classical_Liberal's Semi-ERE

[Frita]

The square spider web is so my engineer spouse. Where’s mine? It would look like a ramen noodle block.

[classical_Liberal]

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[classical_Liberal]

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[2Birds1Stone]

It takes balls to keep working under the conditions you anticipate, so kudos to you for sticking it out.....as long as it's for the right reasons.

Wishing you a safe and uneventful couple of months on the job.

Happy that the spending reduction is going well! I'm in a similar situation where portolio is down 5x living expenses but TTM spending is also the lowest it's been since 2014 when I began tracking. PS, if you're on MMM I've been posting more from the other side of the pond. ERE is not picture friendly, nor works with Tapatalk (and I'm not on my computer much here).

Keep us posted from the frontlines! If shit hits the fan elsewhere, you may get an influx of migrants from larger metro areas, kind of how suberbs on LI are getting hammered with elitist Manhattenitte patients.

[fingeek]

Stay safe man, and kudos to you for putting yourself out there on the front-line.

[mooretrees]

I've been wondering how you were doing. Glad you posted. I agree, we're slow at work and it feels like the shit storm is coming, just around the bend. I've even thought of taking time off now to get really rested for whatever is ahead. But, I'll just keep going and see how it plays out.

My hospital hosted a PPE donning/doffing education day. I asked if they had done a trial run in full gear to learn some of the kinks. They didn't want to burn through our limited PPE....Now we have to treat all codes as possible covid-19 patients, with PAPRs and full gowning. I heard that there was a code blue recently and everyone had the PAPR on, and it was so noisy nobody could hear each other. How shitty is that?! Anyway, you are definitely in the trenches. I hope this social distancing helps, but it might be too little too late. Good luck!

[Smashter]

Technically, I'm down 2.5 years of theoretical living expenses at 20K a year. In practice though, my reduced spending actually has me at a lower WR now then when I semi-ERE'ed.

That's really awesome. It's great to see your model holding up so well.

And I have a ton of respect for your decision to keep working. My family working in healthcare at midwest hospitals has expressed similar sentiments. Such a tough environment right now. Good luck, I really hope it all goes well.

[classical_Liberal]

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[classical_Liberal]

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[AxelHeyst]

Thanks for the update, very glad your life didn't get overrun by the Covid!

I wonder if renting RVs for short test cruises is a solution to the "what size" debate? I feel like above some certain number, it kind of doesn't matter how big it is, because it's just big. Like, the difference between a 32' and a 38' rig doesn't really matter, both are too big for (broad range of scenarios) and they won't drive much different. I don't know what that number is as I only have experience with a 12.5' rig (too small for two people who both 'work'!).

If back roads and boondocking are a priority, I'd definitely optimize as small a rig as you'll be happy in. If not, I'd go for more space.

About the stay at home orders while traveling... I get the sense that unless things get way worse than they were the past couple months, you'd still be remarkably free to roam around - at least if you boondock, I don't know about rv parks and the like. Out here in the sticks of the west at least, there's so much land, and stuff to see, that you don't have to interact with anyone for, that I'd imagine you could still have a fine time of it. There are full-timers tucked away all over the place, as long as you LNT and keep a low profile, LEOs seem to be leaving us all alone.

[SavingWithBabies]

Shopping for RVs can be fun. Well at least the researching online part. I was impressed with the Lazy Daze RVs. Floor plans:

http://www.lazydaze.com/flrplans.htm

But they don't capture the wrap around windows at the rear of some models. While expensive to buy, they have a reputation of being well built and hold their value.

[2Birds1Stone]

Oh oh oh, one of my favorite topics!

First of all, very glad to hear that you made it to the other side unscathed from this mess. Savings 1 year of expenses +$10k to the portfolio in such short order is incredible, and would tempt me to to continue this arrangement in the future.....but I'm a pussy (as J+G would say).

Second, RV!! This has been a dream for wife and I since like 2012.....we've gone back and forth on what kind of rig would best suite our travel style and activities along the way. There are a few important things to consider if you're going to jump into the deep end of the pool (make the investment before really testing it out). I know you've done a ton of car-camping style travel around the country, so probably more experienced that us anyway...but here are some things we had to think about.

Do you go with an RV (motorhome) or get a truck and a lighter camper? Both have their advantage, but the later is more modular, and imho cheaper to get into a quality setup, also, if your engine or something needs work your home is not stuck in a shop. You can also use the car for getting around while the trailer stays put. After a TON of research we've found that most people regret going too big on trailers and RV's. The sweet spot for us, would be a Casita or Scamp (17-20') style trailer if we went the prefabbed route. The other option is converting a toy-hauler, and I would recommend checking YouTube for some inspiration, as there are a ton of really cool builds out there that don't cost an arm and a leg.

If you're set on having one unit, and I get the appeal of this. Being able to climb from your bed into the drivers seat and just "go" is something that's desirable by many, then I would consider a class B. This would force you to "live out of the RV" and not so much in it. Sure you will sleep in there, so something large enough to fit a queen sized mattress, two people to lounge during inclement weather, etc is nice. But we decided that we would likely get something with an awning, and have an outdoor kitchen and outdoor shower setup, along with some quality camping chairs to create a living space the focuses primarily outside of the vehicle. This gives you the best of both worlds, and will result in much better maneuverability for getting into more remote areas of BLM, as well as much better MPG for the inevitable increase in gas prices. I'm part of numerous Class-B living, for-sale, etc FB groups and there is a lot of quality inventory out there for relatively cheap.

Since my wife and I are still in the "theory" phase of all of this, our likeliest scenario is using a Chevy Astro cargo van that my dad has for a few months, to get a taste of the lifestyle before investing $10-15k into a full time setup. We have all of the camping gear already, would only need to build a platform for a mattress and storage. Living with a quality cooler, camping stove, backup deep cycle battery wired to the alternator to power our gadgets, and a roof rack storage system for bikes gets us on the road quickly with minimal upfront costs. If this ends up the route we go due to Covid-19 messing up our international travel the rest of the year, we are definitely going to link up!

Excited to hear more about your plans and execution.

[luxagraf]

If you have any RV questions, feel free to email me.

[jacob]

There is some dispute between us on how much space we’ll need. I definitely prefer something 25 ft or less, while she is thinking bigger.

We had the same argument when we were looking to buy. I think the smallest we ever looked at seriously was a 28' class C before we agreed on the 34' class A. I think the one we bought was also the largest one. After 3.5 years of living in it full time and not driving it nearly as much as we had planned, this is what we concluded:

Q: RV living sounds cool. Based on your experience, what would you suggest I get?
A: We lived in a 34′ Georgie Boy Encounter (sounds pretty cheesy, no?). It was a class-A motorhome. The lessons learned from that is that smaller is better and that a travel trailer (TT) is the most economic choice. If you don’t own a truck, figure out how to pay someone to relocate you. A motorhome (class A,B,C) only makes sense if you’re moving constantly. If we had to do it again and desired to move around, we’d aim for a 21-25 foot TT, and pay someone with a truck to relocate us. If we were moving around often, we’d likely go for a canvas wall tent or a van conversion (class B). Another thing to keep in mind is that most RVs are built for short vacations and this affects the design. With few exceptions most RVs have no insulation which means they are too cold during [freezing] winter unless you’re willing to burn a lot of propane or otherwise find workarounds (wear 6 layers of clothes at all times), insulate the pipes, etc. Since the home is on a vehicle, weight is an issue. Slide-outs which offer much more space are really heavy! This means you lose luggage capacity. A “spacious” RV that sleeps 6 might only offer a couple of hundred pounds of luggage per person. An RV w/o slide-outs might offer thousands of pounds. This is all covered in RV books. Read some.

Our class A had no slide outs. Instead there were bay doors for a lot of storage. We also had a garden shed on the site stuffed to the gills. Most of this acted as a storage unit. It was both wasted space and wasted stuff.

The rule that will need to be learned either the hard way or by rationally grokking it is that minimalism makes RV life both more convenient and more mobile. There's a cost to schlepping excess stuff around that one does not experience in a stick home.

[luxagraf]

minimalism makes RV life both more convenient and more mobile. There's a cost to schlepping excess stuff around that one does not experience in a stick home.

It would be impossible to emphasize how important this is. Organization is super important as well, everything needs to have a place otherwise things get crazy messy fast.

[SavingWithBabies]

And while I posted the Lazy Daze as an interesting topic, we actually went with an SUV and a hard-sided popup trailer (a TrailManor) due to being 4 people, already having an SUV and it was way more affordable. I liked having a separate tow vehicle from the shelter as we could unhitch and go do things without being in camper mode 24x7. It takes time to setup camp and not having to break it until moving (or some other need requires it) is nice. They do make smaller TrailManors (we got one with a bed on each end).

Some don't want to mess with towing but on the plus side, the TrailManor is relatively light particularly for the bed sizes. The key seems to be servicing the bearings (or just having them replaced) and ensuring the tires are no more than 5 years old. Then ensuring your tow vehicle is rated roughly 1.5-2x the actual needed load and getting a weight distributing hitch (a simple $100-200 one is good enough for a lighter load like the TrailManor).

There is an owner's forum for TrailManor just like the other ones. Lots of pros/cons for any choice. I will say the TrailManor is super easy to tow and it doesn't negatively impact gas mileage much due to the smaller surface area when collapsed.

[classical_Liberal]

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[jacob]

With 35ft it gets "interesting" (to put it mildly) just driving through a small town or down a narrow country road. We eventually learned how to approach a gas station from the right direction. Getting the RV smogged was almost terrifying since it meant going downtown and holding up traffic trying to get through a narrow entrance. Big RVs are mainly designed to go on the interstate from campsite to campsite and park at pull throughs (They exist because many would rather pay than dealing with a 10+ min parking job and the associated frustration(*)). Of course driving skill helps a lot (busses and semis do drive through downtowns) but we didn't have it.

(*) A good exercise in couple's therapy. How well do you deal with one person behind the wheel and the other running around outside giving directions for not running over the water spigot or the sewer hole. Hint: The best method is if the outside person has complete control. "Rotate wheels right by 20 degrees. Yes, like that. Now go back 5 feet. Stop. Now straighten out. Back 10 feet." beats "Okay, come come slow... stop ... STOOOP! Okay, go forward again. You need to come in more at an angle."

Otherwise think of RV'ing just like regular air/city traveling. It's a lot easier if all you have on you is a backpack holding everything. As soon as you add another bag, there's one more thing to think about and one hand less... and a wheeled suitcase makes it impossible to walk around much. A big rig is the same. If you want a stick apartment for working, you could airbnb that with the van conversion parked outside. People owns lots of stuff in houses they'd never bring on vacation unless they were masochists. Example list of silly things: food processor, book collection, old computer equipment, school notes, photo albums, jewelry case, serving dish, three piece suit, christmas decorations, dumbbell set, ...

I would NEVER leave a TT unsupervised in BLM land. One popular way to expand space for small rigs is to set up a solid standing-room tent outside with foldable furniture.

[jennypenny]

Haha ... +1 to what Augustus said. I happily drove a hightop conversion van as my regular car for 17 years and towed a camper with it, but I'd never want to tow a 35' around.

We've been looking closely at RVs since we're closing in on launching our last kid. As far as towables, the largest I think I'd want to tow is 22'. Anything over that gets higher as well as longer.

That said, I agree with jacob that you wouldn't want to leave anything for too long. I like the Roadtrek type vans but they are popular right now and the ones we saw were overpriced IMO (kind of the way airstreams are always overpriced).

I really like the new smaller class c. It has plenty of room and doesn't have the giant overhang over the cab. We saw one class c (can't remember the manufacturer) that had the shower at the very back so it was easy to open up and use as an outside shower or just open up to dry it out afterward. Clever. The beds were also long enough for DH (6' 5") if that's an issue.

This is the 22' towable we liked most (with a sofa instead of a dinette). It had plenty of room and a decent bath. I can't imagine wanting any more than that. Fully loaded, the show price was just under $20K brand new.

This is similar to the smaller type of class c we looked at (which I like best but can't get over how pricey they are ... yet ).

[Ego]

I realize that we are trying to think of a rig setup that really serves two distinct, and possibly mutually exclusive purposes. First as an adventure vehicle to nimbly explore the country, and second as a substitute for a stick apartment in periods which we are working.

I'm partial to VW Westfalias for livability and maneuverability but I'd never pay that kind of money today. The thing that causes many van dwelling couples to fail is the single living space. Westfalias have the pop top where one person can sleep upstairs while the other can be moving around downstairs. Mrs. Ego sleeps much longer than me so this was a problem in the one camper we had that did not have a pop top bed.

A good way to get a great deal on an RV/camper is from an RV storage place. If people do not pay their storage rent for a certain period of time the storage place will hire an auctioneer to hold a lien sale. Often nobody shows up as they are not well advertised and the storage place gets the title of the RV for the cost of the storage fees due. If you are the only one to show up you can get a killer deal as the only bidder. Call storage places and ask who they use for auctions then sign up on the auctioneer's website to be notified for upcoming auctions.