Minimalist RV-

This just popped up recently on an ad for Amazon.com. It is a trailer to be hauled by a bicycle, providing a pop-up tent with a cot built in. Pretty cool. I thought it would be interesting to camp like this. I have friends who bicycle and camp, traveling considerable distances. Of course, my bicycle might have to be a little different.

There really are a lot of options for traveling. I wouldn't do this for real, of course. I don't motorcycle anymore, due to the plague of stupid on the highways. I don't think I would do this bicycle camping thing, either. Same reason. I just don't want to be taken out by a distracted SUV-driving soccer Mom who is managing the kids, the dog, texting while driving, and operating her Internet business from the car. You gotta admire a Mom like that, but I don't want to do so posthumously.

Considering that the trailer dry-weight is nearly 70 lbs., I have to wonder if I could pump the total weight once the bike and trailer were loaded and my fat ass was in the seat. The world is not level enough for me to get far managing such an RV system. Still, it is an interesting direction in which to think.

Wheelbarrows, maybe? Ara certainly sets the bar for minimalism without resorting to a wheelbarrow. I just don't see myself sleeping on the ground that much, however. My dog is also a bit too old for this form of adventuring. Still, it is a worthy dream, beautifully fulfilled. There's a motorcycle and sidecar somewhere in all of that gear. And, a dog. The art of traveling is supplemented by the art of packing in this case.

At present the Mobile Man Cave will probably be sufficient for me. This one and the ones that will probably follow. I hope to keep this one on the road for quite a while, but things happen. I suspect there might be a MMC II and perhaps a MMC III. The passage of time and the plague of stupid will probably see to that. Not to mention, building the MMC II might just be fun.

A Report from the Mobile Man Cave-

The Mobile Man Cave had a previous incarnation as a family vehicle for my sister and her family. When I met the MMC (Mobile Man Cave) it was sitting in their driveway. I asked about it, and not much later she had sold it to me. I do still owe her a bit, and will be delighted to complete payment when the house sells in a couple of weeks.

The home sale is another story. The MMC has been more of an office and personal retreat for me, since preparing for the move has left little time for road adventures. One is soon coming, however, when we hand over the keys to the house and hit the road. The MMC, my dog Bernard and I shall head once again North to Medford, Oregon, from whence the MMC had come.

The MMC had previously been a seven passenger vehicle. It has since become a RV suitable for one person, and currently can easily accommodate only the driver and two passengers. The rear bench seat is folded down into a bed. I have a twin sized mattress on that bed, which leaves a bit of room being used for storage. Mostly plastic crates holding clothes, books, food, and miscellaneous items.

The left passenger seat in the center of the van holds a plastic dresser sort of thing. This holds underwear, socks, and various items I often need to access. In front of that seat sits a toilet. This is one of those bed-side hospital toilets. On top of that is my water jug and a waste basket. Below them is a container serving as a urinal.

Below the back seat/bed are plastic containers holding a lot of other necessary items. In the far back is a basket of tools, a basket of clothing and miscellaneous items, extra propane cylinders in an air-tight container, and a folding camp chair. Accessible from the middle of the van is a bin of higene intems, a bin of useful hardware (including extra batteries), and a bin of cleaning supplies. Two buckets are also under that seat.

The other center seat is my office chair. I am sitting there now, writing on my netbook which rests on a folding table.

The drivers seat and front passenger seat remain pretty much as intended. Between them is a power storage system, and a bucket that contains my catalytic heater and currently holds up my fan. I am running on electrical power from the house right now, and the power line comes in through the passenger window and is split on a power strip.

My laundry bag sits on the front passenger seat, and my binoculars hang there should I need them. I also have a barbecue of sorts on the floor in front of the front passenger seat. On the drivers seat sit a bus tray filled with a number of items I have not yet put away.

My rear curtain and curtain between the driver's section and the living quarters are made from Army blankets. My privacy is protected by the built-in curtains in most windows.

Since I am using electrical power right now I have also added an electric lamp. This will certainly save on batteries. When not on "shore power" I use the LED lamps I have acquired. Both use very little power and the batteries last a long time. One is a Northwest Territories standing flashlight, the other a head light held onto my forehead by straps. They have proved to be quite adequate.

I have some plans for the future. Since this is intended as a camping vehicle and the base for many future road adventures I am considering removing the front passenger seat. In its place I would like to build more storage, and a platform on which a camera tripod can be mounted. A video camera could then be used to record travels in real-time.

This modification would also provide more leg-room when I am sitting in my office chair. Perhaps a little table could fold out to hold a computer near the driver's seat, to provide a navigation resource. Alternatively, navigation instruments and a back-up camera monitor could be mounted there.

This vehicle is still water-tight and mechanically sound. I look forward to seeing how long I can keep it on the road, and what adventures we might have together. I also have some other camping configurations in mind for other vehicles, should I have the opportunity to explore and experiment a bit along that line.

I am certainly having fun with this, and hope to get out and do some exploring in the near future. Until next time, then.

A Report from the Mobile Man Cave-

I have been playing with the Mobile Man Cave a bit as we prepare for our move from Felton, California to Medford, Oregon. My air mattress finally failed after sleeping on it for a week or so. These Northwest Territories air mattresses are cheap, but really don't last long. I used them in my truck tent over the course of a year, and got about six weeks total use out of each one. The only saving grace for these cheap items was the Kmart 90 day warranty. I just kept trading them in over the course of that year, and by virtue of that got good value.

In preparing to move we found ourselves with a surplus twin sized mattress. I managed to fit it into the sleeping area of the Man Cave, and it is working well. The right rear captains seat in the mid-section of the MMC (Mobile Man Cave, or van) is pushed all the way forward, and when sleeping I tilt it forward as well to clear foot space at the end of the bed.

The MMC has been serving truck duty during the day. We pack our stuff in boxes, I put the boxes Tetris-like into the MMC, and drive over to the storage area. We have a five foot by fifteen foot storage area to assist in getting things cleared out for selling the house. Once there I again play Tetris, trying to fit as much stuff into the space as I can.

At night I have been sleeping in the MMC, getting a feel for how to make it a suitable road home for travel. For a number of nights I have had neck pains and disrupted sleep. I finally determined that the vehicle being out of level was the problem. I looked for a solution on the Internet, and found several ideas. The one I adopted was making two ramps out of scrap wood.

By placing the ramps in front of the appropriate wheels and driving carefully forward, the van can be adjusted in angle. The present angle is still not really level, but has greatly improved sleep and general comfort. These first ramps are a bit bulky to carry on trips, but I think I can refine them and come up with a workable solution.

Our house is located in a wooded area, and my parking space was carved out of a portion of our property and not particularly level. This has provided a good camping simulation for testing and refining the MMC. Yes, it is a strange thing to do, camping in the yard like a kid. It has also been a lot of fun.

I considered a built in desk or table for my mid-section living space. Target had the best price on a table, so when opportunity arose to go there I went table hunting. Instead I found a TV tray sold as a single item, built firm enough for the task. I am using this folding "table" right now. It is just adequate for a netbook and mouse, though the surface is not laser-mouse friendly. I need to get a mouse pad.

During this period of reducing-storing-resurfacing in our house, preparing for a sale, I have grumbled about the number of items everyone was keeping for the sake of sentiment. I had been diligent to slash my library, my most prized treasures, even trying to sell my Centennial Dicken's collection. I got rid of a lot of stuff, and could not understand the reticence of other family members to do the same.

Then I sold my Warhammer miniatures. I met a fellow gamer and sold my toys. I experienced a terrible emotional wrenching. I thought at first it was from selling them cheaply to make a quick sale. No, that was not it. I realized then that I had a huge emotional investment in these toys. I had collected them, painted them, customized them, designed armies and played games with them.

I am now a bit more understanding regarding the emotional connection with "stuff." That being said, I did sell my toys and replaced them with a practical pocket hard drive for my netbook. A Toshiba 320 gig drive. Very practical. Light. Easy to move. Unlike my wife's crockery.

Oops! There I go again.

I still need a heat source for the MMC, other than running the engine. Several camp heaters seem well designed, with plenty of safety features to make them good choices. At present my blankets and warm clothing are sufficient. I don't plan any hard winter camping, but I still want to get this thing as complete and self-contained as possible.

My plans for travel adventures around our Central California area never came to pass, largely due to not having the MMC until recently and not having a lot of surplus money. The purpose of this move to Oregon is to liberate some of the equity in the house and reduce expenses so that our income goes further. Hopefully, this will provide some money for travel adventures.

So, my adventure target will change. I have been looking at maps of the Southern Oregon/Northern California areas. Plenty of adventure there, I must say. However, a new day is beginning in our Adventure In Moving, and I need to get to doing something constructive for making that move happen.

This has been another report from the Mobile Man Cave. Stay tuned for further adventures. 

Minimalist RV-

So, my Sporz II truck tent occupies the back of my truck. The air mattress/foam pad bed fills most of the interior space. I have begun to regularly put up the awning that is part of the tent, and apply three tarps to enclose the area covered by the awning.

This configuration has been adequate for my current camping needs. It has been the focus of my thoughts as I continue to explore the idea of the minimalist RV.

Minimalism in an RV is a matter of cost as well as size and complexity. My current system is cheap, but does require some set-up and break-down time. I would like to reduce that time, but not at a much greater cost.

The RoadTrek RV is pretty small and simple, self contained and on the whole a nice vehicle. Unfortunately, the RoadTrek is expensive. For those with the money, it is a great minimalist option. Set-up appears relatively quick. Practically none, if you are not connecting to sewer, water and power.

Cheaper are the Westfalia campers. These are quite adequate, especially for one or two people. Much cheaper than the RoadTrek, but still a bit of an investment at around $15,ooo for a good rebuilt unit. Again, for those keeping things simple they are a good choice, if the cost is not an issue.

More and more the stealth camper cargo van appeals to me. Especially after examining the options for tents that attach to the open rear of such a vehicle. In full stealth mode the unit needs to be modified to provide for sleeping and potty needs, and some resource regarding water and cooking. Probably the cooking should be done outdoors unless a suitable ventilation system is installed.

When a more luxurious camp can be established the tent can be erected and attached to the open rear of the van, providing some living space in which you can actually stand up! The tents add only a couple of hundred dollars to the cost of the modified van. The vans can be gotten at a relatively low cost, sometimes just a few thousand dollars.

This set up is superior to my own in that it can be stealth camped. I cannot do that.

For those who do not understand stealth camping it is setting up to sleep in areas generally not open to camping. A stealth camper will fit in around similar vehicles, and not draw attention as the owner sleeps within. A white cargo van fits the bill quite nicely. For those stops in between regular camp grounds it is a great set up.

Tioga George was skillful in stealth camping a class C motorhome. The cargo van can be even more easily stealthed. Just pull into an area late at night where cargo vans are common, and go to bed. No lights, no cooking. Just sleep. Leave before people are up the next day.

The intent of stealth camping is often to skirt the laws regarding overnight camping. A camper must assess their own relationship with such laws, and the idea of violating a law in general, before stealth camping. The low cost (free) might be sufficient to convert otherwise law-abiding citizens to stealth from time to time. Others will be compelled to seek out an "authorized" campground in order to feel comfortable with camping.

I recognize that some of these laws are intended to prevent people from living on the streets of a community without providing any contribution to the local community through taxes and such. Other such laws are simply a way of driving people into paid campgrounds in order for the campgrounds to make the money they would not get if campers could just camp on the streets.

If you are planning stealth camping as you pass through a community and are a responsible camper, I don't see a real issue with ignoring a petty law. keep it clean, keep it quiet, and stay only long enough to get rested.

On the occasions you use a regular camp ground the tent extension can really make a van a home. If my little tarp expansion on my Sportz II truck tent can make this bit of cloth seem like home, then I can easily believe that a tent added to a stealth camping van would seem a mansion.

Perhaps I will get the opportunity to set up a stealth camping rig and try it out. The whole minimalist RV thing is fun for me, and I would love to give this a try.

More Camping Notes-

This week I experimented with applying my tarps to the awning that is part of my Sportz II truck tent. Since the tent is designed for a compact truck (a 97 Ford Ranger in this case,) it is small. The point at which the awning is attached to the tent is lower than the level of my head when I am standing. The awning actually slopes upward from the tent to the top of the poles even when they are not fully extended.

As a sun shade it is adequate, when my chair is placed under the awning. As a rain shield the awning leaves a bit to be desired. I think the awning on the full-sized truck models probably works a bit better, as it can be sloped properly away from the tent to shed rain and will still be height enough off of the ground to allow the tent dweller to stand under it.

Anyway, what I really wanted was an enclosed space that would be sufficiently private to allow me to use my Lugable Loo bucket toilet. Not that I am anxious to do so, but it is the sort of thing that needs to be Incorporated into the overall camping plan.

Using two smaller tarps I was able to hang them along the sides of the awning. I clamped the tarps to the awning near the points where the awning attaches to the tent. It worked well. That left the large opening at the end of the awning, farthest from the mouth of the tent.

Folding my rain tarp (which covers the whole tent, a bit of the awning, and most of the truck,) I attached it to the poles holding up the end of the awning. The poles have long pins on the end to go through grommets. Long enough to take the side tarp grommets and the grommets of this folded end tarp.

Using some bulldog clips I was able to enclose the area under the awning. The resulting space was large enough for some storage containers (mostly under the truck tailgate), my chair, a TV tray, and a few other items. I found the space reasonably comfortable to sit in after I was done sleeping.

Three small tarps will be sufficient to create this space whenever I want it. I think I will want to find stronger clips to hold it all together, since even a light wind pulled a couple of the bulldog clip joints apart.

So, I have been evolving my camping system. It is going well. I have learned that I am surprisingly comfortable in relatively primitive camping conditions. Of course, my primitive system is opulent relative to the resources some people live with all of the time. It is good enough for me.

As I contemplate this set up, I think that a small truck with a utility bed would be a great base vehicle. Above the utility box a folding tent system could be installed. Such a system would be tidy, easy to use, comfortable, and set up quickly. So, I am homing in on the ultimate minimalist RV for my personal style and taste.

This has been fun, and I have years to perfect the system.