Menu:

This is where other stuff might go!

Updates:

New Navigation Screen and Always lots of pictures! Check out the top to see where to go next!

Our Ideals:

We sold our house and everything in it to move into a RV; we follow voluntary simplicity and find happiness in simple pleasures.

Books & Such:

 

 

Sponsors

Version:

Laura-n-Sasha 3.2

A descriptive look at traveling and full-timing with our second RV, a fifth wheel toyhauler.
  Laura and Sasha started this adventure in April of 2005
 for a two week vacation in a truck camper.

Questions and Answers Part 1
Readers Post Questions Via Email and We Respond

Appreciation & Can I Do It Too?

We received permission from the people asking us questions.
If you have a question, please send us an email: Email@Laura-n-Sasha.com

May 2008: More of an appreciation than a question, I still felt it should go here:

Hello,
Thanks for taking the time to put together your website. Fulltiming in a truck camper looks very cool. I did it in a small fifth wheel for a couple of years and always wished I could fit in normal parking spots.

I am looking at a Bigfoot with slide out to do some Fulltiming in. Also, I am reading YMOYL which is great. For years now I have told my colleagues that when I want to buy something I take the price of the item and divide it by my hourly take home wage and then figure out if I want to work those hours to pay for it. I call it the formula. They all look at me like I am crazy when I tell them that so the book is right in line with how I think.

Thanks,

Tom

Our Response:

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the email and the appreciation.

 Is it OK with you if I put this comment on the guestbook? Thanks

..

..

June 2008: Serious Questions about a bunch of things:

Hi -

 This may sound like a really stupid question, and I didn't have it until Saturday after arguing with my father.  I travel for work, moving every three to six months, and I'm saving up for an RV so I can full-time (better than packing every three months and loading the car and dragging tubs up stairs to a new apartment or hotel room).  I had my mind made up to get a Sportsmobile - a Sprinter LB with a penthouse (they should have the penthouse again by the time I can afford the down payment - they're doing a stress test today, in fact), but my parents threw a fit about it Saturday when I saw them.  It only has 8 gal propane tanks for the generator (if you choose propane), and they started going on and on about how I would be buying new tanks every other day (but they wouldn't be as heavy as 30 gallon tanks!) and it wouldn't keep it warm, and even if I got an electric ceramic heater, my electric bill would be horrible (the Sportsmobiles are very well insulated, but they've never read anything about them to know that)...

Anyway, my question is how you guys deal with winters in something even smaller.  What kind of heat do you use, what kind of generator if you have one, etc

My parents also couldn't make up their minds on whether the Sportsmobile was horrible because it was too small for me or it was way too huge and long (24') for me to be driving.  So I told them they were right about the tanks and generator, etc., being too small, and the van itself being too small for me to live in, and I'm going to buy a bus conversion.  :-)  And actually, we had a bus conversion when I was in grade school -> high school and I loved it (school bus).  That's what made me start dreaming of converting my own bus someday and living in it full time, way back then.  When I started thinking about it now, though, I figured a van would be easier to drive, and the Sprinters get such good gas mileage...  My parents ARE being good to me in one way - they are letting me live in their old camper (they had it for sale - a 25 ft bumper-pull) this summer since my work assignment is only an hour from their house.  They think it's going to make me change my mind.  :-)

Hope you are doing well!

Laura W-A

Our Response:

Hi Laura,

There are no stupid questions especially when you are trying to figure things out. I want to answer your questions but I want you to realize, I do not know anything about Sportsmobiles except that they are like Class B types of RVs. That said, most Class Bs are expensive, but if you do not have a truck to begin with, then it might be a moot point.

 Let me tell you what we have and don’t have so that I can answer your questions better. We have:

 Also too, we tend to NOT take showers in the camper – our thinking is why waste propane when the campground heats the water for us? Less mess and less propane used.

 We use the propane for making breakfast, boiling water for tea and coffee, and heating the water tank for washing dishes.

 What we don’t have is a generator. We do not need it as of yet, and if you are staying in a campground where there is electricity, there is no point. So far we have not found a need for it, but probably will once Sasha retires. But we shall see on that.

 Now, most campgrounds do not charge for electricity, although that might change with everything else going up in price. But as of right now, most do not charge. So using their electricity for heat would be the way to go. We also set the propane on very low temps when there is the possibility of a serious cold snap, because the pipes are insulated as well, but propane has to be used to keep the pipes from freezing.

 So to answer your question in a round-about way, we use both: propane and electric. But we do not use a generator.

 Onto your next question about size – If you are a single person, I would not suggest a truck camper, as it is nice to have someone else to spot you especially if you want to take the camper off of the truck to use. I have thought about Winnie Minnie – they seem like such neat RVs, but very expensive. But a van is only small if you believe it will be small. The TC is not small to us, because we are not in it all the time. I can drive the truck and the camper on top, and have driven with the trailer, but it isn’t easy, especially when I go from a car to the truck.

 I have heard of people converting the buses to used veggie oil, but then a bus would need serious renovations as there are so many windows, and it is definitely not well insulated. It would be better to have that van conversion. You might consider renting a van for a while, to see how well you can drive it.  

 You might also want to find out at work if there is a way that you could “travel with the sun” meaning winter in southern states and summer in northern states. This way you would seriously cut down on propane use.

 I think that being in a RV for a season is a good idea, to understand how everything works. That way you are prepared when you get your own.

 Hope these answers help you. Also, I plan on posting some of this on the website. I hope that is OK with you.

She wrote back again with more questions:

Thank you so much for your answer!

I already do try to be kind of a snowbird - this last winter I was down close to Houston, then in March came back to KS near my family.  Last summer and winter I was in KS, but the summer before I was in NH, which was gorgeous.  I'm already used to living with only what will fit in my PT Cruiser (and the company I work for either puts me up in a furnished apt or a hotel), but I'm really liking the camper so far - less space means I'm forced to clean more often.  :-)

I'm using the showers at the campground here for the most part, but the other day it stormed and I didn't want to go up there.  No lightning, so I was going to take my shower here in the camper, but the wind was blowing so hard it kept blowing out the pilot light on the hot water heater, so I had to wait until at least the wind died down to be able to take one... I ended up getting to bed later than I wanted.

I'm more convinced than ever that Sportsmobile is the best choice.  They're the most reasonable, price-wise, of all the class Bs, and they have experience building for people with pets - I have a parrot and have a large cage planned for the van, and they have a temperature sensing system with a remote pager, and even have a remote starter for the engine so you can turn on the heat or air if the temp gets out of range while your pet is in the van.  I've had Jerry (my parrot) since 95 - my husband passed away in 97, before we were able to have kids, so I'm probably a little too overprotective of Jerry... I won't be able to do like you do and use the down covers and keep the heat off while I'm away (I wish I could!).  If I could figure out a way to just heat his cage, that would be great.  I've thought about getting the heat rocks like they use for reptile cages, but I'm afraid he'd burn himself.  But I definitely want solar panels, and I could hook his stuff up to solar, and not have to worry about the rest of the van being turned on while I was gone...  I'm going to have to come up with something...

Also, everything you said about size and price and me being single helped reinforce the idea that the Sportsmobile is the best choice.  I looked at a lot of stuff (online) before I decided on it, and I'm more convinced now that I'm right.  :-)

What's the name of the A/C with heat that is on your truck camper?  Sportsmobile uses Starcool A/C, but maybe I could ask them for a switch, so I could have electric heat.  This campground has free electricity, too - my parents tried to tell me that few do, but I'm glad to hear that it's not like that, at least not right now.  Then again, I had told them that the website for Sportsmobile says that a lot of people get a small ceramic heater (like what you said) and use it instead of propane. 

And that is fine for you to use my question on your website.  :-)  I'm sure there have to be other people out there who have the same kinds of questions I do!

Thanks again!

I forgot to respond for the AC question so here is the answer: Well, I do not know! Oops. When Sasha gets back, I'll ask him and put the response up here.

THANKS!