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“Van life” is incredibly popular, both for young travelers trying to save money and Instagram influencers emphasizing free-spirited living in their posts. But this Mitsubishi rig goes way beyond a traditional Sprinter van with some string lights.
This former wildland firefighting rig has been converted to a custom camper truck that owners Heather and Dana have been living out of, full-time, for six months. In this video, they give viewers a full walk-through of their setup.
The truck itself is a 2007 Mitsubishi Fuso FG140, a favorite of serious overlanders thanks to its massive 4.9-liter turbodiesel inline four-cylinder and standard four-wheel drive. The couple picked up this example with just 50,000 miles and put on lifted suspension to fit 37-inch tires and an aftermarket front bumper with a winch and integrated trail lights.
Modifications are otherwise minimal, with a pair of heated seats and an Apple CarPlay head unit as the only changes to the Mitsubishi’s cab. The real magic of the truck, however, is in the custom composite camper shell, which rides on a spring-assisted subframe to keep the interior from vibrating excessively over washboarded dirt roads.
The inside of the 15-by-8 foot box contains a queen-size bed, a kitchenette with an induction cooktop, sink, fridge, and microwave (which Heather assures viewers they do actually use a lot), and a bathroom with a shower and a composting toilet. A dining area with a stowable table turns into a guest bedroom when the couple have visitors. A traditional house-style A/C, Starlink internet, and a hot water heater more or less keep the Mitsubishi feeling like a home fit for a couple and a dog.
Solar panels on the roof provide 1,200 watts of power that charge 600 amp-hours worth of batteries to keep the truck powered and cooled. The rest of the video shows off more hidden features in the camper shell, including a nifty locking slide-out storage pod meant to hold the couples’ mountain bikes for after they reach the trailhead.
In a past life, I lived out of a van for about six months, and while it was fun, it was roughin’ it. No water, no shower, no toilet, no internet; it was hard to actually make it a home. What I needed, apparently, was an upgrade from Van Life to Truck Life.
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