Ashley Kaye's father died in 2015 and she inherited her house in childhood in Waterford, Wisconsin. At that time she was 27 years old, worked in healthcare and switched to a consulting job where she worked 80 to 100 hours a week.
“I worked from home, so I just went from my bedroom to my office to the kitchen and repeatedly,” says Kaye, now 36, CNBC Make it. “I was a zombie in these times”
When traveling, Kaye met someone on a diving trip to Honduras, who helped her, to recognize that she wanted to leave her career behind and travel full -time.
“We just got on and talked all the time when I was there. We spoke about the worst of the worst, the best of the best and financial data,” says Kaye.
“He told me that he wanted it earlier because it was so much easier and cheaper than you think. It changed everything for me. I went home and worked more and more until I stopped next year.”
Kaye has traveled to over 20 countries since life in the truck.
Ashley Kaye
Kaye spent the next three years during the Covid 19 pandemic. On a trip to South Africa, she received unexpected news that her aunt was sick and had to fly home to Wisconsin.
“This flight was probably the moment when not a single ounce of my being like 'yay, I'm going home'. It was like:” I don't want to be here. “I love being on the islands. I love to have the ocean near me. This has taken hesitation away from selling the house in recent years.”
While Kaye was back home and took care of her aunt, she prepared her house for sale in childhood and looked at her next step. She thought a lot about trying van life and living and traveling with her dog.
“Traveling with a dog with a dog just sounds like a terrible idea,” she says. “I do a lot of photography, so I knew that I wanted something where I could achieve harder goals.”
While he was waiting for the sale of her house to get to Kaye in Instagram to ask about her time in South Africa. They shared their experience of overlanding in a Toyota truck with a motorhome in the truck bed.
Overlanding is a form of independent travel, the targets that are adventurous to distant goals, usually in a vehicle of any kind.
Kaye estimates that she spent more than 50,000 US dollars for renovation work.
Ashley Kaye
After a little of her own research, Kaye was all-in and bought a Toyota Tacoma truck for $ 42,934, as evoked by the documents checked by CNBC.
Kaye took the truck in South Dakota and drove him back to Wisconsin to end her house when he was officially sold in March 2023.
“The plan is that there is no plan”
After her new home of the trucks, Kaye set off on her first adventure: a trip to Baja California, Mexico. She stayed there for three months and planned the renovation work that she needed to do the truck more.
“My life is how 'the plan is that there is no plan.' Most people plan this kind of adventure for years.
When Kaye lived in Mexico, he found an American company that presented the replacement of the truck bed, which provided external storage and made it easier to live and travel in the Toyota Tacoma. However, the installation could only pass in September.
Kaye took things from her home house to use them in the motorhome.
Ashley Kaye
In the meantime, Kaye learned as much as possible through the truck and the type of motorhome that she would need. She estimates that she spent more than 50,000 US dollars for the renovation work.
The costs included buying a motorhome, adding solar energy, replacing the truck bed, upgrading the suspension, the new tires, adapting a bumper and installing an electrical cooler.
When the truck was finished, Kaye decided to travel the Pan -American motorway from Denver. The highway extends from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina.
“It is really an incredible way to travel because you can set your own pace and if you find a nice and peaceful place, you can stay as long as you want,” says Kaye.
“But every type of travel and many bureaucracy and logistics crossing limits have advantages and disadvantages. It can be exhausting, especially if they are alone. They have to find a balance that works for them, but overall it is definitely one of the coolest adventures of my life.”
Kayes No. 1 lesson: “Life is too short, so just live”
Since Kaye has lived full -time and has traveled full -time, he has visited Mexico, every country in Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile and parts of Argentina. So far, it has been in over 20 countries.
“I don't want to be a cliché and say it is a dream life because it is a lot of work and there are many things that you have to take care of and maintain,” she says.
“But it is really incredible to wake up and just look at the map and say: 'Should I sleep in this volcano or go to the jungle or go to the beach?' You have many really nice options, so I can't really complain.
Ashley Kaye has been living in her Toyota truck since 2023.
Ashley Kaye
After all this time on the street, Kaye, the largest lesson she has learned, says that life is too short.
“Since I started traveling [I learned] Life is just too short. You don't have to leave your career to travel to the world, but whatever your dreams and goals in life are now beginning and everything else has only one goal to find out, “she says.
Kaye says when she was younger, it was her father who taught her that she was capable of anything.
“I grew up with my father, who arouses me and tell me every day that you can be everything you want if you are grown up and you can do everything,” she says. “He was 57 years old when he died, so he never had to retire. His death taught me how to live life because you never know how much time they have in life.”
Kaye bought the Toyota Tacoma for $ 42,934.
Ashley Kaye
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