The CAMPstarter
Help us get hitched again!
8 years and over 400,000 miles, and our camper finally decided to call it quits. It's been a big year of break downs, and we'd love to keep rolling-- but we need a little help. Send some funds and good thoughts our way notating "camper" to get our wheels turning, and to get your name written inside the new rig.
Verification Email:
roughandtumbletunes
@gmail.com
Verification Digits:
5711
UPDATE: 12/6/23
You all! We raised $21,126 thanks to 158 of you! And miracle on miracle, we found a camper at almost that price the DAY THE CAMPSTARTER ENDED! It's now safely parked in our driveway and ready for a year of touring in 2024. THANK YOU!
$21,126.50
When, What, Why, Where, How.
When
We'll be hitting the road the first week of January 2024, and will need a new pull behind camper for our gear and our family to make a go of the tour. Which means the timeline is short. We'll need to get a new rig before the end of December in order to be ready to go in time!
What
While time is short, compared to the last time 8 years ago, we have a little wiggle room to not just pick the cheapest, most available thing on the lot. While we aren't looking for something fancy, we are looking for something durable. We hope to get it a little smaller, too, since we are no longer living in it full time, but we are living in it for about half the year. It'll be another travel trailer, and must fit both 100# dogs, us, and some gear. And preferably something that is meant for a little hard traveling.
Why
Why not just get a van? Why not just tour out of your truck? Why not just sleep on couches? Trust us, we've asked the same questions. The cost of gas and hotels and groceries and restaurants is unfathomable right now for the working musician. Last year, we spent 252 days on the road. Add up a hotel cost, or even trying to arrange accommodations for that many days for 2 adults and 2 dogs would be a full time job and our full income for the year. This is the way we've found that we can make it work financially, and to keep body and soul (and family) together safely.
Where
We're scouring the internet, local dealers, local pages-- everywhere we can to find an affordable, safe option. The where after that? Once we get the rig, we'll be heading out to the West Coast and back in 2024, plus down to Florida and a lot of places in between. So we'll need it to be real sturdy and ready to roll immediately (AKA no repairs first).
How
We aren't looking for someone to swoop in and give us a million dollars (though we wouldn't object). But we are in need of a basic downpayment and a couple months of payments to get us rolling in the new year because...
One More Why and a Prize.
This year was exceptional in a lot of ways. We met exceptional people, played exceptional shows, saw exceptional places. And also? We had exceptional expenses. We lost our touring vehicle in February and had to replace it within two weeks before tour. We released a new record, and took some risks that we were capable of at the time. And then, we had an unreasonable number of break downs. We poured everything we had into our rig and our record, and while we learned a lot and gained a lot-- we lost out financially this year. Sometimes, it's just not your year. We are going to keep going because that's what we do. We understand that everyone is pinched right now, and we understand that there are priorities above our little corner of the world. But with humility and much gratitude we're taking a chance and asking for a little help to see if we might be able to roll on.
​
In thanks, we'll be writing your name on the inside of our new camper, and doing a weekly drawing for some cool R&T things til we reach our goal. And, of course, you'll have our teary eyed thanks (and some dog drooly thanks, too).
​
Here are the places to donate. Notate "Camper" or "Go Get Hitched" and we'll put your name into the drawing and onto the rig.
