Who’s idea was this, anyway?
How ‘Ramble on Rufus’ began and what drives us forward
We’re Logan and Cooper— formally trained as biologist and engineer— a pair of scientists with a shared passion for learning, living deliberately, and anything that brings us closer to the outdoors & nature!
Why the heck did we tear apart a brand new 2022 cab-over delivery truck to convert to 4x4 and build into an overland camper? We owe that answer to an unwillingness to compromise on the vision of our ultimate travel rig, even if that meant rolling up our sleeves and building it from the ground up! We entered this project with some past build experience and confidence in our DIY skills, enough blind optimism to know that while we don’t have all the answers - we will find them, and determination (or dare we say, stubbornness?) to see the project through. Hundreds of hours and gallons of blood, sweat & tears later, we have an expedition truck named Rufus chomping at the bit for adventure! We created ‘Ramble on Rufus’ as a platform to share the process and knowledge gained during this massive undertaking, and hopefully some of our travels. We aim to be living proof of the sentiment that you can do anything you put your mind to, and hope that is enough to push you towards your own lofty goals!
Rufus on the car dealer lot, the first vehicle we have ever bought new!
Our adventure vehicle, vanlife, and overland journey started in 2018 with a 2006 Sprinter named Martha. We spent the better part of a year designing, planning, and building before hitting the open road for another year. The pandemic brought us back to stationary living, working a 9-5 and mowing the lawn took over our lives. Martha sat in the driveway unused, so we capitalized on the vanlife boom and sold our trusty steed to her next steward. Immediately the gears started turning and we hatched a plan to design and build what we think will be the perfect overland vehicle for us.
Martha on the Road, Valley of the Gods, Utah.
While Martha was a very comfortable travel rig, we had some unmet wants we hoped to address while building Rufus.
We labored over trucks, campers, designs, and specs, for the better part of a year. Countless hours of research went into landing on the decision to build another truck and even more time picking the chassis and camper to use. We even went as far as buying a 2006 Fuso FG140, thinking it was the right choice, before realizing it wasn’t for us and selling it on marketplace.
After all our research, blog posts, YouTube videos, and chatting with venders/builders we determined what we wanted was not available in the U.S. (at least at a price point we could afford). We finally decided to buy a brand new 2wd Chevy LCF (Low Cab forward) 4500, convert it to 4wd, and build a camper on the back. Projects are kind of our MO; you could say we like a challenge! In the past 9 years we’ve fully gutted and remodeled 2 houses, built out a van, built an expedition truck, got a masters, published 8 peer reviewed manuscripts, held numerous career-focused jobs, raised and harvested 12 pigs, the list goes on. We like to work with our hands and stay busy, and we love the reward that comes from knowing that you are the one who built it.
One of the first major milestones, getting the floor attached to the truck via the subframe!
We are here sharing our journey because we wish this resource had existed to help us along the way. We will outline all the major decisions and lessons learned here in case you are as crazy as us and want to do something similar! If you like what you see, let us know, if you want a deeper dive into a specific topic, we would love to hear from you! We keep saying this is the last one, but in reality, we both know it’s only the beginning. Join, grow and learn with us!
