True wanderer in two months' time!

[WanderingRonin]

So happy to read everyone else's progress in converting from a fixed to a mobile lifestyle! It inspires me and makes me glad I am not alone.<div><br></div><div>So here I am in my progress so far:</div><div><br></div><div>1) Bought a 1995 Ford e-350 2 last 4th of July weekend.</div><div>STill haven't removed the seats in the back.</div><div>2) I got a portable potti and experimented and studied how it flushed. (man, I'm gonna end up cleaning this sucker each and every time I use it!) Actually going to buy another setup I can use more often --the folding seat with plastic bag setup with kitty litter and wood shavings sounds better... gonna live like a hamster! Cool.</div><div>3) Just bought a big 35 gallon bin for my bath setup. I got a theoretical plan which involves bathing in it&nbsp;(so it catches the water)&nbsp;sitting on a small plastic step stool which I already have and surrounding myself with my existing shower curtain (suspended over my head somehow --by a hoola hoop or something from the toy department is my plan so far).</div><div><br></div><div>So in two weeks, I will be taking out the seats.</div><div>I'll probably have a really rough setup at first... sandwiches, cans of tuna...PB and J... simple drinks... just like when I first moved to Australia with only 2 suitcases and a backpack. I figure I did it before, I can do it again... this time it'll be even easier since I have my own vehicle to live in! <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></div><div><br></div><div>My mission actually is to consume all my food here at home in 2 months. I am a bit of a hoarder and what I have right now is enough food to last me at least 2 months...</div><div><br></div><div>So I have to keep myself from buying anything new anymore.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

 

[cyndi]

<P><FONT size=3>Sounds like your off to a good start!&nbsp; Did yo buy the 1st pot on on the advice of someone? research? brandmames for the old and the new?&nbsp; better yet...links!</FONT></P>

 

[WanderingRonin]

Funny you ask.... <img src="/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><div>WEll, my only experience with these porta potties are seeing their pictures online. So I just read up about them and one day, I just went online... chose a good sturdy looking one and clicked "purchase".</div><div>OK, I thought this would be some kind of high techie thingamajig.</div><div><br></div><div>1) I wasn't exactly thrilled with the sliding trap door... my first thought was... poop's gonna get in between those seals... and I'd have to spray and wipe it each and every time I go.</div><div>2) that flush is weak. I mean, what's that tank for? Just to make sure you don't overfill the bottom tank, I suppose... But I reckon I can just pour water into it from a jug or something... why pump that thing 5 times to fill up the bowl? I'm better off using a spray bottle with soap to coat the sides before the deed so that less crud sticks on it when I flush...</div><div>3) Which is why I decided to just get the bucket and the bag thing, after all. The porta potti can still serve its purpose as sort of a real emergency potti, but man, I cannot be cleaning that thing everyday, so that's out! heh!</div><div><br></div><div>First potti's brand is Camco... I haven't bought the bucket one yet... Seems rather expensive for just a bucket with a toilet seat. I might as well go to Wal-mart and get an actual bucket and just McGyvering a toilet seat on it.</div><div><br></div><div>What are your experiences with this?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

 

[VanFan]

We use a 5 gallon bucket with a Luggable Loo seat and cover on top.&nbsp; I have a small bucket inside filled with cat litter "just in case" and to weigh it down a little.&nbsp; For actual use, I pre-line the large bucket with a plastic bags and add a scoop of powder made by Reliance that gels liquid and waste on contact.&nbsp; (It's the same stuff used in those double doodie bags.)&nbsp; I find the powder more effective and compact than litter.&nbsp; The bag is easy to dispose of.<br><br>The seat itself might be a little small for someone with an ample hind end (not that mine's <i>inadequate</i> or anything.&nbsp; LOL)&nbsp; Also, the lid does not have a truly positive seal.&nbsp; Since we use it outside the van, it works pretty well, but I have considered a hassock style, too.<br><br>Vickie<br><br>

 

[WanderingRonin]

That is interesting! Is it this reliance powder&nbsp;<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(53, 79, 89); font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; ">Reliance BIO-GEL Waste Gelation Powder for Portable Toilets?</span><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#354f59" face="arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none;"><b><br></b></span></font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#354f59" face="arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none;"><b>I'll go pick that up!<br></b></span></font><div><br></div></div>

 

[VanFan]

That's the stuff.&nbsp; Before you snag some, you might want to consider that not everyone thinks it's as good as I do, as evidenced by the two reviews on Amazon where it rates an average of 3.5 stars.&nbsp; As one reviewer noted, the gel does not eliminate bowel movement odor.&nbsp; That's true.&nbsp; In my experience, nothing does, and I find heavy scents mixed with errr..&nbsp; unpleasant.&nbsp; The gel is not scented.&nbsp; Closing the bag and disposing of it promptly is the best defense, IMO.<br><br>The powder was a little hard to find locally.&nbsp; They carry it at Bass Pro, if that helps.&nbsp; We keep the powder handy in a zip lock bag with a roll of TP and package of wipes stored in the bucket.&nbsp; Very compact.<br><br>Vickie<br><br>

 

[WanderingRonin]

Anything that lessens the contamination sounds ok with me.<div>I will experiment how it reacts with kitty litter or whatnot.</div><div>There's a bunch of things I want to experiment. It's gonna be a fun time, I am sure.</div><div><br></div><div>I don't mind too much the smell of feces.&nbsp;</div><div>I know that whenever my diet has more vegetables and healthy stuff, the smell is less&nbsp;"bad" than if the meal was an unhealthy mash of processed foods.</div><div>I suppose it's like the smell of cow manure --the real smell of it, that is. I find the smell not at all offensive. It's not the horrific stench that comes out of feedlots and modern cattle production facilities.&nbsp;</div><div>A bad diet results in a really awful smell in my experience... WEll, enough of the toilet subject! <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></div><div><br></div><div>I'm certainly going to try a whole range of things.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>

 

[WanderingRonin]

I got sick today. A bit of flu. I got to simulate how it may feel if I was in the van while sick. The bathroom access is not the problem. I guess it's the temperature control which I am mostly thinking about. Although being ill, I can actually withstand hot weather better and I barely sweat. It also helps my body heal faster because that's what it's doing anyway by raising my inner temp to fend off the virus.&nbsp;<div><br></div><div>It has prompted me to buy a first aid kit, though... and more food supplies. If this thing with the economy craters, food will cost more for a while if the US dollar plummets in value. So I bought food that I like and food that will last up to 2013 and beyond. ...Just in case. <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></div>

 

[cyndi]

<P><FONT size=3>Hope you feel better, quick!</FONT></P>

 

[WanderingRonin]

Thank you for the kind greetings and well wishes.<div>I am better now. It's always that one overnight tossing and turning that is the most challenging. But I reckon it'll be fine whether I am in an apartment or my future home...&nbsp;</div><div>The only thing is space... I'm finding I will need a small bottle to take a leak in in the middle of the night.&nbsp;</div><div>I also got to test the small LED lights I bought to illuminate the interior at night. They are weak, but you can see by them so it should be alright (although they were advertised as reading lights...).</div><div>Of course, I also felt a bit of worry. But as this flu only happens annually and only once, I still feel comfortable living in a vehicle. I remind myself on a bad stretch, I can always get a temporary motel room to weather the sickness. (advice I found online)</div><div>It must be exciting to see newcomers to this lifestyle that y'all are already living, huh? Maybe it reminds you of your early days as beginners as well.&nbsp;</div><div>I am cheered by the fact that this community is so diverse and filled with many nomads of many levels.</div>

 

[Guest]

<P>Glad to hear you're doing better! It is exciting to see that everyday, there seems to be more and more people that are looking into a more mobile life, and there are things that they do that we can assist with, and/or learn from as we all bring different ideas!</P>

 

[WanderingRonin]

Indeed! I think it's because more and more people are acknowledging that there is more to life than just accumulating things... It's the experiences and time we give to others and ourselves which really count in the end.<div>I think I began to change my philosophy a long time ago when I had to mow a lawn in our suburban home. Nowadays, I see the suburban life... and everything that goes with it, as so unnecessary and a burden. But that's only me. Some people are happy to live like this, but man, was it scary to contemplate me going for this life... even if the prices are low nowadays. It's not the price for me. It's the maintenance and the baggage that comes with it that's the problem.</div><div><br></div><div>I'm the type of guy that wants to just let nature be. Oftentimes, the more we try to control it, the worse we make things for ourselves.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>More and more, I see the mobile life as the life to live.&nbsp;</div><div>I'm excited more than ever now.<br><div><br></div></div>

 

[WanderingRonin]

So OK, I simulated my first van bath today. I used my little step stool set in a large plastic bin. Step stool is there so I can sit on it. I mimed the whole crouch thing since my future home (alas) won't be a standup height (yet).<div>If you've seen that movie "Entrapment" where the girl is all contorting to avoid simulated fake lasers... That's me but of course far less sexy... I must say, I was pretty pleased with the results. Got a full bath and probably only used 2 gallons. Could be less if I used a spray bottle on myself to wet the body first instead of pouring 3 quarts down my head...&nbsp;</div><div>And of course, I practiced drying myself out and getting out of that thing in the same crouched position that can be expected from being in a 5 foot tall interior.&nbsp;</div><div>(which made me wonder if short people rejoice at being able to stand up in these interiors which we find we have to crouch in... I mean, dang... they'd be fine and dandy inside a station wagon or a regular SUV, wouldn't they?...)&nbsp;</div>

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

<P><b>Hmmm, interesting visuals Ronin</b>.<IMG border=0 align=absMiddle src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif"></P>

 

[gp]

<P>You might find it a little easier to use a 2'x3' concrete mixing pan. It has sides 10" tall. Lowes has them for about $12.00.&nbsp;We use a little stool in it so we can sit and shower. It works very well. I got the idea from Curtis Caper (who posted in "Money Matters" on the home page). If you follow his links, you'll find more cool info.&nbsp;He made a&nbsp;shower curtain holder from&nbsp;1" pvc in a rectangular shape&nbsp;so it fit&nbsp;perfectly in his van. &nbsp;</P>

 

[gp]

Here's a link to Curtis' instructions for a hot shower in a low top van. It's a pretty elaborate setup.<br><br><A href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/ar...ot_water_shower.html?image=1248894&amp;cat=16" target=_blank>http://www.associatedcontent.com/ar...ot_water_shower.html?image=1248894&amp;cat=16</A><br>

 

[WanderingRonin]

Oh wow! That is a good idea! Thanks! I think that is feasible indeed with the space I currently have... Just have to move and rearrange a few things. I like that pipe square that holds the shower hooks... reminds me of the hula hoop solution someone else came up with on this site... Kewl.&nbsp;<img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif">