24/7 Chat About Anything

[nature lover]

Oh no he’s back. Actually I never left I’ve been lurking in the shadow and reading list forum. I had one of the roughest weeks in a long time and my skin was pretty thin when I reacted to some of the things on here. I’m going to try to nor the other crap and get going. I appreciate those of you who said you miss me. Believe me I didn’t do it so you would say such things.

So here it goes it’s very very cold in Pennsylvania and wet. Tonight low in the 30s tomorrow they say in the 20s. I have shore power where I’m at now so I have an electric heater. But as you guys know any kind a heater in a van does not heat the floor with the cold air racing under it. My plan now is to leave on 11 November for Florida and take almost a month to get there. I plan to stop at every national wildlife refuge and other nature places from the great dismal Swamp to Sarasota. Might be a good way to forget my troubles. If not I can go for a swim in the Okefenokee swamp and visit the alligators that’ll take care of my troubles. I wonder if the alligators would think I taste like chicken.

 

[maki2]

It is hard to keep floors warm. I might add a layer of the foam puzzle mats over my insulated coin vibnyl floor. A rug would also help but I track in too much dirt for that option.

But on cold nights putting the electric heater down on the foor makes a difference as heat rises so if the heater is up on a counter the floor will never have a chance to get very warm. Not always possible though as then it bevomes a trip hazard.

Oh well that is why the furnace is down by the floor in many RVs. It really is the best place to put it for keping the place warm.

Every night I rember that I meant thatbday to buy some warm wool socks abd a pair of slippers. I am not a list making person but I would do myself a favor if I developed that habit.

 

[Qxxx]

As one gets more experience with the vandwelling life, one develops procedures for dealing with all the standard problems of everyday life. It takes a little while.

Re tracking in dirt: have different shoes for outside and inside.

Re cold floors: change out of the socks used out of doors to non-sweaty socks, and wear shoes when inside.

Re cold nights: first off, don't sleep in the same clothes or underwear as used during the day.

Re building up a sweat for any reason when outdoors, then immediately change the undershirt as soon as possible, else you'll get a chill.

The list goes on.

 

[maki2]

Guess what: I am not living in a van.  I do not have a place to immediately to immediately take off my shoes. There is no room for such a place with the way my travel trailer is laid out.

But I have very durable flooring which can handle the bit of debris I bring in. Of course i do put a door mat down outside and just inside the door to remove most of the debris.

 

[maki2]

What can I say except I have no place by my entry to change or store shoes. It is an overall great layout for my needs but that is the way the structure was designed 50 years ago and there is no changing the fact that the entry door is in the middle of the rear wall with cabinets on each side of it. By the time you get in through the door you are then 3 feet inside the door and the debris is already on the floor even though I do have a mat outside the door to wipe my feet on and a small one inside the door. The first place to sit down to change shoes is nearly 6 feet inside the door. Good thing I installed very durable, easy to clean, flooring that does not show the dirt.

 

[maki2]

QXX I am not a newbie to camping. I have owned several vans, trucks with caps, station wagons etc. Cut my teeth on camping in Alaska 50 years ago when I was in my 20s. I know that there is a tendency in forums to consider that everyone you meet is a newbie but that is certainly not true of this forum, it is a real mix of new to it and people who grew up doing it.

 

[maki2]

woken up this morning at 4 by a big rainy windstorm. My new dome tent I set up for a covered work space is still standing and in good condition. I do have it secured with some heavy duty, thick, steel stakes I purchased at Walmart where I got the Ozark Trails 6 person dome tent. It has been fun seeing if it will survive strong winds, this storm had frequent 30 to 35 miph gust. I had not listened to the weather report so I did not know it was going to happen.

Decent weather for this upcoming Pacific NW weekend. Plenty of sun with only slight chances of rain. Hope to stay on here thru Sunday before I head to Seattle to pick up my mail on Monday. Then finally begin heading towards AZ down along the Pacific Coast route. If I get tired of that route I can always jump over to I-5 and head south on it for a while.

 

[JohnnyM]

"Oh no he's back!"

Welcome back, Nature Lover, and watch out fer them gators!

Johnny

 

[crofter]

....the Ozark Trails 6 person dome tent...

An awesome tent for the price, I am a fan of ozark trail products in general when setting up a longer term camp. The 6 person tent I had last year, I could stand up in my tent and also have a full size shelf in there and lots of places to hang stuff for drying. I usually put a sheet of plywood on the floor to make it last longer near the entrance.

We had a big storm in southern AZ also with winds and dirt blowing, I have spent a couple days cleaning up. No real damage, just a lot of dirt into everything.
-crofter

 

[crofter]

.....Re tracking in dirt: have different shoes for outside and inside.

Re cold floors: change out of the socks used out of doors to non-sweaty socks, and wear shoes when inside.

Re cold nights: first off, don't sleep in the same clothes or underwear as used during the day.

Re building up a sweat for any reason when outdoors, then immediately change the undershirt as soon as possible, else you'll get a chill.

The list goes on.

I wear shoes in the van cause I am in and out all the time. I keep a small wisk broom near the door and use rubber car floor mat in the doorway to catch the dirt and wet shoes. 

I wear wool sox that are warm when wet. I wear fleece that wicks and stays warm when wet, also hat and light vest, so no need to change clothes before bath time. Fleece is essential for winters in the PNW or anywhere it rains. 

If I get really soaked, I can dry out in the cab without getting the living area all wet and dirty. Also floor mats in the cab that are easy to clean up. I have hooks installed to hang things on in the cab when drying. Also solar drying your sox on the dash works but is not stealth.
-crofter

 

[travelaround]

I like list-making. I always have post-it notes handy to make little lists on and then I can post them in my journal or planner if I need or want to.

The problem of tracking in dirt is part of what made van dwelling more difficult for me during the last winter. My van went from perfectly clean floors, to a big mess on the floor. I always have warm down slippers to wear inside the van during winter. Last year's slippers went down with the ship so I recently bought a new pair. Haven't used them yet - I'm just thinking ahead.

Went to Happy Camp yesterday and signed the "right to entry" papers for the state to invade my property and carry away all junk they see, and there's plenty of that to be taken. I'm trying to detach... from everything, just let it all go away and whatever's left is what I'll start over with. They will remove all debris, scrape the site, and give it back when it isn't toxic. Sounds like a good deal to me and won't cost me anything.

Also while there I went to the Karuk Tribe and applied for a travel trailer to live in. It would be a loan. I could possibly also get one from FEMA, but that's not available yet. The Karuks want people getting trailers to have a place to put them with hookups. The hookups are scarce in our town at this point. Lovely new travel trailers are abundant. Heard they got a grant to buy them for us... and again, it would be a loaner, but I don't know for how long.

So my plan is to stay in the van, unprepared as it may be, until the property is cleaned up, then put in a couple of trailer pads of some kind - with all hookups. Wish me luck on that - I don't know how to do any of that but hope someone wants to make money doing it for me. Pads would be for me and possibly my daughter's family in case she wants to live next door and not pay space rent at the RV park. Next would be a wash house for laundry if nothing else. Then more serious construction projects - like a home of some kind.

Anyhow, the plan may leave my winter open for van travel. I want to spend some time in Oroville learning to build tiny homes. Thought it would be a skill I could make use of on down the line.

 

[Qxxx]

I wear shoes in the van cause I am in and out all the time. I keep a small wisk broom near the door and use rubber car floor mat in the doorway to catch the dirt and wet shoes.

I have an 18" wide piece of vinyl carpet runner material right inside the back door of the van. My outside shoes never get past this piece. Soon as I come in, I slip out of those and into the inside shoes. Then, every day I use the whisk broom to clean the runner. So very little dirt gets tracked onto the inner carpet.

Each of us creates our own scheme.

 

[maki2]

The plywood on the tent floor sounds like a good idea. Good to hear that you have been happy with Ozark Trail tents. My eventual goal for my camping setup includes a platform area in the rear of my Honda Element. I could store the interior floor entry panel on that surface. At the moment I have a large tarp folding under the tent for a ground cloth and use an open weave non skid rug liner on the interior for my entry rug and rug runner. That keeps the floor in the tent from getting scuffed up, cut or holed. Plus any sawdust just falls through the open mesh vinyl coated mesh instead of getting tracked around.

Having to leave my workshop space before my build was completed meant I am still carrying a lot of tools and materials I won't be needing after the b build is completed. It will likely be spring before I get everything finished up the way I want it.

As I have a tow vehicle that on its own makes a nice little camping car I want to be able to in some of the summer months park my trailer at a secure storage spot and head into the mountains with just my Honda Element and the tent/screen room for extra space. A vacation camping atmosphere, it is fun to switch things up a bit and go to places that are easier to get into without towing a trailer.

 

[abnorm]

Travel Around..........Here's a build of the "Unicorn" of Transits........the rare dual slider

..............""Van tour........70 yr old Lady from British Columbia builds a High Roof Transit""

 

[maki2]

if you listen to what she is saying you will realize that she did do some of the design work or more likely just told the people she hired what she wanted to have rather than making the measured drawings.

she did make the wood art piece on the rear doors.

But the only part of the build process she did hands on was some sanding and painting. She hired a cabinet maker and electrician, etc. She assisted a bit but she did not do her own build. She had "talented" friends who came and helped do the work.

There is a big difference between hands on doing a build and commissioning almost all of the work on a build.

 

[travelaround]

70 yr old Lady from British Columbia builds a High Roof Transit

Nice use of the passenger side slider. Very imaginative! Not sure I'd want to be blocked from exiting that side, or either side. I like her security camera. I got slider windows so I could see out both sides... and back has windows too - but what fun it would be to lie in bed watching the screen with Bigfoot prowling around. I'd hope for a way to capture images, rather than just see them in real time.

 

[maki2]

Travelaround are you going to add some windows to your cargo trailer? Maybe that is the space you will lie in bed and use a camera to look outside.

 

[Sofisintown]

if you listen to what she is saying you will realize that she did do some of the design work or more likely just told the people she hired what she wanted to have rather than making the measured drawings.

There is a big difference between hands on doing a build and commissioning almost all of the work on a build.

Not everyone has the skill or even the physical strength to complete a camper built.
But we all appreciate a good result however, as it gives us ideas and a vision of how to proceed, and make OUR builds better..

 

[maki2]

The ranger at the park let me extend my stay 2 days longer than the maximum. So I can stay for the Halloween party and because I don't want to go to Seattle until Monday when I can pick up my mail at my private mail box service. The woman who has been parked next to me here at the campground lives in same Ballard neighborhood where I had been living and where my mailbox service is located. Today she gave me her phone number and address and said I should come park in front of her apartment building where she lives if I need a place to urban boondock this coming week. That was a very kind gesture. We had some fun conversations as both of us have worked with tools all of our professional lives, she was doing carpentry and I was working in metal. She is supervising a construction project for the city now, one that is HUD backed and is a mixed income housing development. A housing approach I am very much in support of as it makes for safer neighborhoods rather than having some areas be low income only. That area of town ihas had some gang issues with housing only designated for low income families.

Lots of work to get done on Saturday and Sunday, shipping, camp chores, packing stuff away to secure it. for getting on the road.

Today I bought a remnant length of red and black, buffalo plaid fleece to hang in front of my entry door to help keep it warmer inside at night. It is a little wider than the door to help seal off any drafts of cold from the surface of the door. . Easy no sew curtain hung on a bungee cord stretched above the door opening. Some evening or rainy day I will add some buttons to replace the safety pins that now secure it around the bungee.

I do have some thick, red EVA foam sheets arriving at the mailbox. one of the orders I will fetch on Monday. I am going to cover the metal skin on the interior of the door with them. That will stop the issue of condensation on the surface of the metal and do so without adding much weight to the door. Same color of foam as the red paint that is now on the surface. Wood working is on hold until I get in Arizona where it will be warm enough to get varnish to dry.

Little bits of progress on the basic creature comfort of keeping warm in winter being made here and there including some new wool socks to pick up on Monday.

 

[desert_sailing]

I had to switch out an old "nightstand" that I had salvaged and picked up this unit from the wally to use instead.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-H...Storage-Organizer-Multiple-Finishes/938859267

As I was assembling it I was thinking of YOU ta. I wish I was starting anew because I would have been very happy with these along a wall or stacked etc.

They are super light weighing ONLY 30 pounds when put together. The top shelf is claimed to hold 100 pounds and each square can hold 30 pounds.

Each section is very generous with space and those fabric boxes come in all kinds of patterns if you want to use them. I imagine you could also have a door of sorts made but I think it looks pretty good with just the fabric boxes.

This might be an efficient item instead of  heavier and more expensive home depot ready made cabinetry. Defintely something you could put together with nothing more than a couple light taps of a hammer.. it comes with  an allen wrench for the 8 top/bottom bolts so you need NOTHING extra. Very very easy to assemble.

I did see a lot of price variation between the walmart price and the exact item on amazon.. nearly double.

Just wanted to share with you ta..and anyone else who is looking.