Travel by Fire 2015: On the road, off the grid

June 26, 2015

Last year we put a converted vintage firetruck on the road to showcase the possibilities of a new generation of energy. During those epic two months we climbed mountains, fired up hundreds of stoves, and met truly inspiring people with incredible stories all across the country. We fell in love with life on the road - and we're ready to do it again. 

We’re thrilled to announce that Travel by Fire is back and better than ever - we've got some amazing destinations built into the itinerary this year - FloydFest, we're looking at you - and we look forward to cooking, charging, and lighting our days (and nights) off the grid for ourselves and fellow members of the BioLite community.

Come say hi when we roll through a town near you - better yet, snap a photo of the truck while you're there and you could even win some gear from the team.

The Trip

Our roadtrip officially kicks off Sunday June 28th at L.L. Bean's Flagship store in Freeport, Maine. From there, we head down the east coast before embarking across the country towards the Pacific Northwest. We’ll be spending time in National Parks, launching pop-up shops at festivals, and hosting cooking demos and gear clinics throughout the country. Check out our site or tune into Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for announcements about special events and for schedule details about the tour! 

Meet Baby (our trusty mode of transportation)

After some impressive restorations, Baby, BioLite’s bright-red Japanese vegetable-oil-powered fire truck, is back on the road for her second Travel By Fire Tour. Running on good vibes and cooking oil, she’s a real trooper and has logged over 75,000 miles from prior trips to North, Central, and South America. There is much more to Baby than meets the eye. She has a rooftop tent, spiral staircase, concert-level sound system, and a spacious cockpit. Built with love from engineers and mechanics nationwide, Baby is the ideal vehicle to connect us with people interested in new forms of energy access.

Meet Luke & Will (our drivers)

Fueled by a passion for adventure and curiosity for living life off-grid, Will and Luke will be manning our Travel by Fire tour. Luke and Will are natives of Belfast, ME and incredibly talented engineers who have been busy ensuring that Baby is tuned up for her cross-country tour. They are excited to embark on a summer tour celebrating the off-grid lifestyle, bringing energy innovations around the country and as food lovers, can’t wait to try some great grub along the way. With a long history of tinkering with vehicles, these guys are the perfect drivers for the adventure ahead.

“Once when I was growing up, I put some vegetable oil in my uncle’s tractor to see what would happen.”

“To my amazement, it worked! The only effect it had was making the fields smell like a fryolator,” says Luke. Luckily, this time around, putting vegetable oil in our truck will be part of his job (and won’t result in anyone smelling like french fries).

Stay up to date with the tour by following #TravelByFire.