Your name: Nate, Kate, Soly + Mo
Location: Mancos, CO
Rig nickname: Strawberry Taquito
Vehicle Make & Model: Ram Promaster 2500
Year: 2018
HEST product: Dually Long + 2 HEST Pillows
Critical dimensions for your bed platform:
Length: 77”
Width (at narrowest point): 52”
Height: 40”
What do you like most about your rig?
Strawberry Taquito is the confluence of where our home meets our studio - on wheels! She’s ready for any adventure. The bed platform has a cutout for Nate's sewing machine; the Dually is perfect as it folds out of the way. Kate has a metalsmith setup and works in and out of the van. Everything is multi-purpose to utilize all our needs in the small space. We installed a Cubic Mini wood stove and it makes the space feel even more like home. Oh, and we used the Shou Sugi Ban technique to cure the ceiling, we love the texture it created!
On your average weekend adventure, what is the gear set up you bring with you? How did you navigate gear storage needs into your set up?
We have an open storage space underneath our bed platform that is filled with ski, bike, or rafting gear, depending on the season and adventure. We decided to leave the storage space open to have the option to roll up our raft and throw it in the back, or have all of our show set-up so we’re ready to sling our handmade goods for our business Thread Metal Stone.
Any cool custom details you’re proud of?
Inspired by a best friend and amazing artist, with a knack for living life to the fullest, we have burned a re-creation of his art in the van. A landscape piece encompassing everything we love about the Southwest: where the mountains meet the canyons, and the water that cuts through them. This is our little tribute to a great man, and his art welcomes us each time we enter the van to remind us to see the amazingness of life. “Isn’t it amazing!” JKP 3/29/86 - 3/2/13
Coolest place you’ve taken your rig to?
Waking up on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon was pretty dang sweet. We camped right on the rim, rode bikes and had glorious cocktail and coffee views.
How long did this build take from start to finish?
Are you ever really finished? We purchased the van in the Spring of 2021 and have spent the year building it out. We like to live in the space and make functional changes to see how we utilize the space… we’re still modifying, but oh- so-close to finishing her!
What fun activities do you do from your rig?
We work, picnic, bike, sleep in random parking lots, run rivers, snuggle MOLY - our two old-men retrievers (GrandPAWs - sorry about that), run, ski and are generally dirty little kids in our rig.
