It’s funny how things come together sometimes, and Kelly Hostetler can tell you from firsthand experience how a sought-after vision of independence can come to pass in a wholly unexpected manner.

The Problem

It started with a problem, and that problem was a truck. Kelly, an accomplished artist and physical fitness trainer, had spent years traveling to present his work in art shows and had assembled a mural truck equipped with living quarters, a public gallery, and a gym for training. The truck worked beautifully for life on the road. But with less time spent on the road and more spent on the old Riverqueen houseboat that Kelly called home, the truck transitioned from asset to liability with that monthly insurance bill. Then an idea came knocking. As the waves gently rocked his houseboat, Kelly realized he didn’t need to save the entire truck.

“I have a friend here in the bay that has a barge and a crane, and I could just put the box of the truck on some big pontoons,” he said.

This solution kept the value of the truck with no need for vehicle insurance in the foreseeable future, and the idea kept rolling in the back of his head.

“For two months, every time I saw my truck, that thought would return, ‘I need some big pontoons, I need some big pontoons.’”

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