My name is wes and i am 31 years old, Disabled and struggling to survive on Social Security. Due to some messed up circumstances i found out that in about a month i was going to be homeless so i have been struggling to find a way to survive. I put up a post on craigslist about my situation and a generous soul worked out a pretty good deal with me for an Older Class C motorhome. Since then i have been scouring Google trying to soak up as much information as i can on how i am going to survive and still have some sort of comfort. This is not my first rodeo i have been homeless before, but back then i was 18 years old and in good health. not so much the case anymore! This forum has been a treasure trove of information that has pointed me to other sources of information such as blogs and the like one of which i found has given me hope yet again and inspired me to start my own blog. You can check out my Blog <a href="http://wesmagyar.info/wordpress/">Here!<br />I</a> suffer from Bi-Polar Disorder as well as Long Term Clinical Depression and Diabetes. And i had been getting very, very depressed due to all this. The RV i got isnt the best and needs A LOT of work. to give you an idea of my budget i will have at most 250 dollars to survive on each month. And with the RV getting 8 mpg hwy im still not sure how i'm going to get by. But things are looking better than they were I hope that someday with your guy's help and the help of the RV Living community as a whole i can be living in a much nicer RV and never have to want again!<br /><br />-Wes-
Hello Cheap RV Living Folks!
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dragonflyinthesky
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Welcome to the tribe Wes. I'm glad you found us. I noticed a thread started a day or so ago about mental illness. If you don't find it, let me know and I will try to find it. It's intended to support and talk.<br /><span style="color: #000000;">You blog link didn't appear.<br /></span><strong><span style="color: #ff00ff;">Dragonfly<br /><br /><span style="color: #000000;">edit 1: This is the thread.<br /></span> <a href="/post/Mental-Health-Issues-6063938?trail=15">https://vanlivingforum.com/post/Mental-Health-Issues-6063938?trail=15</a></span></strong>
SirJoey
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<br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>Welcome aboard, Wes. Sorry to hear about the tough breaks. Man, those are some big ones! </strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><strong>Stay in touch on the forum here, & you'll find help & inspiration! Best wishes & good luck! <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" alt="" align="absmiddle" border="0" /><br /><br /></strong></span>
<p>Ah, Well my blog is at <a href="http://wesmagyar.info/wordpress/">http://wesmagyar.info/wordpress/</a></p><p>I have noticed on this site that the http Links dont Highlight but you can click on them if you know where to click. ill search around for the mental health one but i haven't seen it as of yet, But as i said in my originating post i am mostly looking at technical info and advice type posts.<br />Also i am Currently in Eugene Oregon so if anyone is in the area and able to help out even with diagnosing or helping me do the Manual parts of some labor that needs done it would be awesome. I need to for instance install my refrigerator which i already have as well as diagnose some problems with poor fuel economy, inability to start and whether my generator works or not! simple stuff really, Been trying to get a friend to help me and he is the WORST procrastinator ever!!!! i have been asking him for help for 2 months and every day he says, well maybe tomorrow. i'm sure you get the idea.<br />And i plan on sticking around here for a bit. I also use the IRV2 forums as well.<br /><br />-Wes-</p>
cyndi
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Hi Wes! Welcome! Sorry about your troubles. I know from reading your blog where you are located, but if you mention it in a post you may get some offers of help.We have some pretty amazing and generous people, here.<br /><br />Dragonfly, here's the link to Wes' blog<br />http://wesmagyar.info/wordpress/<br /><br />I've noticed recently that links don't show up as links inpost. I try to remember to bold them and change the font color.<br /><br /><br />
dragonflyinthesky said:
Vanhellsink
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<br />Hi ya wes and welcome from another newbie. I'll be in a similar situation eventually where I won't have the financial ability to travel a great deal in a van, so I have identified numerous places like national parks that I can park up for free, these places being in nature, tranquil, picturesque (all be it in Australia) and offering basic facilities like water and drop toilets. (Not sure how you USA guys call dry long drop toilets). It is legal to stay for a month in the three or four parks I've identified, so I will cycle between these. Maybe you have similar areas or parks reasonably close to each other where you won't have to spend a whole lot of fuel jumping between them.<br /><br /> Anyway, welcome again.
sl1966
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Oh man. Wes, I'm very sorry to learn of your circumstances but glad you landed here. This is a great group of very helpful and creative people. If there isn't a solution here for it yet, the brain trust here ought to be able to come up with something. One step at a time.<br /><br />
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Hi Wes, and welcome! One of the few places you can park your RV and never move it again and still not be hassled is the Slabs. If you can get it there, you are golden. It is in southern California. The one problem is the extreme desert heat in the summer. If you can cope with that, it might be perfect. <br /><br />Here is more info on it:<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">http://cheapgreenrvliving.com/Slab_City.html</span></span>
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Hi Wes and welcome from New Mexico....<br /><br />Glad you are in the Eugene, OR area. When I lived there I found there were few places in the country with as mild a climate and as easy to live. We lived often on dumpster finds, and I never had to buy or cut firewood, just broke apart pallets at a veneer mill for firewood, etc. there is field work to do, day work, flea markets to sell at, Saturday market to sell at. A good rescue mission....bike paths everywhere, great social services, a good state medical plan for indigents....you are in a great place, bro. I don't think I would be too anxious to leave....<br /><br />I went from there to Alaska, where you are just flat on your own...it was an eye-opener.<br /><br />Best of luck...it looks like you have a fine home for the present...<br />Bri<br /><br />
Its not that good here anymore, The mission is ran by Jerks at the moment. I've had a few friends kicked out of there because the mission found out they get SSI. there has been a lot of cuts to state benefits. The economy has screwed that program up immensely I have a friend here with a hernia who cant get medical insurance through the state even though he is homeless and would work if he wasn't in pain all the time <img src="/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> I was in Seattle up until a year or so ago and it's Tons Better there. And its where i plan on going back to in the near future.<br />Where at in New Mexico are you? I lived in Albuquerque in 2000, it wasn't a bad area. Not as nice as seattle. My only problem there was To hot in the summer and CrAzY cold in the winter. I was living in a trailer then and in December and if i left my shoes by my bed when i woke up in the morning they would be frozen... I couldn't stand that. hense why i left <img src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">
josephusminimus
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Hi Wes. If you manage to drift further south and we manage to come across one another I'll treat you to 50# of pinto beans and 50# of rice. I ain't wealthy, but I don't like seeing anyone hungry and $250 ain't much to get by on. Seems to me Slab City someone suggested might be a good option for you, though I've never been there. But I think I might spend a while in the area and those beans and rice are a serious offer.
Sadly Being a Diabetic beans and rice aren't the best for me <img src="/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"> i do get food stamps on top of the 250 i mentioned. So it could be worse! i usually don't have problems with Food, And when i do there are food banks. My problems are sundries such As toilet Paper, Gas, Soap, Propane, Toothpaste... you get the idea im sure. Right now my biggest concerns are getting a Deep Cycle House battery with a decent AH Rating, Getting my generator running and doing basic maintenance tasks on my Rig!
<p><span style="white-space: nowrap;">josephusminimus</span></p><p>Was taking a look at your Blog and the Generator you have on a recent post looks alot like mine, You wouldn't happen to have a Digitised copy of the manual or know of a website that has info on them?<br />Mine is a Onan 4.0 RV Genset from the mid 80's.<br />I'm pretty sure i need a fuel pump for it as well as some other items but i have no idea what part numbers i need or anything like that. Any help there would be appreciated!</p>
josephusminimus
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Heck Wes: I'll switch my offer to a 12 pack of toilet paper rolls, a sixpack of soap and a three-pack of toothpaste from Dollar Tree. If you're somewhere it can be done and your mechanical needs are within my capabilities I wouldn't care if I spent a couple of days trying to fix someone else's vehicle instead of mine.<br /><br />Chin up amigo, and let the Universe help you along when you need help. There are still a precious few people in it who aren't so needful of a new gadget or shinier paintjob as to not give a person a boost when they know there's an open space for one.wesmagyar said:
josephusminimus
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<br /><br />I've been playing mine by ear and haven't looked for a manual. But if the fuel pump's needed you might consider just picking up an electric one from JC Whitney or AutoZone. Along with a volt meter and cheap continuity tester.wesmagyar said:
Any idea of what PSI rating it needs? that has been my sticking point as of yet. One of my friends is an Electrician so if i can get him off his ass (A monumental task i assure you!) i can have him do the installation and electrical testing. I just need to know the specifications of the parts i need. I am a Computer guy so Mechanical work is a bit alien to me <img src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">
josephusminimus
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<br /><br />The fuel pump for mine's an afterthought under the hood coming from the fuel tank and going back to the generator. Appears to just be something pulled off the shelf of a parts house and stuck in to solve a problem someone had who didn't want to resort to the inflated parts with RV designation. Looks to be generic automotive, strong enough to carry fuel a longer distance than I'd have thought necessary. <br /><br />I don't want to give advice that might be inaccurate, but if I were replacing mine I'd go generally the same route, cheapest possible. Sorry I can't be more help on it beyond a Dogpile websearch.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cumminsonan.com/www/pdf/manuals_service/0914-0507.pdf">http://www.cumminsonan.com/www/pdf/manuals_service/0914-0507.pdf</a><br /><br /><a href="http://cs.dogpile.com/ClickHandler....d=9&hash=DBF574E23B4199E7C6CD1A84E89563BB">http://cs.dogpile.com/ClickHandler....d=9&hash=DBF574E23B4199E7C6CD1A84E89563BB</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.cumminsonan.com/rv/support/literature/">http://www.cumminsonan.com/rv/support/literature/</a>wesmagyar said:
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<br /><br />That is sad....glad I lived there when I did...the early 70's. I have been through a few times since and it has changed but i still see a lot of what i liked....and that is just Eugene...there is still the surrounding areas...a paradise really...I lived off the grid in the Cheshire foothills and was able to go for hikes and find abandoned apple trees, and most farmers would let you glean the fields after harvest....We used to do a little (SHHHHH!) pirating after dark and the hazelnuts were starting to fall...we could fill our pockets on a little hike and have quart jars full. <br /><br />Those were the days I was a bit of a survivalist and had extra guns and ammo, coffee, tobacco, good heirloom veggie and pot seeds, etc. cached in the hills. Back then we thought the world was on it's last legs...hahahaha...fuel had just topped a buck a gallon, etc. Thirty years since of the best years of my life. I guess that is why I chuckle at the survivalist conversation now....<br /><br />Anyway...WA is good too, my sons and families both live there...Port Townsend and Bremerton. I grew up my early life in Seattle....and I can't help but compare it to the 50's hahaha...way, way different than the old logging and fishing town it was then.<br /><br />I live in southern NM, a hundred miles from Mexico. I like to live less than a days drive from Old Mexico so I have an out if it gets intolerable here...my old survival instincts kicking in...hahaha<br /><br />I hear you about ALB...it is 1000 feet higher than here, although it gets cold sometimes here too.<br /><br />Yep, My kids who have both lived in Seattle at one time or another hate to get too far away from the socially welcoming and gentle aura of Seattle, not to mention the coffee... and the good economy. It is very hard to beat.<br /><br />I live right on what is left of the mighty Rio Bravo river. It is literally a long stone's throw away....a half block to be exact.<br /><br />I don't know if you are aware of it but if you become a NM resident, you are able to buy a permit for $180 a year that gives you free camping in any and all of our state parks. If you need to hook up, it will cost you $4 a night for power....Every state park in NM I have enjoyed is really nice....they have showers and most have some kind of palapa or roof over the tables.<br /><br />Seniors and disabled are less.<br /><br />Permits are on here:<br /><br />http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/SPD/FeesPermits.html<br /><br />Many people pay the out-of-state fee of $225 a year and spend the entire winter going from park to park.<br /><br />Best of luck...<br />Bri
<p>Well i was able to snap some pictures of my Generator. hopefully we can use these to identify what i need....</p><p><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114298992238175040609/Rv#5804411054124624050">Click here</a> for a picture of the full generator.<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114298992238175040609/Rv#5804411161552611122">Click here</a> for what i think is the fuel pump.<br /><br /><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/114298992238175040609/Rv#5804434381760157858">and here</a> is the data plate... you cant see much but you can make out the following information if you zoom waaaaay in!<br /><br />Serial number <br /><br />G8 690288<br /><br />model and spec number BEA-1r/160046<br /><br />Some of the numbers are barely readable. i think the 2 numbers after the G8 are 66 but im not sure as for anything before the BEA i have no clue.<br />Also found out today the motor home is a Coachmen brand. don't know the model number yet, going to try and call them monday and see what i can find out.</p><p> </p><p>Also just uploaded a BUNCH of pictures to my <a href="http://wesmagyar.info/wordpress/">blog</a> of the RV take a look and if you can identify its model number that would be awesome!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*Edit* i found a forums called Smokestak and they where able to identify the generator, The even hooked me up with a service manual! so fairly stoked about that!!!!</p>
