North America

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54 Days of Boondocking

I am just under a week shy of completing one solid month of boondocking! I’m doing one night on FHU and then it’s back off the grid I go.

Boondocking for so long didn’t seem realistic when I first started as I had so many troubles with my electrical setup. But I persevered in my troubleshooting and have been rewarded with a 12V system I now only need to monitor as it is adequate and functioning well for my needs.

That said, I’m not sure I would still be here on the beach had I not been able to borrow that generator at the beginning of February or if L and B hadn’t installed a new continuous duty solenoid in the motorhome engine compartment. It really does take the proverbial village…

I’ve got my power usage down to a routine now. I charge my computer in the morning and leave it plugged in for the entire afternoon. It still consumes a few amps at full charge, but it’s a fraction of what it needs to charge, so I’m able to charge the house batteries fully by dinner time, and I have a fully charged computer for the evening.

I don’t leave the computer plugged in in the evening because of the enormous voltage drop due to undersized wiring that I still need to correct. If I leave it plugged in, I don’t have enough voltage to even run an LED light without it flickering.

Now that I know that the wiring is undersized, I can manage my 12V use so that the system doesn’t get over loaded and the DC charger doesn’t get hot, so there are no fire concerns. I am eager to beef up the wiring, but it’s going to be a costly job and there are other upgrades in line first.

If it’s sunny out, I can use 120V items, like the printer and vacuum cleaner without a second thought. If like yesterday, it is overcast, then I need to shut some things down (usually unplugging the computer is enough) or run the engine to get the added voltage boost.

As for plumbing, the holding tanks haven’t been a problem. I could likely go a couple more weeks.

I am sorely missing having water in my on board tank, but have conceded that my 10-gallon water heater means that having instant hot water while boondocking is a wasteful luxury. Having a navy shower is no better than bathing in a basin. So, really, hauling and heating water is always going to be in my boondocking future when I am not somewhere that I can fill up regularly.

I do so desperately miss my long hot evening showers as they were my transition time to bedtime. I need to find access to showers the next time I’m off the grid this long. When I had my house and the plumbing was off in the dead of winter, I’d just go to the gym. I need to find an equally suitable setup on the road. The RV park where I am going does have showers, but I’d have to pay an extra $5 per day to access them. Much as I love my showers, they are not worth that much!

When I started reading about RVing back in 2008, I thought of all the things I would have to give up, and the first that came to mind was my daily shower. I can’t even remember the rest, but the showers hold true. That’s really the only concession I make when off the grid. Otherwise, I am living a more electrically-mindful version of my normal routine and I don’t feel deprived in the least.

Finally, boondocking is infinitely superior to staying in an RV park with all its restrictions!

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Securing Things For RV Travel

Okay, so I sort of lied this morning in that I am thinking about departure, but not in an, “OMG THERE’S SO MUCH TO DO!” mode, rather in a “Let’s see if I can make this departure thing even easier” mode.

I’m going around the rig and putting things where they belong. Whatever else is out is stuff that I would put on the bed in the back or in one of the sinks when I travel. I eliminated the sink storage by adding storage near the bathroom vanity and with a new kitchen cabinet.

The study isn’t too bad, really. I rearranged my overhead cabinets (AGAIN) to eliminate the basket on the desk and the computers go into their cases and storage place on travel day. All that was left were the keyboard, which is destined to always travel on the bed, and the garbage bucket, which fits neatly on one corner of the desk and usually remains there during travel:

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Why bother coming up with a way to secure it? It’s light, so if it moves, no big deal, it won’t damage anything. But what if I forget to empty it before I take off? Why not eliminate having to think about it?

All it took was a cup hook:

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Incidentally, this garbage bucket is a good example of a multi-use item since I use it to hold my cleaning solution when I wash the cabinets or the floors.

Getting the inside ready for departure is at most a 10-minute deal now and I think I can cut that down even further with added tweaks.

The next challenge is the kitchen cubbies. I put some non-skid material under them, but still have to figure out a way to keep the drawers from opening without running the unit or making it fiddly. At this point, I’m thinking bungee cords, which is not ideal, but I’m tired of having to turn the unit around to face the wall when I travel, especially since I usually forget to do that and have a mess on my hands when I arrive. I tried to eliminate them from the kitchen, but they are just too useful and so I am left with finding a better way to make them work in travel mode.

A good home is never done…

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Last Weekend On the Beach :(

Friday was a much needed down day for me. The most exciting thing I did was drive into Port Lavaca to pick up my mail and some avocados.

I also checked out all the car washes and decided that none were convenient enough to get into with the rig for me to spend money at them. I really want a nice big wash area that I can pull in and out of without having to unhook. I’ll keep my eye out for such a place as I head out on the road, really needing to remove the salt spray from both vehicles and to buff out any rusty spots. Moya is also asking me for a wax job, so I really want to find a place where I can wash at my leisure.

When I got in, I spent the bulk of the rest of the day watching the DVDs that my friend had sent while cross-stitching and going for strolls along the beach to enjoy the crazy beautiful weather. What a tough life I lead! 😀

I have a weekend-long project to do, so my last couple of days on the beach will be sedate. I am sort of thinking of going to the saloon for a beer and dinner tonight, but am not particularly stuck on the idea.

The weather is slowly growing less pleasant as heavy clouds are rolling in and the wind is picking up, so Monday will definitely be a good day to get back on the road.

I play to roll out between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. I’ll be getting gas here on the beach as a final gesture of goodwill to the community. I did the math and it will be only $10 more for a fill here than in town, so it’s not a huge extra expense for me, plus the gas station is super convenient as you can pull in then circle around the building.

I will be detouring into Port Lavaca to get propane since I am completely out on board, do not want to have the fridge off for long, and the Port Lavaca propane place is super easy to get in and out of with a long rig even if the entrance is rutty.

After that, it will be about three hours to Von Ormy, just outside of San Antonio (I’ll be doing a post about the RV park once I’ve had a chance to check it out). I can check in as of 1PM and want to pull in as close to that as I can to get my full 22 hours on FHU!

Some of the chores planned for Monday afternoon and evening and Tuesday morning:

– hose down my black tank from inside with my high pressure hose attachment;

– vacuum the entire rig (the dust from the beach as been an insurmountable foe);

– reshine the floors as the the sand I’ve been tracking in despite a mat has been very hard on them;

– give my batteries a good soak on shore power (I’ve been getting a full charge by late afternoon all week, so I’m not desperate for charging right now, thankfully!) and recharge anything that needs to be recharged.

Late Tuesday morning, I will move into the no service area.

I don’t have much to do to leave on Monday, so I won’t even think about departure until then beyond making sure there’s plenty of room in the back of the truck for the propane tank.

I’m ready, not eager, to go.

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A Tight Squeeze

For the past several days, a couple of boat platform thingamabobs with long tails have been slowly making their way down the beach towards me. Today, I caught a massive tanker motoring between them:

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It’s not a peaceful last week here as it is spring break so the whole area is teeming with campers and there are lots of kids running around and playing in the surf. But there’s very little shrieking, so it’s only when the generators start up at dinner time and run until I concede that I will have to fall asleep to their lullaby that I get a little irked. The weather is just too gorgeous to regret staying here this extra week.

I’m impressed with the hardy souls running around in their bathing suits, much less actually swimming. Yes, the sun is shining brightly, but the wind has a bitter chill that reminds me we are still several days way from spring.

I can’t believe it’s mid-March already. What a gentle winter this has been.

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Relocating the Office to the Marina at Indianola

Today boasted an afternoon too beautiful to be spent cooped up indoors.

I had just finished the newest draft of the new ebook and was at the point where I needed to print it out to be able to effectively proof it. So I decided to get it out on paper, then head over to the marina at Indianola for a few hours to work on the book there.

I put in an order for lunch and then sat outside to work and watch the fishermen. It was very windy in the sun, but too cold in the sheltered areas, so I held tight to my precious paperwork!

The marina is a nice place to spend time even if you don’t fish. There are lots of tables with a good view:

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I indulged in a chicken bacon ranch sandwich (delicious!) and opted for their yummy hush puppies as a side rather than their anemic fries.

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The exterior:

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Coming back home, I stopped at the monument to La Salle, the same dude who has a bunch of stuff named after him in Quebec, including a borough of Montreal.

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Indianola was a major town in the area in the 1800s until it was wiped out twice by two hurricanes and a fire. It is now a ghost town.

Finally, there is a fire burning close to the beach. Check out the smoke, it has completely obliterated the sun:

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