In 2015, Ashley Kaye’s father died and inherited her childhood house in Waterford, Wisconsin. At the time, she was 27 years old, working in business health care and transitioning to consulting work, where she worked 80 to 100 hours per week.
“I worked from my house, so I just walked from my room to my office in the kitchen and repeat,” Kaye, now 36, said in CNBC. “I was a zombie at that time,”
During her trips, Kaye met someone during a honduras scuba trip to Honduras who helped her realize what she wanted was to leave her career behind her and travel full time.
“We just struck and discussed all the time I was there. We talked about the worst of the worst, the best of the best, and the finances too,” says Kaye.
“He told me that he wanted to have done it earlier because it is so much easier and cheaper than you think. It changed everything for me. I went home and I worked more and more until I leave the following year.”
Since her life in the truck, Kaye has visited more than 20 countries.
Ashley Kaye
Kaye has spent the next three years traveling during the COVVI-19 pandemic. During a trip to South Africa, she learned unexpected news that her aunt was sick and that she would need to go home to the Wisconsin.
“This flight was probably the moment when not a single ounce of my being was like” Yay, I come home “. It was like,” I don’t want to be here. “I love being on the islands. I love having the ocean near me. It took the hesitation that I had in previous years to sell the house.”
While Kaye was back home by taking care of her aunt, she prepared her childhood house to sell and considered her next move. She thought a lot about trying Van’s life and living and traveling with her dog.
“Traveling by plane with a dog just seemed a terrible idea,” she said. “I do a lot of photography, so I knew that I wanted something where I could reach more difficult destinations.”
While waiting for the sale of his house to close, a couple contacted Kaye on Instagram to ask questions about their stay in South Africa. They shared their experience on the ground in a Toyota truck with a motorhome in the truck bed.
Origin is an autonomous form of travel which involves adventure towards distant destinations, generally in a vehicle of a certain type.
Kaye estimates that she spent more than $ 50,000 for renovations.
Ashley Kaye
After doing some of her own research, Kaye was all and bought a Toyota Tacoma truck for $ 42,934, according to documents examined by CNBC.
Kaye picked up the truck in southern Dakota and brought it back to the Wisconsin to finish packing his house during its official sale in March 2023.
“The plan is that there is no plan”
Now that his new house was the truck, Kaye left for his first adventure: a road to Baja California, Mexico. She stayed there for three months and planned the renovations she would need to make the truck more habitable.
“My life is a bit like” the plan is that there is no plan. “Most people plan this type of adventure for years.” It was very moving at the moment, so I had to take a break and understand things. “
While living in Mexico, Kaye found an American company that was making truck bed replacements that would provide external storage and make life easier for it and the trip to the Toyota Tacoma. However, the installation could not occur before September.
Kaye took the personal effects of his childhood house to use in the motorhome.
Ashley Kaye
In the meantime, Kaye has learned as much as she could on the truck and the type of camper she would need. She estimates that she spent more than $ 50,000 for renovations.
The costs included the purchase of a motorhome, the addition of solar energy, the replacement of the truck bed, the upgrading of the suspension, the new tires, the personalization of a bumper and the installation of an electric cooler.
When the truck was ready, Kaye decided to browse the Pan -American highway, from Denver. The highway extends from Prudhoe bay, Alaska, Ushuaia, Argentina.
“It’s really an incredible way to travel because you can give your own rhythm and if you find somewhere, it’s beautiful and peaceful, you can stay as long as you want,” says Kaye.
“But there are advantages and disadvantages to all travel mode and lots of paperwork and logistics.
Kaye n ° 1 lesson: “Life is too short, so live”
Since his life and his trips to the full -time truck, Kaye has visited Mexico, all the countries of Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and certain parts of Argentina. In total, it has been in more than 20 countries so far.
“I don’t want to be a cliché and say that it’s a dream life because it’s a lot of work and there are a lot of things you have to take care of and maintain,” she said.
“But it’s really incredible to be able to wake up and watch the card and say:” Should I sleep inside this volcano or go to the jungle or go to the beach? “You have a lot of very beautiful options, so I can’t really complain.”
Ashley Kaye lives and travels to her Toyota truck since 2023.
Ashley Kaye
After all this time on the road, Kaye says that the greatest lesson she has learned is that life is too short.
“Since I started traveling, [I learned] Life is simply too short. You don’t have to go leaving your career to browse the world, but whatever your dreams and your goals in life, start now and everything else is just to find a goal, “she said.
Kaye says that when she was younger, her father taught her that she was capable of anything.
“I grew up with my father who rises me and saying to me every day” you can be whatever you want when you grow up and you can do everything “,” she said. “He was 57 years old when he died, so he never even retired. His death taught me to live life because you never know how long you have in life.”
Kaye bought the Toyota Tacoma for $ 42,934.
Ashley Kaye
