Now that I have my own little square of dirt and a mobile efficiency apartment, called an RV... it doesn't mean I am settled yet. I still have loose ends to tie up on my uncles estate and still more stuff to deal with from both estates.
Remember I said stuff owns you.... yes, well I still have stuff from both estates that needs to be stored and protected for a bit more. It sure won't fit into my travel trailer, so my solution was a 12x20x8 "garage in a box" by shelterlogic. I read lots of mixed reviews on it but it was the most reasonable temporary solution I could find. I don't know about longevity yet but I am still pretty impressed. It gets a bit windy here on the ranch and the canopy has so far withstood wind gusts up to 30 mile an hour. My ez-up is now nothing but a twisted, mangled frame but the "garage" stands there like a great green blob. I think one of the reasons for the mixed reviews, If you don't put it up correctly, it is not going to work. The advertised construction time is optimistic not factual. And you will need a drill to reline some of the misaligned bolt holes. Otherwise it was not to bad to construct it. We also added tie down straps from the top of the frame to the ground anchors on the four corners. Now we just have to wait and see how long it lasts but for 360.00 and tax, storage is getting cheaper every day.
Life on the Ranch this past 8 months has been a long series of camping trips with luxuries. Even though I still somewhat live in my uncles house. I prefer to be on the Ranch whenever I can. So I have made quite a few 100 mile trips between the two, always hauling a bit more stuff up with me. The first couple of months at the Ranch was without electricity... now that was an adventure. I had an inverter in the truck to keep electronics charged and used kerosene lamps at night. The next couple of months was on a generator and finally I now have electricity. Water for the moment is supplied by a 300 gallon water tank sitting behind the trailer and the trailer's self contained water system. I have yet to decide if I want the city water or a well. Septic was already on location.
Life here still has its day to day complications like any other lifestyle but I think they will slow down once I get everything set up and running. The trailer I bought had been in storage for 4 years prior. During that time squirrels had gotten into the storage bins and eaten into the water lines in a couple of spots, so those had to be fixed. The gas tank lines to the propane tanks work but they have gotten hard and need to be replaced. Also here lately I have had really bad refrigerator juju. The refrigerator at my uncles house has been on the fritz. It works intermittently and runs all of the time so I bought a new 3.5 cu ft as a temporary replacement. It quit 3 days later so I took it back. I did not want to replace the big refrigerator so close to moving and I still had the freezer. I decided I could live with that till I got electricity on the ranch. Once I got the power to the trailer, that fridge ran for 2 days and quit getting cold. I could not find a 10 cu ft locally to replace it so I now have a 4 cu ft left over from food concession days. So far it's working fine and surprisingly doesn't look beat up. And the one that is still in the wall makes for a good additional storage pantry.
This travel trailer is surprisingly roomy, although not a lot of storage. My friend has a 40 ft that has much more storage but it feels cramped to me. I like the more open feel of this trailer. That is too funny coming from someone who was prepared to live in a van. It's funny that I am clostrophic but I really like living in small places. I think that has a lot to do with my grandparent, who did almost the same thing I am doing now. Once the kids were grown. They got rid of the house, moved into a travel trailer with a half acre. They lived between that half acre and south Texas till they both got to old to travel. Once my grandfather died my grandmother continued on in the travel trailer. The only difference was that she would spend a little time with each of us. She spent 7 or 8 month parked at my house. It was a joy to have her there and my son got to spend quality time with his great grandmother. I don't plan on pulling this RV up and down the road, but I hope to have more quality time now that I no longer have to maintain a big hulking house, yard and all of the stuff in it.
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