on our blog.
“At the end of the day, our mission is to create as much freedom for ourselves as possible while simultaneously immersing ourselves in all the wild and beautiful places we can find.”
To Las Animas, Baja California
Those stories have now been turned into two published books—82 Days In Baja and Roaming Mexico—which I believe are a testament to how a truck camper can open doors to a whole new world you never could have imagined.
In your original interview, you wrote about discovering “the perfect home for the night” after wandering remote roads in Colorado. After more than a decade of truck camping, what destination or campsite has come closest to that feeling of paradise?
Wow, the catalog of places that floods my brain when I ponder that question is immense. I know how eager people are to be pointed to the perfect spot, but all these years of truck camping have taught me that there’s so much more to paradise than a pin on a map. That feeling of paradise consists of a cocktail of factors.
First, it starts with your willingness to savor the experience for whatever it’s going to be rather than arriving with expectations. Second, no matter where you are, the weather and the environment play a huge role in the quality of your experience. Wind, bugs, and undesirable neighbors can quickly kill a good vibe. Lastly, sharing a beautiful place with good friends is a surefire way to elevate a camping experience, no matter where you are.
We’ve experienced paradise in the unlikeliest of places, and we’ve seen the most promising places fail to deliver. But if you pinned me down and forced me to choose, any remote beach on the Baja Peninsula is paradise for us.
Camping with friends, The East Cape, Baja California Sur
You originally chose a Four Wheel Camper because it could reach the remote places you loved exploring. Has your definition of adventure changed over the years, or are you still seeking out those same backroads and hidden campsites?
Off-the-beaten-path locales are still largely what we’re after. We absolutely love the silence and serenity that wild places offer. Something unexpected that has arisen over the last few years, however, is our love of sharing our travels with like-minded folks whom we meet on the road. When we lived in a house, we felt like outcasts. Socializing and making friends never came easily for us. But once we got out on the road, we started meeting fellow nomads who were also disenchanted by the status quo. We have forged so many incredible friendships over the last few years.
Lake Havasu, Arizona
Now, life on the road isn’t just about pursuing adventure, but also sharing these amazing experiences with friends, which has enriched our travels more than we ever could have imagined.
I feel like our truck camper has facilitated one memorable story after another. One that comes to mind would be camping on the shoreline of the Sea of Cortez in Baja Mexico where we got the opportunity to paddleboard with a massive fever of mobula rays.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of rays were gathered beneath the surface while one every few seconds would come flying out of the water just a few feet from our boards. Had we not been camped in our truck camper twenty feet from the water’s edge, close enough to hear them jumping out of the water, we never would have known they were there.
It’s experiences like these that have created an on-going love affair with the lifestyle our truck camper affords us. Paddling with a fever of mobula rays was such an incredible and unexpected experience that I’ll carry that memory with me until the day I die.
Mobula Rays in the Sea Of Cortez, Baja California, Sur Los Barriles
If I had to pick one other moment of awe that our truck camper made possible, I’d have to go with camping at the base of Mexico’s Volcán Popocatépetl in the state of Puebla. Popo is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and rises 17,694 feet into the sky. From our camper, we were able to witness steam billowing into the air. At night, the steam glowed neon orange from the lava within. Every afternoon, the behemoth would create its own storm system and disappear behind a thick layer of clouds. By morning, a fresh layer of snow coated Popo, framed by a clear blue sky. It was one of the most breathtaking sights I’ve ever witnessed.
Volcán Popocatépetl as seen through their camper door, Puebla, Mexico
Back in 2013, you told readers that life is short and that if someone dreams of owning a truck camper, they should make it happen. More than a decade later, do you still feel the same way, and what has the truck camper lifestyle taught you about freedom, time, and priorities?
My love of truck camper travel has only deepened over the years. On the outside, it probably appears as though we live on the road full-time so that we can travel perpetually. Sure, that’s true, but there are so many other reasons that we love this lifestyle. Mark and I don’t believe that retirement is a guarantee, and we’re well aware that living to old age is not a guarantee. Because of this, we value our time above all else.
Living on the road has allowed us to pay off our debt, lower our cost of living, form a healthy relationship with the resources we consume, and reduce our needs. It has also allowed us to increase our time spent in nature and with the people we love. And constantly being on the move keeps us in a healthy relationship with the fleeting nature of life. This lifestyle isn’t for everyone, but for us, it aligns perfectly with the things in life that are most important to us.
Picacho Peak, Arizona
That sounds just like the advice in our Truck Camping for Longevity article! If you could sit down with Mark and Michele from 2013, what would you tell them about the adventures that still lay ahead?
You’re going to go all the way through your thirties and into your forties and still have no idea what you’re doing. Life’s stressors will never relent, nor will questioning what the best use of your time is. But the truck will always be there, ready to take you to the places that bring you the most peace and the most joy in life. You don’t need to know where you’re going; just find a dirt road and see what you find.
Lake Mead, Nevada
After over a decade of truck camper travel and pursuing an unconventional lifestyle, we’ve found that inspiring and empowering others to get outside and enjoy life is profoundly meaningful for us. For anyone interested in full-time RV travel, we’ve compiled our years of experience into free resources on our blog, twohappycampers.com. We’d love to see you there.
Michele and Mark’s Rig
2001 Ford F250
2012 Four Wheel Camper Hawk
