For years, we shared the dream of traveling around the United States and living on the road full-time. One day we decided it was time to stop dreaming and start living. We chose to leave on the spring equinox of 2018 and begin our road trip adventure of a lifetime. This would give us nine months to plan and research. It didn’t take long to realize the wide range of gear we would need to outfit ourselves properly. There was no way that two of us were going to fit in our Jeep Cherokee along with all of our gear, so we had to come up with a solution. Quality and durability are a necessity when it comes to gear, so I knew this wouldn’t be an easy task. That was when I learned about StowAway Hitch Box. My research made it an easy choice to get the StowAway Max Hitch Cargo Box on their swingaway hitch frame.
That was a game-changer for us. Suddenly, we were no longer concerned about where we were going to store all of our gear. We were able to store our solar panels, solar generator, all of our kitchen supplies, food, tools, tarp and tarp poles, camp chairs and table, shoes, and many other things. The size of the box and the amount it can hold really made it possible for us to enjoy life on the road while having space inside of our vehicle. It’s been over two years and more than 70,000 miles and we have no desire to stop traveling. We’ve explored the lower 48 states, as well as several excursions into Canada and Mexico. The StowAway cargo box has been with us and in use that entire time.
From coast to coast, we’ve had amazing adventures. Traversing mountains, deserts, forests, and marshes has become a common activity for us. We made it to the top of Pikes Peak and down to the Badwater Basin. We’ve had to opportunity to swim in two oceans, five Great Lakes, and countless rivers and streams. Our minds were blown by the beauty of places like Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta, Canada, and the Redwood Forests in California. We’ve been baked by the summer sun in Arizona and tested our cold-weather gear during a New Hampshire winter. No matter where we’ve been, the StowAway hitch box has taken everything we’ve thrown at it. Not only has it kept our gear dry and safe, but also because it locks, it’s kept everything secure.
Outside of storage the StowAway box has come in handy in various ways. The top of the lid is pretty flat and we use that to our advantage. We use it frequently as a counter/tabletop to eat meals. We enjoy finding a scenic location and having a “box picnic”. Believe me, there have been many of them along the way. The swingaway hitch frame has also come in handy on numerous occasions. We love to lay inside of our rig with the back hatch open, looking out at the sunset. This is only possible because of the swingaway frame. The frame has also been helpful during windy days at camp. One day while camping on the edge of the Badlands we were faced with an impressive windstorm. We figured out that we can lock the box in the 90° position and with our backs against our Jeep we used the StowAway as a wind block.
We love our lifestyle so much that we’ve decided to continue living on the road full-time. It has been educational, exhilarating, and we couldn’t imagine living any other way. Moving forward we plan to move at a slower pace and dive deeper into each location. It’s such a beautiful and interesting land that we live in and it constantly calls to us. The reliability and durability of our StowAway Cargo Box enables us to live the lifestyle we want and we plan to continue taking full advantage of that. Knowing it can handle just about anything we throw at it, really opens up the places we can go and the adventures we can have. I can’t wait to see where we will go next and the experiences that it will bring.
Written by: Jasper Springfield of Roving Motion