theboondork's RV blog

this coming weekend will be the last weekend of tourist season.....Yayyyy

8/6/2018

I thought I was going to work on my truck bed project today but it was kind of raining off and on so I postponed it till tomorrow. It's too bad because today was in the 70s and was really comfortable to work on a project like that, but tomorrow's supposed be in the 80s so it shouldn't be too hot to work outside.

Like I said yesterday I'm going to raise my plywood bed up about a foot off the floor of the truck so I can level it and store things under it. My first idea on how to raise it was to cut one foot pieces of 2 x 4 and screw them under the corners of the plywood to hold it up. But upon further consideration I started thinking that was going to add more weight to the bed and make it more difficult to store because of all those pieces of 2 x 4 sticking out of it. So this morning I had a different idea.

I got to thinking that instead of using 2 x 4s that were screwed to the plywood why not make some Styrofoam blocks and rest the plywood on them. This would not only save a lot of weight when I have to install or remove the bed, it would also give me more storage options for the bed because the Styrofoam blocks and the plywood bed itself could be stored separately.

So to test this out I went to Home Depot this morning and bought an 8 x 4' sheet of Styrofoam insulation, like you would put on the side of a house, which I intend to cut into pieces, glue them together into blocks and custom fit them to each corner of the plywood. And since the two pieces of plywood are hinged in the middle that means I've got eight corners to deal with.

Since I've got plenty of Styrofoam this will give me the opportunity to try the bed at different heights and see if that makes any difference in what little comfort I'm planning on having.

Since next weekend will be the last weekend that the tourist are running around Colorado clogging up our roads and breathing our fresh mountain air, after that weekend it will be a great time for me to visit Rocky Mountain national Park. So I really need to get my bed project sorted out by then so I can give it a real world test up in the mountains.

theboondork

16 Comments

Tim

8/7/2018 12:42:19 pm

Hi Tom,

Sounds like your truck camping plans are moving right along. I really like the sleeping solution you've developed. I'm looking forward to reading about your trip to Rocky Mountain NP.

I was away on a trip most of last week and yesterday and when I got home, my Andersen Hitch was waiting at the office (I'm going to really miss my apartment complex accepting packages for me). I didn't get it installed yesterday, so it's sitting in my bedroom right now - I'm just thinking of it as a piece of sculpture. It does look super simple to install, but I do still need to purchase a torque wrench and the right size socket.

I leave to pickup the RV a week from Friday, so the next few days are going to be really hectic getting everything ready to go. My biggest concern right now is my permanent license plates for the truck. I thought they would arrive while I was gone, but nothing yet. If they aren't here by the end of the week, I'll start getting nervous, although I have enough time on the temporary tags to make it there and back if that's the only option. I would just prefer not traveling over that long a trip with temporary tags if I can help it.

Tonight I'm going to make a list of all that left to do before the trip. It shouldn't be too long of a list, but there are a few things I have to get done before going. This weekend, I'm going up to the storage facility and get that all paid for and locked down, install the hitch, buy bed sheets, etc.

I think once I'm actually on the road, things will seem much calmer.

Tom

8/7/2018 02:24:32 pm

Ordering things when you're a full timer does take a little getting used to, but just like at your apartment office, the RV Park office, or the local post office will have your general delivery package waiting for you when you get there. I even had a FedEx driver bring my package to my Escapees RV Park campsite.

I've seen pictures of the Andersen hitch that you have and they do look all aluminum and shiny, I think they also look stronger than the one I have.

Back when I bought new trucks every three years I frequently traveled with paper plates and never had a problem. And when you hitch up the trailer to come home it's going to have a paper plate on it and that's what the cops are going to see anyway. Colorado used to be so slow about sending your real plates you could get extensions up to 90 days just by asking.

Reading about how hectic it is getting ready to go get your Arctic Fox reminds me of how it was when I was getting ready to go full time. I drove from Colorado down to Phoenix to get my Arctic Fox and bring it home and it was pretty hectic, but it was also very exciting knowing that once I got the Arctic Fox all of the things I needed to go full time were then in my possession and all that was left was to sell my house and all the stuff in it.

Things will definitely get calmer when you get on the road, if it doesn't you're not doing it right. It'll take some time to unwind from 30 or 40 years of work but six months ought to be enough. But if after six months you find yourself talking to some guy at an RV Park and most of what you've talked about was the job you used to have instead of where's a good place to boondock. you might need an intervention.

When you get ready to go full time things can get pretty hectic, because there will be a lot of deadlines that have to be met, some required, and some self-imposed, so to make your transition into a life of leisure less stressful, learn to tell the difference. Because telling the difference is the key to living a life of both mental and physical freedom.

Tom

8/7/2018 03:01:11 pm

The Andersen Hitch looks pretty strong to me, but it's incredibly light. I think I'm really going to like it. I watched a video on the Andersen Hitch website and it looks like there's not too much to worry about on it's capacity.

Getting ready for this trip is probably the most stressful part of this process. Once this trip is over, I'll have time to just work on the RV at a slower pace getting it ready for full-time RV life. The biggest factor will be the weather, but if I can get the solar panels, etc. done this Autumn, then I can take my time on the inside stuff.

There's not a day that goes by that I'm thankful that my house sold last year - that's one worry that's off my mind. I was watching an RVer on YouTube that had kept a place back in his home state, but sold it in the last few weeks and he said it felt like a weight had been lifted. He also said that he doesn't think he'll ever own another piece of property and I might be thinking the same thing.

Your right about the paper plates. It's not something I'm going to waste my time worrying with - if they get here, great, but if not I'm heading out the door anyway. I definitely think this is one of those "self-imposed timelines".

BTW, the size of the truck seems second nature now. In fact, I rode with someone this last week that has an SUV about the size of my old one and it felt really small and I felt kind of vulnerable in it. Funny how perceptions can change in such a short amount of time.

I really doubt that I'll be talking about work after I leave. I think my biggest concern is retiring to an RV versus a house. However, I think this trip is going to knock any of those thoughts out of my head. My biggest concern might be that instead of heading back east, that I point the nose of the GMC to the west and drag the Arctic Fox to the mountains of Utah or Colorado. I wonder how long it would take before they realize I'm not coming back?

8/7/2018 03:48:05 pm

Once you get to be a full timer getting ready for a trip can be as simple as putting in the slide and hitching up. But most of us have a little regimen that we go through before we leave like vacuuming the floor, checking the tire pressures, fueling up the truck. Some of it is more superstition than actually something useful, but it gets us in the mood to travel and that makes us happy.

When I installed my solar panels I was staying at Ben Avery's gun range just north of Phoenix and I wasn't in a hurry to get it done so I broke the job down into pieces like I usually do. I screwed the panels to the roof one day, actually a couple of hours. The next day I screwed the solar controller, the inverter, and other odds and ends to the wall in the front storage compartment, and all that didn't take very long either. And the next day since the batteries were already in place I ran all the wiring.

95% of all that can be done by yourself, but I had help lifting the solar panels up on the roof, and running some of the wires that took a person on each end of the wire to pull it through the conduit, by the way if you don't already have a fish you'll need to buy one.

There's some good things about owning property that were all aware of, but one of the rules of life is, the more things you own the less free you are. And from personal experience I have found that to be very true, especially at this stage of my life.

Yeah there's something to be said for the safety of driving a big vehicle, I like being able to see over the tops of cars so I know what's going on ahead of me.

Not everybody is a traveler that's why most folks live in a house and are happy to take a vacation once a year. But there's a lot of folks like myself that find the thought of looking out the same window at the same tree year, after year, after year, absolutely abhorrent. You could be either one of those, but there's no way to know which until you've lived the Gypsy life for a while.

Now you're getting the point. Those last two sentences are what the RV lifestyle is all about, you make plans and the next day you change them. You go where you feel like going at the moment and you do what you feel like doing when you get there. That is the life of the full timer.

Tom

Barney Ward

8/7/2018 03:07:37 pm

Just remember not everything has to be in perfect shape. Only those things dealing with going over the road. All the inside stuff will be fine even if it is not in the final place. Just to warn you, I have never found a final place for any of my stuff. Something always changes a bit and things get rearranged. Relax enjoy the ride.

8/7/2018 04:17:08 pm

Looking at the pile of camping gear I have laying in the living room my problem is not so much finding a final place to put it, it's is there ANY place to put it. It's getting to the point where I'm looking for empty spots on the roof of the Arctic Fox to tie stuff to.

I'll get all this figured out sooner or later what I need now is boots on the ground experience by taking some minivacations. Hopefully soon.

Tom, toooo relaxed in Colorado

8/8/2018 12:25:40 pm

Well, with a flurry of activity last night, I was able to get almost everything done that's needed before the trip. I have insurance on the RV, ordered the stuff I need off Amazon, joined Good Sam (mainly for the discounts, such as on diesel and roadside assistance) etc. Now that all of those items are behind me, I can just focus on the trip itself a little more and think about the route I want to take.

I do have a couple of things left to do, like go by a Pep Boys to pick up an item and drive up to the storage facility this weekend. But, I'm down to a pretty short list right now.

One of the items I bought is a camera mount that sits on the dash. I'm going to give filming with it and one of my cameras a shot while I'm driving and see how it comes out. I'll probably play around with it on the way up to the storage facility, but I'll have lots of time to try it out on the way to get the RV.

I agree about freedom. It does seem like the older I get, the more important it becomes to me. When I was younger, it didn't seem to be that big of a deal. In fact, I would voluntarily saddle myself in situations that took a lot of my freedom away. Now, freedom is one of the most important things to me. That's one of the reasons I'm staying for just a few more months - I want to make sure that I have financial freedom and only work if I want to.

Lifting the solar panels is the main thing that I'm going to need help with on the RV. Luckily, I think if I promise one of my friends a free lunch, I can probably convince someone to give me a hand lifting them up there. Once that's done, most of the other stuff I can handle if I take my time, research, and think things through.

I might be able to borrow a fish; if not, there is a Harbor Freight near me that's good for stuff that I'll probably only use once or twice. I did order a torque wrench and a few other tools last night (all that had good reviews) off Amazon and those should be here in a few days. I'm kicking myself because I had a torque wrench, but sold it in the estate sale (along with a lot of other tools). Oh well, the one I just bought is probably better anyway.

I feel with all that out of the way, that the pressure feels off a little bit now.

8/8/2018 01:45:59 pm

When you're young you never seriously think about freedom because it's so far out of reach you can't even imagine it. And normally your so busy trying to make a living and support a family that there's never any thought of freedom for yourself because you've given your life over to your job and there's no freedom associated with a job.

But then when you get older and you've got more years behind you than ahead you finally start thinking about yourself and how you want to spend those relatively few remaining years. If you're lucky or saved and invested wisely, you have a lot of options about how you can achieve freedom in your life. But it doesn't take money to achieve freedom, the money just gives you more options.

I think Martin Luther King once said "keep your eyes on the prize" and in this instance the "prize" is and always has been... Freedom. It's not an RV that you can live in, its not a sailboat you can sail around the Caribbean, it's the freedom to do those things if you so desire.

I think these transition times that most of us go through to become a full timer can be stressful, painful, and give us serious doubt about our decisions. The mental anguish, and physical difficulty of leaving our jobs, selling our homes and possessions, uprooting our lives and moving into a tiny home on wheels, is deranged enough to make some of our friends and relatives think we've lost our minds. And in some cases they could be right.

But I think that difficult transition period helps to weed out the folks that aren't serious about going full time, because nobody in their right mind would deal with all the heart ache and spend that much money if they weren't serious. The transition period is a test to determine if you really want to be free.

So it appears to me that every time I hear from you your sliding ever closer to taking total control of your life, and making decisions based on what you want to do, and not what you're supposed to do, and that's a good sign.

All that's left is to spend a few nights in your Arctic Fox and you'll be so in love with the freedom that it can bring you're liable to hand in your resignation when you get home

Tom

8/9/2018 01:21:50 pm

I agree with you about the importance of freedom. However, sometimes I wonder if everyone places such a high value on it. I know several people that just want to keep on working, such as my Dad who worked until he was 80 and was devastated when he had to retire. I think he's slowly growing into having freedom, but he's just about at a limit to the amount of freedom he can tolerate. Whenever we talk about it, he says how much he hates being retired and wishes he was still working. He also had a friend who retired and refused to leave his house - it was almost like he was living in a prison.

I might have mentioned this quote before "The secret to happiness is freedom . . . and the secret to freedom is courage (Thucydides). I think that's very true. Some people will never venture from the shore and sail off into the sunset - they'll forever fear freedom. This is all easy for me to say right now, because I'm still someone who hasn't "gone over the wall" to freedom, but I'm eyeing it and planning my escape. I just hope I don't have to crawl through questionable fluids like Andy Dufresne in the "Shawshank Redemption" to get out into the wide open spaces.

I think I have all the major purchases out of the way for the trip (except for one that I'm still pondering), so I started planning the trip last night. I joined Harvest Hosts ($44 for a year) and they have several places I can stay for free on my trip back. Most of them are at farms, wineries, and museums, which should be a lot of fun. It's much more limited in the East and Upper Midwest for BLM and similar free camping, but I'm excited about some of the Harvest Host locations. I'll also plan to stay at a couple of state parks as well, but I think the HH will be easier all the way around (also, almost all of them are open fields and parking areas with not many trees to maneuver the Arctic Fox around).

BTW - most of my friends think I've lost my mind, but at the same time think it's a very cool idea. I think their plan is to live vicariously through me.

8/9/2018 02:53:29 pm

Freedom is not for everyone, freedom requires a life with not much structure, and most folks can't live without structure, to the point where some people, just like you said, imprison themselves within walls, or more frequently in their mind with endless rules and regulations that they've made for themselves and can't break, but every once in a while will bend just enough that they can say their free.

It's really hard for some people to retire especially the generation before us baby boomers, I know because I've met them and talked to them and their whole life revolved around their job, their job was their life, it gave them structure, it gave them discipline, and it gave them self-worth. And anyone that lived through the Great Depression can't be faulted for the way they felt about their job. People like that sometimes don't do well as full timers.

When I talk to them they often describe their full timing lifestyle as boring or feeling like there not useful anymore. And likely as not their living in a half-million dollar motorhome, and yet their working as a part-time host or maintenance man at an RV Park or state Park just to give them something to do.

For the most part these folks don't see reading a book, relaxing, fishing, or laying on the beach as "doing something" they have to be selling the hours of their life for money to count as, "doing something", because that makes them feel useful and like there contributing to society instead of being a burden on society, exactly as they were taught as children.

Most folks sooner or later will face the day when they have to retire, in less your self-employed like I was, and then you can stroke out at work at the age of 93 and assume room temperature while flipping burgers during the lunch rush, if you so desire. But for most people their gonna be put out on the street in their mid 60s and need to find a way to deal with it.

I think type "A" personalities have trouble adjusting to the full-time lifestyle, I'm a type "D" personality, I'm the poster boy for full-time RVing. Type "A" personalities can't wait to get to work, I can't wait to get to bed. The type "A" people plan on working till they drop, I retired at 47 and cried because that was 10 years longer than I'd planned on working. Type "A" folks thinks an RV is for getting from one job to another, I believe an RV is to get me as far from work as possible. I believe that full-time RVing is where people like me, the lazy and the unambitious can finally succeed.

I've heard good things about Harvest Host, just be careful some of those farmers don't put you to work.

I think a lot of people that criticize this lifestyle are jealous to one degree or another and would like to live like this themselves but for reasons known only to them just can't let go of the utter "sameness" of their current life. Like you and that foreign guy said "being free takes courage"

Tom

8/10/2018 08:18:19 am

I'm way past the time when I planned to retire (wish I could have gone at age 47), but stuff happens and you just have to roll with it. I'm finally at a place where there's nothing holding me back and I can go whenever I want. Finally getting the RV and getting it ready for full timing will be the last piece of the puzzle.

Whenever I have any time off, it's like a little piece of gold - I cherish every second of it, no matter what I'm doing. Even if it's something as mundane as doing the laundry, I've chosen to do that task and to me that's what freedom is all about - making chooses for myself instead of doing the bidding of others.

I'm not sure what type I am, but it's sure not a Type A. I just don't see me ever getting bored as long as I'm in an RV - there's just too much to see and do.

Speaking of farms and freedom, I was in a situation where I helped on a horse farm (there was a woman involved, of course) for about a year. I think I learned my lesson about farm work there. The worst part was all the restrictions on our schedule. Sure, we could go out to eat, but we had to be home by 7pm for feeding time, to muck out the stalls, etc., etc. I wouldn't mind helping the Harvest Hosts for a couple of hours, but then I want to move on.

Freedom is also one of the reasons I've decided not to get a dog, or any other pets, when I retire. It would be nice to have the company, but it would cut down on my freedom to do what I want to do. Plus, based on what you've said and what I've seen from others, I don't think the lack of company is going to be a factor.

8/10/2018 09:49:20 am

When you go full time you're going to be doing a lot of cherishing because you're going to have a lot of time off.

When I'm describing freedom I'm usually describing what freedom is to me, as opposed to what freedom may be for others. And of course you have it right saying freedom is making choices for yourself because if you so desire freedom can be going to work every day, which boggles my mind but I know some people feel that way.

When I was in the restaurant business, I knew a guy that was a multimillionaire and owned hundreds of Wendy's restaurants all across the country and was the hardest working guy that I've ever known. And I used to ask him why don't you pay someone else to take care of all this while you go out and do something fun all the time? And he always told me the same thing, "I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing than this".... He had true freedom, not in my mind, but in his he was free and that's what counts.

Pets seem to be a staple of full-time RVing, I meet far more folks with them than without. But you're right they put a serious dent in your freedom because your life ends up revolving around whatever pet you have, and every decision you make is based on how it affects the pet. I've had pets all my life but now I enjoy the freedom to take a walk when I want to and not because I have to.

If you're happy and content within your own mind you don't need constant companionship. A big part of being free is to be able to choose when you want to be around people and when you want to be alone. I think some people have a need to never be alone and a pet is a way of having constant companionship.

It takes all of us some time to learn how we want to live this full-time lifestyle. Some folks end up volunteering, and working part-time jobs to the point that there spending as much time at work as they did before they retired. Other folks like me allow our inner laziness to blossom and can look society right in the eye and say with pride.... I didn't do a darn thing today, and I'm going to do the same thing tomorrow.

Tom

8/13/2018 09:29:08 am

I'm about as happy being by myself as I've ever been and savor my time alone. I really don't need the constant companionship of a pet. It would be nice to have a dog to go on hikes and walks with, but the constant companionship and lost of freedom is what stops me.

I've picked most of the last few items that I plan to get before the trip, although I need to make one short trip for a couple of things I forgot. I'm sure I'll be buying more stuff once I'm in the AF that I've forgotten, but right now, I'm tired of buying stuff. That's one nice thing about living in an apartment - I just don't have to buy as much stuff as when I lived in a house. I think the RV will be similar, but there is definitely several things that I had to buy. Of course, I'm basically setting up a second household, so it make sense that I'd have to get a few things.

I know people like that as well that love their jobs and can't imagine doing anything else. I can't decide if they're blessed or cursed. A pro is that you are working at something you love - the con is that you're missing out on so much more in life.

I also went this weekend and got the storage situation squared away. The parking spot it'll be stored at is a pull through, which is really nice. Plus, they allow you to work on you RV, have great security, and the price was incredibly reasonable. The downside is that it's about a 45 minute drive away, but I can live with that.

It's hard to believe, but in about 4 days I'll be jumping in the truck and heading west to pick up the AF. It should be exciting!

8/13/2018 11:58:50 am

When I bought my first fifth wheel trailer I bought it from a Camping World in Denver that sold RVs and had the big store with all the RV goodies in it. And since camping world was going to install the fifth wheel hitch in my truck I had a couple of hours to kill and I spent them in the store, which probably wasn't the best idea I ever had.

I didn't own anything that a person would need to go traveling in a fifth wheel, and here I was with hours to kill at the Disney World of RV supplies. Needless to say I went crazy.

I couldn't get down an aisle without seeing something that I was going to need to go camping and after I'd gone through the whole store I went back through again and bought more useful items that I missed on the first trip.

I walked out of there with about $1500 in RVing essentials and I estimate that I only ever used about $200 worth. Over time most of that stuff was given away or thrown away but I still have a couple of those items that I've carried around in three different RVs for the last 20 years or so and as yet have never used them, but I keep them around to remind me every time I look at them, to not buy things that I THINK I will need in the future.

I believe a lot of people see their only value is what they're able to sell themselves for by the hour. And you're right a lot of them really enjoy what they're doing and I say more power to them. I don't criticize their work ethic, I just have trouble understanding why someone with the financial ability to choose what kind of life the want to live would choose a structured life over which they have little to no control, which is a job, over a life of freedom where you have almost total control. Of course my view of life is clouded by extreme laziness.

It's an exciting time in your life just as a complete change of life would have to be. Even with all the hassles going on right now you will probably look back at these days with a smile on your face because THIS IS the light at the end of the tunnel you've heard about.

Tom

8/13/2018 01:02:20 pm

That's one of the good things about having owned the Class C in the past - I know that I only need to get the things I need and can always get other stuff later. I did something similar to you and bought way too much stuff for the Class C. I'm doing a lot of "shopping in my apartment", so to speak, and gathering stuff that I already have. For example, I had to buy new sheets, because my bed at home is smaller than the one in the RV (go figure) and I was about to buy a blanket when I realized that I have one that I'll just take off the bed when I go. I'm also taking kitchen stuff that I already have, place mats, etc. Every item that I purchase I ask myself if I really need it now, can I decide on it later, or can I totally nix it.

There are a few things that I waffled on, but went ahead and got, such as a surge protector (and security cable, since the thing was expensive) for the pedestals when I'm hooked to power. I figured it was cheap protection. There was also lots of little stuff that wasn't particularly expensive, but seemed like cheap protection, such as a water filter and pressure reducer.

Anyway, I'm about done with all of the buying after one more trip to get 3 or 4 small items.

Yes, it is a very exciting time, but I'm also looking forward to being in the RV and just relaxing for awhile. Even though it's a long trip back, I'm planning on taking it slow and treating it as a vacation, so hopefully it'll be fun.

I've been looking at places to stay along the way and was going to make some reservations, but there are so many choices and so many vacancies (especially during the week), that I've decided not to make any reservations and just wing it, since I want to be able to make a decision on how I'm feeling and where I want to go at the time. I do have to call any Harvest Host places 24 hours in advance, but that's about the extend of any planning that I'll doing.

There's a saying in my industry that the light at the end of the tunnel may just be an oncoming train, but my gut feeling is that's daylight that I'm seeing.

8/13/2018 02:09:20 pm

I have a surge protector, I bought it about three years ago and its still in the box it came in. I bought the kind that mounts inside the RV, and the RV end of your shore power cable hooks up to it so there's nothing to lock to the pedestal.

I guess I got to looking at surge protector advertisements on the Internet which made me feel like I was risking my life and all my delicate electronic equipment every time I plugged into an RV Park pedestal. But since installing it was going to require 30 minutes of work on my part I continued to put it off until the day I might feel a twinge of motivation.

I seldom plug into an RV Park nowadays I just run off my batteries like I've done for the last two months sitting here in my daughter's driveway. But in the past before I became theboondork I stayed in RV parks and plugged in just like normal people. And I have to say I've never had any electrical problems nor heard of anyone else having any. Now I'm not denying it's possible, I just think it's highly unlikely. But it does make me feel better knowing I have a surge protector that I can install when I get around to it.

I also have a nice water filter it's an Everpure and is supposed to be one of the better ones, but I can't vouch for it because I haven't hooked it up yet either. It just shows how lazy I am that I continue to drink the water that's available wherever I'm at without filtering it, and I've been doing that for 30 years. So far so good.

This is a great time of year to throw caution to the winds and find places to stay without reservations. The kids are in school, folks are back at their jobs, and most RV parks are begging for customers. And if that doesn't work there's always the Walmart parking lot and truck stops.

I'd be willing to bet that by the time you get back home with your Arctic Fox you're going to want to sleep with it in the storage area.

Tom

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this coming weekend will be the last weekend of tourist season.....Yayyyy

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