Last October we visited the Goal Zero HQ in Bluffdale, Utah. We were in contact with them with regards to our project, our power needs, available real estate on the roof for a panel, and which products would meet our needs.
GoRumpl
Slade, KY—Rumpl is a Kickstarter-funded small business based out of San Francisco. They make what they call the “World’s Best Blanket”—a durable, stylish, and technical comforter that can be compressed down into a sleeping-bag-sized stuff sack. Waterproof, odor/stain-resistant, rugged, and handsome… what’s not to love? This product seemed to be made for us—two travelers who shower once a week, sleep with their dog, and have pretty discerning taste about what goes into their tiny living space.
We are giddy to now have two Rumpl blankets with us in the Egg, one on the bed and another to take out on adventures. What’s more, the guys at Rumpl were nice enough to invite us to share our story and some photos on their blog. Check it out!
The Egg Goes Solar
Salt Lake City, UT—After staying a night in McInnis Canyon National Conservation Area and the lovely (and completely desolate) camping it offers, we packed up the Egg and hit I70 west, then headed north through Price Canyon and the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest as we rolled along smoothly toward GoalZero’s headquarters just outside Salt Lake City.
In case you’re not familiar with GoalZero, they are an industry-leading consumer solar products manufacturer who have (in a very short time) revolutionized the solar landscape for consumers in the US and brought light to villages in Ghana and Indonesia (and others), as well as to victims of Hurricane Sandy. They’ve done the best job of any company I can think of to make solar power—in all it’s complexity—easy to understand as a regular, non-science-y consumer. They have done an excellent job distilling down the components required to get a solar system running for your energy needs by releasing products that are plug-and-play.
Operation Scamp-Revamp
Hudson, WI—Growing up in Wisconsin, we saw lots of Scamp trailers on the road (they are made by a family-owned company in northern Minnesota). As adults, we were drawn to them again because of their small size, light weight, reasonable prices, and let’s face it—super cute rounded shape. We found the DesignEgg Scamp through RVTrader.com, a great site for camper classifieds. Turns out these little guys are hard to come by and it took us several tries to swoop in before someone else to buy ours. The one we found was a 2002 Scamp 16′ located in Blacksburg, VA, so we drove ten hours out there to pick it up from a super nice fellow (and soon-to-be DesignEgg backer) named Tim. The price of our new home: $9,000.
When we first purchased the Egg, we both agreed that we wanted to make it our own. So on a tight budget of $500, we set to work on the renovations. Our family graciously allowed us to park the trailer in the driveway for two weeks while we ripped out carpet, painted cabinet doors, built a new table, washed/de-oxidized/waxed the fiberglass, applied decals, made curtains, caulked, and re-packed all our belongings inside.
We documented the transformation and are happy to share it with any aspiring RV’ers or tiny house/small space dwellers out there.