Most campers are a decision you make once. You spec it, you bolt it on and you live with your choice. However, if your life changes, your camper doesn’t and you need to sell up and start over. This wasn’t the case for Shawn Kalatucka, who made a ModCAP swap with another ModCAP owner he’d met through the Alu-Cab community.
When his situation changed, Shawn Kalatucka didn’t start over. He drove to a parking lot in New Jersey, met a fellow Alu-Cab owner who’d hauled his rig all the way from Nebraska, and over one long weekend the two of them swapped camper tops. Shawn drove home with a ModCAP Family Camper. The other owner drove home with Shawn’s ModCAP 2 Sleeper. Two builds, reconfigured for two different lives, and nobody had to purchase a new camper.
That’s the ModCAP system working exactly as designed.
The Photographer Behind the Lens
If you follow our socials, you’ve seen Shawn’s truck before. You would’ve also seen his work, and was behind the camera on Mountain State Overland’s Ineos Grenadier shakedown through Vermont’s backcountry. Based in the Poconos of Pennsylvania, Shawn shoots landscape, real estate, snowboarding and commercial work. His eye for terrain shapes how he travels.
“I’m passionate about capturing moments and perspectives that people can look back on and truly cherish,” he says. “I love creating images that preserve experiences many people wouldn’t normally get to see.”
Shawn’s overlanding journey started five years ago, in a season of life that will sound familiar to more than a few readers. “It was during a major transition in my life while going through a divorce. At the time, I wanted to build a vehicle I could comfortably live out of while traveling and figuring out where life would take me next.”
What began as necessity became identity. A 4Runner became a 2017 Toyota Tacoma. A rooftop tent became a canopy camper. A place to sleep became a mobile office, a photography base camp and eventually a home shared with his girlfriend and his dog.
Two Soaked Mattresses and an “Aha” Moment
Shawn came to Alu-Cab through failure. Two rooftop tent brands couldn’t keep up with the way he camps. Which, it should be said, is not the way most people camp. Shawn chases winter with his longtime friend Rin Oostdyk from OK4WD. Together they like to make an annual pilgrimage into Vermont in the dead of winter, running trails and camping in single-digit temperatures.
The tipping point came on a birthday trip to Virginia. “The first night, we got hit with heavy rain that completely soaked my mattress, and I ended up dealing with it and was forced to rent an Airbnb. While I was still on that trip, I messaged Rin to ask if they had a Gen 3-R in stock and when I could pick one up.”
“The first night camping with the Alu-Cab setup, I immediately noticed the difference. The build quality, insulation and overall durability was on another level. From that point on, I understood why people trusted Alu-Cab gear so much.”
That Gen 3-R eventually gave way to a full canopy camper build on the ModCAP platform. First the ModCAP 2 Sleeper, and now the ModCAP Family Camper. Which brings us back to that parking lot.
The Swap
The reason for the change was simple. “I wanted more usable interior space without sacrificing easy access to the sleeping area for my girlfriend and dog, while still maintaining full functionality of my camper buildout.”
Rather than selling his 2 Sleeper and buying new, Shawn connected with another Alu-Cab owner in Nebraska who wanted exactly what Shawn had. The two agreed to trade tops.
“The transition itself was an adventure,” Shawn says. “We spent two days dismantling and reassembling the upper tent portions of both campers. Thankfully, OK4WD generously allowed us to use their parking lot and provided access to a forklift and tools, which made the process as smooth as possible.”
Think about what that weekend actually proves. Two ModCAP owners, with different trucks and different needs, were able to unbolt their sleeping configurations, exchange them and both drove away with fully functional campers. No cutting, no fabrication, no starting from zero. The modularity that the ModCAP was engineered for played out in real life between two strangers who are now, presumably, deeply connected.
Life Inside the Family Camper
Ask Shawn what changed after the swap and he mentions the light.
“The skylight fills the interior with natural light, to the point where I rarely need to turn on the interior lights during the day. The bed size is also incredible, providing far more comfort and space than I expected.”
The rest of the setup is built around how he actually lives on the road. The MODCAP Family Camper, a 270° Shadow Awning, external MOLLE panels, bug screens and the Roof Box “for dirty tools and gear that I prefer to keep outside the living area.”
Every piece earns its place. “Vermont and Maine are two of my favorite places to explore, but the bugs can be relentless during certain times of the year. Having the extra protection of the bug screens makes a huge difference in overall comfort.”
Inside, Shawn built out the interior himself. A couch on one side for unwinding, and a counter on the other that doubles as an editing desk. “I switched to the ModCAP Family Camper to maximize sleeping space and make better use of the downstairs area, while still allowing my dog and girlfriend to stay comfortable upstairs in bed.”
For a working photographer whose office is wherever the truck is parked, the payoff is measured in time saved.
“Being able to pull into a campsite and have camp fully set up in under a minute completely changes the experience. Instead of spending the last bit of daylight unloading gear I’m immediately able to enjoy where I am.”
Proving Grounds
If you want to know whether a setup works, send it 200 miles from the nearest house. Last summer, Shawn spent a year planning a two-and-a-half-week expedition through the North Maine Woods. He explored some of the most remote terrain on the East Coast, routed almost entirely along old logging trails and remote backroads.
“That trip gave us some of the most unforgettable experiences I could’ve imagined,” he says. “We tackled technical trails, crossed rivers and cooked incredible meals nearly 200 miles from the nearest residential home… we watched bald eagles hunting, saw a moose swimming across one of the largest rivers with calves following behind, and ended every night under some of the clearest skies imaginable.”
After a week and a half, his group headed home and Shawn carried on. After summiting Mount Katahdin, he found a riverside campsite that stopped him in his tracks and for the first time in years, he stayed put. “I spent those next few days fishing, relaxing, and watching the mountain I had just climbed disappear and reappear through changing weather conditions. A family of bald eagles hunted fish just yards away from camp every day.”
Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
There’s a thread running through every one of Shawn’s stories, and it isn’t gear. “One thing I never expected to love as much as I do is being uncomfortable,” he admits. “Being cold is really just a mindset and a preparation issue. A bigger fire, the right layers, and the willingness to embrace the conditions completely changes the experience.”
His advice for anyone just starting out is cut from the same cloth: “Stay genuine. Get into it because you truly love nature, adventure, and the outdoors, not just for likes or comments… We all have a responsibility to leave those places better than we found them.”
And when things break — because on a long enough timeline, things will break — “Smile and laugh at the problems life throws at you, because even though it might suck in the moment, those are usually the memories that make the trip unforgettable in the long run.”
What’s Next
Shawn will be the first to tell you a build is never really finished. Montana and Idaho sit at the top of his bucket list, though he half-jokes there’s a reason he hasn’t gone yet: “I have a feeling I may never want to come back home afterward.”
For now, the Tacoma, the ModCAP Family Camper, his girlfriend Abby and their new pup Zara (Titan crossed over to heaven at time of interview) are pointed at a series of trips across the Northeast. The trips being the point and the planning being half the joy. “Working for a better tomorrow while still enjoying today is a mindset I’ve been personally focused on since I first got into overlanding.”
His camper already changed once when his life did. Odds are, it will again. That’s the idea.