Hello

[eidolon]

Obviously just coming on board, looking forward to sharing adventure with this community. I'm a retired boatbuilder from midcoast Maine now living in N. Idaho. I purchased a 5x8 cargo trailer about three years ago with the idea of converting it into a camper and am now finishing the project with the idea of ... well, you know. I'm no stranger to unconventional lifestyles, over the last thirty some years I've only lived in a real house for about 18 months. My plan is to enjoy North Idaho fishing through the summer then point south this fall and perhaps meet some of you in person.

 

[landyachtman]

Welcome to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[eidolon]

I used my email as user name by mistake when I registered and I don't want my email that public, can you change it to just eidolon?

 

[Cammalu]

Is that your cooking setup? Pretty cool!

 

[eidolon]

Hey! Thanks, yes, one of them. I'm camped in a back yard here in N. Idaho and my kitchen is under a canopy connected to a workshop. I'm new here so I appreciate your comment, makes me feel welcome.

 

[Cammalu]

Tell us more about that cooking set up and what you cook.

If I was in Idaho I’d be out collecting beautiful rocks.

 

[eidolon]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]View attachment 28040Thanks for your interest. Open fire cooking has unique challenges which is very enjoyable for me. The set up is a weber "jumbo joe" which I use mostly as a fire pit. The kitchen has a lean to shed roof over it so I've placed a hook directly above the fire pit and hang a chain from the hook. The chain allows me to adjust the height. When I'm baking bread in the dutch oven a few coals from the fire heats things up from the top. Breadmaking is most challenging because of heat control.[/font]

 

[eidolon]

I just wrote a long reply with pics and all but it was too big to post ... I'd love to share cooking stuff with the group but I'm going to need to find a better way.

 

[Cammalu]

We have another member, Ravella, who bakes bread in her Dutch oven every week and she shares!! She has it down pat and turns out yummy beautiful boules.

Today another gal from the forum will be cooking grilled cheese sandwiches on that heavenly sourdough for a few of us. Wind is going to be bad today so no going out to play.

 

[Cammalu]

Do you have photos of your trailer build?

 

[Ravella and X]

Oooh! Another nomadic outdoors dutch oven bread baker! Yay! Let's start a guild

 

[NctryBen]

There goes our nomadic diets! ?

 

[eidolon]

A little back story about my trailer. Roughly six years ago I was living cheap in a pole building on the back section of a property north of Coeur d' Alene and working for a railroad transportation contractor. The landlady suddenly decided to triple my rent. I had done a lot of work upgrading her property at my expense. Pissed me right off! I decided to buy a trailer, move my things into a storage unit and live in my car with the idea of converting the trailer at a future date. I lived in my car until my job with the railroad ended. Then I stumbled into the current situation which is a back yard garden area with shop space and a covered slab where I could set up an outdoor kitchen. At first I set up a tent and then later insulated the trailer and set up a cot bed inside for sleeping space. Last year the car I was building out had major mechanical failure so I decided to go ahead with the trailer build. After some contemplation I decided on a "no build" build. Keep in mind that I'm retired from the yacht building industry but my own convictions are to be simple and gentle on the environment. Currently I'm living full time in the trailer and slowly letting the design morph into what it's going to become. Using ready made storage containers and scrap wood it's coming along nicely. With that said, the answer to your question is yes, I've taken some photos along the way but at the moment it just looks like plastic boxes and scrap wood. As the weather continues to get warmer I'll be able to start on the projects which require making holes in the walls and roof. I'm very anxious to get the galley set up so I can do some cooking in here but I'd like to install the roof vent first to help prevent everything absorbing cooking odors. It's still a bit chilly here in North Idaho but the next couple weeks should see some more pleasant weather. The photos I have are too large for posting here so I'm thinking about other ways to share them. Signing off for now but I'd like to know where you are located and something about your rig and camp.

 

[eidolon]

Oooh! Another nomadic outdoors dutch oven bread baker! Yay! Let's start a guild

Sounds like compared to you I'm just an amateur. Perhaps you could help me along the sourdough path? If you have time I'd love to know your location, rig and back story. I've been living the vagabond life for about thirty years now but have always flown solo. I decided to join this group with the idea of developing friendships with like minded people.

 

[Ravella and X]

There is an exhaustive thread in the food section on sourdough baking on the road. My BFF here, Cammalu, says its scary, even, and seems hard to do. But it is not. It's just a regular part of my life that takes no more thought or work than making spaghetti.

So about the other stuff... I wrote a huge reply and the phone rang before I sent it. Then it was gone. :/ So lets just say I live in an egg, currently in the desert. Moving next week to another desert.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[WayOutWest]

Eidolon your cooking setup has echoes of the pioneers of the Old West.  Looks quite romantic that way.  

What you say about moving out after your landlady tripled your rent....seems an example of how sometimes a situation that we consider "bad" can be used by the universe to get us going in the "right" direction, to go in the way that is meant for us.  I really believe that the universe will guide us if we let it, and help us get where we are meant to be.  Sometimes this involves "bad" experiences, but if we stay on the journey and don't give up hope we get to a good place in the end.  

Something else I like about your posts is that you describe yourself as having experience in building (yachts) but are living in a work in progress, set up with storage bins it sounds like.  This goes some way toward my view that just because one has construction, carpentry or building experience, doesn't mean one has to have a fancy camper setup. I believe simpler is often better, and that actually it may be those without carpentry or building experience who are more likely to get pulled into believing that an elaborate setup is the most desirable, perhaps because it shows off building skills to a maximum degree.  But for those of us who've already spent decades showing off our building skills, it's a bit of "been there, done that", we don't need to keep doing that.  We can choose simple or a "low build" or less sophisticated setup, if that seems more optimal for our needs at this time.

This is my blog about my van conversion...which I'm still working on.... https://dragunfire.wordpress.com/2020/07/21/van-conversion-diaries/

 

[nature lover]

I love cast-iron cooking I wish I was better at it than I am. One of the best experiences I ever had was visiting a Amish lady up in western New York. These folks are not like Amish in Lancaster County with all the money. They live very simply, not painting their barns, floors are just plywood with a stain on them. But simple living folks make some of the best food. We stopped in on expected to visit Lydia and She insisted on feeding us but apologized at all she had was beans and bread. She took out of the woodstove oven a Dutch oven of baked lima beans sweetened with Maple syrup (The real thing from their farm) and lots home cured bacon. The bread she referred to was homemade sourdough rolls, to which we added her homemade butter. I’ve eaten and some of the finest five star restaurants in the world when I was in a tour business. But Lydias simple meal beat all of them. I hope to get back into Dutch oven cooking when I get up into the mountains. Here I can’t camp I just sleep overnight parking lots mostly and go out and explore nature during the day. So y’all Share those Dutch oven recipes maybe will have to put together a nomads Dutch oven cookbook. Now I’m hungry again. Lunch today was pre-cooked brown minute rice with some nice salsa Mixed in. I didn’t even warm it up but it was good. No Dutch oven there but thought I’d add it to the post.

 

[eidolon]

Beans and bread brought back memories of working around Yuma in the lemon groves back in the winter of 1969. We were served beans and bread regularly and it was awesome. You are making me feel very welcome with all your kindness. Lately I've been contemplating what to do for extra income while traveling and have narrowed it down to a couple things and would like your feedback. While I'm at my home base I have access to a work shop where my knifemaking tools are set up. I'm considering scaling that operation down to fit into my rig and produce civil war era style flatware sets . I also do etching art on zippo lighters which could be a mobile operation. Let me know what you think.

 

[Cammalu]

I think the flatware is great. Is there that much of a demand for it that you could make a living at it?

I haven’t seen a zippo in years!