Well some big changes are in order for me over the next few months...back in late February I was offered and accepted a full time opportunity with the Lodge in Alaska. I left Florida early and arrived in Ketchikan in March. Worked in the office for the Lodge and arranged bookings and just basically ran the office in town getting ready for this season.
My intentions for the past several years was to liquidate and move into a "Tiny House" either building one or buying a travel trailer and spending my summers in Alaska and my winters traveling around and taking pictures, working when and where I could. This is now becoming a reality.
I just arranged to purchase a small 5th wheel travel trailer which will become my winter home, this winter in Ketchikan and who knows where in the coming years.
Below is a slide show of my new home. I have not seen it personally yet, but had a friend stopped by in Tacoma to see it and take these pictures.
Stay Tuned for more details as things move along...but I am now tiny house bound!
Jim
Retirees Trade Work for Rent at Cash-Poor Parks
Michael Stravato for The New York Times
The motor home hookups are free for Erv Nichols and Sandra Noll, who volunteer as canoe guides at Falcon State Park in Texas.
By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: February 17, 2010
ROMA, Tex. — A cold wind whipped down the Texas plains on the night last month that Sharon Smith, 68, and her husband, Bill, 73, arrived here to be work-campers.
Multimedia
Audio Slide Show
Nomadic Retirees
Enlarge This Image
Michael Stravato for The New York Times
Erv Nichols, a birders' guide.
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
* Read All Comments (161) »
In the dark, they had trouble setting up their camper. But Ms. Smith, a former teacher’s aide from Sioux Falls, S.D., said she looked up at the starry sky, shook off a few of the burrs she had picked up lying on the ground working on their truck, and told herself it would get better.
It did.
The life of a work-camper, volunteering in places like Falcon State Park in deep South Texas in return for free rent, is not without its bumps. But as Ms. Smith also quickly discovered, the rewards can be deep as well — like making cinnamon rolls as part of her job at the camp recreation center, where she and Mr. Smith are working as hosts through the end of March.
“We’re here for three reasons,” she said, as she spread sugar on the dough. “No. 1, we like to travel. No. 2, we like people. And No. 3, we’re on a budget.”
An itinerant, footloose army of available and willing retirees in their 60s and 70s is marching through the American outback, looking to stretch retirement dollars by volunteering to work in parks, campgrounds and wildlife sanctuaries, usually in exchange for camping space.
Park and wildlife agencies say that retired volunteers have in turn become all the more crucial as budget cuts and new demands have made it harder to keep parks open.
Work-campers come together in one place — leading nature walks or staffing visitor centers, typically working 20 hours to 30 hours a week — then take off to their next assignments. As they move about, they keep in touch with one another through cellphone numbers, e-mail addresses and Facebook postings, creating virtual communities filled with the people they meet.
Camp life, especially in this bird-watching hotspot, revolves around the great outdoors: picking up trash, guiding visitors and, with luck, perhaps spotting the rare roadside hawk that has been reported in the Rio Grande Valley. Night brings a round of socializing: wine around the picnic tables out by the bird feeders, an open-mike sing-along at the recreation center, an evening walk through the South Texas scrubland.
Estimates of the number of work-campers nationally vary, but a spokesman for Kampgrounds of America Inc., a private company that franchises camps, said that 80,000 or so might be a good guess, based on KOA’s percentage of the camping market and the number of its work-campers.
“It attracts a certain kind of person,” said Wendy R. Forster, 70, a retired biologist who lives alone in her motor home and has been leading bird-watchers’ walks here since January. “There’s a lot of companionship and security.”
Recession has cut a fierce crosswind through the subculture, recreation experts and campers say. Many campers are also trying to stay longer in one place to cut travel expenses.
But other recreation managers say they have become more dependent than ever on a national network of volunteers, partly because of spending cuts and partly because remaining staff members have to prioritize what they can do.
“Basic trail maintenance, for example — picking up trash,” said Nancy C. Brown, who coordinates volunteers for the South Texas Refuge Complex, which includes three large wildlife areas. “It’s important for wildlife purposes, but when you’re faced with a choice of dealing with oil and gas permits or maintaining a trail, the trail is the first thing to go.”
In the last decade, Ms. Brown said, the number of campsites set aside for volunteers in the complex, including those at Falcon State Park, has risen twentyfold, to 65 from 3.
In some places, the retired volunteers are about the only staff members left.
“We did a state park in Arizona this year that had laid off so many people, we basically ran it,” said Carolyn Miller, 71, a former small-business owner from Colorado who has work-camped from Alaska to Maine with her husband, Warren, 73.
For many work-campers, the appeal of a nontraditional retirement was also linked to a life-changing event — the death of a spouse, a divorce, money trouble, a midlife reassessment of priorities. For whatever reasons, they said, staying put became an unappealing or unavailable option.
And for some, there is romance to be found. Sandra Noll, 65, a retired nurse who has been leading canoe trips for bird-watchers on the Rio Grande since early January, met her partner, Erv Nichols, 66, three years ago.
Mr. Nichols, a retired photographer from Big Bear Lake, Calif., had set out to downsize his life. With Social Security as his only income, and two previous marriages that ended in divorce, he was so sure of a solo life, he said, that he ripped out the front passenger seat of the little motor home that a friend had given him as a gift.
Ms. Noll, who was reassessing her own life after a divorce and a move back West, where she grew up, found Mr. Nichols’s zeal in tossing aside his possessions appealing. “You wanted to simplify your life,” she said, glancing across the table at him in their little trailer. “That drew you to me.”
Ms. Forster, the retired biologist, became a volunteer partly out of grief. When her husband died of cancer 17 years ago, in his 50s, she immediately set off, she said, continuing the motor-home life they had imagined together, but now on her own. She has led bird-watching trips all over the country and has already made plans to come back here next year.
“We’re nomadic,” she said. “But a lot of us are coming back next year, so that will be a reunion.”
Other campers are moving down the road. Ms. Noll and Mr. Nichols, for example, are headed next to Nebraska, to work as guides along the sandhill cranes’ migration route. Starting in June, the Smiths, from Sioux Falls, will work on an island in Puget Sound. Ellen Lawson, 66, of Evansville, Wyo., will head for a dulcimer festival in Mississippi. She said she was already dreading the goodbyes when she and her husband, Ron, 67, leave here in March.
“I cried when I left home to come here,” Ms. Lawson said while raking leaves at Falcon State Park’s Butterfly Garden, “and I’ll cry when I leave.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: February 19, 2010
An article on Thursday about retirees who volunteer to work in parks, campgrounds and wildlife sanctuaries, usually in exchange for camping space, misstated the effect budget cuts in California have had on parks there the past year. Cutbacks have caused partial closures or deep reductions in the hours of operation at nearly 60 state parks, but no park has been shut completely.
Michael Stravato for The New York Times
The motor home hookups are free for Erv Nichols and Sandra Noll, who volunteer as canoe guides at Falcon State Park in Texas.
By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: February 17, 2010
ROMA, Tex. — A cold wind whipped down the Texas plains on the night last month that Sharon Smith, 68, and her husband, Bill, 73, arrived here to be work-campers.
Multimedia
Audio Slide Show
Nomadic Retirees
Enlarge This Image
Michael Stravato for The New York Times
Erv Nichols, a birders' guide.
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
* Read All Comments (161) »
In the dark, they had trouble setting up their camper. But Ms. Smith, a former teacher’s aide from Sioux Falls, S.D., said she looked up at the starry sky, shook off a few of the burrs she had picked up lying on the ground working on their truck, and told herself it would get better.
It did.
The life of a work-camper, volunteering in places like Falcon State Park in deep South Texas in return for free rent, is not without its bumps. But as Ms. Smith also quickly discovered, the rewards can be deep as well — like making cinnamon rolls as part of her job at the camp recreation center, where she and Mr. Smith are working as hosts through the end of March.
“We’re here for three reasons,” she said, as she spread sugar on the dough. “No. 1, we like to travel. No. 2, we like people. And No. 3, we’re on a budget.”
An itinerant, footloose army of available and willing retirees in their 60s and 70s is marching through the American outback, looking to stretch retirement dollars by volunteering to work in parks, campgrounds and wildlife sanctuaries, usually in exchange for camping space.
Park and wildlife agencies say that retired volunteers have in turn become all the more crucial as budget cuts and new demands have made it harder to keep parks open.
Work-campers come together in one place — leading nature walks or staffing visitor centers, typically working 20 hours to 30 hours a week — then take off to their next assignments. As they move about, they keep in touch with one another through cellphone numbers, e-mail addresses and Facebook postings, creating virtual communities filled with the people they meet.
Camp life, especially in this bird-watching hotspot, revolves around the great outdoors: picking up trash, guiding visitors and, with luck, perhaps spotting the rare roadside hawk that has been reported in the Rio Grande Valley. Night brings a round of socializing: wine around the picnic tables out by the bird feeders, an open-mike sing-along at the recreation center, an evening walk through the South Texas scrubland.
Estimates of the number of work-campers nationally vary, but a spokesman for Kampgrounds of America Inc., a private company that franchises camps, said that 80,000 or so might be a good guess, based on KOA’s percentage of the camping market and the number of its work-campers.
“It attracts a certain kind of person,” said Wendy R. Forster, 70, a retired biologist who lives alone in her motor home and has been leading bird-watchers’ walks here since January. “There’s a lot of companionship and security.”
Recession has cut a fierce crosswind through the subculture, recreation experts and campers say. Many campers are also trying to stay longer in one place to cut travel expenses.
But other recreation managers say they have become more dependent than ever on a national network of volunteers, partly because of spending cuts and partly because remaining staff members have to prioritize what they can do.
“Basic trail maintenance, for example — picking up trash,” said Nancy C. Brown, who coordinates volunteers for the South Texas Refuge Complex, which includes three large wildlife areas. “It’s important for wildlife purposes, but when you’re faced with a choice of dealing with oil and gas permits or maintaining a trail, the trail is the first thing to go.”
In the last decade, Ms. Brown said, the number of campsites set aside for volunteers in the complex, including those at Falcon State Park, has risen twentyfold, to 65 from 3.
In some places, the retired volunteers are about the only staff members left.
“We did a state park in Arizona this year that had laid off so many people, we basically ran it,” said Carolyn Miller, 71, a former small-business owner from Colorado who has work-camped from Alaska to Maine with her husband, Warren, 73.
For many work-campers, the appeal of a nontraditional retirement was also linked to a life-changing event — the death of a spouse, a divorce, money trouble, a midlife reassessment of priorities. For whatever reasons, they said, staying put became an unappealing or unavailable option.
And for some, there is romance to be found. Sandra Noll, 65, a retired nurse who has been leading canoe trips for bird-watchers on the Rio Grande since early January, met her partner, Erv Nichols, 66, three years ago.
Mr. Nichols, a retired photographer from Big Bear Lake, Calif., had set out to downsize his life. With Social Security as his only income, and two previous marriages that ended in divorce, he was so sure of a solo life, he said, that he ripped out the front passenger seat of the little motor home that a friend had given him as a gift.
Ms. Noll, who was reassessing her own life after a divorce and a move back West, where she grew up, found Mr. Nichols’s zeal in tossing aside his possessions appealing. “You wanted to simplify your life,” she said, glancing across the table at him in their little trailer. “That drew you to me.”
Ms. Forster, the retired biologist, became a volunteer partly out of grief. When her husband died of cancer 17 years ago, in his 50s, she immediately set off, she said, continuing the motor-home life they had imagined together, but now on her own. She has led bird-watching trips all over the country and has already made plans to come back here next year.
“We’re nomadic,” she said. “But a lot of us are coming back next year, so that will be a reunion.”
Other campers are moving down the road. Ms. Noll and Mr. Nichols, for example, are headed next to Nebraska, to work as guides along the sandhill cranes’ migration route. Starting in June, the Smiths, from Sioux Falls, will work on an island in Puget Sound. Ellen Lawson, 66, of Evansville, Wyo., will head for a dulcimer festival in Mississippi. She said she was already dreading the goodbyes when she and her husband, Ron, 67, leave here in March.
“I cried when I left home to come here,” Ms. Lawson said while raking leaves at Falcon State Park’s Butterfly Garden, “and I’ll cry when I leave.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: February 19, 2010
An article on Thursday about retirees who volunteer to work in parks, campgrounds and wildlife sanctuaries, usually in exchange for camping space, misstated the effect budget cuts in California have had on parks there the past year. Cutbacks have caused partial closures or deep reductions in the hours of operation at nearly 60 state parks, but no park has been shut completely.
Another Great Video about tiny houses!
I particularly like the kid at the end building his own to take to college!!
Capt Jim
Capt Jim
First Set of Plans!
This “house” will be built on a 20 foot X 8 foot utility trailer. It Has a u-shaped galley with plenty of counter space – with cabinets above – storage under counter, room for counter-top appliances. Full sized bed, water and grey water underneath, access from outside or inside. Full standard shower, separate toilet, use kitchen sink for bathroom sink. Propane heater, computer desk, storage under. V-Shaped front for aerodynamics and storage – propane and batteries for DC power. Use a regular DC/AC boat electrical panel – ability to add generator at a later date. Room under kitchen counter for separate refrigerator, and front open small freezer – or build in counter top freezer with air cooled boat system of cold plates?? Cheaper and less problem to buy small freezer at Wal-Mart!
Will build the floor approx 8” to 12” above deck of trailer to allow for electrical conduit and plumbing. Floor doors for critical access. Vaulted ceiling over main living room – lower flat ceiling above baths and kitchen with Tote storage above. Shower sump pump to move grey water into storage tank. Typical home depot 36” square shower stall with door or curtain, probably curtain. Will also put cloth shower curtain to close off bed area during day…or night for privacy. Will more than likely build a single bunk above main bed and use area for storage or company! If there is room for my Futon in the main room, this would only be storage…
Exterior will either be T-111 or smooth white fiberglass panels, including lo-rise gable roof. Flat roof above porch will be ventilated to feed and drain window A/C unit which will be built in above the door! Interior walls will more than likely be textured 4 X 8 fiberglass panels, easy to clean and light and airy…finished wood trim strips applied at the seams and in all the corners…just like on a boat!
I can buy a brand new dual wheel utility trailer with brakes 8 X 20 for about $1,800.00 and figure material cost to build the house will be around $6,000.00 to $8,000.00. Used trailers all over the place, for as little as $500.00. If I shop and plan real well, using remnant materials from Lowe’s and Home Depot for cabinets etc…I can probably knock another $1,500 bucks off the price. Also look for trashed travel trailers at salvage yard and boat salvage yards and get various components like windows / cabinets etc.
Small windows on either side of kitchen and larger windows on either side of living room and small windows on both side of back wall and in back door.
There is a whole group of people who are doing this sort of thing…some videos on my blog…here: Make sure you watch the video of one being built! Difference – my plans do NOT call for a sleeping loft – just a storage loft above kitchen and bath. Plus my roof won’t have nearly as high of a pitch! Mine will be closer to a flat roof, hip style on front towards towing to aid in aerodynamics. Enough pitch to enclose A/C unit above porch and hold some storage totes above the hallway into the kitchen and soft storage to the sides. Weight needs to be kept low above the wheels and fairly even side to side! Been doing a bunch of reading and homework!
In my studying the past few days - I have discovered there is quite a movement of people who are starting to live this lifestyle. Many or old hippies or greenies who are just a little bit better than the homeless, at least they are industrious and have created a space to live...some remind me of the old commune days of the 60's, maybe that is where they are all ending up...anyway, that is not my purpose. I want to live comfortably and energy efficient from a cost standpoint and environmentally friendly in that I don't want to pollute, but I am not going to take a dump in a compost pile...I want a flush toilet and will process my waste when necessary through a sewer like everyone else. I require a decent refrigerator and a freezer. Propane to cook with and plenty of fresh water to bath in etc...so simplistic is fine, but you do have to be comfortable and clean!
I am seriously shopping for a utility trailer and hope to have one before I leave for Alaska in May, then next fall when I return to Florida, I will build the house based on finalized plans and what materials I can gather between now and then. I have built several boats and understand electrical systems, water systems and waste systems and most everything in this trailer will utilize many marine parts, so I will be traveling around the boat yards and RV places for salvage items to use in my new home, this to minimize costs of course.
Stay Tuned as things progress I will be updating every few days!
Capt Jim
Welcome to the beginning of my Journey!
About a year and a half ago, after retiring (semi) about 6 years ago, I decided in order to keep my overhead to a minimum and still live comfortably and partake in one of my favorite pastimes - traveling, it would be best if I bought a travel trailer or small motor home. So for the past couple years I have been weighing the pro's and con's of which type of vehicle would be best.
I'll go over some of my thoughts.
Motorhome vs Travel Trailer
1. Motohomes are expensive, both to buy and to operate. Most are real gas or diesel guzzlers, plus the real turn-off was the need for an additional vehicle. Now it could be simplistic, a small motorbike or motorcycle might do. But for a person who is still working and plans on working until full retirement which is a few years away, the thought of being out in the rain and snow everyday while going back and forth to work, made me realize at the minimum I would need a small car.
2. Additionally - one of my joys is taking photographs and that involves some serious equipment. Part of the attraction of traveling around to various parts of the country is to take and sell my photographs. A motorbike or motorcycle would just not be practical for this - so If I chose motorhome - a small car was also a requirement, now that means two vehicles, dual insurance ect. Costs really start to mount.
So my decision was made to look for a small comfortable travel trailer.
Size and style
1. Size was critical, not so much for living space, but cost to travel. Large trailer, requires large vehicle which eats gas or diesel. Larger units just like a house, cost more to park and maintain. I was determined to keep it under 20 feet long.
2. In looking at the standard 18-24 foot travel trailers, I quickly realized there were virtually none built for full time living. They are all built as weekend campers and equipped for just that. A bunkhouse, with minimal conveniences and real cramped quarters.
3. Additionally everything is "built in" and most of it is pretty cheap and uncomfortable. Virtually every one has a dinette that is a waste of space and worthless when made into a bunk, uncomfortable to sit and watch TV in and uncomfortable to sleep in.
4. This all got me to thinking, buy one, gut the insides and build it the way I wanted, nice but they all have such small doors, I would end up having to take the side of the trailer off to get what I wanted in and remove what was in there. Too much work.
Alternative
1. I started looking at "Toy Haulers". Primarily because they were designed to move 4 wheelers and such usually the entire rear of the trailer folds down. Fine I thought, tear out what I don't need and put in what I do need!
Which lead me to determine what I really needed and the only things I use on a daily basis.
1. Comfortable bed - a twin is fine, but a double or queen would be better, just in case I get lucky!
2. Good bathroom - decent toilet and a nice spacious separate stall shower. (required)
3. Small galley - 2 burner stove minimum - outdoor grill, microwave/convection oven, small refrigerator and a decent freezer.
4. Good comfortable chair to sit in and read, watch TV and eat. I have a wonderful recliner which serves all of those purposes just fine.
5. Computer hutch/desk so I can work. I am a part time graphic designer and web designer, so I have high powered computing requirements for work and my photography.
After studying all sorts of Toy Haulers - most have the same problem as the travel trailers, cheap furnishings - very small bathrooms most with a "wet bath" or a shower I couldn't get my ass in and out of. At least I would have the ability to tear out what I don't need and build back what I do need. But limited since some many of the critical underlying components - water storage, drainage and waste storage are in predefined places and sizes...it was still too limiting. PLUS - Have you priced even a used toy hauler - They are expensive???
Then in my travels and search, I ran into a friend who had a similar idea. Except, he had a welding business and a delivery truck that was being replaced with a new one, by the new owner who he sold his business to, he decided to keep an Isuzu NPR - 18 foot box truck with a lift gate. He built an entire studio apartment in the back of the box truck. Uses the lift gate as a back porch, mounted waste tanks underneath and a small generator. Has heat and air conditioning, put in a few windows and french doors behind the roll down door - with space to store his small motorcycle between the roll down and the french doors. It is a beautiful living space. When he gets back down this way I will take some pictures and they will be posted here. The box truck is made to haul a bunch of weight and what he built in, does not weigh that much, so the truck is running about 1/3 full. Gets about 17 MPH on the highway, even towing his small boat. The diesel will go for well over 300 thousand miles and the transmission is designed for a heavy load and should last as well. I liked this idea a bunch, but it brought me back to having to acquire another vehicle.
Another friend lost his pickup truck in a divorce, but kept the camper on jacks to live in - she took everything else. Decided he wanted to be mobile and had a real nice SUV. So he bought a used lawn service trailer and mounted his nice truck camper with two slide-outs on the trailer. Built a tool storage area underneath the cab-over bunk, put in a generator and some more water storage and he has a real nice rig, for very little additional funds. He is now gone on the road!
Then a couple days ago, another friend who is well aware of my frustrations and search turned me on to a web site which got me focused on a little different direction, which led me to creating this blog and finalizing my ultimate plans. The website is: Tumbleweed Houses
After two days of internet searching and studying, I have determined that this is the route I intend to travel on my upcoming journey to a simpler life.
Watch these videos and you will see the direction I am headed.
Here is one being built....
And another Small House Life story!
Stay Tuned for further updates:
Captain Jim
I'll go over some of my thoughts.
Motorhome vs Travel Trailer
1. Motohomes are expensive, both to buy and to operate. Most are real gas or diesel guzzlers, plus the real turn-off was the need for an additional vehicle. Now it could be simplistic, a small motorbike or motorcycle might do. But for a person who is still working and plans on working until full retirement which is a few years away, the thought of being out in the rain and snow everyday while going back and forth to work, made me realize at the minimum I would need a small car.
2. Additionally - one of my joys is taking photographs and that involves some serious equipment. Part of the attraction of traveling around to various parts of the country is to take and sell my photographs. A motorbike or motorcycle would just not be practical for this - so If I chose motorhome - a small car was also a requirement, now that means two vehicles, dual insurance ect. Costs really start to mount.
So my decision was made to look for a small comfortable travel trailer.
Size and style
1. Size was critical, not so much for living space, but cost to travel. Large trailer, requires large vehicle which eats gas or diesel. Larger units just like a house, cost more to park and maintain. I was determined to keep it under 20 feet long.
2. In looking at the standard 18-24 foot travel trailers, I quickly realized there were virtually none built for full time living. They are all built as weekend campers and equipped for just that. A bunkhouse, with minimal conveniences and real cramped quarters.
3. Additionally everything is "built in" and most of it is pretty cheap and uncomfortable. Virtually every one has a dinette that is a waste of space and worthless when made into a bunk, uncomfortable to sit and watch TV in and uncomfortable to sleep in.
4. This all got me to thinking, buy one, gut the insides and build it the way I wanted, nice but they all have such small doors, I would end up having to take the side of the trailer off to get what I wanted in and remove what was in there. Too much work.
Alternative
1. I started looking at "Toy Haulers". Primarily because they were designed to move 4 wheelers and such usually the entire rear of the trailer folds down. Fine I thought, tear out what I don't need and put in what I do need!
Which lead me to determine what I really needed and the only things I use on a daily basis.
1. Comfortable bed - a twin is fine, but a double or queen would be better, just in case I get lucky!
2. Good bathroom - decent toilet and a nice spacious separate stall shower. (required)
3. Small galley - 2 burner stove minimum - outdoor grill, microwave/convection oven, small refrigerator and a decent freezer.
4. Good comfortable chair to sit in and read, watch TV and eat. I have a wonderful recliner which serves all of those purposes just fine.
5. Computer hutch/desk so I can work. I am a part time graphic designer and web designer, so I have high powered computing requirements for work and my photography.
After studying all sorts of Toy Haulers - most have the same problem as the travel trailers, cheap furnishings - very small bathrooms most with a "wet bath" or a shower I couldn't get my ass in and out of. At least I would have the ability to tear out what I don't need and build back what I do need. But limited since some many of the critical underlying components - water storage, drainage and waste storage are in predefined places and sizes...it was still too limiting. PLUS - Have you priced even a used toy hauler - They are expensive???
Then in my travels and search, I ran into a friend who had a similar idea. Except, he had a welding business and a delivery truck that was being replaced with a new one, by the new owner who he sold his business to, he decided to keep an Isuzu NPR - 18 foot box truck with a lift gate. He built an entire studio apartment in the back of the box truck. Uses the lift gate as a back porch, mounted waste tanks underneath and a small generator. Has heat and air conditioning, put in a few windows and french doors behind the roll down door - with space to store his small motorcycle between the roll down and the french doors. It is a beautiful living space. When he gets back down this way I will take some pictures and they will be posted here. The box truck is made to haul a bunch of weight and what he built in, does not weigh that much, so the truck is running about 1/3 full. Gets about 17 MPH on the highway, even towing his small boat. The diesel will go for well over 300 thousand miles and the transmission is designed for a heavy load and should last as well. I liked this idea a bunch, but it brought me back to having to acquire another vehicle.
Another friend lost his pickup truck in a divorce, but kept the camper on jacks to live in - she took everything else. Decided he wanted to be mobile and had a real nice SUV. So he bought a used lawn service trailer and mounted his nice truck camper with two slide-outs on the trailer. Built a tool storage area underneath the cab-over bunk, put in a generator and some more water storage and he has a real nice rig, for very little additional funds. He is now gone on the road!
Then a couple days ago, another friend who is well aware of my frustrations and search turned me on to a web site which got me focused on a little different direction, which led me to creating this blog and finalizing my ultimate plans. The website is: Tumbleweed Houses
After two days of internet searching and studying, I have determined that this is the route I intend to travel on my upcoming journey to a simpler life.
Watch these videos and you will see the direction I am headed.
Here is one being built....
And another Small House Life story!
Stay Tuned for further updates:
Captain Jim
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