3 years down the CRVL rabbit hole

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WalkaboutTed

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Three years ago, early July of 2016, I decided that the full time mobile life was for me. I've been a lifelong camper and boater and lived on a boat for five years. I had had four vans between the 80s to 2010 in which I did some extensive camping.  But, much as I liked the idea of fulltime van/RV living, it didn't quite sit as I was under the impression that as a rule, I needed to PAY for the pleasure of camping, while camping at large/boondocking permanently wasn't something realistically doable. Plus, the idea of giving up sticks & bricks wasn't on my radar. Paying for a home while paying for living on the road wasn't going to work as there isn't enough money for both.

But then, as someone here charmingly put it, I fell down into the rabbit hole of vandwelling, CRVL as my first, primary source of info. 

First, though, I had to sell the house and get a van.  Little did I realize that getting rid of "stuff" was the first and most difficult part of this journey.  Previously,  I would jokingly call myself a "Stuff Queen ". I couldn't even get the house on the market without thorough decluttering.  Meanwhile, we bought the first van and started converting it as a side project while getting the house on the market.  As soon as the van was done, I bailed, leaving Hubby to finish up the house sale.  After that, he spent a very long weekend with me in the van and we both realized that living together full time as vandwellers WAS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! 

So, I was on my way, Hubby was still working on the house and we had a quandary.   We ended up getting him his own van so we could travel together and separately.   Throughout our 20+ years together, we would spend months apart from each other each year during vacations and such. So being apart was no big deal.  

Things moved really slowly. It was like swimming in molasses. Hubby finally got the house sold December of 2017.  Since I had already taken off on my own, and I was going to be alone much of the time, I decided that I needed a dog.  So I got a puppy. Now my van wasn't big enough with the dog, so I took my half of the house sale proceeds and bought a trailer. Now we had two vans and a trailer.  Crazy and a bit of overkill, but it works. I spend most of my time in New Mexico, he's still a Zonie. I drag the trailer around with me and he lives in his van. Sometimes we go off together and travel in his van (we would kill each other if we traveled in mine). We are very lucky that we're retired with medical insurance. 

So now, we look at each other and marvel at how incredibly fun this life is, both separately and together.   Neither of us can foresee abandoning this lifestyle for anything except poor health. There are no regrets except that we should have done this earlier. This is just too darn good, I keep wondering when the ax will fall.  But I just can't see where that ax is. Maybe it doesn't exist? In the meantime, the freedom to go wherever I want and do whatever I please, whenever I want in the last couple years has been nothing but a dream realized.  

Negatives? [size=medium]Many things that a lot of people might have problems with aren't problems for me with my extensive boating and camping history. But initially it was disconcerting and I had a strong sense of unease once I no longer had a home base. That passed after a few months. Getting packages requires forethought. Dealing with shit (the real stuff) is a pain. Trash while boondocking is a hassle-depackaging stuff after buying is necessary. Not having a place to do projects on the vehicles can be problematic.  Living without daily (or even weekly) showers has been an adjustment. No cellular or internet access for weeks at a time can be disturbing. No real social milieu isn't the best, but I have my kids. Having to pack up and move my home every 14 days gets old. Loneliness happens, but I was already somewhat of a loner and am an introvert. I have to pay storage fees monthly as I can't make myself get rid of all of my stuff.  The biggest issue? Having to return to the lower desert during hot season for my medical care, which is based in both Tucson and Phoenix.  There have been workarounds for all the above problems-so far.[/size]

So I guess that I have to say is that it's a horrible life, but someone has to live it, eh? It's better than I had hoped it to be three years ago, when I realized that this lifestyle was possible for me. It won't last forever, but I'm sure enjoying it while it lasts.
Ted
 
WalkaboutTed said:
Three years ago, ...

Thanks for this post! I've been downsizing for a little while now. It's definitely the hardest part--very time intensive. I wonder at what point it's worth it to just donate everything. I already donate all the clothes I'm getting rid of. My last day at work was Friday, and my next step is selling the house. Still LOTS to downsize. I'm getting rid of 98% of my furniture. The perks of being a cheapskate... All my furniture is old and is pretty much shot.
 
WalkaboutTed said:
Negatives? [size=medium]Many things that a lot of people might have problems with aren't problems for me with my extensive boating and camping history. [/size]
As a longtime ultralight backpacker, I have found this to be true as well. The folks who adjust the most easily to van-dwelling are those who have experience with camping and hiking. We have already learned to live with almost nothing, and we are able to adapt to Mother Nature instead of trying to overpower her. The folks who seem to have the most difficult time with dwelling are those who try to cram all of their high-infrastructure and high-energy apartment lifestyle inside a van--that is very difficult (and very expensive) to do.
 
Great story and thanks for sharing. It sounds like it is all working out well for you guys :)
 
Ted, I enjoyed reading your story and thank you for writing it. What a beautiful journey you are on! Single and married at the same time... best of both worlds. You summed up some of the vandweller issues I've considered. Reading that you still are happy after all this time is helpful to me. I am just getting started.. second night in my van.
 
An absolutely brilliant post. You said, in your few words, what many of us Nomads feel but can't find the words to say.

Thank you

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I have been medically retired for a bunch of years now, but not quite healthy enough to be able to take the plung. In the mean time my hermitage had been coming along quite nicely, and I was "happy" rambling around in my 650 sqft apartment. As I started to get healthier, I wanted to focus on getting rid of stuff and buying a van.

Then my 20 year old car died, and I managed to get a minivan figuring I could make do with that for a while and start slow. So October 4th of last year I got the van and figured in two or three years I'd start with part time and maybe try the WRTR or something.

Then my apartment burned down and I lost nearly everything. So my family convinced me to go the the WRTR this year, and I left Jan 3rd to head to the WRTR. That lead to the RTR (which I didn't think I was ready to handle but did) and then months with Caravan 3, and thenfriends and family in LA, then exploring CA and so much more. I just this month made it back to Ohio to help my kids buy a car and am now getting ready to head back out on the road and away from the heat and humidity.

I'm loving this life, and getting here, wasn't easy. My minivan died in Ehrenburg, and that was a heck of an adventure that I shant bore you all with. What was great about such a negative event was the help and support I found from people in the tribe. We are all a different breed, and we're all awesome!!!
 
Sounds like you did fabulously out there. Congratulations. Ohio is pretty close. I’m in KY and if you travel through give me a shout. I have camping room.
 
Nice story Ted.....I am assuming that when you said it was a horrible life, that you were kidding.
 

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