Fezziwig
SF bay
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Joined: 07/25/2008
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Bingo!
John S, you are right on the money!
Those are the reasons I settled on a 1983 Fleetwood Class C, 24' long. With Ford 461 V8 and only 70k. then I did a bunch of preventative maintenance on it like new water pump, etc.
I cut my electricty needs down to the minimum and added two arrays of cheap HF solar panels. I can charge everything during 3 hours of sunlight.
I cut my propane needs down by changing my diet to be mostly raw food with some cooked occasional treats. I only used 1/4 tank thru the whole summer. I'm going to add a solar oven made of a silver windshield cover stuck in a pail.
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Rockiesview
Western Colo.
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Joined: 07/17/2009
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If going full time try to get something "4 Season", (well insulated).
I hadn't read all the threads so disregard.
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John S
Chicago, IL
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Joined: 08/05/2001
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Fezziwig,
Glad that you have it all figured out!!!!! Way to go... If you have to stretch your funds during retirement full timing you might also want to check out work-camping.... Lots of folks work part time at private or public parks to reduce their costs and maybe even earn some extra bucks....
Enjoy !!!!
John & Peg S.
99 Coachman Class C - 24ft
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Fezziwig
SF bay
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Work Camping is great! I've been 'working' as Camp Host at a county park since june. Full hookups in a gorgeous 19,000 acre park in the mountains, surrounded by oaks and sugar pines with a view of the mountaintop. My basic 'work' is to keep an eye out for potential forest fires (I actually put one out myself this summer!), chat with campers and watch out they don't start wood fires. No money changes hands.
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StanleyandIris
Louisiana
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Joined: 06/17/2007
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Fezziwig - well you are having an adventure for sure! Here are some things that may be useful, tried and true for us:
5 gallon water jug with a $40 hand pump for cooking and drinking water.
Coleman lights which run on 2 AA batteries, screwed in place - no need to use the LED's for just hanging out in the MH.
Baby wipes in lieu of showers. Collect rain water to wash your hair. Yum.
Sun tea. Drip, non-electric coffee pot.
Re-use dish or cooking water to flush toilet to save fresh water supply.
I gave away the toaster, toaster oven and crock pot - huge waste of electricity from whatever source.
To save on dirty laundry, I use a hand towel to dry off. No need for big giant sized bath towels. Also have a folding wooden clothes dryer - no quarters in the dryers!
When it is cold outside - put your perishables in a cooler out there. You can turn the fridge off.
Crazy sounding, but if you have a fire, put a big rock in it and when you are ready to go to bed, wrap the rock in a towel and place it at your feet in bed. In cold weather, use a down blanket underneath your body. No sense wasting precious body heat to try to warm the mattress. We never use the heater when sleeping no matter how cold it is outside.
Take care and keep us all posted on your journey.
Iris
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Fezziwig
SF bay
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Great ideas, Iris! I'm already using some of them.
You know, the idea of using heated stones goes waaaay back! old farmhouses used to have heater pans, which were long-handled pans that you could use to pick a stone out of the fire and put it in the foot of your bed. I haven't done that yet, but on cold nights I put on Merino wool socks (they're the best!)to keep my tootsies toasty! Also, it helps to have a knitted watch cap, like sailors use.
I make sun-tea during the summer, and now when it's cooler I heat water and make a two quart batch of hot herb tea when I arise, drink some of it while it's warm, and put the leftover aside as cold tea.
It's amazing how little we really need! Most of the junk we use is just bad habit. I keep throwing things away. Now, three of my overhead cabinets are half empty.
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katleman
San Jose
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Joined: 06/15/2006
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Hey Fezziwig, still camped out at a county park near Mt Hamilton (Joseph D Grant)?
Feel either of the 4.1/3.8 earthquakes around Milpitas in the last 24 hours? I work in a 3 story office building on the Santa Clara/Milpitas border (with a view of Mt Hamilton) and it was quite a jolt, and figure you've got to be about the same distance.
Visted via RV
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