Thrown in before rig was ready....

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Krenov72

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Hello all. I have been a member for some time, but have not logged in in some time. I'm sitting here, with 3 sleeping dogs at my feet. It is the eve of my 46th birthday. A pot catches water leaking from the ceiling of my 89 pace arrow class A. I laugh every time I hear the 'ping'.
You see.. I laugh because there is nowhere to go but up.
A little back story... my wife ( soon to be ex .. more on that later) and I were living in a shitty house for 5 years... the slumlord owners didn't want to spend literally a cent on it. That is no exaggeration. We had four dogs, sadly as of march.. it's three beautiful souls( miss you greatly, Oliver) and housing near Vancouver B.C. Is outrageous, and with pets , well... it's hard. They decided to sell the house and we had only 5 weeks to move( I know .. that's illegal.. I'm taking some action there) but we HAD to be out sept 1st. I had bought the class A in April , with plans on gutting it , and renovating it to be able to bring my dogs to work, and taking the fridge etc out to use in a cargo trailer conversion. We were unable to find a suitable place that was affordable( total shitholes are 1400 .. we saw lots... everything in the rv works, but I have not tested the systems , and am suspect of some home job wiring... so I'm not using them. It's a bucket shower I made, and my BBQ for cooking.. one side burner.. it's stellar. I'm parked behind the cabinet shop I work at on my bosses 4 acre property, and my wife is at her parents( we are allowed there, but not the dogs.. so here I am) I have a porta john at work ( I'm the only employee.. so it's my private bathroom) all in all it was pretty sweet... the rv didn't leak when I got it. Saw much rain in the first month. but it's been a 3 month heatwave here, and it rained for the first time in months. Well, I sprung a few leaks!!! So it's Tarped now, and supposed to be sunny most of the week... but a bit of water was still on the roof under the tarp.. so it's a drip dripping beside me for the night. I've been wanting to go nomadic. My wife doesn't. She wants to work in an office, droning on with the same routine ..rinse repeat until you die.. fair enough.. but not for me. We have been growing apart, and are barely good roommates at this point. I want to camp and travel , and carve spoons and turn bowls on a spring pole lathe and live the way I want. So here I am , rv living.. just before I was ready haha! I'm thankful for the shelter( work in progress) the heat ( oil filled radiater style..plugged into the shop)... the cleansing power of a bucket, and a few fittings of course... the staples of food I bought.. and the tarps and rope I luckily( some would say preparedly) had on hand. Sure, I only have 12$ until I get paid next Friday, but I'll make it work. I haven't had a drink in 5 days.. and it has been pretty regular lately.. but I'm up for a change. Work is busy.. that's good. Soon I will upgrade my rig and sell what I don't want out of this one.. the 4000 watt generator and the dodge 440 for starters... I always planned on parking this rig and having it hauled away after it's usefulness was up anyway..
be a bit of a wet night, as the main drips are onto my bed.. where else? But I laugh... I may be turning 46 tomorrow, but I'm calling it "day one".
Hope to be participating and posting my journey frequently.
I'm thankful for this forum.. it's amazing . I hope to add a little to give back.
Mike.
 
Hello fellow 46'er, happy birthday!

Sometimes things happen for a reason. The roof may be leaking but you aren't paying that slumlord. :) Hang in there!
 
Thanks for sharing. Happy Birthday! Keep your chin up and look for the good. I'm not to worried about you, your attitude is stellar. Best wishes to you and yours. Keep posting.
 
Welcome to the CRVL forums! you sound like you've got a wonderful attitude towards the whole mess. Congratulations...too many would be feeling sorry for themselves.

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.

Oh, and Happy Birthday!
 
Welcome aboard !
A cheap plastic drop cloth from dollar store/walmart and some tape will guide that leak away from your bed for now ! BTDT!!
 
It wasn't too bad.. I got it tarped pretty quick... the ceiling panels are off, and it's styrofoam insulation... so I noticed the leak pretty quick thankfully!
 
Krenov72 said:
I've been wanting to go nomadic. My wife doesn't. She wants to work in an office, droning on with the same routine ..rinse repeat until you die.. fair enough.. but not for me. We have been growing apart, and are barely good roommates at this point. I want to camp and travel , and carve spoons and turn bowls on a spring pole lathe and live the way I want.

Some women like adventure, but most want security.  Perhaps you needed to demonstrate how you could provide for her in a nomadic life.
 
We have had problems long before I wanted to go nomadic... we just seem to want different things... either one of us trying to make the other person want it too will only cause resentment.remts around here are rediculous... with utilities, it would be around 18,000 a year.. that's almost a hundred grand in 5 years... I refuse to do it anymore... I can live like a king on just what my rent would be... she wants something different.. so we shall see what the future holds...
 
Thanks for sharing your story! I also have been living in apartments and houses that are run down and never worked on. I lived next to a crack house 2.5 years one time because the rent was cheap enough to afford. I just recently moved out of my apartment and am picking up my first van tomorrow.

I hope your situation takes a turn for the better. It sounds like some traveling will do you some good. Have fun and happy birthday!
 
Mike, Happy belated birthday!

I feel for you. Although I never had the additional stress of a potential divorce I understand completely about the woes of living in Vancouver. Was freelancing out of my bachelor apartment and woke up one day to realize I was literally a hamster on a wheel, trying to get enough work to pay for the "privilege" of living in a city for one more month. A city that was getting more and more expensive to live by the day. Trying to live there for me was like watching the national debt clock count upwards every second. I eventually found work in Calgary (not much better) but, renting a room, keeping my expenses low and becoming a hermit allowed me to focus all my energy and pay into becoming debt free. Then saved for new camera gear, an old travel trailer and eventually the budget for a year on the road. I hammered out almost five years at that job that "was not a good fit" just to accomplish the above and get out on the road. I was finally free. So I know about the waiting (an also about leaks but we'll save that for another day).

A little side note based on the 46th year thing. One day, in the fall of my 46th year, about 5 months after my birthday I realized something that totally changed the way that I not only looked at what I wanted to do (road trip full time) but the reasons behind it. You see, both my parents died within 3 months after their 46th birthdays. One in an accident, the other of lung cancer. The day mentioned above hit me like a sledgehammer as I realized that I was now living in time that neither of my parents got to see. It opened up my eyes to how short our time on this rock really is and that we owe it to ourselves to follow what we need, to be happy, to die without regrets. 

The pain from a broken marriage will pass. Material stuff will take on way less meaning. The love you get from those dogs will intensify. You'll find your road and your groove and you'll have no desire to look in the rear-view mirror because the windshield is always so much better! I'm not too worried about you because you have a pretty good outlook on things (even better than I did at times) but I just wanted to share because many of us have or are going through the same kinds of things. 

Hang in there, focus on what needs to be done to get you out there and soon it'll come together. 
See you on the road brother!
Wayne
 
Wayne on the road, thank you kindly . I will admit, I was feeling a tiny bit low when I started writing my original post, but not at all by the time I finished. Just had to get a few things out.. another thing to be thankful for of this forum.. it's not easy everyday, but I'm always looking on the positive side... instead of " oh great, just a can of beans to eat, I'm " alright! I'm thankful for the beans! So far I'm dry, mostly warm... I mean I'm warm, but as it gets colder I'm doing upgrades as I can for the dogs.. I made a bigger bed so we can all be up off the floor, which is cold ... working on some window insulation.. it's getting better everyday.. that's part of the problem with my wife ... I'm thankful for the smallest things, knowing that that gratitude leads to better things... she tends to focus on the negatives, and it literally puts us on different frequencies.. I wake up happy.. I'm glad I woke up... I'm happy I'm surrounded by my dogs, and get to cuddle them... I'm glad the rv is dry,, and the heater is still on... I walk out to see a small Forrest, and have instant fire( propane) to have tea... my commute is a 20 step walk, and I visit my dogs all day.. sure, I only have limited internet, but I HAVE internet... sure, my shower isn't that powerful.. but I HAVE a shower... and so on... I'm grateful of every fibre and tendon and cell in my being ... I'm even grateful of my ability to hear her complain about whatever I'm doing wrong haha... she calls it eat pray love bullshit.. but i know that it works... my motto is do the best you can, with what you have.. RIGHT NOW... just keep doing that, and you willl always be bettering yourself ... it's not magic or bs... she doesn't see that.. she is always going to be a cog in the wheel.. and she doesn't understand that I can't be, the same way I don't understand that that's all she wants to be...the thing is, the gate to the prison is open.. the only thing holding her back is her own self, and her conditioning... I'm happy to walk through the gate, because I'd rather a life of free uncomfortableness.. than captive comfort... so I surthriived today, and I will surthrive tomorrow.. did I mention what an amazing sunset there was tonight? I'm thankful I was alive to see it.. and that I can see... and that I can .. well you get the idea... thanks Wayne on the road... see you at the crossroads...
Mike
 
Krenov72 said:
. so I surthriived today, and I will surthrive tomorrow.. did I mention what an amazing sunset there was tonight? I'm thankful I was alive to see it.. and that I can see... and that I can .. well you get the idea..

Bless you Mike, thank you for reminding me what I have   :heart:
 
Happy Birthday Mike - I think you have an excellent attitude.
Can't help thinking though that you should give your wife one or two of the dogs and share the custody - let her deal with her parents on the issue.
 
Happy Birthday!

You are an inspiration to everyone. Even those who have everything they think they need...there will be times when just "making do" is necessary. You inspire me!
 
Not really my place, but if you are certain in your heart, when sitting calm for a while, feel the same consistently over time. . .

Then do both of you the favor, pull off the bandage quick and clean, don't stretch things out pretending it's worth continuing to muddle along.
 
Happy Birthday! [emoji322][emoji512][emoji324]

You have an exceptional attitude, and it's exactly what will get you through to the other side of this! May you be blessed!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I totally understand Mike. Thanks for the reply, things are getting hectic here, preparing for our departure. But just as there are setbacks there are great things happening. Sold my old trailer etc and carving out time to get the new one ready. It's all a process and the payoff is in view. Keep the chin high and your attitude strong. You got this.
Cheers :)
 

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