Living Full-Time In A Porsche Cayenne, Taking The Porsche Life To The Next Level

Peculiar yet intriguing, meet the 24-year-old US Navy veteran who takes the Porsche life to the next level by living full-time in a Porsche Cayenne.

In the spring of 2021, Harrison Schoen made a drastic choice after giving up the lease on his house. He loaded a few belongings into the back of his 2008 Porsche Cayenne and started to call it ‘home’.

Schoen stated, “Being in the navy and living on an aircraft carrier, I learned how to live small. So, after getting out, I moved into a two-bedroom house, and before long, I was living in the garage and renting out both bedrooms so that I could live for free. Even then, I got tired of things still taking my attention away from just living life.”

Speaking from the cabin of his Cayenne while enjoying breakfast, his original plan was to travel abroad, with Thailand mapped out as his first destination.

However, the Covid pandemic put an abrupt end to his international escape plans, but it also focussed Schoen’s attention on making the best of the here and now.

“I realised how short life is, and if I had the ability to travel and make a living while on the road, that’s something I should explore while I’m young and able-bodied rather than working my whole life, retiring and then trying to enjoy the world,” he added.

Still less than four months in the making, his adventure is already attracting a growing following on social media.

The Cayenne, being a luxury vehicle, would not be most people’s first choice for a mobile home, but Schoen spotted one for sale online one night and bought it first thing the next morning.

Specifically, he purchased a Cayenne S, which already had more than 200,000 km on the odometer and Schoen quickly set about modifying it.

This included a 3-inch lift kit, tubular upper control arms, new poly-bushed lower front control arms and 18-inch wheels shod in mighty 33 x 12.5-inch off-road tyres.

Besides that, he also added a roof rack to place a storage box, awning and spotlights and removed the rear bumper to increase the car’s departure angle.

One of the other key decisions Schoen made in altering the Cayenne, was to rig up a platform inside to sleep on rather than opt for a roof tent.

Mainly it was because using a roof tent limits drivers to designated campsites, but also because it significantly raises the centre of gravity, a hindrance for serious off-roading.

Notably, he has driven on some of the most challenging trails in the western states and aims to visit every National Park in the US and even Alaska.

“My favourite experience so far has been driving on the beach in Oregon. I arrived at 6:00 am, and the whole beach was covered in fog. I’d never driven on a beach before, so it was a really magical experience. And it made for some of the coolest photos yet of the car,” Schoen further remarked.

He has now been living full time in the Cayenne since May, cooking on a portable stove and washing beneath a roof-mounted road shower.

Currently, he has racked up an impressive 32,000 km in the Cayenne since he bought it in February, and at the moment, he doesn’t see an end to the adventure.

Harrison Schoen concluded, “I’m really enjoying travelling at the moment. Some of the reasoning was to do something different from every else in society. The navy prepared me for everything I’m doing now, living in a small space and also solitude. I don’t get that lonely, and I’ve been fortunate enough to make friends all over the country. There’s a great community of people living the ‘van life’. I’m just taking it to the next level because my Porsche allows me to get to places most people can’t reach.”