Nearly Ready on East Coast

[SushiGirl]

Hi everyone. I can't wait to get on the road. Need to buy a truck cap. Biggest issue is training my 2 cats to live in the truck, walk with leash and harness. Telling myself it is a new lease on life for the cats too because they will get to be outdoors. 

I've been reading Bob's blog for so long and watching every video on YouTube related to living in a vehicle. I am so ready for this. I feel like I'm dying here in the house. It has become a nightmare of clutter no one uses and I'm getting rid of it all. I can literally live my whole life in the space of a twin bed. Why do I need a house??

How do people get water? Buy it? Filter from streams? Stealthily fill containers from outdoor faucets? I have the little wrench that opens faucets on the sides of buildings? Sorta illegal.

The main thing for me is making sure the cats are never too cold or too hot. By the way, I'm 55. Still dealing with complications of house and marriage. I want out of both. Really looking forward to meeting people here. Are there any nomads in the northeast?

 

[#1BonBonQueen]

SushiGirl, sounds like you are working your way into a mobile life.  You are getting things in order, and getting rid of "stuff" you don't need.
Those cats, how old, have they ever been on a harness/leash?
I have a 17 yr old female who isn't ever really ready to get her harness on, and she has always traveled with one, but she still isn't fond of it, but as I always say, I am the Alpha Cat in this pack and she will be doing what I want, not what she wants. I am not mean to her, but... she is expected to behave, and get into the vehicle when I want her to go.  I pick her up and carry her to the motorhome, if she is being difficult, but it is never left up to her to decide if she wants to go. When I go, so does she.
She travels very well, likes to meow a bit when we first get started, but loves to sit on the console between the two of us, and watch the traffic and see what is happening out there in this big world of ours.
Get them cats used to walking with their harness, they will fight it, it is their nature, just keep on trying. Be sure the harness is tight enough to not allow them to slip out of the harness, you will think they don't need it on so tight, but they have loads of hair and you will almost always think it is tight when it really needs to be a bit tighter.
I bought a small dog harness for the cat, it works better than the figure 8 that she was trained, she doesn't get loose from it, as it has a bit of nylon ringing around her neck and her abdomen, with a strip of nylon attaching the two rings around her body together. There is a clasp on the larger ring and it allows you to unbuckle it, put her feet thru the one loop, and put the second, larger ring around her belly and be sure the other leg is in the loop too.
You will get them used to it, it just takes a lot of time and even some patience.
Good Luck!!!
Let us know how it is going, OK?
Sharon

 

[Almost There]

Welcome to the CRVL forums SushiGirl! It sure sounds like you're just about ready to make the break. Most of us obtain water in a variety of ways. Some campsites (even free ones) have water taps that we can use. In the south (more so than the north) a lot of stores and gas stations have water fill machines that are cheap (25 cents a gallon). How much water you keep on hand will depend on where you are and how often you can refill your water containers. We use anything from 1 gallon to 5 and 10 gallon containers, mostly depending on how much you can lift because water weighs 8 lbs a gallon. In a desperate situation you might have to pay W/M 88 cents a gallon!

Oh, and those little wrenches - please try to only use them when it's known to be okay...technically it's theft and we all have a reputation to uphold.

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.

 

[rvpopeye]

Welcome aboard SushiGirl!
I'm in the Northeast , southern Maine coast.

 

[SushiGirl]

SushiGirl, sounds like you are working your way into a mobile life.  You are getting things in order, and getting rid of "stuff" you don't need.
Those cats, how old, have they ever been on a harness/leash?
I have a 17 yr old female who isn't ever really ready to get her harness on, and she has always traveled with one, but she still isn't fond of it, but as I always say, I am the Alpha Cat in this pack and she will be doing what I want, not what she wants. I am not mean to her, but... she is expected to behave, and get into the vehicle when I want her to go.  I pick her up and carry her to the motorhome, if she is being difficult, but it is never left up to her to decide if she wants to go. When I go, so does she.
She travels very well, likes to meow a bit when we first get started, but loves to sit on the console between the two of us, and watch the traffic and see what is happening out there in this big world of ours.
Get them cats used to walking with their harness, they will fight it, it is their nature, just keep on trying. Be sure the harness is tight enough to not allow them to slip out of the harness, you will think they don't need it on so tight, but they have loads of hair and you will almost always think it is tight when it really needs to be a bit tighter.
I bought a small dog harness for the cat, it works better than the figure 8 that she was trained, she doesn't get loose from it, as it has a bit of nylon ringing around her neck and her abdomen, with a strip of nylon attaching the two rings around her body together. There is a clasp on the larger ring and it allows you to unbuckle it, put her feet thru the one loop, and put the second, larger ring around her belly and be sure the other leg is in the loop too.
You will get them used to it, it just takes a lot of time and even some patience.
Good Luck!!!
Let us know how it is going, OK?
Sharon

Sharon, thank you very much for your advice on traveling with cats.

 

[SushiGirl]

Welcome aboard SushiGirl!
I'm in the Northeast , southern Maine coast.

Hi rvpopeye. Maine is definitely one of the placesunder consideration as a base, or just to see it. Especially the northern parts in summer. Of course the coast too. Thanks for replying.

 

[SushiGirl]

[quote pid='243760' dateline='1480208886']
Oh, and those little wrenches - please try to only use them when it's known to be okay...technically it's theft and we all have a reputation to uphold.

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.
[/quote]

Thank you and sorry about the wrench. I'm coming from a survivalist, bug out state of mind
I promise not to bring up any more illegal activities.

A few months ago when he bought the 2004 F150, I was judt thinking great, I've got a get out of dodge vehicle, just in csse. 

Next thing I know, all I could think about was getting out of dodge NOW!!

 

[Wellkie]

Welcome aboard although I am new also  
I was wondering about water also..not getting but cleaning
water filters must cost a lot so what do you guys use
I live in NC and some tap water is even unsafe in some areas 

Wellkie

 

[Almost There]

From my backpacking and canoeing experience I use a Sawyer water filter - not that expensive (under $25.00 at most retail outlets), does the job and is light and easy to work with.

That said, I have never had to resort to filtering water while on the road, only on canoe/backpacking trips where you aren't carrying more than a days worth of water.

I normally carry 8 - 1 gallon jugs. I carry individual gallons because they're easy for me to carry, pack 4 to a milk crate (bought from Home Depot) and refill nicely at any of the water stations. Some places like Ehrenberg you can get water for free, others I pay 25 cents a gallon for. And a bargain when I can find 5 gallons for a buck. When the 1 gallon jugs start getting nasty, I simply replace it with another jug bought from W/M for 88 cents.

I prefer the filtered water over any city water since I am used to drinking artesian well water for the past decade, city water now tastes like crap to me.

8 gallons does me at least a week for drinking, cooking, dish washing etc. The only time I go through more water is if I have to use it for the solar shower.

 

[rvpopeye]

I don't think you will find many places where you can't get some good water cheap or free.
The best way to find it is to just ask someone .
1 gal jugs to 6-7 gal jugs work , whatever you can carry or store.
And keep that wrench , you never know when it will be just the ticket !

There are many sources for filters and many types as well.
Some very cheap and others that will scare you!
I know a lot of RVers that use house type cartridges adapted for hose fittings.

 

[robertwitham]

Welcome to the forum! I am also from the northeast originally - Massachusetts and Upstate New York, but Montana and Wyoming more recently.

The ease of finding water in warmer climates actually surprised me. At least in the desert areas like Arizona and southern Nevada, there are many coin-op outdoor kiosks where you can purchase filtered water, usually for 25 to 35 cents per gallon. That was surprising to me coming from northern states where you just don't see those kind of things. In a pinch though, just about all Walmart and other grocery stores have indoor water vending. You will also find some truck stops and gas stations (at least in the warmer areas) have free outdoor water spigots (not filtered), as well as campgrounds as others have mentioned.

My current setup for water storage is two six-gallon containers. I do need to get a pump to make it easier to use them though. In the past I have used one-gallon jugs, but with the trailer I am in now I find it easier to use the larger containers. Which option is better really depends on your rig setup, the system you end up using, and the amount of weight you can comfortably or safely lift.

Hope to see you down the road!

 

[Damian Rolling]

Hello and welcome!

I use Glacier Water vending machines and have never had trouble finding one. The the cost varies by location, but between $0.25 and $0.40 per gallon. You need to have your own jugs (1 or 5 gallon).

The locator on their website is useful: http://glacierwater.com/refill-station-finder/

Take care,

Damian

 

[SushiGirl]

Welcome to the forum! I am also from the northeast originally - Massachusetts and Upstate New York, but Montana and Wyoming more recently.

Thanks Trobertwitham, for all the water info. 

I am considering SD or WY as a base.  One of my concers is all the transient oil workers. Just seems less safe to have so many people without roots there. What do you think? Is it actually an issue ir not?

 

[robertwitham]

Thanks Trobertwitham, for all the water info. 

I am considering SD or WY as a base.  One of my concers is all the transient oil workers. Just seems less safe to have so many people without roots there. What do you think? Is it actually an issue ir not?

I lived and worked in the heart of the oil patch (MT/SD border) for a while. There was more property crime than before the boom, but not nearly so bad as what you hear on the news. lol

SD and WY are pretty tame in my experience. I worked as a journalist in Gillette, Wyoming so I was talking with cops daily. Stuff happens, but not like in big cities.

One thing I can tell you if you are debating between WY and SD is that SD had far more mail forwarding services. Not sure why that is. Most of the forwarding services in WY are in Cheyenne and focus on business services for Wyoming LLCs. In fact, I still haven't found one so my mail goes to my daughter's house!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Whitey]

No need to worry about your cats, as long as they've got enough to drink they will be fine. Their coats thicken up very quickly in the cold and you might have noticed that they love to lie in the sun or so close to the fireplace that it looks like they'll melt. Unless you've got a Devonshire Rex, then all bets are off.

Water is easy enough to find in any store, and cheap if you need to buy it. Your inner voice will tell you when it's time to pull the pin on home life and hit the road. Good luck when you decide to go.

Make your way out to the Pacific North West if you like sushi, it's good quality and dirt cheap out here.

 

[SushiGirl]

One thing I can tell you if you are debating between WY and SD is that SD had far more mail forwarding services. Not sure why that is. Most of the forwarding services in WY are in Cheyenne and focus on business services for Wyoming LLCs. In fact, I still haven't found one so my mail goes to my daughter's house!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for all the great info. SD is actually higher on my list than Wyoming because of the mail forwarding and tax laws. But it does get pretty hot in the summer, Which I need to avoid. 

Glad to hear that transient crime is not a big deal. I'm thinking that part of the country must be so beautiful.

 

[SushiGirl]

No need to worry about your cats, Water is easy enough to find in any store, and cheap if you need to buy it. Your inner voice will tell you when it's time to pull the pin on home life and hit the road.  Good luck when you decide to go. Make your way out to the Pacific North West if you like sushi, it's good quality and dirt cheap out here.

Thank you so much for this great info. Relieved to hear the cats can handle the nomadic life. I don't actually plan to be on the road any more than necessary. Just enough to pick a base and pick winter/summer locations hoping to keep a steady temp around 65. 

Ah, the marriage. Yesterday my husband sunk to new lows of guilt-tripping. I finally caved. But I was lying. I will go when the cats and truck are ready to go. I will accomplish something toward that goal daily. 

I do love my husband and this is not about that. I'm sick, getting sicker every year with no clear dx. So I believe I need the jumpstart of a radical change. If he supported what I so desperately need, the marriage would not have to end. But yesterday he threw every illness, accident and ER visit in my face. 

I honestly believe the sleeping in fresh air, daily walking in nature, and pure freedom will be curative. I'm pretty sure our own dear Bob Wells believes this too. I've been reading his blog for years before buying my truck. Now the F150 is my anchor.

 

[acfdexpo]

Welcome SushiGirl,

     I am in New Jersey and getting ready for a van build.  This site is an amazing resource, when you have time go back and dig through other people builds, the pictures will really be helpful.  Another site to check out is  http://expeditionportal.com/forum/ Dig around there and you will also find many truck cap ideas.

 

[Seekerkeeper]

[font=Roboto-Regular, HelveticaNeue, Arial, sans-serif]Feliway is a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone used by cats to mark their territory as safe and secure. By mimicking the cat's natural facial pheromone, Feliway creates a state of familiarity and security in the cat's local environment. ... Feliway helps reduce or prevent unwanted behaviors caused by stress.[/font]

 

[Mermaid]

Hi SushiGirl! 

How was your winter? How far is your van build coming along? And the leash training? 

I am in southern Ontario, so "almost north east" LOL. My plan is to start this week and slowly make wider circles until I am off to Nova Scotia. My plan is to sample van life and get an idea of what it means. We'll see what August brings... 

I too have high hopes for the freedom, nature, walks and fresh air to help me overcome a long and exhausting illness. Just last week's "practicing" has given me a kick of energy like no medication has ever before. I am hoping to get more of that in the next 4 months. 

It would be nice to hear how you are doing and when you are planning to head out. 

All the best!