• Welcome to Tacoma3G.com, a free resource for 2016-2023 Toyota Tacoma owners!

    This website is the passion-project of a USMC veteran/mechanic, @Tyler. I created Tacoma3G.com to share my knowledge of this subject with others and to provide like-minded folks with a comfortable space to ask questions and create 'build threads' within our Tacoma Forums. Now, if the format of this website is confusing to navigate for you, or if you're interested in my full mission and T3G's history, check out the Help and About pages.

It’s official, I’m a homeowner (camper photos)

Looks great! I’d love to see what the interior looks like.
The interior will be DIY with a kitchen, sink, fridge, etc.

But here is what it looks like in its current bare state:

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Someone said to me, "No disrespect, but how are you able to afford to travel like this so young? Are you independently wealthy?"

I figured I would share my answer here because I imagine some of you guys have thought about this too.

I would be asking the same thing if I saw this thread posted by someone else, so no worries.

I'm able to do this because I did around 7 years in the USMC, made it to E-5 (decent rank that has decent pay), busted my back, and ended up getting medically retired. The last part means I get a disability check every month, forever. This equals to about $40k of "free", non-taxable income a year. I then make a very small amount from the Toyota Tacoma forum I run (like, very small, and I only use that money to put it back into the forum, so it is not even worth mentioning). My wife is working as a CNA, so her pay is decent too until she leaves for our road life (whenever COVID allows us to). We are aged 29 and don't have kids, nor do we plan to anytime soon.

That's the income. What about the expenses? The camper on the back of the truck was $15k. I paid in cash using a savings account. The truck itself was purchased in 2017 with no intent of using it like this. I think the loan is $470 a month (automatic payments; don't even need to think about it honestly). The modifications done to the truck itself are waaaayyyy more than I probably think they are because I don't keep track. My guess would be $10-15k? How is that justified? Am I crazy?

Nah, I don't think I am. The mods have been spread over 3 years, and while they're not fully done yet, they are all highly functional and really do make a difference. I don't add anything just for show. Also, trucks like this have been my thing since I was little, and my wife digs them too. Same thing with being in the outdoors and just seeing beautiful new places. What good is your money if you don't spend it to make the best memories you can until the day you inevitably die, right?

Last note about the truck and its mods: Taking it to the "extreme" that I do actually gets me "noticed" or "popular", if you will. This is NOT my intent and I will never sell out and accept sponsors and become a robotic advertisement. But. It is cool that people all over the country know who I am, know about my Tacoma forum, and know my truck. Plenty of people say hello to me in public because they recognize the truck. In the off-road world, this is a pretty common thing, so I'm not special or anything, but it does feel kind of wholesome sometimes.

Onward with the other expenses...

Two cellular data plans: $160
Two dog insurance policies: $60 each
Truck insurance: $90 per 6 months
Truck fuel economy: about 12 mpg, fill up is around $50 and happens once or twice a week
Health insurance: Free for both of us because of the military disability
iCloud and Spotify: $10 2 tb family plan, $15 family plan
Cost for food and dog food per month: I have no idea. Who cares. You gotta eat.

Bonus stuff that doesn't "count" to me because any of it can be stopped if we needed to:

Amazon Prime
Will probably have a subscription to a cell service booster for remote areas
Paying for my new iPhone 11 Pro and new MacBook Pro 2020 monthly, with the Apple Card. I don't count this because I only did that to have the iPhone yearly upgrade and be more in the Apple ecosystem by using the Wallet app. If these payments were to get annoying, I'd just pay them both off at once.
Buying crap at random: new gear, smaller truck parts, patches from National Parks, random Amazon Prime stuff, etc.


So, idk if this seems like a lot or a little, but to us, it is cheaper than what a normal lifestyle would be, especially if you factor in a mortgage and all other expenses that come with owning a house. I would honestly love to hear your guys' opinions on this post. Maybe we are crazy?
 
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