Well hallo thar! I'm new, so I'm posting with the newbies.

[notabear13]

It seems like I'm pretty young, compared to many people here -

I'm about to graduate from uni in a semester, so I'm looking into options to make sure my life maximizes in freedom and happiness, and minimizes cost and ecological impact. I figured I'd join up here so that I can explore the possibility of living cheap and mobile.

Currently, I'm living in an apartment, commuting by bike, and I have no car. But hopefully, I'll be able to find a job in a more mountainous area soon (c'moooon CO - I'm getting a CS degree, so I'm hopeful). Of course, this being America, it seems unlikely that I'll be able to be car-less once I move. So, I'm looking at this as an opportunity.

Currently, I think my ideal setup would be a small SUV, like a Forester or a CX5, along with a converted cargo trailer (like this setup: http://www.cheaprvliving.com/living-converted-cargo-trailer I figure that will work out best, since I can largely skip paying rent by living in the trailer, while using the car as a commuter/adventuremobile. I've been backpacking and camping extensively for most of my life, so I don't feel the need for anything more than a nylon roof over my head when I'm travelling, which means that hauling my house around with me would just be a waste of gas money - and more savings on gas money means more time I can spend living life!

Anyway, hello everyone!

Not A Bear

 

[Dragonfly]

I, personally, am very glad that someone of the younger generation wants to live free. So congratulations on choosing freedom.
Welcome, Notabear!

Oz

 

[rvwandering]

Welcome to the CRVL forums notabear! We have a few young ones here but a lot of old ones too - :-D. It's great that you've decided to pursue what makes you happy at such a young age. I think your biggest challenge will be finding a good place to park your trailer so that it's safe and you don't have a long commute to work. Keep us posted!

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.

 

[gypsychic]

Welcome Notabear! I wish I knew about this 20 odd years ago. Seems like you have a plan. I can't wait to see how you implement it.

GypsyChic

 

[jimindenver]

Hi there.

Where in Colorado? You could do a carless existence in the larger metro areas and spring through fall you could camp out in the hills and never pay a dime.

 

[Theadyn]

Welcome! Like a previous poster said, wish I had known about this 20 years ago. Awesome!

 

[akrvbob]

Welcome notabear13, we're really glad you're here! You sound like you were born to be a vandweller.

BY CS I assume you mean Computer Science? The big question you have to ask is will you have to work in the cities or can you work from public land. If you have to work in the cities then you either need stealth above all else or you need to be able to park in an RV Park.

It's very unusual to be able to boondock close enough to cities to be able to commute. Most pubic land that close to cities has strict restrictions on where and how long you can camp for. I've seen a few places where you could be on public land and commute to work, but extremely few. Being closer than 50 miles is not a realistic goal. Worse, most of of the public land in mountains around cities are not plowed, they're snowed-in in the winter and it is not an option to camp there year around. It's impossible. On the other hand you might find it in the desert, but the heat will make it impractical.

I think your best bet is to stealth park in a van. That is totally doable. Your only other option is working from public land over the internet, that is also totally doable. I can't see commuting working.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Bob

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Welcome, don't think you choice of tow vehicles will be up to the mountains with a load. I'm probably under powered with what I have though my rig is just fine in Ohio.
Van would be better as Bob said. Just get back to the drawing board.

 

[jimindenver]

When deciding on the vehicle combo, one or the other has to be the deciding factor. either you buy the truck you want and accept whatever limitations it has as far as how much it can tow OR pick out what you want to tow and make sure you have enough truck to do the job. The mountains are more critical of your choice, brakes on the trailer are a must because you can always go slower climbing. It's the not being able to go slower in the descent that will kill ya.

Many use the Walmarts and other big box stores for over night stays. I've seen some push it to weeks, a few months. We saw a few motor homes with their toads disconnected and slides out at the end of big box row near us for quite the while last fall.

So stealth or boondocking is possible here but maybe more so in the warmer months. We are in the second or third deep freeze of the season and this one took us down to -19. It hasn't been above freezing for a week and our house furnace smoked it blower motor running near continuously. That was last Saturday and I was just lucky to find a motor because it was 25 F and the electric radiators were already loosing ground to the cold. Boondocking or stealth without hook ups would be survival at best if not down right dangerous.