Living on the road.

A Navy Friend stopped in for a visit.  He comes from really serious money but has decided to live his life leaving a minimum impact on the earth. 
     He still lives in the same 1955 Chevy  pickup camper he had when he was in the Navy.  1/2 T short box, step side.  
    We spent the afternoon and evening sharing stories. But I was really fast instead by his life style. 
    For example he showers at certain truck stops because they don't charge for a shower.  Drives primarily at night because traffic is almost non existent and he likes to cruise at 45. ( best fuel mileage)  

    Sleeps  during the day.  Because he can usually get 8 hours in without any hassles. 
 He makes his living by picking up sun bleached wood and painting seascapes on it. Then sells it to tourist shops.  Spring and late fall he has spots out  west where he can set up camp for weeks without hassles. Some Is BLM  land, others tribal land. A few spots are private land he's got OK from the owners. 
       Winter he heads down into Mexico.  Summer heheads North. Sometimes Canada sometimes Alaska. 
      He lives on less than $1000 a month. Some months a couple of hundred. On the road he'll wash dishes, clean rooms,  whatever to buy a tank of fuel. (120 gallons). 
    But that's enough for him to travels for as much as a week. 

I sometimes think that if something happened to my wife I might want to try living like that.  On the other hand it would be easy to fall into some self destructive unhealthy habits and depression might become a problem.  Also, I might be too addicted to the luxuries that I take for granted for that to work.

Regardless, I love talking with people who live non-traditional lifestyles.  They and their stories are facinating.

Sounds like all the guys on the Alaska shows. 

Who does he have sex with on the road?

It's supposed to keep you free and clean

mr2s2000elise said:

Who does he have sex with on the road?

MMMust...RRResist...SSSmart A$$...RRReply.

Our friends parents sold their home and roamed the USA in a nice motor home for a decade until Mom passed away.  

Dad got sickly and a few years later was living in a campground near a son with poor heat in his camper.  Off the road he went.   

You just need a good plan.

mtn said:

It's supposed to keep you free and clear

I get that 100%. Freedom is very nice. 

But if I lived in my truck, and showered occasionally, I imagine that pickings would be very slim, no?

RX Reven' said:

mr2s2000elise said:

Who does he have sex with on the road?

Mmmust...RRResist...SSSmart A$$...RRReply.

LOL> Lot lizards needn't apply ;)

Sounds like he's got a few good ideas, and others not to my taste anyway. But good for him.

Driving at night for less traffic is pretty smart but I personally don't like driving at night that much anymore. Headlights bug me. And sleeping during the day seems like you'd miss a lot of stuff. 

And $1000/month seems virtually impossible. You still need car insurance, health insurance, possibly a cell phone. Add in food, fuel, laundry, blah, blah, blah. 

I'm semi-jealous but would do this with a little more modern conveniences. And money.

PS- My brother is doing the great loop on a 46' powerboat right now. Plan is 5-6 years. Kind of a water version of the OPs buddy. And with a lot more expenses.

When I was in college the first time a sociology prof was going on and on one day about these tribespeople who lived a "zero impact life".  And in theory it sounds sort of appealing to avoid leaving a large footprint on the world.  But the reality is that we all still want "things" that are the result of an industrialized society, some just want to pretend they don't see the sausage being made to get us all the widgets we use without thinking about.

Mr. Live-in-my-truck-and-paint-driftwood still uses the roads, buys gasoline, buys commercially produced paint for his driftwood art, buys food, uses showers, probably has a cell phone,  toiletries, and much much more.  He's basically a modern Amish.  Technology is fine, to a certain point that they decide by some fairly arbitrary measure.

In reply to 67LS1 :

Navy guy, so health care may be taken care of. Car insurance is cheap if you have basic liability only. It sounds like he doesn't have enough for a lawyer to go after. $30 Walmart phone and a prepaid plan handles calls, and free wifi is easy. I think you could do $1000 a month if you aren't a picky eater.

matthewmcl said:

In reply to 67LS1 :

Navy guy, so health care may be taken care of. Car insurance is cheap if you have basic liability only. It sounds like he doesn't have enough for a lawyer to go after. $30 Walmart phone and a prepaid plan handles calls, and free wifi is easy. I think you could do $1000 a month if you aren't a picky eater.

Hell, I pay $25 a month for 8gb unlimited text/calls on an iPhone. Health insurance is really the only thing that could blow it out of the water here.

APEowner said:

I sometimes think that if something happened to my wife I might want to try living like that.  On the other hand it would be easy to fall into some self destructive unhealthy habits and depression might become a problem.  Also, I might be too addicted to the luxuries that I take for granted for that to work.

Regardless, I love talking with people who live non-traditional lifestyles.  They and their stories are facinating.

 

 

if something happened to my family I may end up doing the same.  I was watching a documentary on K2 last night and Jim Morrison the climber...he lost his wife and two kids in a plane crash several years ago...climbing has kept him alive.  I think I'd probably do the same but man I do love to interact with people.  

KyAllroad said:

When I was in college the first time a sociology prof was going on and on one day about these tribespeople who lived a "zero impact life".  And in theory it sounds sort of appealing to avoid leaving a large footprint on the world.  But the reality is that we all still want "things" that are the result of an industrialized society, some just want to pretend they don't see the sausage being made to get us all the widgets we use without thinking about.

Mr. Live-in-my-truck-and-paint-driftwood still uses the roads, buys gasoline, buys commercially produced paint for his driftwood art, buys food, uses showers, probably has a cell phone,  toiletries, and much much more.  He's basically a modern Amish.  Technology is fine, to a certain point that they decide by some fairly arbitrary measure.

It may not be zero impact, but it's also fully ok to try for much lower than normal impact, if that's what floats your boat. 

In reply to KyAllroad :

His Dad owned banks and businesses.  And was a miserable tite wad.  He'd inherited his money and they inherited their money. 
     After Harvard he went in as an enlisted and never accumulated anything that didn't fit in his truck. 
  His paint is all mismixed latex house paint.  Yeh, he uses fuel and tires etc. he doesn't want to live as a hermit. Just free of ties and obligations.  

matthewmcl said:

In reply to 67LS1 :

Navy guy, so health care may be taken care of. Car insurance is cheap if you have basic liability only. It sounds like he doesn't have enough for a lawyer to go after. $30 Walmart phone and a prepaid plan handles calls, and free wifi is easy. I think you could do $1000 a month if you aren't a picky eater.

     Some months he eats off the land.   But he's a bow hunter and expects to recover his arrows.  He fishes occasionally.  I'll ask him about insurance.  My suspicion is he doesn't carry any.  Of if he does it's absolutely the minimum. Since he's been driving that truck for 50 years.  I'm sure he's a prudent driver.  

My parents significantly downsized their 'gray nomad' lifestyle a few years back, and it certainly has been (and continues to be) a fascinating thing to study. There are a lot of great lessons to be learned from people like that, even if you don't plan to follow in their footsteps.

mr2s2000elise said:

Sounds like all the guys on the Alaska shows. 

Who does he have sex with on the road?

I don't know. I'm a little reluctant to ask him about that part of his life.  But I'll try tonight. 

The driving nights is somewhat dictated by the sleeping days.  Finding a parking place to sleep is the hardest thing in this nomadic lifestyle.  As an example, free, public parks are closed at night/dark.  But, if you pull into a park at 7am and never move the van till 7pm, no one will bother you at all.  Find a secluded, shaded spot and in those 12 hours you can get in 8 hours of sleep.  But then come dark you look suspicious anywhere you stop.  Might as well drive then.  

Willingness to work night is also likely helpful with employment options too.  If you're willing, the night shift is always hiring.  

As mentioned, you miss a lot of the "real world" living this nighttime existence but I gather this is just another part of the self defined "real world" these nomadic types make for themselves.  

I don't know anything of the job but working as a Hotel Overnight Clerk sounds like the perfect combination for this lifestyle.  Work all those cold nights in the comfort of the hotel office.  Make friends with the owner/workers that probably leads to free showers and maybe free lodging on bad weather days, etc.   Same job available in just about any town.  

I did this for many moons, except my house of choice was a travel trailer.  I would go where I wanted to go, stay long enough to feel like a local, then moved on to the next place I wanted to call home.  Took me to Indiana, Montana, Los Angeles, Austin, Miami, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Ontario, Tampa, and everywhere in between.  I've done Rt 66 twice, and I have seen all the lower 48 (plus Hawaii, but not in a camper) multiple times and have seen 38 national parks.

I just got work wherever we went.  My wife at the time was a licensed veterinary technician and a pharmacy tech.  I had a CDL.  We didn't always do those exact jobs, but it was pretty easy finding work.  We are also both performing artists (sing, act, dance).

I drove charter buses in New Orleans, worked as a bartender and auto customizer in L.A., acted in Indiana... it was a blast.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Last winter I had a midday charter where I had to go find someplace to park for the hours the kids would be there. I found a free public parking lot down by the river and it had a portable John.  ( bus drivers don't have giant bladders ) 

   I met a couple living out of a SUV.  There was an outlet they could plug their heater in  and the police let them stay 3-4 days before chasing them away. Then they could go park on the street in front of a house  she cleaned  3 times a week. Again with an outlet they could use.   One night at a church parking lot again with an outlet but also access to showers. And a way to clean clothes. 
 Finally a day old bread store they could park and plug in plus work for up to 4 hours and take home left over bakery. 
      They'd been doing that since they lost their house in a foreclosure in 2009.  She was in her 70's he was in his 80's. 
     Winters here are brutally cold and at least once a year it's below 40 below. 
charming couple. Doing the best they could in terrible circumstances. 

Your friend reminds me of some of the sailboat live-a-boards I met in different places when I did that for a while.  They were usually versatile type folk. Artists, carpenters, painters, bartenders, etc. -Any little gig to pick up some cash and not a care in the world. Something to be said for that. You could spot the trust funders a mile off.  

In reply to frenchyd :

While you're chatting with your buddy tonight, snap a pic of his truck to share here.  '55 is my favorite Chevy body style 

APEowner said:

I sometimes think that if something happened to my wife I might want to try living like that.  On the other hand it would be easy to fall into some self destructive unhealthy habits and depression might become a problem.  Also, I might be too addicted to the luxuries that I take for granted for that to work.

Regardless, I love talking with people who live non-traditional lifestyles.  They and their stories are facinating.

 

 

I don't think I'd ever want to do that either. But there sure is an appeal to the whole concept.  
 Most of my travels have been get someplace as fast as possible but you can't help but drive through some parts of the country where a minimum wage job on the night shift looks pretty good.  
   Then you read about homeless people living with a sleeping bag some cardboard and a shopping cart.  A car must look pretty good to those people.