TEXT BY: CHRIS HUNTER PHOTOS: JODIE O'DONNELL
hether she’s behind the lens, behind the scenes,or behind the wheel, Jodie O’Donnell is always in motion. Her vintage lifted Scout II™ truck is more than a ride: it’s her mobile HQ for a high-octane job that spans photography, event management, and social media storytelling.
“I’m an off-roading, moto-riding, adventure junkie who wields a camera in one hand and a massive cheeseburger in the other,” she describes herself. But her journey towards owning a Scout II model was something of a serendipitous accident.
“I can’t say I was specifically looking for a Scout truck,” Jodie admits. “I didn’t even know what one was 20 years ago! I was browsing Craigslist for a big, old truck. I found a few Fords and Chevys, but nothing felt quite cool enough.
“Then I came across my Scout II. It looked like something out of Mad Max. It was lifted, spray-painted black, and it had been rolled on one side. A 17-year-old kid had built it with his dad as a project.
“Maybe I paid too much at the time, but it was love at first sight. I took it in for a $500 paint job, and it was ready to roll.”
The high-riding Scout II ride suits the adventurous streak Jodie’s had since childhood. She grew up in Massachusetts, where weekends meant fishing with her dad and roaming the backcountry on foot or bike. “We played in the woods. Climbing trees, making forts,” she says. “It was a different time.”
At college, Jodie started skipping classes for mountain bike rides and became a kayaking and rock-climbing guide. She posted her daily adventures on Instagram—and got noticed by ESPN.
“They wanted me to shoot behind the scenes at the Winter X Games. I was mortified because I had to tell them I was shooting with my phone…way before phones had good cameras!” A gig for Adidas followed, and Jodie headed up their social media and ambassador program. Her photography journey kicked into gear and the Scout II truck became her ride or die.
Jodie bought her truck over 21 years ago, on January 8, 2004. Which means they’ve been together slightly longer than the average married couple in the US.
The Scout II is a 1973 model, with a custom half-cab setup and 85,000 miles on the clock. Under the hood is one of the bigger original engine options, a grunty 304 cubic inch (5.0 L) V8, hooked up to a four-speed auto transmission. (“I do drive stick, though. I was just tired of the manual transmission in my Honda del Sol in traffic at the time.”)
“I pack everything in it,” says Jodie. “Sleeping bag, climbing harness, mountain bike, surfboard. Cookware, water, survival food, med bag. I could survive a zombie apocalypse.
“I don’t like to ask for help if I break down either, so I also pack tools. Especially duct tape,” she says. But when your work vehicle is half a century old, mishaps and unplanned maintenance are sure to happen. Especially when you’re traveling solo.
There’s been the odd occasion when Jodie has needed outside help, and she namechecks Dan from Binder Boneyard as one of the good dudes in the Scout community. When she was stranded, he drove from Redmond to Portland and picked up the truck, took it back to his shop, went through it and readied it for her next road trip.
“I’m pretty sure I spend about 90% of that trip thinking about life in general, and 10% planning what I would do if my truck broke down. Then I found a missing screw and replaced it with another one that was too long. Usually, that wouldn’t be an issue, except it went into my radiator…”
“Let me say though, my truck is very reliable when you consider everything under the hood is original. Fifty-year-old parts only just now starting to give up is insanely good.”
On the upside, Scout trucks often get preferential treatment. While desperately searching for parking during a trip to Vegas, Jodie rolled up outside a hotel. “A parking attendant walked up and said, ‘You can’t park that there! It needs to be in VIP, it’s too cool.’ There were overnight attendants, and they were all told to specifically watch my Scout. #Winning!”
Being an adventure photographer means having a vehicle that handles the rough stuff as well as the smooth. Jodie’s client list includes several companies that make outdoor gear and 4×4 accessories, so she needs to take her truck to places that look good on camera, and even better in mud.
It’s part transport, part toolkit, and part basecamp, thanks to the rooftop tent that doubles as high-rise accommodation.
“All I have to do is drive it somewhere cool and wait until the light is good,” says Jodie. “It’s opening new doors in the outdoor world, by connecting me with companies and people that I can create beautiful imagery with.”
Jodie works solo most of the time—unless her dog Sophie joins her for the ride—but driving a Scout means she’s never short of company or far from help.
“Drivers of other off-roaders will wave at each other,” she says. “But Scout people will stop on the side of the freeway, bring you gas, tell you the stories of their own Scout, and wrench on your vehicle until it’s up and running again.”
We asked Jodie, as fellow outdoor enthusiasts, what advice she’d give someone considering an older, adventure-ready vehicle like her Scout II?
“These are not for the faint of heart,” she laughs. “If you want a badass, off-roading, camping-ready vehicle that will turn heads, go for it. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty or your hair to smell like exhaust, well…maybe the new Scout truck is a better option.
“Although I would never sell my ’73, I would love to have a more comfortable ride with heat that doesn’t burn my feet and air conditioning that works! In the overland world, everyone loves to add gear and change things up. I like to be different, so I’d like to have options to look different. I think Scout Motors is already taking steps in that direction.”
And if you were tasked with photographing the new Scout® Traveler™or Terra™, what landscape or backdrop would you choose to best capture their character?
“I think the Scout could be captured beautifully in any environment. A forest full of trees, a city landscape, by the ocean, in the desert. I think it’s easiest for me personally to shoot in the desert because every photo comes out perfectly in all lighting situations.”
Still, her ’73 isn’t going anywhere. “Owning a Scout is like being a celebrity as I drive down the road. If you don’t like attention, don’t drive a Scout.”
