Are you a slave to the weather?

[Bster13]

One of my biggest worries about going fulltime in a van is my discomfort when things get too hot out there (I'd winter in FLA/Southern TX/Southern AZ, not worried about the cold).  I must admit, I'm probably softer than most folks on the forum as I sit in my temperature controlled apartment to write this post and I'm not on the road.

I figure most of us are on a budget and don't have air conditioners connected to 110v all day long to stay cool, so traveling with the weather is a must.  If this is the case to stay comfortable, do you ever think you missing out?  

Like what if there were a festival you wanted to attend in Georgia at the end of the summer? It's still hot!  Are there lots of events you feel you're missing out on due to following the weather and not being able to be in the right place at the right time?  I realize staying with the weather doesn't mean traveling long distances, it could mean gaining in elevation, but still...if you were nice and comfy in Leadville, CO, you'd still have to travel 1:45 to get to a major event in Denver, CO.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Hippiechk]

Personally, I have to travel 1:45 to get to a Home Depot where I summer so I don't think that it is in any way excessive to get to a "major event".

Gas is part of the 'rent' you pay on this mobile life. If you want to travel places you fit it into your budget.

You are definitely right though...its not at all like sitting at home watching...its much more fun! *smile*

 

[rvwandering]

We travel with the weather and I'm sure that we do miss out on some things but there are so many other things to do close to wherever we are that it doesn't really matter. We probably wouldn't drive the entire way from Leadville to Denver in one day. Instead we'd break it up into a couple of days, find another good free camping spot in the forests along the way and maybe even stay there for awhile before continuing our trip.

But that's not to say we are always comfortable. Every year there are days when it's just too hot or too cold. We either wait for the weather to get better or drive until we find the good weather. You'll adjust to a point and variations in temperature won't bother you as much.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Missing out? You're "missing out' right now sitting in your temperature controlled apartment when you could be out there in the middle of it all living on the road!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I tend to agree with the original poster.  There are specific things I want to do and see.  I want to visit every Civil War battlefield.  I want to be at the Bonneville Salt Flats during speed weeks.  I don't handle heat well.  A cargo trailer with a roof mounted ac is definitely part of my plans.

 

[Bster13]

Personally, I have to travel 1:45 to get to a Home Depot where I summer so I  don't think that it is in any way excessive to get to a "major event".

Gas is part of the 'rent' you pay on this mobile life. If you want to travel places you fit it into your budget.

You are definitely right though...its not at all like sitting at home watching...its much more fun! *smile*

May I ask what area you Summer in with reasonable temperatures? (reasonable would be 70-80F day time highs for me) 

Also, I'm still in the saving phase, so working and sitting around a bit is still a reality, but even when I'm on the road, I ~know~ there will be days I just want to veg out inside my vehicle.  In order to veg out comfortably I have a few options:

- Follow the weather....possibly miss out on some things due to heat.  Easier said than done.  At the end of July, save for a few places in the continental US, you're going to be hurting: 
- Grab a campground or driveway surf with 110V and A/C installed in your vehicle. (could cost you some bucks for that 110V)
- Rock a Prius with genuine A/C and heating...very economical based on reports I've read.  Downside is lack of living space to veg out in.

 

[Bster13]

Missing out?  You're "missing out' right now sitting in your temperature controlled apartment when you could be out there in the middle of it all living on the road!

While this is true, and something that I fight with constantly, I'm of the mindset to save enough to never have to work again.  Hopefully by 40 I'll be there!

 

[Bster13]

I tend to agree with the original poster.  There are specific things I want to do and see.  I want to visit every Civil War battlefield.  I want to be at the Bonneville Salt Flats during speed weeks.  I don't handle heat well.  A cargo trailer with a roof mounted ac is definitely part of my plans.

Those are things I'd be interested in as well, but being from the Northeast coast and knowing how packed in we are here and lack of free camping, having something big enough to run A/C off a cargo trailer (I wonder if it's possible to run an A/C off a few panels?) and tow vehicle would limit me from seeing a lot of things in cities and whatnot.  Now if I had the $, I suppose I could grab a campground at the city limits, but I'm not sure I want to sign myself up for those costs.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

While this is true, and something that I fight with constantly, I'm of the mindset to save enough to never have to work again.  Hopefully by 40 I'll be there!

Well I can't argue with that, I too hope to never have to work again very shortly.  40 was my goal but a 4 year disability derailed that a bit.  Still have 4 years before i'm 40 though, so it's still highly possible.

 

[Bster13]

Don't let the weather control your travels.  It is easy enough to both heat and cool your rig.  Now if the weather outside isn't agreeable for your outdoor activities, then that's a different story.

Could you give some more details on how to cool your rig? And are you able to cool it to an "acceptable" level or "ideal" level?  Out West where it's not humid, maybe a swamp cooler would be sustainable via solar to an "ideal" level? But they don't work so well in humid areas, and I want to enjoy this, not just get through it.

 

[highdesertranger]

trying to set parameters for the optimal temp is fruitless imo. sooner or later you will be disappointed probably sooner. don't try to fight mother nature just live with her. having said that there is no way in hell you will catch me in the low desert in the summer but the high desert is fine with me, just gain some elevation. highdesertranger

 

[wagoneer]

as in prior postings, when I was in the Sahara desert I noticed the bedouins were dressed in wool head to toe camelback 100 plus degrees the concept is staying comfy keeping the sun OFF YOUR SKIN and slowing down. your OWN SWEAT will evaporate and create a human swamp cooler. No motor needed. Tourists were in shorts exposed skin. I was wearing linen not much better.

 

[Hippiechk]

May I ask what area you Summer in with reasonable temperatures? (reasonable would be 70-80F day time highs for me) 

That is fall spring & fall temperatures here in the part of Canada I summer. It's been well over 100° most of the last few weeks.

My personal comfort zone is between 80°F (anything lower & I am in a blankie) and I am generally not too bad up to body temp. My health dictates moving slower at all times these days.

I do have to get some better ventilation going on in my RV though still...planning to remove the roof a/c & will do something in that hole...possibly a swamp cooler type & for sure more heat exhaust. I love my RV but it's only got one vent in the bathroom at the back & one full forward...stupid layout. This rig was build for hooking it up to shore power.

 

[eDJ_]

This link is in my bottom website below.  If you want to travel so that you are in around 70 degree weather
through the year this could get you into that pattern.

 

[Jim Plow]

Quoted text
Every Road Leads Home  
Missing out? You're "missing out' right now sitting in your temperature controlled apartment when you could be out there in the middle of it all living on the road!
I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.

Quoted text
**** Well said ******


Ok this part is from me. 

You may not be as soft a coward as you think.  If your on this forum then the desire is there, now meet up with a vandweller and spend some time with them boondocking.

  This time of year there's Vandweller's all over the country, and some would love to show you around a campsite or two.
 If you need to you can just throw a Walmart tent in the back of your car and enjoy your time in the woods. That's how I started camping.

    Darn If your within 400 miles or so of north Georgia,there's free camping all over that part of the state. Not to mention the Smokey MTS. Just across the boarder. So don't just sit in your APt. and talk about a real life... Go live Life!

The opinion of this poster is the result of years if not decades of living alone in the woods. 
Sorry if it sounds a little to harsh. 

 

[MrNoodly]

Think like a camper rather than a building dweller, because that's what this life is closer to. Think like your pre-air conditioning ancestors. Heck, I lived in California for twenty years and none of my dwellings had air conditioning. And I lived a winter in a Canadian basement that had frost on the wall.

The trick is that you acclimate. Spend time away from AC and you not only get used to it, but when you go into an air conditioned place, it feels uncomfortably cold. Funny how we want to heat our homes in the winter to a temperature that would make us turn on the AC if it were summer, and we want to cool our homes in summer to a temperature that would make us turn on the heat if it were winter.