My name is Richard Rowe, and I’m a mechanic from Northern California with a dream to live off-grid and travel across the US with my stroke-victim alert dog, Blue, and my beautiful girlfriend, Christina, by my side, helping people in need. I work on anything and everything from 2 stroke to 4 stroke and everything in-between from widebody jailbreak hellcats to 19th century Ford model Ts. I have had the pleasure of working and gaining knowledge on every platform with wheels and want to share that knowledge with people in need. My passion for adventure—snowboarding, surfing, and skateboarding—has shown me the beauty of the open road, but also the challenges people face when they’re stranded and alone.

The story behind this endeavor comes from being stranded for a full week in the dead of winter during a particularly bad snowstorm high in the mountains of central Oregon. I survived off my instincts and the knowledge my father passed down to me—how to fix problems with outside-the-box reasoning and survival skills. Modern vehicles use a transponder chip, called an immobilizer, inside the key. After falling while backcountry snowboarding and landing on a rock, I shattered my key fob, destroying both the key and the transponder into unsalvageable pieces. I remember feeling hopeless and lost, yet still determined and resilient.

I traversed back to my car and tried every form of communication, but nothing worked. I survived for five days on the few supplies I had—just a handful of granola bars and a large bottle of water, which ran out on day two. I spent most of my waking hours trying to start the car with rudimentary tools, all to no avail. Luckily, I had told a friend where I was going, and he eventually found me. I’ll never forget the feeling of knowing I was going to be okay when I saw him come over the horizon, and I want to give that same feeling to others in their time of need.

That experience is why I want to start a nomadic, off-grid mobile mechanic business, using my skills to help people wherever my journey takes me.

To make this vision a reality, I’m raising funds to build a reliable off-grid mobile home and fully equipped shop with the tools and resources needed to help others. Your support will go directly toward a van conversion, a trailer with all essential equipment like battery jumpers, tire inflators, repair kits, spare tires, food and water reserves, and solar and wind add-ons for clean, renewable energy. I am also working with a company to design my own survival and emergency kits with everything you might need to survive your environment in case of emergency. With these, I’ll be able to travel safely, respond to emergencies, and provide real help to people who find themselves stuck on the side of the road with nowhere to turn.

Supporting this endeavor comes down to helping me help others. If you’ve ever been stranded and felt hopeless, imagine that friend who helped me appearing on the horizon—hope on wheels. Every contribution, big or small, brings hope to a stranger who needs it most. Thank you for believing in this journey and for helping me spread positivity and change, one mile at a time.

I plan to eventually make my business free to all customers, donating vehicles, equipment, and pre-made emergency survival packs to those in need, and helping people however I can. If you’d like to see this vision become a reality, any donation helps—from a single dollar to whatever you feel comfortable with. Absolutely everything makes a difference.

Much love from my little ʻohana family, and keep shredding!!! ❤️