Getting Close to Dream of Nomadic Lifestyle

[ProfessorChaos]

I work in a ski resort town and was a seasonal employee which meant I could get employee housing but then got promoted to full time. I was allowed to stay in employee housing for a while but a couple of days ago was told when my lease is up in October I would have to leave. Apartments are very expensive here and I do not want to pay over $1000/month and have to share an apartment with one or two people. I am thinking this is the time to buy a truck camper and just live in that. Right now I am looking at the Capri because it is cheaper than most truck campers, a hard side which will protect me from the cold, and is also not as heavy as other hard side campers. I thought about a pop up truck camper but don't think that would protect me from the cold weather that much.

It will be another couple of months before I began and I plan on keeping my job for now but would like to hear from anyone on here who has any advice for a newbie.

 

[wasanah2]

What they charge for rent is highway robbery.  So sorry for the bad news on your free place to stay.  I think you have a great idea.  Some folks here planned and took their time to get on the road.  Others were forced into it.  You have the better situation though, you have time to plan even though you will be forced into it. 

Whatever you choose, insulation will be your friend.   And on the really cold nights, friends can be your friends for the occasional couch surfing.

--W

 

[QinReno]

I have pleasant memories of ski bumming in Colorado some decades ago. We would ride up with the ski patrol before the lifts opened, and sit in the Octagon on top the mountain drinking coffee until the first tourists arrived. I had my first camper van then, plus a propane heater, and it was just  manageable. Get a "very" good down bag. I've looked at videos of popup truck campers with triple insulated vinyl walls, but wouldn't think they would hold up to multiple flexings at 0-degrees and below.

Will they let you park an RV in the parking lots all winter?

 

[ProfessorChaos]

My housing wasn't rent free but is was cheap considering where I live. I also knew that this day was coming so I wasn't to shocked.

 

[wasanah2]

QR is right, invest in a very nice down sleeping bag.  Also finding daytime warm places to go when you're off the slopes might work well for you.  This might end up being an epic adventure!

 

[bullfrog]

Build a heavly insulated topper rather than buy a topper that will not have enough insulation. Tnttt foamies will give you some ideas but use enough structure for snow loads or try to keep height down so you can use covered parking. Really building a topper and insulating a truck bed for strictly a sleeping compartment is easy if you have restroom/showers near by, even easier if you can use a 110 plug to heat as propane will require more ventilation.

 

[jonyjoe303]

Rtech foam insulation, several inches thick. In my van I have up to 2 inches in some areas. You need it everywhere including the windows. Anywhere that might have air coming in, make a removable foam door to cover it. The insulation does double duty, in the summer it will keep you cool. Don't go easy on it, use alot of it, every extra inch you add increases your comfort level. Hotglue gun is the best way to install it, drys quickly, no fumes, and hotglue sticks excellent on top of other foam.

But the inside of your camper will look different with all that foam, but it beats freezing.  In my area it rarely gets below 40 degrees, I always needed a heater in the winter in the mornings. After I added insulation to the entire van, havent had to use a heater, this winter it never got below 50 degrees in my van, even though outside was in the 40's. Didn't even have to sleep inside a sleeping bag this past winter. In your area you might have to go to 3 or 4 inches thick. Use an IR thermometer to look for hot/cold spots and add extra layer of foam to those areas.

Picture of inside of my van with rtech foam insulation. I got every inch of the back of my van covered in it.

 

[Canine]

You will freeze your buns off in a pop up. A Capri is an excellent choice. They will custom make it for you, too. I had checked into them one time and they will put only 1 inch of insulation in there. You may have the option of not having any insulation or interior walls installed so you can add as much insulation as you want. You could even ask them to leave out the windows and they will. It's nice to see outside, but it's also nice to be warm as windows let a ton of heat out. Provides more stealth, too, if that is a factor. You could also leave the top free of fans and vents and have them put a rack on it to install solar on. You don't have a lot of real estate up there, so if electricity is important, that is a consideration. You will still need ventilation. They can add vents. You will need a fan when it's warm. You can have a fan put in the side or back of the camper. Just some ideas.

That promotion is the worst promotion I have ever heard of. The worst! You get promoted full time only to be forced in financial destitution in order to live in an apartment. That is the biggest case of irony I've seen in a looooong time.  

 

[ProfessorChaos]

Affordable housing is hard to come by here and is a huge issue. They want to attract new workers here and that's how they do it. I knew the day was coming and have found a couple of places that I could afford but there lock off rentals. If I have to I could stay in them for a winter.

 

[Riverman]

If the camper has a propane heater be prepared to burn lots of propane when it's cold outside.

 

[John61CT]

Really good insulation is the key if you want a heated space.

Propex HS2211 is very efficient and can burn outside not so noisy.

The Webasto style that burns your propulsion fuel even better.

But you need good electric for the fans or pumps.

And of course not cheap.

 

[bullfrog]

You have been living the good life, I'm sure several employees are using the hot bed system which means they work different shifts so one bed serves 2 or even 3 people. Several of our summer lake employees work ski slopes in winter. It would help possibly if you let us know which area you were in as Aspen is different than Park City. Several in Colorado commute to work as well but if you look hard enough you will surly know some ski bums making it work. 110 volts grid power is worth paying for, so start looking for possible parking spaces with plug in for diesel cars or trucks. Maybe an apartment that is willing to let you use their parking spot with a plug in?

 

[ProfessorChaos]

Just an update and it is good news. They are going to let me stay one more winter before I have to move out. This gives me time to save up more money and be better prepared. I am also close to ordering a truck camper but I will give more information on that later.

 

[bullfrog]

Great news!