JACK AND KRISTINA: @JKOVERLAND
By Paul Strubell of Dirt Orca’s – 11/19/18
For the ninety forth installment in our ongoing interview series here at Dirt Orca’s, we are very excited to share the story of Jack and Kristina with you. You may know them as @JKoverland.
If you aren’t familiar with @JKoverland from their terrific YouTube series, perhaps you may know them from their adventurous social media platforms on Instagram and Facebook? Which ever way you prefer to follow their journey, I highly recommend doing so.
They have been hard at work transforming their 4×4 into a more livable space and their journey is really starting to kick off.
I think you’ll find that they are a great addition to your own knowledge base as well. Sharing a great deal of information that many others gloss over in their quest for a more inspirational presentation.
Jack and Kristina tell a classic overland adventure story in a sense, but like so many of the people I have interviewed for this series, the beauty of this story is in the details.
Check out the interview and some of their photography below.
What do you consider to be your place of work?
Both us are currently self-employed. Kristina as a career on a two week on two week of basis and myself in garden maintenance. The grand plan is to not have a fixed place of work and to be able to travel full time and work remotely as we travel. This could be as soon as next year.
Tell me about your vehicle. What do you call it?
Our vehicle is a 1996 Mitsubishi Shogun station wagon with the 2.8 four cylinder diesel engine. His name is Don.
What other vehicles did you consider and what made you ultimately pull the trigger on the one you bought?
A Nissan patrol Y60 has always been high on the list but due to rarity and running costs in Europe the Mitsubishi made more sense.
Have you made any upgrades or changes to it?
Where to begin? Following our trip earlier this year to Portugal we soon decided that it was not enough space to be living out the back of the standard station wagon style truck, so on returning home we soon set about major transformation to the vehicle including cutting the roof off and fabricating a new raised roof from scratch. Upgrades include, 2 inch lift shocks and springs, steel modular wheels with 265’75’16 Cooper discovery STT Pro tires, steel winch bumper and TeraFirma winch, snorkel, high lift jack and 20L jerry can holder. The vehicle has been painted with U-POL Raptor coating as a textured finish in green which originally was going to be an olive green but did not turn out that way! After initial hesitations we now love the color and find it to be a great way to get noticed.
What is your favorite part about it living/working out of your vehicle?
The fact that it can be our home from home carrying all we need to live and work comfortably from any destination. Waking up with a new view each morning is a big part of why we are so passionate about this way of life.
What is your least favorite part about it?
Space on long winter trips can be tiring with two people in a small environment. Breaking trips up with staying with friends and in BnB’s help with this, especially when you fancy a long hot shower.
How many miles have you put on your vehicle?
About 20,000
What is the best place you have taken it?
Sierra de Estrella mountains of Portugal.
Is there just one?
Picos de Europa Mountains and Galicia region in Northern Spain. Snowdonia, North Wales.
Favorite road you’ve driven?
Alentejo coastline and the sand tracks along the wild Atlantic.
In one word, what describes your approach to life?
Adventure
If you could give a person one piece of advice when thinking about living from a vehicle, what would you tell them?
Don’t worry about what has not happened yet, take it day by day. Living on the road will always bring small challenges. Solving problems there and then is a big part of how we grow. No adventure is without obstacles we need the bad times in order to appreciate the good times. Pack and go, worry about the rest later.
It takes a special kind of person to recognize that the journey, not the destination, is the point of life. Travelers know this. Was there a point in your life where you became conscious that you were those kind of people?
After taking the first major trip to Thailand, realizing that we were not cut out for daily 9-5 routine because we fell in love with the adventure spirit.
You have found a strong place in the community of travelers. What values do you think your home or family instilled in you, that you take on the road?
Most importantly that you cannot control everything, adapt to the unknown and find strength within. Money will not buy happiness, do not allow it to obstruct space in your mind.
I admire your outside the box approach to career and home. Do you see yourselves as people who took a leap of faith to live in an unconventional way or do you think it kind of just happened?
Leap of faith. Both of us brought up in a conventional way of life wanting to break out of the cycle to live a life with less material possessions but a wealth of experiences.
Where do you want to go next?
Soon we go back to mainland Europe to begin a new adventure starting with the Island of Corsica. This to us is the beginning of a new life as full time travelers. It is a very exciting time for us both personally and professionally especially with the fast growing community associated with JKoverland. We have a love for the unknown, preferring not to plan too much ahead therefore allowing a slower pace to life in this crazy fast world!
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