Can you imagine what a challenge it must be to take a submarine on its first voyage?  So many complex systems to manage; the nuclear, electrical, communications, fresh water, sewage, oxygen, warfare systems, etc.  I often think of our coach, Zane, as a simple submarine.  Only if we spring a leak, we’re not likely to sink.

All machines are created on paper (or software) by an engineer who divines how the machine should operate in order to meet its mission.   All machines have their idiosyncrasies.  So whether its a submarine, an airplane or a motorhome, you don’t just hop in and go for it.  You have to study the systems and test them step by step so that you and the machine become one as you use it to fulfill your mission.

Mission Type 1 – RV Resorts:

KOA, DeForest, Wisconsin

For the first year we owned Zane we kept it parked at an RV resort in the mountains of north Georgia while we prepared to sell our business.  There we experienced temperatures ranging from 5 to 95 degrees.  So in the winter we learned to heat the water supply and the basement so our pipes would not freeze and in the summer we learned to manage our awnings, shades, fans and A/C to keep it cool.  Living in an RV resort allowed us to live on the cheap (as compared to a house) while enjoying a community with regular pickle-ball games, dinners, and the amenities of a pool, hot tub and exercise facilities.  What a wonderful lifestyle!

Mission Type 2 – Vacation Travel:

French Quarter RV Resort, New Orleans- great place, walking distance to the quarter!

While we were anchored in north Georgia,  we used our motorhome for vacations.  We parked in the French Quarter of New Orleans

and at Gulf State Park near the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

How much fun it was to be a tourist who goes to their home each night instead of a hotel.  I cannot begin to express the comfort and convenience of that paradigm.  And traveling to/from locations is entertaining.  Our coach is powered by diesel and audio books.  Wendy and I always have an audio book downloaded from the library to her phone so we just plug it into our sound system and listen to stories as we roll on down the road.  So much fun!

Mission Type 3 – Wild Camping:

Pick a road, any road

Now that we have sold our business and are full-time travelers, our primary residence is on wheels so we can move it anywhere in the country.  And one of the most enticing kind of place for us is on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land.  This is property owned by the Federal Government whose purpose is to manage the property for the citizens of the United States.  As such, it is to be used by campers and leased for cattle grazing,  extraction of oil or gas, etc.  Dirt roads are cut to get access for these purposes.  And wide spots are created so that people can camp on them.  Vast areas in the western United States are managed by the BLM.

This month we had our first wild camping experience (also known as boon-docking or dry camping).  We were in Southwestern New Mexico within 10 miles of the Carlsbad Caverns, in the Chihuahuan Desert.

Home Sweet Home- awnings fully deployed in the desert sun

The big question in our minds was whether our RV (and us) would function well in a wild camping situation.  Think about it.  Where do you get power for your lights, fans, PCs, fridge, and TVs?  What about your water?  What about your poo?  How long can you last on batteries without being tethered to the utility grid?  Did the engineer take into account that we have a SubZero residential refrigerator and satellite TV?

As it turns out, Zane is an awesome wild camping machine due to her 161 gallons of fresh water and six huge AGM batteries.  We are able to stay at our remote site for 14 days (the limit for camping at one BLM spot) with no trouble.  And in the process we determined that our stereo receivers gulp lots of wasted amps in standby modes, so we shut them down completely when not in use.  And, we tried with success a bathroom ritual to save water – ergo, if it’s yellow let it mellow….. if it’s brown, flush it down.  Plus, when showering we let the cold water collect in a gallon jug (to be used for washing dishes), then when it gets hot, we hop in, soap up, rinse down and get out. About a 90 second shower. We still had a quarter tank of water at the end of 14 days.

The house batteries lasted overnight and sometimes into the morning hours. When they got down to 12.0 volts we would turn on the diesel generator with the flip of a switch and let them recharge for a few hours, morning and night. During the generator time, we also used the electric cooktop and convection oven (which drain too much power to use on batteries alone) to fix our meals.  So we spent (0.4 gallons/generator hour x 5 hrs x $2.18/gal)= $4.36 a day.  How’s that for cost of living?

Whohoo! We love to wild camp. The privacy and scenery are wonderful. And it’s free!

It is so great to have a machine that can meet all of our mission requirements.   Our plan is to do a spoke and wheel type program where we move the RV to a central location (preferably free BLM land) and do day trips to explore the area in our Jeep for a couple of weeks.  Then move to the next hub location.

The general plan is to stay in the desert southwest from November through April, then slowly work our way north through eastern California, Nevada, Utah or Colorado to the Northwest and Canada for the summer. Rinse, repeat.  We will spend most of the winters on BLM land for free so we can spend a little on rv resorts on occasion the rest of the year.  We also plan to work camp and volunteer during a month or two during the summer.

And, to add to the mix, Wendy plans to work 3 or 4 months each year as a temporary contract doctor (Locum Tenens).   So we will be arranging contracts here and there as the mood suits and the opportunity arises.

-Clay