I Leapt...

When I decided to leave the crazy behind me, I leapt.  Into a vast chasm of the unknown.  If ignorance was money, I’d be a billionaire.  I had no idea how I was going to accomplish what I was setting out to accomplish. I had no RV in which to live, no lock on an income, no mechanical or technical know-how, very little money in the bank, no real plan regarding where I would stay immediately after I left Crooked River Ranch, and still, I leapt. And to my astonishment, the net actually did appear.  Not just once, but every time I needed it.

There are many heroes in my story of the past month, none of whom are me.  I.  Myself.  Whatever… 

No RV – My mother gave me her motorhome.  This is absolutely huge, the most important part of the story, and there should be a better tale told about it, but it was that simple.  I had a need, and she filled it.  Just like that.

No Future Income – CLM has me covered for the next 5-6 months.

No Mechanical Know-how, Part I – I found a mobile mechanic through a friend of mine, who agreed to come out and change the oil, do a safety inspection, and try to repair the generator, the day before I was set to leave town.  He didn’t make it.  Some crazy emergency at the airport required his mechanical genius, so I was bumped.  And I didn’t even panic about it.  I was frustrated, because I’d have to find another solution, but a solution was found.  I took it to Oil Can Henry’s.  And THEY found a serious problem with my rear differential that could have become an even bigger problem on those steep, winding Shasta mountain roads, towing my toad.  And, they fixed it, gave me a discount, and I had recently received just the right amount of money to cover it with a few dollars left over.

No Technical Know-how, Part I – I ordered a 100w solar panel anyway.  Had no idea what to do with it, but knew it was going to be important at some point, so I bought it.

No Plan on Where to Stay, Part I – Driving a behemoth with a toad, is a daunting experience on your best day, but trying to find places to stay while driving a behemoth with a toad, can be overwhelming.  Mere days before I left, I finally located a free campsite at Lake Shasta, that would (purportedly) accommodate my vehicle(s).  

No Mechanical or Technical Know-how, Parts II – Arrived at Lake Shasta, and discovered that my refrigerator wouldn’t work on propane, it didn’t have a 12v option, and as I was camping for free, naturally there were no electrical hookups.  The generator hadn’t magically repaired itself, and continuing to push the start button wasn’t getting me anywhere.  I decided to try to figure out my solar panel so that I would at least be able to keep the lights on, and discovered that the controller wiring wasn’t connected, and required a screwdriver much smaller than I had in my 6 screwdriver, plus power drill with screw driver heads, collection. Tried a variety of other household items with no success.  So, I threw up my hands, and decided I’d have to leave the next day before my batteries died and left me stranded in the middle of nowhere. 

Magically, the next morning, a pair of Good Shastonians appeared.  Actually, they were just passing through, and had been RV traveling for 14 years.  We got to talking, and I shared my refrigerator, generator, and solar panel woes.  It just so happened that the man had more than enough mechanical and technical know-how to solve the planet’s problems, and I offered to pay him to help me.  He refused the payment, said he LOVED working on RVs for fun, and would teach me a few things in the process.  Fixed the refrigerator in about 10 minutes, and I know what to do about that, now.  Fixed my TV antenna, dismantled and cleaned all my battery connections, tested water levels and fitness of batteries, hooked up the solar panel, and got my generator NEARLY running.  Instructed me on protecting the tires, and how to refinish the roof.  All he asked in return was that I pay it forward. 

No Plan on Where to Stay, Part II - As to where I would go after I left Shasta, I knew I wanted to see my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughters as much as possible, but they had a lot going on, so I needed other arrangements, too.  Thank goodness for the ridiculous kindness of Stacey B.  She has been letting me camp in her driveway, when I’m not at my daughter’s, plug in a power strip to an extension cord plugged into her power, given me fresh eggs to cook for breakfast, driven me to PJs, and a hundred other kindnesses.  This woman is amazing, and I will never be able to thank her enough. 

No Mechanical or Technical Know-how, Parts III – Much to my dismay, my house batteries will not hold a charge.  My RV group has been SO helpful in the process of figuring out my best options for replacement.  I currently have two parallel 12v 80 Ah batteries, for a total of 160 Ah if they actually worked.  I’m replacing them with two serial 6v 230 Ah batteries for a total of 460 Ah, on Tuesday morning.   I have been limping along thanks to that solar panel I knew I was going to need, and bought, even though I had no idea what to do with it. :D

Very Little Money In The Bank – This happens.  Strangely, and wonderfully, it really happens.  Money appears when it’s needed.  From places it can’t possibly come.  But it comes anyway.  I still have very little money in the bank, but things like the battery replacement that pop up?  I found out a few days ago, that I have some surprise money coming, which after taxes, will absolutely JUST cover those new batteries.

Addendum 4/27/15: I have been waiting for some final utility bills from my previous residence, and decided to call and get the amounts so I can schedule payments before I head into the forest.  My internet bill, which I was expecting to get for another month because I was under contract, has been zeroed out, with nothing due for a final payment.  My water company said they were sending me a check which is only $3 shy of covering my final electric and garbage bills.  Done!  I am just loving how things are working out.

I guess John Burroughs knows what he’s talking about…

Selling Little Pieces of Yourself

We spend our lives working for things.  “He who dies with the most toys wins.” When we have more things than we have room for, we might buy a bigger house in which to keep all those things.  Or pay to store those things we don’t need right now, but are certain to need at some point in the future. We identify ourselves by our things: our salaries, our cars, our televisions, our homes, our clothing, cell phones, furnishings, jewelry, our book/music collections.  We determine our own value (and gauge the value of others) by the value of these things.

And then…

We lose our salary.  We lose our house.  We lose a good portion of our things.  We pay to store the most valuable of those things, certain that one day, we’ll regain our salary, our house, and use those things we’re paying to store.  As long as you still have valuable things, you’re still a person of value, right?!  Isn’t everyone always saying that no one else can determine your worth?!

And then…

{Perspective Shift}

Preparing to set out on this new life of mine, I needed cash, as much as possible, as soon as possible, and I certainly didn't need any of the things I’d been paying to store, nor the monthly storage bill.  So, the obvious solution was to sell these items of great value, have a few thousand in the bank before I hit the road, and remove the weight of “so many” possessions from my shoulders.

I took my jewelry in to be sold, first.  There were a few rings, with decent diamonds, some earrings, etc.  I estimated I’d get about $500 for everything.  The actual monetary value was set by someone else, as $89.  Okay, that was pretty disappointing.  I felt pretty small having held onto these items for so long, and discovering that other people didn’t see much value to them.  But I moved on.

Furniture, kayak, and telescope should still bring me at LEAST $1500, maybe more.  No.  These treasured pieces that I’d held onto for so long brought me a whopping $300.  The playstation, games, and DVDs brought in $100.  No one would even take the telescope for free.  It ended up in the dump with other items that other people determined held no value.

Everything else had to be sorted through myself, and either kept because of high sentimental value if I had the room, or donated to Goodwill (BTW, they only take flat screen TVs, so don’t bother trying to donate your older television sets).

Still very cash-poor, I decided to sell my car.  The salesman at the dealership told me it worth between $2660 and $4850, but that they probably wouldn’t give me more than the $2660 for it because they had a lot of sedans in stock.  Being desperate, I was actually pretty excited by the number. 

And then…

The salesman said that the owner “didn't want to pay more than $1500 because they were having trouble moving sedans.”  I asked him to intercede on my behalf and ask for at least $1800.  Boss was busy with personal items and I was told I would get a phone call, which never came.  I called the next morning and spoke with the owner, and he said, “I told him I wouldn’t pay more than $1200!!” Needless to say, I held onto the car.

Selling, giving away, and trashing 95% of my remaining belongings was a demoralizing experience, and I felt pretty invaluable.  There were a lot of tears shed, and some other ugly thoughts.  But.   

It solidified my belief in my new life plan.  I’m not going to be a slave to a salary just so I can acquire more things, which someone else will determine has no value.  The things I want, I can have inexpensively:  My freedom, my dog, my family, great friends, beautiful surroundings, pretty good food, and a mortgage-free roof over my head.

And then…

I leapt.

Steep Learning Curve!!

For the past couple of weeks, I've been buried trying to learn everything I need to know to make this RV lifestyle work.  Like... How to drive a Class A motor home.  I think I got that sorted out yesterday, with a trip into Terrebonne and Redmond, filling up the fuel tank, and emptying the holding tanks.  Even stopped at the post office!  Some may find me a bit lax in the "safety department," but I see nothing wrong with letting my herbs see the views and soak up some sunshine!  Never mind the printer and audio system also in attendance...They didn't budge an inch.

Prior to driving, I had to get unhooked from a 95gal propane tank, and have a shortened line, new valve, and two smaller tanks delivered.  Was told that I will need a crescent wrench to remove and install these tanks. Bought one today.

I received my new Renogy 100W Suitcase solar panel, and have just about figured out how to hook it up, but yesterday, I discovered that none of the receptacles in a motorhome work off the battery, just the lights, and water pump (I'm not 100% certain the refrigerator was operating on battery power either, even though the lights were on.  I'll have to investigate further before I start losing perishables).  So, ran to my RV Dweller forum for information, and learned that I need an inverter to change my 12v battery power back to 110v.  Bought one today, and it has two outlets and a USB port.  It's a start.  By this time next year, I'll have a whole battery bank with inverters to power all the RV receptacles... Dream, dream, dream, dream...

Here's a picture of my solar panel.  With this suitcase portable setup you don't have to have the panel mounted on the roof, meaning that you can park in the shade, and put your panel in the sun.  Big Win!  When I actually try it out, I'll let you know how it works.

This RV also has a 4000w Onan generator, but it doesn't want to run, so when my mechanic is out here on Tuesday doing the oil change, and brake inspection, he'll look to see what it needs.  If we get that running, I can have occasional Air Conditioning this summer!

Another issue that had to be addressed was data service.  I was on US Cellular, and we checked their coverage areas, and discovered that just about everywhere I need to be, they are on "borrowed" coverage, meaning that even if I paid for 8GB of data a month, they would cut me off at 200MB in those areas.  Obviously that wasn't going to work, so I drove around the corner to Verizon, and we looked up THEIR coverage, and according to the map I should get solid 4G LTE coverage in the two long-term areas I plan to be. So, I switched back to Verizon (contract violation penalty with US Cell is going to hurt!), got a Jetpack (and a killer deal on a tablet) which I have set up and tested, and I think it's going to be alright!  Also, they sold me on the dustproof/waterproof/snowproof/shockproof case for my phone, so I'm not paying that extra $11 a month in insurance that still requires you to pay $200 to replace your phone.

Here's my beautiful tablet.  It's my first one, and I'm a tiny bit infatuated with it. In case I can't get my computer charged or connected to the Jetpack, I can still read my emails and other social media, take pictures, and upload, and even Skype!

So, doing laundry while living in an RV.  I could drive into town and pay for machines at a laundromat, but ... ish.  Instead, I bought the RV Dweller's favorite laundry friend, the MobileWasher! Using a 5 gal bucket, and this handy device, I was able to wash two loads of laundry in about 3 hours!!  

 However, most of that time was spent trying to operate this beauty.  Not as friendly as it looks, especially without anyplace to securely attach it. 

As I won't be able to take my fancy shmancy clothesline along with me, I searched for a week, and finally found what I believe will work best for clothes drying in my situation.  It arrived today, so I haven't even opened the box.  Time for further experiments down the road.

Getting ready to live a minimalist lifestyle sure is expensive!  "I'm a gal of means by no means, Queen of the Road!"