After 3 years of exploring the US, Kate Field aka @WeRollWithIt embarked on a new, life-changing journey of touring across Australia.
Join us as we discover her journey and her unending love for overland vans.

A seed is planted

I’m Kate, I grew up in Sydney, Australia. Our family was pretty adventurous, we raced dirt bikes and traveled the country to attend race meets or weekend rides with friends. Tinkering on machines was a normal activity for us. We always had a big garage and there was certain to be a project or two happening within. I grew up with plenty of time at the beach, hiking, fishing, camping, caravanning, generally just enjoying the outdoors.

Combining work with travel

I followed a career in photography and marketing, a career that would eventually take me around the world. I found myself based in NYC and loved the hustle, but after 5 years the skyscrapers started to close in on me.

I had done a few road trips with friends in rental vans and to this day those are some of the best trips I’ve ever taken. Why couldn’t I live like this all the time? With no good answer, I found myself with a 2018 4x4 Sprinter van parked in Brooklyn and many trips to Home Depot ahead.

Taking the leap to become a full-time overlander was not without challenges. Learning to build the van, moving into it before it was finished to save money, adjusting to the new way of life and keeping the work coming in was certainly much harder than I anticipated. Turns out the fashion industry was not thriving on the back roads of America, who knew?! It was time to pivot! I rebranded myself and started doing photography and marketing for off-road and adventure brands. I also began documenting the adventures on Instagram under the name @WeRollWithIt. That first year was a lot of hustle and a lot of ramen noodles BUT it was worth every challenge. The hard work did not go unnoticed, brands began chasing me to R&D new products and work with them in new and innovative ways. In an industry pushing development at rocket speed a new van build each season was needed to test and showcase the new products. Which lead to more van building, more learning and most importantly, more adventures!

He's big and he's green!

The biggest build undertaken in America was a collaboration with Colorado van builders TouRig. Our goal was to build a rig that would bridge the gap between the overland adventure van market and the large overland trucks. The van started as a 2WD 170 ext Mercedes Sprinter, it became the now famous monster van by undergoing a 4×4 solid axle swap. This van also started white, which needed a change, it was time to drive to Portland to visit LineX. They did a full body two-tone LineX exterior and as he turned from a small white van to a big green monster truck, that’s when we named him Bruce Banner.

Bruce Banner has true 4×4 capabilities with a Dana 60 front and 70 rear. Running 37-inch Falken MTs on Black Rhino Armory rims. Exterior components are from Backwoods Adventure Mods. 600Ah of Victron lithium batteries on board and 40 gallons of water. On-board air allows for tyre pressure change on the trails and adjustable air-bag suspension. Extra storage in Roam Adventure Co boxes on the roof and in the Backwoods Rear Bumper box.

There is plenty of recovery gear on board, including a 12,000 lb. winch, MaxTrax, HiLift jack and some gear from Factor55 and Deadman Off Road. In the cabin, the Garmin Overlander helps find the best trails and Scheel-Mann seats make the journey more comfortable.

Inside the van, TouRig installed a full shower with Dometic toilet, large bed, kitchen with diesel cooktop, and their exclusive TouRig Airliner Aluminum cabinets.

The heat and hot water run on diesel and the rig has a 28-gal reserve fuel tank to accommodate long drives or long periods of off grid living.

Bringing it home

So, what’s next for this little adventurer? While I’ve seen a lot of the world, I can’t say the same for my home country Australia. Let’s do it! As I write this, I am sitting outside in the garden enjoying some Sydney heat. A new Sprinter van is parked out front in its humble stock stage, about to be transformed into an overland beast. Vans are home to me now, and I plan to take this next home on wheels on quite a big adventure!

Image credit: Kate Field