SpencerPJ said:
Good luck with this adventure. Yes indeed a trailer any shape, will be better than a truck, so major upgrade, congrats. Do as you must, but please never consider heating inside with the stove, it will not end well for you.
Thanks, I wouldn't even consider heating the inside with the stove.
Gary RV_Wizard said:
I wasn't suggesting that you change your plan. What I have in mind is thinking about your daily activities and how each gets the energy it needs. Also where each gets water and disposes of wastes, where applicable. Most people give very little thought to that because it's more-or-less automatic in a fixed house or apartment, but powering things and getting/disposing of water suddenly becomes paramount when you move into a trailer that isn't parked in a full service campground.
Some examples: heated water for a shower, flushing the toilet, heating or cooling, lighting for early morning or evening, maybe some tv or radio for news or sports or simply entertainment, charging cell phone or computer, internet access, etc. I'm not saying you must have/do all those things in a traditional manner, but you probably have some expectations or at least a desire to be a step or two above living in that truck.
Yeah, I understand, but the more I get now, the longer it takes me to get to the point where I will be one step above living in the truck.
And I apologize - I should have been more clear. I'll be moving out onto a lot I own outright. It's 1 1/3 acres, surrounded by trees, cleared and stumped in the middle and I've just had it leveled and terraced.
Once I have electricity brought in, the whole game changes. At that point I'll have heat, light, hot water maybe, a fridge, and internet. The only thing I have to keep in mind is that everything I buy to make it more comfortable for me now means that it takes longer to get electricity.
My original plan was to save through the whole year next year and have electricity by early 2021. But if I do things like spend $500 on a small wood burning stove, that just sets me back. In fact, buying this trailer sets me back a couple months as it is. So I have to decide: do I want to be comfortable now, but delay getting the electricity, or am I willing to put up with a few hardships now to get the electricity sooner. Much as I like my comforts, I'm personally not adverse to putting up with a few difficulties to save more money and get the electricity brought in as soon as possible.
As to the rest:
There's water on the lot. That's one of the reasons I waited so long to move out. There was already a well servicing the lots here, but I just needed to have water brought in. So now I have two spigots where I can get water for myself and my garden when I put one in next spring.
Garbage pickup has already been scheduled.
I finally got the mailbox up today.
Driveway is in. Still doesn't mean I won't be stuck in the snow, but I plan to buy some traction thingys, some cat litter, and a couple pairs of cables just in case. If it gets worse than that, all of us in the area here will be stuck and nothing but the snow melting is going to help us. In fact, if it really gets as bad as it did last February, no one is going anywhere even if we can get out of our lots because the main road to town will be cut off by fallen trees and slides.
The contractor sunk two large posts in on either side of the driveway so I can hang a cable or chain between them to keep out the curious. That also gives me a little bit of security, too.
Hot water will be had by heating water.
I can probably charge my cell phone in my car on the way into town and/or at the library. There's also a little fire thingy that burns twigs and converts the heat so you can charge small items. I'm not sure how well it works, but it's something to look into. And I could try the small solar panel to charge my phone, too. Not sure how well anything solar is going to work, though.
As to the toilet, it looks like I'll be composting humanure. Yeah, not my favorite thing, but I looked into renting a port-a-potty and the cost will run to $200 a month in summer. The reason I'm moving out on my lot is so I can save money, so I'll do that only if I absolutely have to.
What I'd like to do is get one of those small sheds, about 6 x 8, with a regular door (not a sliding door) and a window to do double duty as a sort of outhouse and a place where I can also store my gardening tools. Plus, I need to have a bale of straw to compost with and I think that would fit in there as well.
As for boredom, well, I've always been sort of a loner and am really good at finding things to do on my own.
I do plan to keep saving and improving. A year after electricity is in, I'll have a septic system put in - there's already a design on file. A couple years after that, I might be able to afford to have a used manufactured home put on the lot and that's what I'm really shooting for: a mortgage free place to live in my old age. If I can keep my health, I might be able to do this. If not, at least I'll have a developed lot to sell. It's a gamble, but then life's a gamble, too.
