Just Throwing This Out There for Consumption

[BelgianPup]

I cringe when I see an ad or news article for one of those.

 

[flaggit]

Bummed to hear about the X-Scapees snobbery, I was considering joining because they might be less stick-up-the-ass than other RV groups.

I feel caught in between these worlds...we don't have a ton of money, but got a 1995 26' Safari Trek to accommodate my two cats safely and comfortably since full-timing is going to be the only financial path forward. Until we can get on a new path career-wise and find a nice affordable chunk of land to build out on, this seems to be best. We're doing what we can to fix er up, but the paint is scratched and dented and oxidized...the rig is old and it's never gonna look great unless we spend $$$ even for a Mexican paint job, body work, etc.

We're both PCT thru-hikers (people who hike from Mexico to Canada) and used to being considered "hiker trash." We're not materialistic people. The trail community was amazing, everyone helping one another survive and thrive. Due to tragedy, illness and burn out, as well as the thru-hiking, done running the rat race and just want to survive while enjoying what remains of our lives, making fair pay doing what we love to help others and the environment.

Never RV'd before, but we certainly have been nomads in various ways. About to be thrown in the deep end, when the mechanics finish the second round of fixes on our rig. We're taking off from my Mom's house in Arizona to Washington, Oregon and California, to take care of business, pick up/dispose of possessions, get advanced suspension work done on the rig and then drop my guy back on the PCT to continue his hike this year while I trail angel and study for a new career.

I'm a bit discouraged by what I read about RV Park discrimination and worried since we're not quite up to extensive boondocking yet, but hopefully we will learn quickly and get our equipment upgraded enough to soon.

I don't feel like we'll be welcomed by the bougie RV communities, but will we be embraced by the Nomads? I've been so impressed by how y'all help and support none another, just like the hikers on trail did. I love people who are creative, free spirits, I don't give a rats ass about anyone's financial status. Realize that my small Class A is never gonna be able to four wheel into the sands of Baja or whatever, but can we hang?

 

[flaggit]

Actually a small class A is doable in Rocky Point or San Felipe in Baja. After visiting either place, decide if you want to do more. It’s a very egalitarian community in Baja.

 

[squid]

Snobs are forever checking their warrantees and insurances and the latest breakdowns of their 100 miles-of-wires over-souped rigs which like to burst into flames and get stuck/can't get into many areas and surface scratches on their clear coat. Heaven forbid we travel without a towel warmer and 2 power awnings and massage chairs.

 

[CosmickGold]

. . . . I was not allowed to camp with the group because as he put it, "You don't even really have an RV."
. . . . I'm a bit more hippy, single, and more of a vagabond.
. . . . Anyway, thoughts and comments are welcome.

They should have written rules about what vehicles are allowed and which ones are not. The leader should have shown you the rule in writing and kindly said "I'm sorry". I also think he should have let you stay one night since you had not been warned, then find another place to park for the following nights.

As for me, I don't like watching videos made by those who live in high-priced luxury rigs. I like watching the videos made by those with rigs on a level similar to mine. My van is a 1998 Chevy Express with a high top. I converted it myself, using very cheap materials such as 1/8th thick pressed paper walls (white vinyl on the inside) from Lowes. And it's the perfect home for me. I love it.

Your idea about starting or joining a group of van dwellers like us is a great one. I hope you do and want to know more about your success when you are doing it.

On the subject of "hippies", I was one; fancy clothes, long hair, and learning about the spirit world on LSD, Hindu meditation, marching for peace, etc. I missed out on Height / Ashberry, but then the movement moved to Boulder Colorado where we numbered in the hundreds for years! (peace / love)

 

[AmargosaWayne]

Haight-Ashbury. Damn the spellcheck!

 

[user 32232]

Haight-Ashbury. Damn the spellcheck!

The Haight, for SF locals.
Hashbury, for the squares. ; )

 

[RonDean]

Back in the day,
I was just a few blocks away.
Baker at the panhandle.

 

[MortimerEbinesr]

In '67 haight-ashbury all peace & love, pot & LSD, when I got there in '69 it was all meth & heroin. Nothing good or bad stays the same, it's always changing, if it doesn't change, it dies. I don't know where this thread started, but there's my two cents worth. (tink tink)

 

[Lil Pasquale]

I spent a summer there in '73. Castro n Market. It was great. Too bad I can't remember it.

 

[user 32232]

Back in the day,
I was just a few blocks away.
Baker at the panhandle.

I was a bit late, but in 1974 I was living at Baker and McAllister, right around the corner from the St John Coltrane Church. Little did I know that Patty Hearst was hiding out with the SLA nearby on Golden Gate Ave.
Is it just my imagination, or were things more interesting back then???

 

[user 32232]

I spent a summer there in '73. Castro n Market. It was great. Too bad I can't remember it.

I worked that year at the Scandinavian Deli on Market near 16th. Good job for college, since they fed me too. That whole neighborhood was pretty much Scandinavian, but the times they were a'changin'.
I think it's a Peet's Coffee now.
For the OP, apologies for hijacking the thread...