Truck camping

[Zack]

Hi all – not much to say, and lately most of what has come out of my mouth has been painful for me and made me retract reflexively into circuitous inner questioning, so it has been hard for me to maintain a solid line on much of anything outside my own interiority; except my job, luckily, which gives me the coins I still need to a frustrating degree. My meditation practice has been all over the place and I feel like I was reaching a greater depth last year before I scared myself into a scattered place I am still trying to recover from. But there is some comfort in knowing I'm not veering from the understanding that this is the correct life path for me (with an increasing clarity on the trajectory actually involved), and coupled with knowing that my slog through work drudgery is allowing me to fund and put in place a more fulfilling lifestyle, makes me not really worry or care about the depth of my practice at the moment. I may not be moving forward quickly but I am moving in the right direction, and I'm laying the right foundations.

Anyway, the point of this post is that there are a few quotidian developments in my quest to live a simple, contemplative life.

Miracle of miracles, I managed to buy a small pickup truck. I found one with almost all I wanted (small, V4, manual transmission, relatively low mileage, extremely basic with no extraneous computer gadgetry), the only thing it doesn't have I wanted is an extended cab. That's not much of a problem, it just makes space tighter. I've been watching Craigslist for camper shells but am now considering building my own out of wood. If I find a cheap one online before I'm ready to start building I might buy it and adapt to that, but in the meantime I'm pondering and planning an original construction. With a small solar panel set-up I could power a light bulb, laptop, cell phone charger, maybe a tiny RV fridge. Food could be heated with a hot plate or propane burner. My intention is not to build something that my entire life will be based out of, but simply a space I can spend time in and sleep in. I still would like to build a tiny house, small cabin, yurt, renovated school bus, or something, in the future (along with a possible sensory deprivation tank)--but I'm also poor so I'm going with whatever's possible in the moment.

The truck will be outfitted with a ScanGuage as soon as I can afford one, but I'm already experimenting with as many hypermiling techniques as I can manage, to save gas, money, and ultimately the time I have to spend working. A lot of those are techniques I already use and am comfortable with but as I haven't had a vehicle of my own for years it's really about learning the nuances of this particular machine (and unfortunately dealing with others' road rage over things like not going at top speed to the red light that's obviously straight ahead). One of my considerations in building a camper shell is keeping the weight as low as possible and the shape as aerodynamic as possible.

[Zack]

Make Your Own DIY Camper Refrigerator

Homemade truck campers on Google Images

[Jhanananda]

Hi all – not much to say, and lately most of what has come out of my mouth has been painful for me and made me retract reflexively into circuitous inner questioning, so it has been hard for me to maintain a solid line on much of anything outside my own interiority; except my job, luckily, which gives me the coins I still need to a frustrating degree. My meditation practice has been all over the place and I feel like I was reaching a greater depth last year before I scared myself into a scattered place I am still trying to recover from. But there is some comfort in knowing I'm not veering from the understanding that this is the correct life path for me (with an increasing clarity on the trajectory actually involved), and coupled with knowing that my slog through work drudgery is allowing me to fund and put in place a more fulfilling lifestyle, makes me not really worry or care about the depth of my practice at the moment. I may not be moving forward quickly but I am moving in the right direction, and I'm laying the right foundations.

Sometimes we just need a goal to move toward, and having that goal leading a more rigorous, self-aware contemplative life is a noble goal.  However, if we spend our whole life trying to build an infrastructure that supports a rigorous, self-aware contemplative life, and never get there, then we maybe erring in too much preparation without any practice.

Anyway, the point of this post is that there are a few quotidian developments in my quest to live a simple, contemplative life.

Miracle of miracles, I managed to buy a small pickup truck. I found one with almost all I wanted (small, V4, manual transmission, relatively low mileage, extremely basic with no extraneous computer gadgetry), the only thing it doesn't have I wanted is an extended cab. That's not much of a problem, it just makes space tighter. I've been watching Craigslist for camper shells but am now considering building my own out of wood. If I find a cheap one online before I'm ready to start building I might buy it and adapt to that, but in the meantime I'm pondering and planning an original construction.

The home-made wooden campers I see the homeless (rubber gypsies) here living out of tend to be too heavy, but I am sure a very lightweight one could be made out of thin plywood, and urethaned.  However, I see campers on Craigslist here all of the time.

Nonetheless, I have found a van actually has more useable space than a camper shell on the back of a pickup truck.

With a small solar panel set-up I could power a light bulb, laptop, cell phone charger, maybe a tiny RV fridge. Food could be heated with a hot plate or propane burner.

You would not want to power a hot plate with 200w of solar gain, but I have run a laptop and LED lights for 15 years on as little as 21w of solar gain, plus 1 deep cycle marine battery, for up to a week at a time.

My intention is not to build something that my entire life will be based out of, but simply a space I can spend time in and sleep in. I still would like to build a tiny house, small cabin, yurt, renovated school bus, or something, in the future (along with a possible sensory deprivation tank)--but I'm also poor so I'm going with whatever's possible in the moment.

I have had many thought on this. The problem that I see with building a cabin is home ownership means taxes, etc.  Whereas, a cab-over camper on a larger truck means I have all of the National Forest as my home.

The truck will be outfitted with a ScanGuage as soon as I can afford one, but I'm already experimenting with as many hypermiling techniques as I can manage, to save gas, money, and ultimately the time I have to spend working. A lot of those are techniques I already use and am comfortable with but as I haven't had a vehicle of my own for years it's really about learning the nuances of this particular machine (and unfortunately dealing with others' road rage over things like not going at top speed to the red light that's obviously straight ahead). One of my considerations in building a camper shell is keeping the weight as low as possible and the shape as aerodynamic as possible.

These are all good ideas, but my solution was to make my own fuel.

Make Your Own DIY Camper Refrigerator

I use an ice chest, which I added aluminized bubble insulation around to improve its performance, then I get free ice from the local Salvation Army.  Otherwise I find propane powered/duel powered refrigerators on Craigslist all of the time.

Homemade truck campers on Google Images

Nice link, but I think I am just going to buy a cab-over camper from Craigslist, and put it on my deuce and a half, along with a fuel making system this year.

[Zack]

Sometimes we just need a goal to move toward, and having that goal leading a more rigorous, self-aware contemplative life is a noble goal.  However, if we spend our whole life trying to build an infrastructure that supports a rigorous, self-aware contemplative life, and never get there, then we maybe erring in too much preparation without any practice.

Good point of course, but I am trying, there's just not the ease and depth there was in the recent past, or there only is sporadically. 'Preparation' takes up very little of my actual day-to-day energy (almost none); work however does, and is what I'm trying to extricate myself from, though I have some hefty medical and dental expenses currently from trying to keep a wrecked body functioning. So I'm trying not to beat myself up from frustration over not being able to practice to the degree I'd like. I am trying, and that is the focus within it all.

I have had many thought on this. The problem that I see with building a cabin is home ownership means taxes, etc.  Whereas, a cab-over camper on a larger truck means I have all of the National Forest as my home.

I have access to land, and anything on wheels doesn't require a building permit or much in the way of taxes (if any). I've also stayed with a farming friend in rural Alabama, and when he built a small one room cabin on his property his yearly property taxes went up something like $11. So it's do-able in certain areas.

I'm probably annoying with the small mundane details, but I enjoy them. I don't find the interior landscape very easy to write about; I am trying to get back to the depth I so easily found myself in before, though, and that is my main focus.

[Zack]

However, if we spend our whole life trying to build an infrastructure that supports a rigorous, self-aware contemplative life, and never get there, then we maybe erring in too much preparation without any practice.

Also, I have only been at this (at least with the frame of reference shared by the GWV members) for less than a year, so my whole life hasn't been wasted just yet

[Jhanananda]

Good point of course, but I am trying, there's just not the ease and depth there was in the recent past, or there only is sporadically. 'Preparation' takes up very little of my actual day-to-day energy (almost none); work however does, and is what I'm trying to extricate myself from, though I have some hefty medical and dental expenses currently from trying to keep a wrecked body functioning. So I'm trying not to beat myself up from frustration over not being able to practice to the degree I'd like. I am trying, and that is the focus within it all.

I agree. We are in much the same boat.  We just have to keep moving forward.

I have access to land, and anything on wheels doesn't require a building permit or much in the way of taxes (if any).

I agree, this is why I have lived in a vehicle for almost 15 years, and keep working on improvements to the concept instead of buying land, and building a cabin.

I am trying to get back to the depth I so easily found myself in before, though, and that is my main focus.

Yes, I understand your motivation.

Also, I have only been at this (at least with the frame of reference shared by the GWV members) for less than a year, so my whole life hasn't been wasted just yet

We just have to keep moving forward.  Good to have your company on this forum.

[jay.validus]

Sounds cool man.  One day I wish to do something similar, but for right now I am focusing on other things.  I enjoy reading the experiences of others, and how it fits into their self-aware and spiritual driven lifestyle. Thanks for sharing.

[Jhanananda]

Yes, jay.validus, the interior life definitely requires a well-guided support community, which does not seem to exist anywhere else right now.  So, your presence here is useful to all, as everyone else' contributions are equally as useful to the whole community here.