Psychos, poop, showers! Power and disability

[Canine]

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Oh wait, wrong forum.
I'm not quite there in deciding on full time rv life yet as I still need to get through some things in my brain.  

Psychos.... how to avoid them on the road and in the rv community? How to avoid the chronic beggars, leaches, Debbie -downers, nutters, free loaders... I cannot stand the oh poor me mentality. 

Poop... who doesnt like a good cleansing crap in the morning right? But the thought of knowing my movements are swimming below me and that I will soon open the flood gate to release them, makes me pucker and constipated. How will I get over this? I'm a retired Los Angeles Paramedic so I've seen a lot of gross stuff but this just is something  I'm struggling with. Who knew I would be this afraid of my own shit? 

Showers... how in the hell does anyone take a shower in the average rv shower? I mean I'm a big girl (soon to be much ssmaller) but even smaller I feel like Bigfoot getting into one of those things. It's worse than an MRI machine. Ive thought about an outside shower but the risk to the public with accidental exposure would be scarry. I mean I'm in my 50s now and don't want to be picking pebbles out of my clevage. Oh the joys of gravity. NOT!  I just can see my fat ass taking a shower behind curtain number 3. So I have to figure that out. 

Power. Still learning all about my options. 

I am significantly disabled  following an accident And I cannot use my arms well. So that is a big concern as well. 

Okay.   Well those are my first-world worries. (Rolling eyes). Lol

Oh and I need to hook up with people who like to laugh. Nature and laughter will keep you healthier. 

Thank you for reading.   


Hopeful

 

[jonsun]

could you imagine if you left out the commas?!

 

[Stargazer]

Hopeful,

Welcome to the forum.  I'm not sure I can be of much help but being a retired trauma nurse at a Level One, I feel a certain connection here.  So I'll give it a shot.

Psychos et al:  you will see very few, if any, if you stay out of the cities.  And away from the Slabs (google it).  

Poop:  Dumping an RV black tank isn't much different than flushing a toilet, except it's a "blind" procedure.  You don't see it or smell it if it's done right and everything is working properly.  As for driving around with a tank full of poop or the mental strain of knowing it's in a container just below you and that you're living on top of it, you don't have to use the toilet as installed. Line it with a plastic garbage bag and toss it in the nearest dumpster?  I did this many times to avoid the inconvenience of having to dump/flush the tank.  If no garbage facilities were available, I'd double bag it and set it outside until I could get to one later.  

Showers:  lol!  If your rig has one, yep, it's small.  My first van was self-built, no plumbing, I just did sponge baths with a basin and washcloth.  Some here who are in cities have a gym membership and use those showers, but then you may have to deal with the psychos on the corners or in the parking lot.  Maybe, if you're parked out in the boonies, you could set up a shower/toilet tent and kill two birds with one stone (toilet and shower room).  The problem here may be water availability.  As for the onlookers, I see that as their problem.  Once, two guys were staring at The Girls (fully covered), I grabbed them in my hands and gave them a shake.  They took off -- scared the bejeesus out of them.

Disability:  If you can manage in a stationary home, you can manage in a mobile one.  I haven't had had to deal with this but there are others here with various disabilities who may speak up.

Working in trauma kinda makes us socially unacceptable to the normal folks.  I mean, who laughs about the one whose brains were oozing out of his nose and ears?  We do!  It's a coping mechanism.  More than once around the campfire, I've guffawed my way through the story about (That One, you know) and nobody was laughing.  I've learned to keep those stories to myself.  I've been retired five years now and don't think about them much.  Now I laugh at the ones with enough solar panels to build a house under.

Oh!  Power:  I don't use much.  I'll let others address that.  When I start thinking about all of that, my brain starts oozing out and everybody runs away.  Which does make it easier to shower without risk.

Best wishes!

 

[AbuelaLoca]

Welcome, Hopeful! Stick around long enough and all those problems/questions will be solved/answered and you'll be on the road! 

 

[highdesertranger]

Welcome Hopeful to the CRVL forums! 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. highdesertranger

 

[Queen]

Hello and welcome!

Former Firefighter/Medic here (did some time as LEO too, until I wised up   ).  

Yeah, RV showers are challenging, and an outdoor rig, for me (another big gal), is far more roomy and comfortable.  If some dumbass tries to get a peek, then they are pretty desperate... and as for safety while in a vulnerable situation, I'm armed and keep a Kimber pepper blaster handy.

 

[waldenbound]

You win the award for most creative post title of the day.
Now look closer at that title. The word power is in there. You can take power and lose your fear of psychos, poop, showers, and all the rest.

Psychos, most of the criminal element is lazy. They want to mess with people just off the freeway. They're too lazy to go 10 miles down a gravel road to a boondocker's camp. And yeah, you may have to "work up"to it before you contemplate visiting Slab City.

Poop, well, I don't know if anybody actually looks forward to pooping in a rv toilet after a life with modern plumbing and municipal sewer system, knowing it goes into a black tank that eventually has to be emptied. But you know what? They do it. Van dwelling poop in a 5 gallon bucket. They just do it.

Showers, I think we in the First World got so addicted to them, nothing else will do. A wash basin and pitcher will get you just as clean.

Having the freedom of being on the road means giving up some comfort, but gaining much more freedom. Bob mentions this over and over. It's his central theme to this lifestyle. I know there are lots of things I"m going to have to get used to in a van vs my condo. But, I'm tired of being a slave, I'd rather be free.

BTW, welcome to the forum and glad to have you. Hope you post more because you are funny.

 

[ArtW]

Hi there Hopefull, your post made me waste some tea on my keyboard laughing, good thing it wasn't beer
Psychos: you're mobile, if you see a goober, get ta travelin' moopches won't bug you after you tell them 'no' a few times
And I agree with you, folks who wear their victim status like the latest fashion are to be avoided

Poop: go find someone who owns an RV and ask to be taught how to dump. Emphasize you want to dump a real black tank with real poop in it
You'll see it's not that big a boo; I never scraped anyones brains off the pavement and I have no problem dumping my tanks
BTW, you seldom, id ever, travel with 'stuff' in your tanks: the ectra weight, especially in liquid form, is a detriment to MPG and handling of your rig

Showers: I refuse to use the shower in my RV, right now i shower at the gym, or I have a shower tent I bought at Academy sports n outdoors for like $50, or I cam just take a sponge bath

Power, well, that takes some thought, I have shore power now, when I go camp, I usually just use battery / solar powered lights, and not much else

please do stick around, humor is something this forum could use more of

 

[jimindenver]

Welcome to the forum!

On your questions

No matter how you handle poop, you get use to it. A #4 trash bin liner fits my toilet just right for when I'm out in the boonies and trying to save water. That liner goes into a heavy duty bag inside of a 5 gal bucket with lid for disposal later. When I'm in a RV park with sewer I hook up the hose and pull the handle every so often. Occasionally the tank needs to be flushed out but that's not a big deal either. (there are companies that do it)

Nutters

A friend of mine said to chose this lifestyle we all must be a bit damaged. You can't really get to know someone without at sometime learning what their damage is. Then again how do you deal with it now? By staying inside and never dealing with anyone or do you take that chance that someone might have had more than sunshine and lollipops in their lives. You can of course be a recluse and stay in the out of the way places where you rarely deal with people if you wish or just stay in the rig and not deal with people at all.

Since you haven't bought a rig yet, you can make a comfortable shower a priority. I have seen some with decent showers and I pay attention because I'm a big boy. There are also special shower curtain rods that curve outward to afford you more room. I would suggest getting one with a stall instead of a tub. Another option is like a person currently selling their motor home on the forum, she reconfigured hers to have a larger shower.

Disability. Mine is issues with back and neck in a way that picking things up causes the numbness/weakness to spread. I've spent time making it so I just don't have to pick heavy things up. My water bottles stay in the truck and I pump the water to the trailer. I use a portable waste tank the same way. The people I know insist on helping me with anything heavy but I keep that limited as much as possible by making many smaller trips with groceries and such. You just have to find a way around it like you do now.

With power you just have to decide what you want to do and the people here can explain various ways to deal with it. I can use solar in the wild or plug in at a park if I like. Some motorhomes have generators built right in.

The big thing is there is going to be compromises here and there. You can't have a tiny rig and all the comforts of home. You can't have the giant motor home and get to all of the out of the way places. You can't avoid all of us nutters and meet new friends.

 

[DuneElliot]

Some rigs have larger showers. Mine isn't huge but it actually has a tub (not sure I could ever make use of it with only 6 gallons of hot water) but it is fairly spacious for a 27ft 5W. Make a larger shower one of the priorities and put it on your "must haves" list when you go rig shopping.

Psychos are no more prevalent in RVing circles than they are in every day life...in fact I would hazard a guess that they are MORE prevalent in "normal" life and society.

 

[hepcat]

Nutters

A friend of mine said to chose this lifestyle we all must be a bit damaged. You can't really get to know someone without at sometime learning what their damage is. Then again how do you deal with it now? By staying inside and never dealing with anyone or do you take that chance that someone might have had more than sunshine and lollipops in their lives. You can of course be a recluse and stay in the out of the way places where you rarely deal with people if you wish or just stay in the rig and not deal with people at all.

What Jim says  ^^^^

I am a 30 year veteran retired cop.   I dealt with more than my share of 'psychos' over the years (and scattered brain tissue,) both on and off-duty.  According to societal norms, anyone who wants to lead an 'alternative lifestyle' such as living in an RV must be 'psycho.'  Welcome to the clan.

It sounds, though,  like you're equating people with mental health issues as being dangerous people.  MOST people who are homeless/transient/psycho are NOT dangerous...  they just don't cope well in the world that they have to live in.  Most of them don't want to interact with you any more than you do them; but if you must interact,  if you offer them the same dignity you expect for yourself, you'll find that they will do their best to afford you the same.  You need to adopt the mind set that YOU are not a victim and if you project that and speak to folks who appear 'psycho' in the same way you expect to be spoken to, you'll likely never have a problem.  Never suspend your spidey sense about danger of course.   I don't go out of my way to interact with someone who appears to be mentally ill, but if the occasion arises a kindly 'hello, how are you today' and direct eye contact goes a long way in that interaction.

Now, all that said, I've seen more folks I'd consider mental cases in Wal-Mart than I've ever seen on the road.  AND there are LOTS more folks who are LOTS more dangerous out there than anyone I've dealt with as a mental case; gang members, former long-term inmates, sociopaths who have no more empathy for me than they would for a rock... and none of them have "I'm Dangerous" stamped anywhere on their forehead or clothes.  Yet we shop with them at the grocery store, pass them on the street as we go about our daily lives, and park next to them at War-Mart.

Learn to discern who is a real danger to you from those society has demonized.  Often the folks who are the most dangerous to you wear three piece suits and drive luxury sedans to their expensively furnished offices.

I'll leave others to deal with your sewage and power issues. <grin>

 

[mayble]

Learn to discern who is a real danger to you from those society has demonized.  Often the folks who are the most dangerous to you wear three piece suits and drive luxury sedans to their expensively furnished offices.

The safety question looms large for most people when I talk about plans for doing this, and so has been on my mind a lot lately.   We choose what to fear based more on propaganda than experience. 

We're more afraid of the things Hollywood and the news media harps on than of the many actual dangers we face daily.  I drive to work every day without hesitation, but I won't go in the attic or crawlspace under my house because it's "creepy".  Statistics tell me I'm far more likely to be killed or injured by a distracted driver than by the boogeyman, but that doesn't matter to the monkeybrain.

Monkeybrain says stay with the crowd, don't go off in the dark and empty places or you'll be killed by leopards.  Instinct hasn't caught up with modern living, where we may just be safer with the leopards.

 

[ZoNiE]

Buy Maxine's rig. Shower and poop tank problems solved, although you will be dealing with dry shit...

https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-Maxidane-is-selling

Dumping the RV tanks isn't bad at all. Just get someone to show you, as was previously stated. I keep a bar of soap in my outdoor shower compartment which is near the dump, so I can wash my hands when done.

If you get a rig without a china bowl toilet, swap it out right away, and you will be happy. The new ones even have a seal that can be replaced without taking them apart.

Nut jobs: as stated above, they will probably be too lazy to find you off the beaten path. For all other times, being armed can help.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

My best friend growing up turned into a sociopath, or always was one I suppose. He's been in jail for stabbing people as well as other violent crimes. What always amazed me about him and I assume other sociopaths, is when they are in a rage their blood pressure remains normal. After they are done with the "incident" it's like it never happened, no heavy breathing, no remorse, no anything. Like it didn't even happen. It's a spooky thing in a way. To put it simple, the world isn't as full of crazy people bent on doing you harm as society would leave you to believe. And most are concentrated in and around major cities.

However, having traveled to 48 of the 50 states and staying in super remote to crowded cities I've never run into anyone where I felt I was in any danger. The worst that's ever happened to me was my mountain bike was stolen off the back of my jeep just outside Denver. It seemed like a shady neighborhood the motel was in, but I was just too tired to continue on. Went out in the morning to find my lock cut. It was only a $200 bike and it was about 5 or 6 years old so I figured I got my money's worth and continued on my journey.

I think the OP has some great answers to her questions. I'll also add in again, you will get use to dealing with your # 1's and # 2's. Like any new experience there's a learning curve and then it becomes normal. I grew up camping, hunting and in construction so I've always had to find alternative ways. I think the best thing you could probably do is rent an RV for 2 weeks or even better a month and give the lifestyle a try and see what you think. Then wait a few months and do it again. I will almost guarantee you like it better the 2nd time around once you have a little experience under your belt.

 

[highdesertranger]

hey I beat rocks with hammers and I am not crazy.............. well maybe a little. highdesertranger

 

[gapper2]

Welcome Hopeful,
   I'm a fairly new member here also.  I think once you get a rig of some sort, really doesn't matter that much which kind and get away from any major metropolitan areas you will find a totally different world out here.  Lots of experienced and knowledgeble people here that don't think twice about giving their all to help newcomers.  Hope to share a campfire someday.  Safe travels to you

gapper2

 

[GotSmart]

Welcome to the forum.  If you stick around, you will be accepted into the tribe.  It just takes not being a big meany to qualify.  :angel:

Psychos;   :s  Trust your gut.  You have the gift of mobility.  Most nomads are different.  But we are great people.  If you feel uncomfortable, removeing yourself is usually the safest option. 

Poop;   :idea:  Depending on the rig you end up with, you have a lot of options.  Everything to a bucket and a bag to fancy flushers.  Lots of threads covering that.

Showers;  I like hot showers!  Truck stops, health clubs, and travelers supply locations if you do not have one in the rig.  Then there are the roughing it tents.  Also covered by a lot of threads.

Power;     My specialty.  Also lots af threads on the subject.  Jimimdenver, Stearnwake, and myself will usually pop into a thread and comment. 

Disability;     many times you can work around one.  It all depends on what it is.

 

[rvwandering]

I trashed a series of posts that were not helpful to the original poster's questions. Please stay on topic.

 

[Canine]

Thank you everyone for your wonderful posts. I'm learning so much. I'm VERY SLOWLY getting the hang of things regarding my concerns, except for power as this seems so darn confusing.

Are there any groups of RVers for retired medical/EMS/Police folk?

So what have a been doing to conquer my fears..

1. Conquering my shit pool fears...I have to keep reminding myself that my shit is floating in a large underground tank at my house so can't be that much worse in a TT?

2. Dealing with psychos and safety.... Signed up for a few gun classes and surprising I"m a REALLY REALLY good shot. Who knew? My first moving hostage situation I shot the perp right between the eyes at 30 yards. I am taking my CW class in a few days. And I'm even more surprised in that I loved shooting-it was so empowering. So I'm gonna carry when and where I can. I'm also gonna Norman it, electrocute it, stab it, kick the living shit out of it. No not much rage at all. LOL Hey 27 years a single mom makes ya pretty tough in protecting your baby.

3. Showering... So I haven't washed my hair in three days... (I usually wash every day).. I am taking super fast showers. I usually take several showers a day but I'm trying to train myself not only for rving but to use less water and help the environment a bit

Power... I've seen so many videos and I think I get it, then I watch another one and I"m lost again. What I need the most is to be able to run the AC. I need this because of my health-being hot is actually live threatening to me after my accident. (Long story I don't care to talk about). So I'm still trying to figure that one out.

Again, I want to sincerely thank all those that responded. I'm so very much grateful to you all.

Hopeful.

 

[Canine]

P.S. I don't know who runs this forum but if you need any help give me a shout. I'm well knowledged in the back-end of most forum platforms, including this one. I've owned many.