Living in a Travel Trailer (heating, natural, electric, disposal)
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I remember sleeping on snowy ground in a Officers field coat in -28 degrees below in North Korea. Later on had a parka and gloves but still earlier training had us sleep on the snow covered ground...we survived.
A camper can be heated with just a couple of burners going. I did that many yrs later on.
I would call it "roughing it" and not "surviving".
I remember sleeping on snowy ground in a Officers field coat in -28 degrees below in North Korea. Later on had a parka and gloves but still earlier training had us sleep on the snow covered ground...we survived.
A camper can be heated with just a couple of burners going. I did that many yrs later on.
I would call it "roughing it" and not "surviving".
Steve
You won't heat a camper with -just a couple burners going-- if its -28.
You won't heat a camper with -just a couple burners going-- if its -28.
Also if one were to try to live in a camper heated with cooking burners they would die of CO poisoning during the night unless a window or two is left open and then all your heat just goes out and you'll not sleep from it being too cold.
what is a T@B-L? how big is it? i see no reason you cant import it, probably at a cost of 1-2k, . and these things are overpriced as it is.
Thanks for your reply.
Overpriced: well, that depends on what you're comparing it to. In this case, I choose the German model hands down. The T@B travel trailer made by Dutchman doesn't have any of the design features of the European model. In particular, the numerous windows and the skylight.
This trailer is my "white elephant" so, to coin a popular slogan, to me, the T@B is "priceless".
synopsis...all I can say is congratulations. We are a family of four. My husband and I have two grand daughters that we are raising. we have done the 5 bdrm, big house big yard thing. tired of that!.
with that said...
.we have a 2007 starcraft antiqua32 foot travel trailer. It has a queen bed on one side with a wardrobe (small) and the standard overhead cupboards.
on the other side was a queen bed with a bunk overhead and a shirt closet.
For us clothing storage was a problem. here is what we have done and it is fantastic.
we installed another wardrobe on my husbands side of the bed. Previously there was one, only on my side. We now have room for clothes to hang, and in the above compartments we have room for all our folded clothes. we bought shoe racks that hang from under our mattress, and hung my husbands tie rack on the inside of the wardrobe door.
on the girls side of the trailer we took out the queen bed, and made a bunk under the bunk already there. we hung shoe racks from under their mattresses, and I put a bed skirting there also so the shoe rack is not staring you in the face. then under the shirt closet we built a wardrobe. In the shirt closet, I put shelves in so the girls use that as a dresser for their folded clothing. I guess you could just make one big dresser in that area. BUT this also gave the girls a small area to get dressed in, which they didnt have before, because the queen bed was there.
Doing this in the girls area did take storage away from under where the queen bed was. what we did to solve that is this.
we bought a sturdy 5 shelf plastic shelving unit. we put that inside our screen room, and have placed plastic bins on the shelving (labeled even though you can see through the containers). I then put heavy duty vinyl shower liners hung from the inside of the screened room. this keeps the rain and dirt off the stuff in the screen room and allows us to open them when we want air in the screen room. also allows for some privacy.
we spend a lot of time outdoors, and at times it is tight inside . But getting rid of all our "stuff" has given us the freedom to home school the girls, travel where and when we want, and allowed for my husband to work part time instead of 40-60 hours a week.
we love this lifestyle. if you need any organizational tips ....write me.....I am anally organized which helps BIG TIME.
also, if it is affordable for you....rent a travel trailer....something you would consider living in, and try it for a month.
we have camped for 4 yrs in ours and each time we go I find something to do to make the trip easier. the screen room was the first thing we did. this last time when we camped for the month of December....we realized we would need more closet space, soap dispensers that hung on the shower wall so that shampoo bottles weren't falling on us, etc. if you can organize yourself, it will work.
good camping to you.
just a quick note on the washer and dryer....as stated, unless you have a fifth wheeler or larger, you wont have a washer and dryer...but if you stay at a park, you CAN buy (used on craigs list if possible) a washer/dryer combo, and hook it up to your extra outlet at the park. or use their machines.
what we do is this...we have a large basin. I have the girls presoak their dirty clothes with "shout" to keep their clothes from staining. They wash their clothes in the basin, wringe them out, and rinse them in another basin. we add 1/4 cup vinegar to the rinse basin to act like fabric softner....then they wring and hang their clothes to dry. the towels we opt to wash and dry at the machines where we park....but could also do those the same as the clothing.
you would be surprised how kids are careful of their clothes when they are taking care of the clothes themselves. NO MORE CLOTHES in the hamper that are clean....lol
We have done this. Washer/dryer puts a lot of moisture in the air in a TT/5th which raises your level of humidity contributing to mold growth and the vibration is very hard on the frame. You must be very vigilant about leaking water. On the moderately priced units, they start to come apart at about 8 years. Refrigerators, water heaters, furnaces, A/C all cost a lot more than in conventional homes or mobile homes. They are good for temporary situations but long term, they are not a good investment. We called the washer/dryer my husband's "hobby" when it came to repairs. A couple of really good websites if not already noted would be: RV and Escapees RV Club – the club for all RVers. I would leave the house in a minute to full-time in an RV, less than a minute and I don't move that quickly these days but to give up the hassle of the house and nothing beats having everything you own right there with you when you pull over at the rest stop!
the environment in travel trailer is to close for teenager children and if you study some pshyhology books or ask your friends with teenager you will notice,that in teenager age they want their SPACE and are not so crazyabout to be so close to parents and communicate soo much with them...at the beginning it might be exciting for a smaller child to live in a travel trailer with parents,but later many problems will occur...my friend lives in one and has friends with teenager living in travel trailers and their children are not HAPPY with the decision they parents took,but they had no athor choice..they are permanently argueing,because nobody can have his own space and own privacy,because everything is so close to each other....
I'm wondering what the OP ended up doing...
I know this post is from almost two years ago, but...
The privacy 'needs' of a teenager are a product of cultural norms. Kids today have been raised with a high expectation of privacy due to the relative affluence of our culture. It wasn't long ago that the average house wasn't much bigger (or any bigger) than a Class A RV or 25 ft TT and siblings shared beds and bathroom time. It wasn't until the post war affluence of the 50s where we started to see larger homes, multiple bathrooms, then later each child having to have his own bedroom, etc. Prior to this time, many less affluent homes didn't even have hot water (or possibly, running water!) and here in Texas small towns, there were sex-segregated community bathhouses (hows that for privacy!)
I spent 3 months when I was 15 in a popup camper with a preteen brother and parents. I wouldn't call it 'barely surviving' as another poster said.
it's ok if u r by your self i have a 37ft forest river salem hooked up in the back yard i call it maw maw's retreat i have the bunkbeds for the grands to spend the night,also the privacy when i dont want to be around anyone
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Owning a T@B-L: Priceless!
