While searching for studio apartments, I came across a craigslist ad for RV parking spots starting at $400 or so a month. Unperturbed by the poster's intentional mislisting, my continuing quest for more efficient living ventured down yet another path.
"Full-Timing is an opportunity to simplify life, live economically, enjoy the moment, and linger in beautiful places ideas."
Vision
I can easily see myself relishing the life of a digital nomad. I would need either a single telecommuting job or some small consultant gigs to have money for food and gas, but then I would be free to roam as I pleased. Conferences, barcamps, parties, meetups...I could go wherever something interesting was happening but would always feel at home. I doubt I'd spend all that much time traveling, though...what excites me the most is the idea of combining technology with living off the grid (aka boondocking). Minimal bills, minimal resources, minimal dependence. When you think about it, living in an RV is the ultimate in mobile technology. Convergence is the future, so let's start applying it to more than cell phones. Plus, the RVIPLounge is going out again in May, and they're already working on details on how to run it full time. I can easily see others joining this trend, causing the emergence of an RV club of artistics and startups caravaning between conferences (and all the RVs would be covered in sponsor logos, of course), sharing our travel and RV hacking experiences, and even having our own Burning Man-esque RV meetups. La vie boheme.
Pros
- My own place
- Customizable
- Potentially quite affordable
- Would be able to geek the crap out of it
Cons
- Would have to bounce around town a lot (unless I found a mobile home park)
- Hard to coordinate moving RV and my car
- No real storage to speak of
- I do like some of the furnature I already have...would I sell or get a storage unit?
- Would probably take considerable effort to fix up an RV I can afford (but is that really a con?)
What would work
- 22-26 foot Class B
- Sleep above the cab
- Convert rear bedroom to large walk-in closet / library
Renovations
I have experience renovating mobile homes, so this project probably won't be much different.
- Sta Kool roof sealant in case of leaks
- Artistically allergic to wood paneling...spackle seams and paint
- Or make business card wallpaper?
- Could I make an old RV look like a Virgin America plane? :)
- Simple reupholstery with ultrasuede and a staple gun
- Exterior - don't have to repaint like a car, exterior house paint works just fine
- Still reeeeeeeeeeally want to find those articulating laptop stands
- Clever place for litter box?
- RV Makeover Bible
Places to stay (in SD)
Possibilities
Financing
Rentals
RV Life
- Getting started
- Boondocking
- What is boondocking?
- Boondocking in San Diego (basically, stay at walmart)
- We added some things to our self contained travel trailer to make boondocking more comfortable. These included a photovoltaic solar system with an inverter, catalytic heaters, a macerator, extra batteries, and a wireless communications. [link]
- Coworking (aka
gypsy camps GypsyCamp)
- Talk about the ultimate coworking environment! In an rv, you're truly free to work and think wherever you please.
- Enterprising brick and mortar companies with some extra parking space could open up to these nomads or even offer proper facilities
- Lots of companies have gyms with showers
- Free use washer / dryer
- This would naturally inspire hours of twitter conversation and buckets of whuffie for the host.
- When you gather smart people in creative environments, you will see smart and creative solutions to problems you may never have noticed
- RV clubs
- Technology
- Energy / water conservation
- SOLUR PAHNELS <3
- Will most certainly need backup cameras
- Batteries
- Internets (in my case, I already have an EVDO card)
- What about IRL mail?
- PO BOX -D
- I thought about that first, but a lot of places won't deliver packages to a PO box (and that's the bulk of the things I get via post). I've seen a forwarding service that basically works like dynamic dns for physical locations, but I don't remember it right now so I didn't fill in this section more yet. -L
- Aren't there services to take mail and scan it? If not...there should be! -D
- Yeah, that would be neat, but like I just mentioned...can't exactly scan a tshirt. =] Forwarding services cost money, though...maybe have one address for mail and another for packages? -L
- Install Botanicalls-type twitter system to alert when fresh / black water tanks are full? (may need something similar for temperature so my cat doesn't boil)
- Won't work when you leave...you take your EVDO card with you -D
- Doubt they'd get full when I'm not there, but yeah..would have to work out something else for temp alarm (which is more important) -L
- Most equipped with fridge, gas range, and microwave
- Take the range out for extra counter space and use a hot plate?
- Must have coffee maker! (get back from Dan)
- Would I use my crock pot? Food processor?
- Toaster oven = win
- Keeping house + body clean
- Showering
- Use baby wipes frequently instead of showering daily
- Spray bottle showers
- Beg / borrow / steal shower facilities at work, gyms (if I had a nationwide gym membership), truck stops (eww), and campgrounds
- Just about every RV in the class I'm looking at has a shower onboard, just have to keep water in the tank
- Recyclable paper plates instead of washing dishes
- However, not much room for a big trash can
- Hell, I eat out a lot anyway
- Gotta keep the RV clean, too
- vacuum? -D
- Swiffer...I want linoleum flooring -L
- where can you wash RVs easy/cheap? -D
- Laundry
- Frugal living tips
- Emergencies
- San Diego catches on fire again? Just get out with the RV and not have to worry if I'll have a home to go back to.
Maintenance
- Vehicle wear and tear
- Dumping waste tanks
- Consumables
- Propane
- Water
- Electricity
- Insurance
- Ton of stuff I haven't even thought about yet, I'm sure
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.