“Normal” Life Activities

You might wonder how traveling and camping still allows us to do the “normal” things in life. So let me share a bit about how it is going so far…

Sleeping: We have a roof top tent (RTT) that is equipped with a full sized memory foam mattress. We have standard sheets and a super comfy winter season down comforter. We also have an electric blanket installed between our sheets and the mattress. When it is cold, we turn this on about an hour before we head to bed and it is so toasty warm (totally worth it!!). Our RTT is equipped with a 12V cigarette lighter socket, 2 USB ports, 2 LED flexible lights and six fabric cubbies on the ceiling (this is where we store our shoes, clothes, etc. for the night). Overall, we sleep very well in this set up.

Eating: We have spent more time designing, planning and building our kitchen then any other part of our trailer. We have propane, water and electrical plumbed into the system. In theory, we can use anything like a standard kitchen. For the most part, we stick with propane for cooking (electrical appliances take up a bit too much room). We have a couple of stainless steel pots, a 12″ cast iron skillet and a teflon flat pan (good for pancakes and such).  We will post a bunch more details on our kitchen in a later post.

Since we are on a budget, we limit our eating out expenses greatly. So cooking is a much more budget friendly option. Our fridge really only holds about 4-5 days worth of food, so we are constantly finding new grocery stores to shop at.

A few pro tips: 

• Shop locally: farmers markets are awesome, buy “in-season” produce and see what is readily available for the area.
• Savings cards: turns out grocery stores have a “store card”, so you can still get the savings without having to sign up.
• Bring your own bag: most stores give you a discount if you have your own bag, also some places (like California) charge if you need a bag.

Shower: We have a tankless hot water heater installed in our trailer. We have set up a curtain system using standard shower curtains and PVC pipe for the rods. We do need to stake down the curtain if it is windy but overall it works really well. We have also learned that there are showers available in all sorts of places, i.e. Zion Mountaineering School has showers in the back that are easy to use for a small fee.

Toilet: To be honest, we try to use public toilets as much as possible! It is so much easier and free (no paying for toilet paper or disposable bags). But if we are in desperate need, we do have a portable toilet with us. It is a fold up toilet and uses disposable bags for the catch area. For privacy, we have a pop-up room.

Laundry: We collect our dirty clothes in an ikea bag (the big one that zips) and once we decide it is time to do laundry, we head to a laundry mat. We each have a huge drawer, so we have quite a bit of clothes with us. We can go about 4 weeks before we need to do laundry!

Mail/Packages: We have all of our mail sent to Andy’s parents house and they filter it for us and send it our way if we need it. For the most part, all of our mail is junk! We pay all our bills online, so there really is very little need for mail. For packages (aka Amazon deliveries), we have it sent to the local post office. We ask that it is sent to “general delivery” and verify with the post office ahead of time that this will work. There is also a trick with Amazon, you need to put PO Box in the address to ensure it is delivered via USPS (or use an Amazon pick up box if possible).

• Tip: if Amazon delivers to a Post Office via anything but USPS, you are charged a fee. You can also deny the shipment and it is sent back. Amazon deliveries are proving to be a bit tricky.

Internet/Phones: We are currently on a family plan with T-Mobile for our phones, this was the cheapest option we could find! It does limit our data and service range but the price is unbeatable! For our computers, we have become active finders of free internet! Coffee shops are usually the best, they don’t ever care if you stay for hours. We have also used bars/pubs as an option and a bit of a change of pace. Visitor centers also usually have free wifi, although it feels a bit odd to hang out and use it for long periods of time.

Dogs: Yes, our dogs have a fairly normal life too! They sleep in our truck bed, equipped with two dog beds, an insulated canopy with windows, a portable fan (for cooling down on hot days) and a bucket of water. They LOVE it!!! We store their food in a 50lb “vault” and scoop out their food every morning and night. Water is our biggest issue, since our dogs drink a TON of water! We have a 7 gallon tank in the back of the truck and use it to constantly fill their bowl. For exercise; we take them hiking, play in rivers/lakes, and throw a ball (for Dusty). They are pretty happy dogs and are taking to this adventurous life pretty well!