A filmmaker working on one of Marvel’s biggest blockbusters has revealed he’s ditched his house to live off the grid in a $53,000 solar-powered gaming vehicle.
Trent Arant of Augusta has driven more than 100,000 miles across the United States in his trusty Ram Promaster 159′ EXT van over the past three years.
The 28-year-old, who has made games such as The Lord of the Rings and Avengers: Infinity War, said he made the move after splitting with his live-in girlfriend.
The avid gamer now documents his travels and adventures in World of Warcraft, Halo Infinite, Overwatch and Runescape on YouTube.
Trent Arant has been driving his trusty Ram Promaster 159′ EXT van across the US for the past three years
The 28-year-old avid gamer lives in a solar-powered gaming van he bought for $38,000, then spent $15,000 refurbishing it
With the help of his brother, Trent converted a $6,000 Craigslist delivery van into a camper.
The avid gamer went on to purchase a brand new Ram Promaster 159′ EXT van for $38,000, then refurbish it for an additional $15,000 to include all his gaming equipment.
Since then, he’s been traveling around 3,000 miles a month with his Staffordshire bull terrier, Millie, while still playing his favorite games, World of Warcraft, Halo Infinite, Overwatch and Runescape.
“Before I lived in the van, I was living in a house with my girlfriend,” Trent said.
“It was a pretty good time and I was honestly the happiest I’ve ever been.
“But like most relationships, ours fell apart pretty quickly. That heartbreak really shook my world, and it really gave me a new perspective on life.
“I just wanted to travel the world and get away from the damage I was going through. So that’s what I did.
“I bought an old handicapped carrier – a Dodge Ram B3500 – for $6,000 on Craigslist, and for the next three months my brother and I converted it into a camper car.
“But after traveling in that old van for a year or so, I decided I wanted to continue that lifestyle and upgrade to a newer van so I could keep traveling without worrying about my van breaking down.”
“Plus, I’m just trying to build a new van with new things I’ve learned living in the old van for the past year or so.”
“Over the course of four months, I packed it into this luxury game car,” he said.
‘During the build, I’d probably put in an extra $15,000 or so in the build itself. This includes all the appliances, lumber, and misc that I had to buy to get the build done.
Trent says he was inspired to explore a new way of life after breaking up with his live-in girlfriend
He has been traveling around 3,000 miles a month with his Staffordshire bull terrier, Millie, since then
Trent’s van (pictured) is well-built for gaming, with 600-watt solar panels on the roof to charge his 620-amp-hour AGM battery
Trent always envisioned himself growing up living paycheck to paycheck and living a better life.
While he’s already made a name for himself in the film industry, Trent is ready to take back his story as he grows more comfortable with this new way of life.
“While making those blockbusters was fun, I always found myself yearning to create and tell my own story,” he said.
“So that’s why I started a YouTube channel – ttthefineprinttt – to document my life as I travel across the country in a van, hoping to inspire people to pursue the life they truly deserve.”
On Trent’s YouTube, he not only documents his travels, but also his gaming adventures, including a series in which he plays horror games in the creepiest places in America.
“I grew up watching my brother play Resident Evil and many other games on the Playstation,” he said.
“But when my family got a home computer in 2004, I started my own gaming adventure by playing the Age of Empires demo that came with our computer.
“My world really opened up when I was in fifth grade, and a friend told me about this new open world fantasy MMO (massively multiplayer online) game called Runescape. After I logged into the game, I wasn’t just hooked on the usual video games, and became obsessed with a particular type of video game, namely massively multiplayer online games.
The avid gamer (pictured) now documents his travels and adventures across World of Warcraft, Halo Infinite, Overwatch and Runescape on YouTube
With the help of his brother, Trent began converting a $6,000 transport van off Craigslist into a camper van (pictured)
“I love how the world comes alive as you venture around and meet other players.
“You can customize your character and play the game at your own pace without following the main storyline. If I just want to use it to hang out with my friends virtually, I can — and I like that.
“But I think in general, video games have always been a way for me to escape the world around me.
“During my first days with video games, my family was going through a lot, and games like Runescape were a distraction that definitely helped me through it all.
“As such, I think video games will always have a special place in my heart.”
Trent’s van is decked out for gaming, with 600-watt solar panels on the roof charging his 620-amp-hour AGM battery to power the entire van—including his gaming PC.
The system allows me to live and play without worry, he said.
“However, I’m upgrading from AGM batteries to lithium batteries to really maximize my off-grid gaming electrical system.”
Trent said that while his friends and family were initially hesitant about his new lifestyle, they have embraced the idea and fully supported it.
“Of course my friends and family were a little skeptical when I first decided to live in a van,” he said.
Filmmaker Trent has driven his game car more than 100,000 miles across the US to date
Trent said he was ready to take back his narrative as he got used to this new lifestyle in the van
“But when they saw how much freedom this lifestyle allowed me, they started getting more interested in the idea.
“Now I don’t just live in the van, it’s my job to live, travel and play games in the van, and my friends and family say they really admire what I do.”
“I have created for myself a life that allows me to live the life I want, and that is the pure essence of freedom.
“It’s something that everyone tries to get out of this life, and I’ve somehow made it happen at 28, and I’m really grateful.”
While he loves his gaming car life, Trent admits he sometimes misses certain aspects of his “normal” life.
“Recently coming back to my hometown and hanging out with old friends I haven’t seen in years has really made me re-examine my current lifestyle,” Trent said.
“Because, I’m not going to lie, after more than three years of being a nomad and living in a van, you start to miss living in a house, having neighbors, having a community that you can always count on, and especially not worrying about where you have to Park overnight.
“These are all the things I see about this way of life that my friends don’t.” So when I go back to my hometown, I find myself admiring their “normal” lives while they In appreciating my “adventurous” life, I think it’s funny.
Trent (pictured) always envisioned himself growing up to a better life
Trent (pictured) has already made a name for himself in the film world with films such as The Lord of the Rings and Avengers: Infinity War
“In one specific instance, a friend of mine had just bought a house and got married, and I found myself very excited for him, while expressing that I was jealous and I couldn’t wait for my day.”
“He gave me a funny look like I was crazy, and said, ‘Man, you really have the perfect life. You travel around in one of the coolest vans I’ve ever seen. I’m jealous of you. ‘
“That’s when I kind of woke up from my daydream and realized that a ‘normal’ life sounds great, but the life I’ve built for myself is also pretty good and I’m not ready to give up.”
One of Trent’s favorite moments during his US travels was discovering a remote hot spring in the Nevada desert.
“If you don’t know what a hot spring is, it’s essentially a hot tub that’s naturally infused in nature, and finding one like this is an amazing experience,” he said.
“And there are hundreds scattered all over the United States, but this particular one is really special to me because I have it all.
“It’s far from civilization, I haven’t seen a soul for a week, and to top it off it’s surrounded by snow capped mountains, the views are absolutely stunning.
“And to be able to pull right up on it, soak in the hot springs, and take in the incredible views for days at a time really feels like paradise.”
“I can wake up in the morning, get out of my van, jump in the hot springs for a morning soak, and think about my day and what I want to do as the sun rises over the mountains.
“While there were many instances of this while living in a van, this instance was particularly therapeutic for me and I think I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.”