Tubthumping

[Katt]

We got knocked down, but we're getting up again...

Some of you may remember me from well over a year ago now. My partner and I were living in our converted transit bus, which then broke down, then we got Covid, ended up living in a hotel for WAY too long...

A lot has happened since then. One, I lost my login info to this site and all my phone contacts and was too depressed to try to get them back. Second, after months in the hotel room with five cats, any hope of getting back on the road last year faded into oblivion. I got so deeply depressed it was scary. My unemployment was about to run out as well, and I had NYS hounding me to get a job. So I did end up taking a job here in the east, a few hundred miles south of where we started. We're in an 8x32' tiny home on wheels. When we came here, I was secretly so depressed that I had decided that I was going to give it a couple of months and if life still sucked, I was going to end it. Obviously I'm still here, despite two more rounds of Covid and working a job that is really too demanding for my health.

FF past a year of the daily grind of living stationary tiny and working full time, and my partner got fed up with me being "married to my job" (truth! - I am on call 24/7 and can't even shut my phone off when I take a vacation day!) and we were going to split, because I was convinced I wanted to stay here forever because going back on the road and leaving a stable job scared me. My partner decided they were going to buy an RV and go back on the road. I ended up going with them to look at a couple of RV's, and after having to talk them out of buying an over-priced rattletrap that wasn't going to make it out of this state, and then looking at a really, really nice rig, the bug bit me again and I realized I've just been scared to follow the dream I had for years again since our mechanical breakdown disaster.

Fortunately, through all of this we have been able to live pretty cheap and pay off thousands upon thousands in debt. Credit card debt is gone, another $23,000 account we were paying on is gone, $11,000 student loan is paid off... We sold our home in Buffalo that we were renting out in May, but lost $8500 on it. Thankfully we were able to handle that, but since we thought we were going to walk away with between $30-40k, it was a setback. So now we are looking to get back on the road in Spring/Summer 2023. My health is better in some ways, but I am really out of shape and looking forward to being able to ride a bike in the dry desert air. I wish we were going to make RTR this year, but that can't be helped. I'm planning our restart trip while we both work full time and save up enough of a nest egg between now and spring that hopefully even if we had some big mechanical issue again (like a $30k bill for engine replacement!), we can handle it. I am working on building up a side income and may also do workamping of some sort once we get back on the road. My partner can work remotely indefinitely as long as we have reliable internet.

So that's my update I guess. I'm sorry for disappearing, but as I said, I was pretty deeply depressed and being on these forums, knowing our plans and dreams were shattered was just too much.

 

[Solarcoast]

Did you really get quoted 30k for an engine replacement?!

 

[Katt]

Did you really get quoted 30k for an engine replacement?!

Yep. The engine was $15,000 and because of the way the engine was mounted in the frame, the labor was going to be between $10 and $15k. It was an older diesel transit bus and out of the 5,500 or so that were made, ours was one of the last still in working condition. There were maybe five others out there, and mostly because of how expensive they were to maintain. If only we had done better due diligence in researching that before we bought it!

 

[rvwandering]

Thank you for the update! I'm glad you are doing so well now and managed to make it past the scary, depressed period when nothing seemed to be going right. Wishing you the best of luck as you work towards continuing your dream!

 

[Katt]

Thank you for the update! I'm glad you are doing so well now and managed to make it past the scary, depressed period when nothing seemed to be going right. Wishing you the best of luck as you work towards continuing your dream!

Thank you!

 

[Solarcoast]

Yep. The engine was $15,000 and because of the way the engine was mounted in the frame, the labor was going to be between $10 and $15k. It was an older diesel transit bus and out of the 5,500 or so that were made, ours was one of the last still in working condition. There were maybe five others out there, and mostly because of how expensive they were to maintain. If only we had done better due diligence in researching that before we bought it!

Oh that makes more sense, I was thinking it was one of those Econoline based shuttle busses and it seemed shockingly high. Still crazy!

And sorry I didn't say before but I'm glad you are doing better! I'm new so I don't know you but it's always great to hear of things improving for people

 

[Katt]

Oh that makes more sense, I was thinking it was one of those Econoline based shuttle busses and it seemed shockingly high. Still crazy!

And sorry I didn't say before but I'm glad you are doing better! I'm new so I don't know you but it's always great to hear of things improving for people

All good! Welcome to the forum. And believe me, it shocked me too! We had budgeted and in the bank about $15,000 for that type of emergency. When we were told how expensive it was going to be, I couldn't believe it either. Then we had another mechanic look at it and got the same answer. I still remember very vividly, the feeling of the engine losing power and having to pull off to the side of I-55, and then the deathly quiet later that day as we sat alone in our dead bus parked in a truck repair lot on a freezing cold weekend evening in March. That was the epitome of suck. I am very grateful to have found a good job that is in my career field, and an inexpensive tiny house to live in for the last 15 months.

 

[WanderingRose]

Wow, what a time you have had, and I am sorry for that.

HOWEVER, you have survived and have a new plan, also got some finances squared away while you were sitting still, which will help a great deal.

Truthfully, many if not most of us have survived difficult times, even if not actually circling the drain, tho that happens, too.

So, you’re in good company here, and welcome back.

Keep us posted on your reconstruction.

 

[Katt]

Wow, what a time you have had, and I am sorry for that.

HOWEVER, you have survived and have a new plan, also got some finances squared away while you were sitting still, which will help a great deal.

Truthfully, many if not most of us have survived difficult times, even if not actually circling the drain, tho that happens, too.

So, you’re in good company here, and welcome back.

Keep us posted on your reconstruction.

Hi Rose!

It's sure been more of an adventure than I signed up for, but I'm glad we're where we are now. There has been a lot of growth this past year for us personally. Also, we will be going out next year much better prepared than we were the first time around. And since all of that didn't scare me away permanently, I know the nomadic life is the one for me. I really missed being out there doing our thing, but I kept it buried pretty deep until a few months ago when we had our wakeup shakeup.

Sadly, we lost two of our older cats this year, so we're down to three. So we'll be in a smaller, less expensive to maintain and drive rig. We were in that huge bus mostly to accommodate the number of furkids we had with us. Now we just need enough room to have desk space for both of us to work remotely, which kind of makes its own space for cats.

 

[Carla618]

We got knocked down, but we're getting up again...

Some of you may remember me from well over a year ago now. My partner and I were living in our converted transit bus, which then broke down, then we got Covid, ended up living in a hotel for WAY too long...

Welcome back, Katt. You are very resilient and tenacious. Feel proud for all that you accomplished

 

[graycurlsvanning]

We got knocked down, but we're getting up again...

Some of you may remember me from well over a year ago now. My partner and I were living in our converted transit bus, which then broke down, then we got Covid, ended up living in a hotel for WAY too long...

A lot has happened since then. One, I lost my login info to this site and all my phone contacts and was too depressed to try to get them back. Second, after months in the hotel room with five cats, any hope of getting back on the road last year faded into oblivion. I got so deeply depressed it was scary. My unemployment was about to run out as well, and I had NYS hounding me to get a job. So I did end up taking a job here in the east, a few hundred miles south of where we started. We're in an 8x32' tiny home on wheels. When we came here, I was secretly so depressed that I had decided that I was going to give it a couple of months and if life still sucked, I was going to end it. Obviously I'm still here, despite two more rounds of Covid and working a job that is really too demanding for my health.

FF past a year of the daily grind of living stationary tiny and working full time, and my partner got fed up with me being "married to my job" (truth! - I am on call 24/7 and can't even shut my phone off when I take a vacation day!) and we were going to split, because I was convinced I wanted to stay here forever because going back on the road and leaving a stable job scared me. My partner decided they were going to buy an RV and go back on the road. I ended up going with them to look at a couple of RV's, and after having to talk them out of buying an over-priced rattletrap that wasn't going to make it out of this state, and then looking at a really, really nice rig, the bug bit me again and I realized I've just been scared to follow the dream I had for years again since our mechanical breakdown disaster.

Fortunately, through all of this we have been able to live pretty cheap and pay off thousands upon thousands in debt. Credit card debt is gone, another $23,000 account we were paying on is gone, $11,000 student loan is paid off... We sold our home in Buffalo that we were renting out in May, but lost $8500 on it. Thankfully we were able to handle that, but since we thought we were going to walk away with between $30-40k, it was a setback. So now we are looking to get back on the road in Spring/Summer 2023. My health is better in some ways, but I am really out of shape and looking forward to being able to ride a bike in the dry desert air. I wish we were going to make RTR this year, but that can't be helped. I'm planning our restart trip while we both work full time and save up enough of a nest egg between now and spring that hopefully even if we had some big mechanical issue again (like a $30k bill for engine replacement!), we can handle it. I am working on building up a side income and may also do workamping of some sort once we get back on the road. My partner can work remotely indefinitely as long as we have reliable internet.

So that's my update I guess. I'm sorry for disappearing, but as I said, I was pretty deeply depressed and being on these forums, knowing our plans and dreams were shattered was just too much.

Thanks for your honesty and real talk about life and what it can be for folks in the world. It can be sad, hard and life sucking. I am not one to give out trite sayings that sometimes diminish what we have gone through and feel. No, sometimes it just sucks and we have to go through it. I hope you have and that you and your partner are through the worst of it for now. I have found these times in my life, though challenging, also life altering, often in a profound and positive way. Good luck to you both and happy trails.

 

[user 423]

Did you at least get a little for the old bus as salvage?

Hang in there. Keep on keepin' on.

 

[RoamerRV428]

Welcome back!
Your post was a wild and interesting read for sure but it sounded so rough on you but I am super happy things are now working out in your favor and you got a new vigor to hit the road and participate in nomad life again! Keep on truckin'!

 

[NctryBen]

Wow... what you have gone through is crazy. Very inspiring... took the bull by the horns and made it happen. Best therapy there is is working through this kind of ordeal. I hope your partner has contributed as well. We all are blessed when we can overcome such disasters. I hope this finds you in a good spot in the end living your dream.

 

[afblangley]

My first RV was a class A diesel pusher. Big, factory built motorhomes are a truly luxurious way to travel. All the amenities of home, wherever you are. Achieving this results in a complicated vehicle that requires a continuous regimen of maintenance, even when new. If you're handy that means spending a lot of time, if you're not that means spending a lot of money plus the inconvenience of not being able to use the RV for periods of time. For those willing and able to accept that, there's no nicer way to travel from an extended stay at point A to an extended stay at point B to an extended stay at point C.

My second "RV" is a passenger van that I converted. Everything is easily repaired/replaced. Including the vehicle itself (serviceable at hundreds of dealers under a 7 year 140k mile warranty). The van is not nearly as comfortable as the class A, while traveling or parked. But it has a lot more utility/flexibility. And it's a lot cheaper to own and operate. My class A sits parked most of the time, accumulating 6000 miles in 3 years while the van has racked up 40k miles in less than 2 years. Give a lot of thought to rig selection, it really matters.

I'm big believer in budgeting. I'd rather pay a larger defined amount at a chosen point in time than a lesser amount at some unknown (and potentially inconvenient) time in the future. So I paid $60k for the van and $3k for the warranty. I spent $4k on the conversion. That may be odd, but that's all it took to install the amenities I wanted. Limited not by money, but by my construction skills. Don't be afraid to do things in a nontraditional way if it makes sense to you.

 

[bullfrog]

It really is a question of what you are able and willing to accept in order to live on the road. The more people and pets the more it costs and the more complicated it becomes. Staying in locations where there are more resources for longer time makes it cheaper and easier but finding those places that you can afford can be a challenge so the alternative is to become more self contained and self reliant. Simple living is not so easy and can be time and work intensive if you compare it to the American Dream lifestyle most people in this country attempt to achieve unless you lower you expectations. You may not be able to carry enough water or fuel to take 1/2 hour hot showers every day for example. You may have to deal with your human waste instead of just flushing the toilet and forgetting it. You may have to put on extra layers to stay warm or get wet to stay cool. This lifestyle can be very rewarding to those that do not want or cannot afford the American Dream lifestyle but it still has costs and requires work as well as adjusting your values to it.

 

[Carla618]

For those willing and able to accept that, there's no nicer way to travel from an extended stay at point A to an extended stay at point B to an extended stay at point C.

For you

 

[afblangley]

For you

You misunderstood me. A class A is ill-suited for my preferred way to travel. They are difficult to drive, hard to find places to park, impossible to maneuver in many places, have few shops willing to work on them, have complicated systems, get terrible gas mileage... But anyone who's traveled in one would agree that in terms of sheer luxury and comfort going down the road, nothing beats it (a nice 5th wheel may trump it once parked on location). I only brought up the issue to show that I understood why Katt was attracted to a converted bus. But that it may not be the best choice next time.

 

[Carla618]

... anyone who's traveled in one would agree that in terms of sheer luxury and comfort going down the road, nothing beats it (a nice 5th wheel may trump it once parked on location).

Think the three "extended stay" comments threw me off. I agree riding in a Class A would be super comfortable. Not driving one. I was thinking of the extended stay part. When I see Class A's at campgrounds I think, "Why?"

But I like roughing it a bit.

 

[wb8vyn]

I did a test run today.
After a lot of fussing around, I did a 6 mile test run today.
Here is what I found out.
Put everything away. strap it down. Even small things tend to move.
Tire pressure is important, all around. Even small differences from side to side, need to be even from side to side.
Trailer brakes work better than I expected. Even a small press on the brake pedal brought more braking of trailer than expected.
Adjusting the controller in the cab fixed that.

Solar worked better while on the road, I think that was because there was no shadows on the panels.

Also, with the trailer hooked to my pickup using the 7 wire plug, The pickup also charged the batteries in the trailer.
I think that is good? I wonder if the deep cycles flooded batteries could get over charged from the pickup?

Ordered a 3500 watt stand by inverter/generator today. Should be here in 4 or 5 days
Getting really close to heading out.
Cooking meals is going to have to take more trial and error.
At least I am not burning too many things any longer.
Not to say that anything tastes very good but at least I haven't killed myself...Yet.
Ken