The Importance of that First SHAKE-DOWN Trip: Or, How We Learned We're DEFINITELY Not Finished with The Build

When you cross the finish line of a marathon, you can finally take that first initial sigh of relief. Months of training for the race lead up to that very moment. You did it. You’re finished. You did a great job of getting there. You kept to your stringent training diet, you kept going to the gym, and you gritted your teeth and showed up to those Saturday morning 6am mileage runs. But, after receiving your medal, taking in a few much needed after-race refreshments, you know that’s when the hurt really starts. You take your trainer mandated ice bath, then a massage, and followed only by days of leg stiffness and pain.

Just when you thought you were finished, you realize that you’re only getting started.

We couldn’t help but feel a sigh of relief the first time the Troopy’s tires touched dirt. That very moment was years in the making, followed by months of hard work. Literal buckets of sweat oozed out of our pores as we were building out in south Texas. We persevered. We finished. And now, we have our very own 4x4 custom pop-top camper.

We were dying to get out. We did our best to not travel so much during the height of the pandemic. It was our way of doing what we could to mitigate any possibility of anything happening to not just us, but to everyone else around us. We didn’t want to put a stress on any small towns we passed through. Stores and gas stations were getting swamped by panic buying hoarders. But, after about a year of not doing too much, the anxiousness to be somewhere that wasn’t home boiled up to a rapturous, almost tangible, fervor. We needed to be outside our comfort zone.

We knew we had to take the Troopy on a maiden voyage. Everything was brand spanking new. And we knew we had to test everything before we went on any serious, and extended, expeditions. We debated between going places that were a good distance away, or staying relatively close to a decent sized city so we’d have access to resources in case any problems arose. Our pragmatic selves chose the latter. And good thing we decided on the close-to-resources route as problems immediately bubbled up.

Things that went wrong

Power issues. In our Troopy, we have a front starter battery, and two BattleBorn “house” LiFePo4 100ah batteries in the back that run pretty much everything else. During our drive out, we noticed that our Renogy DC-to-DC with MPPT charger was not charging the house batteries.

Initially, we chalked this up to maybe not installing a certain wire that connected the charger to the alternator. The Renogy installation manual mentioned only installing if we had a “smart” alternator. The Troopy is as simple as it gets. Nothing is smart, or even relatively smart. So, we opted to not install said wire.

Puzzled on what the issue could be, we stopped by a local auto parts store to borrow a multimeter. It was our alternator. It was just barely charging the starter battery so it had no juice to give to our house batteries. 

We also did not have our solar panels installed yet. So, there was no way we could charge up the house batteries unless we plugged them into the mains. And during our week-long maiden trip, there were times where we had to sat plugged into a wall socket for hours waiting for the batteries to be charged. 

Heat issues. Our drive out had us driving through hot deserts. We knew this and thought nothing of it as we drove the Troopy through the very hot Texas heat with no issues. But, Texas is flat. California is not. During uphills, we noticed our temperatures rising, then going back to nominal whenever we flattened out.

Water issues. In our rush to get out and go somewhere, many steps were forgotten. We forgot to initially rinse out our water tank. Us not doing this resulted in our water tasting incredibly plastic-y. Top-tip: clean out your water tank before using it. 

We used the water to do dishes and to wash up. Drinking water was relegated to using our backpacking water filter on a nearby stream.

This goes to show to always have redundancy —for everything. We wouldn’t have drinking water if we didn’t have our filter. Our other option would be to go into town and buy water.

Things That Went Right

The pop-top. Being able to go from regular-ole-truck mode to camper mode in a matter of seconds is a feat that would make the residents of Cyberton misty (or oily?) in the eyes. Being able to fully stand up inside your truck is a revelation. Being able to bring down your bed to sleep and doing it all inside, while out of the wind, rain, and cold, is something that will take us a long-long time to get used to. 

We made the right choice when we decided on the Expedition Centre Mulgo pop-top. The space inside during the day is light and airy, and the window coverings can be fully removed so we can appreciate the views outside. All things that are important to us. Especially when we’re on extended trips and working remotely from the truck. 

The interior cabinets. We went through about a trillion cabinet design revisions during the build out process. We sat inside the troopy with boxes imagining where the drawers should be, how big they will be, and what will be stored in each one. We had zero idea if the cabinets would be right for us. We went with our gut. And our gut proved us right.

We didn’t pack the drawers how we initially planned, but it all worked out. We loved how everything was so accessible. The pantry was in the right place. Our pots and pans were in the right place. Even the placement of the fridge proved to be wonderful.

On top of everything functional that worked well, we absolutely marveled how well it all looked. The clean modern lines of the inside contrasted with the rugged outdoors was exactly how we envisioned it. It was the Scandinavian meets mid-mod meets southwest look we dreamed of. Being inside of it gave us a wonderful sense of quiet tranquility.

The Troopy. Other than the alternator and heat problems, the Troopy itself proved to be the reliable beast that all the world-traveling epics were written about. It never skipped a beat even with its few kinks that needed to be ironed out. It may be slow, but it always started, and it always did what we asked. 

We’ve got a bit of a way to go before the Troopy is, what we consider, long-trip ready. But, the good bones and muscles are there. We just now need to take the time, put in some reps into those muscles and build them up.

Nothing is more important than taking your freshly built rig on a maiden voyage. There will always be kinks and problems that arise. There will always be improvements to be made. There is no such thing as a perfect rig. But, a rig that closely represents your travel lifestyle is as close to perfect as you can get.

Building out any vehicle for extended travel is a marathon. Not a sprint race. Take your time and pace yourself. But just remember, after you cross the finish line, there’s an ice bath and sore legs waiting for you just after that.

—Linhbergh