IOWA CITY Iowa -- The road to the Olympics is rarely easy, but it usually doesn't include pulling off that road and sleeping in the front seat of a worn-out old truck night after night.

Daniel Dennis earned All-America honors wrestling at the University of Iowa from 2006-10, but decided to step away from the sport as a competitive wrestler in 2013 due to a number of painful injuries. He drove west where he rock-climbed and sometimes coached while living for five months in a $500 used truck that was in such bad shape, he refers to it as a "old hunk of s---."

Dennis eventually gave that truck away and moved up to a loftier residence: a $2,500 trailer that had no television, no internet and occasionally ran out of propane to heat it. He lived in that two years.

Despite the difficult road he chose, Dennis qualified for the Rio Olympics on Sunday night by beating three-time All-American Tony Ramos at the U.S. wrestling trials at Carver Hawkeye Arena. He is going from living in that truck and trailer to representing his country in the Olympics.

"That's crazy! I have an extra bedroom in my place and he's more than welcome to join us, but he'll have to sleep in the same bed as my son Beacon," said Jordan Burroughs, who also locked in a spot on the U.S. Olympic team Sunday. "But this is what's all about. It's about the dream. That's why we're here. If you become an Olympian and win a gold medal, your life will change forever."

Burroughs knows that full well. He won gold at the 2012 London Olympics after living in an apartment and having driven around in a car with a broken headlight. Now he's a gold medalist with a wife and a son, with a second child due in June and another Olympics set in Rio. He qualified at Sunday night's trials along with Dennis, Adeline Gray, Andy Bisek, Kyle Snyder and Robby Smith. Fellow trials champs J'Den Cox, Helen Maroulis and Haley Augello must still qualify at international tournaments in Mongolia and Turkey.

Burroughs celebrated by climbing into the stands to get his young son and then tossing his singlet to the crowd.

"It's awesome because it's a memorable moment for the young man who gets the singlet," Burroughs said, "and for the people who get to see me walk around in my underwear."

Dennis did not toss his singlet into the crowd but the Iowa fans passionately cheered the former Hawkeye for his stunning and impressive return.

Following Dennis' 2013 move, he coached and wrestled competitively from time to time -- he earned the money to buy the trailer by winning a tournament in Pittsburgh -- before choosing to wrestle full time again last spring. He said the time away from the mat "cleared the cobwebs."

"It's rejuvenating," he said. "Taking some time off and relaxing and letting the body heal up and the mind heal up, and being motivated. It's a big deal. It helps. I'm happy to be back."

Dennis beat Ramos 2-1 and 10-0 in their best-of-three championship matches in the 125-1/2 freestyle class. The first match was tight, but the second was over in just 64 seconds with Dennis rapidly piling up the points with a take-down and several gut-wrench moves.

"I am confident if I get on top I can do some damage," Dennis said. "I have known that for a while. I am taking advantage of those positions where I am strong. ... I want to gut wrench really bad, and I am going to try to break his ribs. That is nothing against Tony -- I love him -- but we are competitors on the mat."

Dennis said making the Olympic team might have been in the back of his mind when he returned to wrestling, but it wasn't a main goal. So what did he learn from his truck and trailer experience that helped him get to this point in the road? "Going in and being uncomfortable and learning how to be happy and just keep going with whatever you have in front of you."

As Burroughs pointed out, Dennis could win $250,000 in bonus money if he wins gold in Rio. If he did, the money would help him buy a truck to replace his current one, which calls his "newer hunk of s---."

In the meantime, would Dennis consider completing the Road to the Olympics by driving his truck to Rio?

"I would if they let me," he said. "I would make a big long trip out of it."