Hello and questions

[muddy]

Hey guys. New around here. Been following the blog and sometimes the forums for a long time, dreaming. I think it's finally time to hit the road and I'm starting to make plans on how to do that. I have a lot of questions, I'll drop them here, please let me know if there is a more appropriate place for them.

1) Vehicles. Currently, I have a 2006 Honda Civic coupe. Probably about the worst vehicle for this, although it's a great street car and in very good shape mechanically. Right now, I'm not willing to commit to selling it and buying a more appropriate vehicle. I don't mind a bumpy ride, as long as I pick my spots, I shouldn't be in danger of getting stuck or damaging my vehicle right? That is my only real concern right now; I realize it will be sacrificing quite a bit of comfort.

2) Location. Right now I live with my parents in Houston, Texas. I've been doing some looking, and it seems like there are some national forests a little bit north. The weather around there is not going to be fun in a month or two, but I'd really love to do a "trial run" up there for a few weeks before heading up to the great mountains of the SW United States. That way, I'll be within a days driving distance of my parents in case something goes terribly wrong, and I'll be in environs that are familiar to me (I've never really spent a whole lot of time in the desert or mountain areas, I'm right at home here in the pine woods). Anyone have experience with the national forests near Houston? Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, etc? Would love to hear about it.

3) Tent. I'd love a tent with a decent bit of room to stand up and stretch around in. Down here on the gulf coast, we can get terrible downpours, so water resistance is important. As I understand it it can also get really windy and dusty in the Southwest. So I'm gonna need a pretty respectable tent. Any recommendations?

 

[cyndi]

Welcome to the CRVL forums, Muddy! Living out of a car isn't as uncomfortable as you may think. You may have already seen the post Bob did about Suanne and her Prius. http://www.cheaprvliving.com/other-conversions/living-prius/

I lived out of my Pontiac Vibe for a year. I got a tent for longer stays. I had some requirements. Easy and quick set up, enough room to be a living area and the ability to stand. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004E4ERHA/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's pricey but it's worked well and has kept me dry in some pretty good storms.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[muddy]

Thanks cyndi. I will check out the tips & tricks. Definitely not going to skimp on the tent, I have a bit of money saved up for that and power (I have a CPAP machine, so going to need to need something fairly decent in that respect, would appreciate any recommendations there as well.)

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

3) Tent. I'd love a tent with a decent bit of room to stand up and stretch around in. Down here on the gulf coast, we can get terrible downpours, so water resistance is important. As I understand it it can also get really windy and dusty in the Southwest. So I'm gonna need a pretty respectable tent. Any recommendations?

If I were going to live in a tent, I'd forget the crap sold for weekend campers and investigate serious expedition tents.

Hilberg Tents out of Scandinavia is one such tentmaker, for example

You might also take a look at Big Agnes Tents.

I'm sure there are others in this class.

Regards
John

 

[rvpopeye]

Hi Muddy , sounds like you are starting out at an age that lots of us here wish we had.
Good luck with your adventure , and don't forget plenty of chigger spray.......

 

[muddy]

Hi Muddy , sounds like you are starting out at an age that lots of us here wish we had.
Good luck with your adventure , and don't forget plenty of chigger spray.......

I'm actually 68, of course living with my parents at this age can be a little awkward.

Just kidding I'm in my early 20s. Fully aware of how lucky I am to be starting out on this path with no debt or anything like that.

 

[HarmonicaBruce]

So muddy, just wondering how you plan on earning a living.  That consideration pretty much drives everything else.

When I was working, I would work out of town for 6 months to a year or more.  I'd look for a room to rent, or a motel that had rooms by the month, then I'd look for something cheaper.  I always thought I could live out of a van and save all that rent.  I did it for a few months near Washington DC.  If I had it to do over, I'd work harder at living out of my van while I was working.   

 

[muddy]

Hey Bruce, I'm a computer programmer, I can work remotely. I can do a fair amount of work offline but mainly I will be trying to stick to places with some cell service.

 

[Patrick46]

if you're looking for a good roomy tent at a good price, then I'd be checking Craigslist.

Lotsa folks buy some really nice camping gear, and only use it one or twice, so they end up selling it off cheap on CL.

You could always post your own 'wanted' ad on there too.


Welcome to the asylum!

Hello from the Oregon Coastline!

 

[muddy]

Been educating myself on electricity. Looks like solar energy is going to be a viable option for me. I have a Kill-a-Watt coming in the mail so I can get concrete numbers on how much juice I need (mainly, my CPAP machine, laptop and phone), but going by manufacturer specs it should be quite doable without spending too much money.

Thanks for all the welcome messages everybody. Good to be here.

 

[akrvbob]

Hi Muddy, welcome!! I too love to see young people be bold enough to insist on a happy life!!

If you're serious about a tent, I'd look hard at a tipi style tent. They aren't fast to go up, but they can endure nearly anything. This one has a great reputation as the highest quality--but they aren't cheap:
https://store.kifaru.net/tipis-c18.aspx

Have you considered a Runaway trailer? It's one of the few trailers your car can tow:
http://www.cheaprvliving.com/blog/can-afford-vandweller-runaway-trailers-ideal-home-many-nomads/

You have to be able to deal with the very small space.
Bob

 

[akrvbob]

About the National Forests in Texas...I tried hard to find dispersed camping in them, but couldn't! So I gave up and drove across the border to Louisiana where there is tons of great boondocking for free in a very pretty forests. It's only another 20 miles, so that's where I would plan on going.
Bob

 

[Theadyn]

Hi and Welcome!! Think it's wonderful you're starting to explore alternative living at such a young age. Best of luck!

 

[muddy]

Hey Bob, thanks for the advice. Long time fan of the blog.

Looks like Davy Crockett National Forest has some good dispersed camping. That's only two hours or so from where I am, so I think my next steps are:
1) Acquire the power equipment and tent, anything else I need, some minor chores I have to take care of before I leave.
2) Spend a week or two there. That way I'll be close to home if anything goes wrong. Weather there's likely gonna be unpleasant this time of year, but I'm used to the humidity and it's not long term.
3) Off to Colorado.

 

[muddy]

Wow, just saw a commercial for the new Ford Transit. Did not at all realize they were selling these in the States, must've happened since I last seriously looked at vans. Been mulling over what I'd choose to do once I'm ready to part with the Honda and I think that might be it.

 

[muddy]

Well, based on how much rain we're getting unless there's a dry spell I think I will be heading straight to Colorado. We got 3 inches in 6 hours last night and I would not have wanted to be in a tent during all that.

I have a list of things to acquire and a budget set out now so I'm excited to start getting and playing with all the equipment.

 

[muddy]

Solar equipment ordered, batteries acquired at a golf cart place today!

 

[Canine]

I've had trouble with getting flat tires with passenger car tires on back roads. I'm a big fan of not skimping on tires, so that may be a consideration for you. Welcome!