Living Free On A Shoestring

[srqrebel]

As some of you already know, my current chosen lifestyle is not exactly conventional.

In fact, it is so unconventional that several people have been suggesting that I blog about it.  It was an idea that I have resisted up until now, for privacy reasons -- but the temptation to shame the warm weather wusses was too strong

After living in sunny southern Florida for 13 years, I packed up this past June and moved to New Hampshire to fulfill my pledge to the Free State Project.  My goal of starting a new life of freedom and self-sufficiency among like minded folks is now a welcome reality.

In an effort to live frugally and self-sufficiently, I have chosen to avoid owing rent or facing property taxes, at least during the first year here.  The way I do it, is by having a mobile "bedroom" in the back of my pickup truck.

Yep, you read that correctly: I am spending my very first New Hampshire winter in the rear of an F-150, with no external heat source. 

Before you rush to prepare a room in your house for this poor homeless fellow , let me reiterate that I am doing this by choice, and wouldn't have it any other way.  There are other affordable options available, but those would require me to either pay rent or live at the expense of others -- neither of which are desirable to me.

What is remarkable about this living arrangement, is that (at least so far) it has been a fairly comfortable existence, even with winter bearing down.  At night, I keep toasty warm in a 15-below zero rated sleeping bag, which cost $70 at Dick's Sporting Goods in Keene.  In the mornings, I enjoy a hot shower at the local YMCA.

Everything I need to live simply, yet comfortably, is right here in the truck.  To save on food, I buy groceries and cook on a portable propane stove.  To keep my groceries from freezing, I keep them in an inexpensive Styrofoam cooler, along with a couple of Nalgene bottles filled with warm water.  I replace the water daily, at my workplace.

My computer is a laptop, and I enjoy free wireless internet at several great locations in Keene... coffee shops, laundromats, restaurants, etc.  My phone is prepaid, and I charge it off my truck battery.  I also keep a 12-volt marine battery and 700-watt power inverter as an additional power source, which gets rarely used in the winter.

The only real problem I have encountered, which I have no good solution for (yet), is condensation.  Since the enclosed truck bed is unheated, there is often water dripping from the ceiling by morning.  I keep my clothes and other effects dry by enclosing them in plastic, or storing them in the cab.

***

December 5, 2007
This morning was the coldest one so far this winter, at a chilly 5 degrees.

***

December 6
This morning I awoke to warm sunshine streaming through the window, out of a clear blue sky!  It was a welcome break from the chilly, overcast weather we've been having.  The insides of the windows are usually covered with a layer of frost by morning, but this morning the sunshine had completely eliminated it!

***

December 7
Another overcast, chilly morning at 5 above zero.  Snow is in the forecast for tonight.

***

December 10
This morning there was a fresh mix of snow and sleet on the ground.
Last night, I parked at a construction site (by permission of the owner).  I woke up this morning to the sound of construction workers.  Surprisingly, no one questioned my presence, even though none of them knew me from Adam, and the fresh snow gave away the fact that I had been inside the truck all night.

***

December 11
The temp this morning was 10 above.  The frost on the windows was exquisite

***

December 13
Last night I tried a suggestion posted on this thread, and slept in the buff (inside the sleeping bag, of course!).  It is amazing how warm it is when you make direct skin contact with the bag lining.  It is completely counterintuitive, but I can attest to the fact that it is indeed warmer that way!

***

December 16
This morning I awoke to ten inches of snow, deposited by last night's Nor'easter.  The parking lot had not been plowed yet, but my truck made it out without a problem.  It is a rear wheel drive, manual transmission without snow tires or chains, yet it gets around in this snowy weather just fine (so far)
The only problem I have encountered with driving on the snowy roads, is getting traction from a complete stop on an uphill grade.  Eventually, I'll just have to give in and buy chains for the rear tires.

***

December 18
Last night was a tad bit chilly.  The temperature was 4 below zero this morning at 9:00, but the sun was already up and starting to warm things up.  Everything was cozy inside the sleeping bag!
I had forgotten what it was like to be in air so cold that the insides of your nostrils dry out, like instantly!

***

December 20
We had another inch or so of snow this morning, but temps were a bit milder, so it's a 'wet cold', which goes right to the bone.
Today I'm leaving for Florida, and won't be back in the NH freezer again until January

***

January 3, 2008
Damn, the plunge back into the NH freezer after eleven balmy days in the Sunshine state is rough!  This morning I woke up to a very chilly 1 above, and snow that squeaks when you walk on it.
My first night back (Jan. 1) I took up Jim and Lauren's very gracious offer to sleep at their house, after they brought me back from Manchester
(I since heard that last night's low was 10 below zero!)

***

January 24, 2008
The past few weeks have been unseasonably warm for the most part.  There were a couple of nights in the slightly below zero range, but the lowest temp I experienced all winter was 10 below.

I'm told both January and February can be brutal here in the Shire, but so far it's been smooth sailing!

***

[kola]

awesome.

Do you have heat/furnance in your truck camper? I picked up good truck camper for 400 dollars with a working furnance, stove, oven, bath/shower and no water leaks. I was living in my tipi at 9,500 ft elevation in the Rocky Mts Thurs thru Sun night but it has gotten way too cold to stay there. All my food was freezing and the temps were in the single digits and lower. So I am now staying in the camper until Spring arrives.

You should try and insulate your camper as much as possible. Especially where you sleep. Get some of that rigid insulation (the thicker the better) and put it underneath where you sleep ( and mattress or foam over top of that). If you do not have a furnace get some type of portable propane heater. They make some safe and inexpensive ones. Winter has just begun and trust me, the cold will become a nuisance.

Keep me posted on your progress and challenges. I have already traveled down some of the hard roads and may be able to offer advice. Enjoy the journey.

Kola

[KJM]

I've spent more than a few nights in my truck as well and had the same problem with condensation in winter, although I never spent enough consecutive time living in my truck to bother coming up with a real solution besides ventilation. Of course cracking a window or camper door would sacrifice security and expose you to even more extreme temperatures and weather, so I guess that's out of the question.

Aside from that you could get a vehicle dehumidifier that runs off the truck battery, but I have no idea how much of a pain and expense that would be nor how effective. The other solution that might work is acquiring some desiccant material, like the silica gel packs they stick inside many consumer product packaging to manage the humidity levels.

I used to work at Kohl's and picked up dozens of these off the floor, especially in the shoe department, and would take them home to put in gun cases, guitar cases, and computer cases among other things. I imagine it would take an awful lot of them to keep the truck bed from fogging up and dripping though. If you don't have access to those, I've read that dry rice works well as a desiccant as well.

[Lex]

In addition to what has already been suggested you can always get a more insulated sleeping bag so that you're not heating the inside of the shell and just stop breathing so god damn much! 

[Puke]

I wondered if you were still alive this morning when I saw your truck. 
It was rather chilly this morning.

[kola]

srqrebel,
I bet we have the same sleeping bag. Is it a Quest mummy style orange and white one? LOL!

I actually use that bag and put it inside a conventional flannel/down sleeping bag and I sleep with a mountain rabbit fur hat on. Check them out at Dicks Sporting Goods..they are 30 bucks and well worth the money.

Be careful of hypothermia. It has the same effcts as getting sleepy.

Kola

[Dave Ridley]

claire wolfe would be proud of you menno!

i am too!

[StaggerLee]

that is amazing!  I wish you the best of luck and look forward greatly to reading about it!

[Pat K]

Menno tis a bold lad ye are.

But I hope you understand
If I don't drop by your abode
to play cards, and such, this Winter.

[dalebert]

That's great Menno. I've often contemplated the idea of living out of a van or some such but never took the plunge.

I was thinking of that stuph they sell at hardware stores to absorb moisture also, but not sure that would be the right way to go. Dry air is rough on your body and the air is probably already pretty dry. I'm not sure it would prevent condensation. You may want to think of something to catch the water and channel it toward the foot of your truck or something- maybe a big sheet of plastic.

[KBCraig]

Having spent many frigid nights in what we in the Army called "aluminum coffins" (where the conductivity of aluminum can make it feel colder inside than outside), I do have a couple of suggestions.

First, insulation between your body and the bed of the truck is your friend. Rigid foam insulation is cheap; buy the aluminum-faced version, and place it aluminum-up, to at least a 1.5" thickness below your sleeping bag. A couple of closed-cell foam sleeping mats will help also (and they're cheap at military surplus stores).

Second, condensation is the enemy, but sealing and insulating the camper shell will only work to trap moisture inside -- the moisture comes from your own breath. A better choice is to ventilate, because that cold dry air will take care of the heat-sucking moisture.

Final note: for a guy who lives in the back of a truck, you have amazing hair. 

[Raineyrocks]

Having spent many frigid nights in what we in the Army called "aluminum coffins" (where the conductivity of aluminum can make it feel colder inside than outside), I do have a couple of suggestions.

First, insulation between your body and the bed of the truck is your friend. Rigid foam insulation is cheap; buy the aluminum-faced version, and place it aluminum-up, to at least a 1.5" thickness below your sleeping bag. A couple of closed-cell foam sleeping mats will help also (and they're cheap at military surplus stores).

Second, condensation is the enemy, but sealing and insulating the camper shell will only work to trap moisture inside -- the moisture comes from your own breath. A better choice is to ventilate, because that cold dry air will take care of the heat-sucking moisture.

Final note: for a guy who lives in the back of a truck, you have amazing hair. 

I remember when my mom kicked me out and I spent some nights in my Plymouth Duster.  The passenger window didn't roll up all of the way, bbbrrrrrr!

[srqrebel]

Wow, what a response, thank you to each of you for your interest!

I'm out of time today (gotta get to work), but I will try and address some of your responses tomorrow


Please Note: The first post in this thread will be edited regularly to add updates.

[Puke]

Having spent many frigid nights in what we in the Army called "aluminum coffins" (where the conductivity of aluminum can make it feel colder inside than outside), I do have a couple of suggestions.

Bradley's?
I knew a tanker in the Army that said he would use a body bag to sleep in. Being air-tight it insulated well. I don't know how he didn't suffocate though? Maybe he was lying.

[dalebert]

I knew a tanker in the Army that said he would use a body bag to sleep in.

Maybe he's a white trash vampire. Body bag = vampire equivalent of a mobile home.