The right rig gives you a reason to go. Just ask Nigel Baillargeon, an adventure photographer exploring the BC backcountry and one of our community’s most inspiring characters. His 2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison is nicknamed “Trusty”, fitted with a Canopy Camper and is Nigel’s reason to go.
There’s a particular kind of freedom that comes with not needing a map. Nigel Baillargeon found that freedom somewhere on the back roads of British Columbia. Where he learned to let the trail lead and built a philosophy on gnarly terrain and winter mountain passes.
Kamloops is a city that sits at the confluence of two major river systems and the edge of some of Canada’s most varied backcountry. It’s the kind of place that either makes you an adventurer or confirms you already were one.
“Adventure is my way of life,” says Nigel. “It’s the way of life that feels right to me.”
By day, Nigel works as an adventure photographer. A profession that by definition demands access to the places others can’t reach, hours others don’t keep and a setup that won’t quit. What he’s built around those needs is more than a capable truck. It requires something to live out of and the Canopy Camper allows just that.
Meet Trusty
The foundation of Nigel’s build is a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Bison. An extremely capable mid-size truck as it leaves the factory. The ZR2 Bison variant adds Multimatic DSSV sportal dampers, front and rear locking differentials, a front steel bumper, skid plates, and a ZR2-tuned suspension. Factory hardware that reads like a serious aftermarket build sheet on its own. The Bison package layers on AEV-designed steel bumpers and additional underbody protection. It is, in short, a serious machine from the factory floor.
But capability without character is just a specification sheet. Nigel calls his truck “Trusty,” and the name carries weight.
“It’s been by my side through some big changes in life,” he says, “and seen many roads and adventures.”
That relationship between an overlander and their vehicle is one of the defining intangibles of the lifestyle. The rig becomes a partner. And a good partner deserves the best accessories.
Why Alu-Cab?
When Nigel began researching camper setups to match his ambitions, the brief was exacting. He needed something light enough not to compromise the ZR2’s handling dynamics, compact enough to fit the mid-size platform cleanly and rugged enough to serve as a legitimate home in the field. Not just overnight, but extended weeks in remote terrain.
“When I was dreaming up a set up, I was concerned about interior space and how light and compact it would fit the rig,” Nigel explains. “The Alu-Cab Canopy Camper checked all those boxes for me.”
The Canopy Camper is manufactured here at our factory in South Africa and has been proven across some of the world’s most demanding terrain. The camper is designed specifically for pickup trucks. Its construction prioritises rigidity without weight penalty, and its design philosophy mirrors what serious overlanders actually need. Real sleeping space, weather resilience and the ability to add accessories. Nigel runs his kitted out with a water tank, mosquito nets, a table slide, an awning, and a shower kit. Trusty is a completely self-sufficient system that requires nothing from a campground.
“I personally love the rear door and the roof design,” he says, speaking of the Canopy Camper’s design. “When I saw the price and options of the Alu-Cab camper it just made sense.”
That rear door configuration is worth pausing on. For a photographer who needs to transition quickly between driving and shooting — or who wants to access gear without fully breaking camp — rear access is a functional advantage as much as a design preference. The roof design, meanwhile, delivers standing headroom through the pop-up system without the bulk that traditionally accompanies hardshell campers.
“It has proven itself over and over through some harsh terrain,” Nigel adds. “I’m writing this from inside it right now.”
That last line says more than any advertisment for the camper ever could.
How Nigel Travels
Ask some overlanders about trip planning and you’ll get spreadsheets and contingency routes. Nigel’s response is slightly different.
“I used to over plan adventures,” he admits. “Now I really just go with the flow. I’ll know the general area I am travelling in and just start driving. Let the perfect spot find me.”
It’s an approach that sounds casual but is underpinned by serious preparation. A rig capable of handling what the road produces, recovery gear for the unexpected and the experience to read terrain before committing to it. On the trail, he airs down his tyres, puts the music on and cruises. The soundtrack shifts by setting.
“I like podcasts on the highway,” he says, “and jams on the trails.”
That rhythm reflects an experience overlanders will recognise. The journey out is logistics. The journey in is the thing itself.
What Overlanding Teaches
There’s a shift that happens to most people who spend enough time in the backcountry. The novelty of gear gives way to something quieter.
“I didn’t expect to love the simplicity as much as I do,” Nigel reflects. “Overlanding has taught me to fall in love with simple things. Fresh air, open spaces and a fresh coffee with a view.”
It’s the unexpected lesson of the lifestyle, and Nigel articulates it the way only someone who has genuinely lived it can. The rig opens access, but what you find at the end of the trail is all about presence.
His build philosophy reflects this balance. “I make sure as long as I have my basic needs met, the rest is all capability focused,” he says. “If I went too focused on comfort I know the rig would have to be much bigger and take up more space on the trails.”
For readers building out their own rigs, this is perhaps the most practically useful insight in the piece. Comfort has diminishing returns on the trail, and the penalty is paid in capability, manoeuvrability and access. Alu-Cab seeks to thread that needle. Genuine comfort in a compact, lightweight package that doesn’t ask the truck to compromise.
The Stories That Stay
Nigel’s most unforgettable journey so far took him to the Arctic Ocean. A trip that reframed his sense of scale and possibility.
“This changed my perspective on life,” he says, “to feel like you were at the top of the world.”
It’s the kind of destination that stops conversations and starts them simultaneously. The Dempster Highway to Inuvik and the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula — one of North America’s great overland routes — demands a rig that can handle everything from summer mud to shoulder-season ice. Trusty delivered.
But not every story is about destination. Some of the most telling moments happen in the situations you don’t plan for. The ones that reveal what the rig and the person can actually do.
Nigel encountered one such moment in a remote area of BC during a winter storm. He came across an elderly man who had gone off the road, alone and disoriented in harsh conditions.
“Sometimes I feel like you end up in the right place at the right time to help others,” says Nigel. “Thankfully with the help of other rigs that were with me, we were able to recover his vehicle onto the road and help him back to town.”
It’s a quiet reminder that the recovery gear in a properly built rig isn’t just personal insurance. It’s communal infrastructure. Rolling into the backcountry prepared means being capable of helping when it matters.
A separate winter trip into the Selkirk Mountains with his girlfriend Kianna produced a different kind of memorable. Remote, snow-covered and genuinely committing, the drive required something rarer than equipment. Trust.
“We had our fears about the drive,” he admits, “but a trust was deep inside us to keep going. The rewards for challenging ourselves were some of the most amazing mountain views we had ever seen.”
The Pan-American Dream
Nigel has been watching Expedition Overland’s Clay Croft since the beginning. When the series aired, it landed differently for Nigel than it does for most viewers.
“His world travels have shown me it’s possible,” Nigel says. “I remember watching the Pan-American series with eyes wide open to the idea that was something you could do.”
That seed has been growing. Alongside Kianna, Nigel has methodically repositioned his life around the goal of full-time travel. This summer, they’re running BC, Alaska and the Yukon. Then, in December, they point south.
“Our goal is to leave this December and just start driving,” Nigel says of the run toward Ushuaia, Argentina — the southernmost city on Earth, and the traditional terminus of the Pan-American Highway. It’s a journey of roughly 30,000 kilometres across 14 countries, traversing everything from the Atacama Desert to Patagonian steppe. The rig is ready.
“The rig is dialled in and we feel it’s ready to roll.”
For the Reader Just Starting Out
If you’re early in your journey and researching your first build, weighing camper options, wondering whether the lifestyle is really for you then Nigel’s advice lands cleanly.
“Don’t over plan,” he says. “Don’t try and over calculate the route. Fuel up your vehicle, grab some food and hit the open road. You will really taste the adventure that way. Adventure doesn’t have to be all mapped out.”
It’s advice that could apply to the Pan-American as easily as a weekend in the local backcountry. The planning has its place. Particularly when it comes to the rig, the gear and the fundamentals of safety. But the adventure itself lives in the space between the waypoints.
The Community
For Nigel, the overlanding community is not just a demographic or an audience, but a recognisable type.
“A bunch of like-minded dreamers, travellers and wild souls that were meant for bigger spaces and open roads,” he says. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet a few travellers now and we all share the same spark for life and adventure it seems.”
That spark is the thing that gets someone out of a comfortable house and into a backcountry valley in winter. And it’s more difficult to manufacture than any piece of gear. But when you find it in another person it’s instantly recognisable.
Nigel Baillargeon’s rig demonstrates what purpose-built overlanding gear looks like in genuine daily use. Across Canadian winters, Arctic highways and soon the full length of the Americas. Follow his journey on social media as Trusty heads south.