It’s the ultimate road trip

Four 20-somethings. A Ford F350. Eight surfboards. A 40,000-mile coastal route from Newport Beach to the tip of South America and back.

It’s the ultimate surf trip for Newport Beach residents Eric Paine and Sean Robbins and their two buddies, but they’re more than a band of beach bums looking for an extended spring break. They’re four college grads setting out with a long bed, crew cab truck that runs on veggie oil.

Their surfboards are made of Biofoam, soy-based as opposed to petroleum-based, and, in addition to surfing some of the world’s best breaks, the foursome will be volunteering with local nonprofits and spreading environmental awareness along the way.

“Newport Beach gets to be a bubble after a while; nothing against Orange County, but we wanted to explore some more of the world in a way that’s environmentally low-impact,” said Paine, 27. “There will be a lot of surfing, a lot of adventure, some wild stories I’m sure, but we will also be doing a lot of good.”

Set to leave next week, Paine, Robbins, Billy Boyd and Kevin Broderick started planning the trip three years ago after graduating from college.

“After UCLA, I got a job sitting in a cubicle that pretty much sucked, and I knew I needed to get out of there,” Robbins, 25, said. “If we don’t do this trip now, we are going to be 65 or 70 years old with wives and children, wishing we had done it.”

Each explorer has budgeted $15,000 for the trip, which will pass through 18 countries and last for six months to a year, depending on what happens along the way.

Much of the funding was used to prepare the vehicle — lovingly dubbed the Green Machine — with a biodiesel engine as well as a camper and trailer with solar panels for powering electronics.

Fortunately, many of the supplies were donated, including clothing from Costa Mesa-based Tavik Industries and the spear gun they plan to use for catching daily meals.

“The car can run off veggie oil, which means you can go into any restaurant that fries their food and pump out the oil from the waste bins,” Robbins said, adding that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Hummer was being converted to biodiesel when they left the vehicle at Lovecraft Bio-Fuels in Los Angeles.

“Our exhaust will smell like whatever food they cooked, which means we are going to be spreading cheer and good scent all the way down,” Boyd added.

The real generosity will be expressed through several volunteer projects the group will work on, including building emergency housing with Un Techo Para Mi Pais, helping to convert land for national park use with Patagonia Land Trust and educating children about conservation with Paso Pacifico.

They will also disseminate more than 100 Spanish-language copies of “All the Way to the Ocean,” a children’s book about ocean pollution by Joel Harper, musician Ben Harper’s brother.

As the only one who has never left North America, Boyd, who lives in Aspen, Colo., is especially stoked about the adventure and the opportunity to refine his Spanish skills.

“I’ve never been anywhere besides Ensenada, [Mexico], and I don’t really eat anything other than cheeseburgers and pepperoni pizza so this will be a dramatic change in my diet and lifestyle,” he said.

Learn more about the trip and track the group on the road at www.feralgreen.com.

JESSIE BRUNNER may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at [email protected].