Jess Goodlett was only 10 years old when she started riding horses. Her love for horses has not faded in adulthood, and she currently owns four of them (Makani, Zendaya, Quinn, and Sweet Tea). Because Jess loves to travel with her horses, she needed a setup where she could use her truck and a towable trailer.
“I didn’t want to get tied down with a living quarter trailer,” Jess said. “I like that the Tune was customizable because I didn’t want anything preset.”
Jess lives in Abilene, Texas, where she works remotely as a software engineer specializing in front-end development. While her degree from Hardin-Simmons University was actually in marketing, her interest in coding began in high school. Eventually, she returned to it professionally, building a career that now gives her the flexibility to work from almost anywhere.
That flexibility has opened the door for Jess to spend more time outdoors, allowing her to be with her horses.
Makani, her older horse, has already had an impressive adventure career and is now mostly retired from big trips. Makani previously joined Jess on major backcountry rides, including the entire Colorado Trail and parts of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Jess’s interest in trail riding eventually led her to endurance riding, a sport that involves covering long distances, anywhere from 25 to 100 miles in a single day. That passion naturally evolved into multi-day and even multi-week backcountry trips.
In 2017, Jess and four other riders completed a month-long journey along the Colorado Trail, traveling from Denver to Durango with six horses. The ride covered hundreds of miles through high mountain terrain and became one of the most memorable adventures she has experienced.
Later, in 2021, Jess attempted to ride the Pacific Crest Trail solo.
“I’ve just always been a little crazy I think,” Jess said about attempting the PCT.
She successfully completed Southern California and most of the Sierra portion before running into off-trail complications that prevented her from finishing the entire route. Even so, the experience added to her growing list of long-distance horseback adventures.
Because Jess works remotely, she can travel frequently while still maintaining a full-time job. That flexibility was a big factor in how she built her camping setup.
She needed something that would work whether she was traveling with horses or without them. A traditional living-quarters trailer didn’t make sense for her lifestyle. Instead, she wanted a lightweight solution that kept her truck flexible.
That led her to a Tune M1: a popup canopy camper.
Jess chose a relatively minimal setup, opting for a straightforward build with only the essentials. Her truck tent camper includes a fan and a king-size sleeping configuration, so there is plenty of space for her dogs.
The simplicity of the build was intentional. She wanted a setup that stayed lightweight while still providing a comfortable place to sleep after long days on the trail.
One of Jess’s initial concerns about working remotely while camping was power. Since she regularly camps in dispersed and remote areas, reliable electricity is essential.
Fortunately, her solar setup has worked well. Even while camping in remote, dispersed areas, she can comfortably work 8 hours a day with her solar/battery setup.
Jess is already planning future trips. One destination currently on her radar is southern Utah, where she hopes to visit in the spring. She is still deciding whether this particular trip will include her horses.
Either way, Jess, her dogs, and her horses are looking forward to spending as much time adventuring together outside as possible
With a flexible career, a capable adventure vehicle setup, and a couple of horses ready to join her on the trail, Jess has built a lifestyle that lets her explore some of the most beautiful landscapes in the West.
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FAQ’s
Is it possible to work remotely out of a truck tent camper?
With the right setup, remote work is absolutely possible out of a truck camper. Jess Goodlett’s remote work setup included solar panels and a battery. This has enabled her to work fully remotely out of her truck camper, even when camping in dispersed, backcountry spots.
What is the best camper setup for traveling with horses?
Many equestrians prefer a pop-up truck camper because it keeps the truck separate from the horse trailer. This setup allows riders to travel with their horses while still having a self-contained space for sleeping, working, and storing gear. Additionally, you can maintain towing capacities, as most horse trailers are not 5th wheels. To learn more about payload, read our blog here.
The Tune M1 works well for traveling with horses because it is so lightweight and customizable. This allowed Jess to keep her build lightweight and backcountry-ready, including only the necessary items, like a fan and a king-size bed extension to accommodate her dogs.
