will I survive Maine Winter (Waltham: rent, buying, to live in)

[starwalker]

living in a camper in the winter... I have just one comment... frozen holding tank!

If your rig has an inside 'loo... don't use it. I lived in my folks motor home (22 ft Winnibago) while building my home on the western slope of CO. Dad didn't trust anyone but himself to drive it, so ever so often he would come out, get the rig and drive it to the nearest dumping station, about 12 miles away.

Think November... freezing temps during the night, but not THAT cold. Above freezing during the day... but on the day in question a bitter cold north wind. And in that 12 mile journey the spigot for the holding tank froze. We got to the dumping station, connected up and nothing came out.

By the time we got the rig another 10 miles or so to his home, where he could partly pull it into the garage, the holding tank contents was freezing as well... He managed to get his dipstick heater down the toilet and into the contents... I don't recall how he managed to break through the ice though... and then the rig sat there for a few days while he allowed the heater top do its thing and waited for the weather to warm to go dump.

I understand now there are heaters that you can affix to the bottom of the tank... but that presupposes you have electricity or are running the rig regularly, I guess.

I know that for years, every time I saw a motorhome or camper going down the road in the winter time I wondered... were they sitting on 30 gallons of frozen "black water?"

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by boonskyler

the land in Ellsworth are 2 parcels, #1 is 2.5 acres not on tree growth, #2 is 108 acres on tree growth and need to renew in five years,both for $150,000 and they are R2 zoning i think.I did not expect to find any land that access/build able can cost less than $1000/ac. I should have spend more time searching!!.

My SIL bought 105 acres of treegrowth for $38k. Good paved road, power / phone / DSL at the pavement.

The realtor saw you coming.

[Submariner]

We have a Fleetwood 'Southwind' motorhome. The tanks need to be flushed and emptied in preparation for the winter, a few gallons of RV-grade anti-freeze goes into the potable tank and is circulated through the pump.

Our eldest son tried wintering in it, however he found that it just was not made for that capability.

[boonelsewhere]

thanks NMLM,
I hope to have the trailer there sometime in May 2008 and hope to the small living space up by Nov. You are right to keep the trailer warm is very expensive and inconvinence try to have the lp tanks refill.

Have you closed on the land in Ellsworth? Up here you can buy 350 acres for $120,000.

I own the land since June 2007, well I did not know better, I though it was a good deal.

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by boonskyler

I am in Florida/Virginia, here in Virginia for about a year now to prepare myself for a northern state(Maine) winter, I am fine with Virginia winter, I think i should be some what ready for the real thing.

I don't want to burst your bubble, but I don't think that a winter in VA is going to go very far toward preparing you for a winter in ME. You are going to be, what, nearly 1,000 miles further north?

From southern ME to northern ME alone the winter can vary considerably. VA to ME, you're in for a surprise. Heck, the difference from MA to a couple, three hundred miles north in ME can be quite a bit.

Here are to listings of the averages for your town in VA and Ellsworth, ME (if you don't see the numbers, click "Table Display").

Monthly Averages for Ellsworth, ME - weather.com

Monthly Averages for Schuyler, VA - weather.com

[Golanus]

A lot of people so far have given you excellent advice, particularly about heating. But I just had to jump in & give a slightly more detailed perspective.
My advice is from living in ME and within 100 miles of where I am now all my life, and spent 10 years living in a camper (spring to fall, no winters). I heat primarily with wood.
Here are some things to consider:

You can live a month without food up here, you can live a week without water, but during the worst cold you can't survive 2 days with no heat.

Order or cut far more wood than you think you need. Our house is small & tight when shut up for the winter and it takes only about 3 cords or so to heat. But if your house is large, not well-insulated or drafty it might take a lot more. I know folks who burn 7-8 cords in a winter.

There is cold, and then there is C-C-C-COLD!!! I have spent most of my life well-adapted to cold weather, and it still suprises me the difference between 20 degrees and 20 below zero with a 30 mph wind. It is a startling phenomenon!

Lastly, I would like to say that, as already has been hinted at: That nothing works properly in the cold, especially man-made devices. The things that you count on to keep you going and out of trouble all seems to have a tendency to fail at the same time when it is cold out, leaving you in some desperate & ridiculous circumstances sometimes! Living in the cold can be a real challenge. I have never been in a situation where all systems broke down at once, but I have been close many times and it could easily happen!
Picture a situation where a bad storm has hit, your power is out, your pipes are frozen leaving you with no water & no septic and you can't get to town because the roads are all closed. Just one example.

Don't want to sound negative, the dream I used to have is very similar to yours, but now I picture it someplace warmer (or at least with a shorter winter & less snow).
But Good Luck whatever you choose to do!

[boonelsewhere]

Golanus, thanks for the well inform advise.

Winter is my most fear moving to the northern states.

We vacation in Vermont during winter is was beautiful we drove around and like just like a poster pictures place where I would like to live. We went back to New England during spring,fall and it just beautiful as winter and very different.

For the past 4-5 years, I want to a move to the northern states but the fear of winter keep stop from make a move, but the thinking of moving still there.
I just feel it is time to do it, the though is not going to go away. Here i came Maine.

your pipes are frozen leaving you with no water & no septic and you can't get to town because the roads are all closed.

that never cross my mind, I guess i happen. have to do some reading on this subject.

[bigchuckie]

Originally Posted by boonskyler

I grew up and live in the area that all I need to ware is short and t-shirt. The food market always near by can easily walk to store and buy enough for dinner and breakfast for the morning.
In the past couple years I have been try to find a place in the northern states to live for a change. I found a large parcel of forest land in Ellsworth and plan to move there in 2008, will grow/raise my own food and live on the what ever land provide, use wood stove to keep the house warm.
Am I ready for Maine?, I am scare, exited and not sure I will survive the winter there.

Most of the land on the coast is very rocky and very hard to get a plow through. Most of which is grown there is Blueberries and some other smokeable weed.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by bigchuckie

Most of the land on the coast is very rocky and very hard to get a plow through. Most of which is grown there is Blueberries and some other smokeable weed.

Are you suggesting that the roads can not be plowed because the soil is too rocky?

Or are you talking about tilling the soil?

The 'One Straw Revolution' is about focusing on agricultural techniques where you never till the soil. You learn to work with nature. Weeds grow because those plants find a healthy environment for them, and in turn they each effect the soil to bring it back toward balance [where other more favourable crops could grow].

A small natural clearing over here could be used to grow barley, all by hand and harvested using a scythe.

A small clearing over there, well maybe the soil is not right yet for barley, so we can grow squash there.

And in amongst the trees we can grow 'X' crops.

And over on those rocky ledges 'Y' grows well.

Pigs work well to root around, turning up the soil and loosening stumps and rocks. Chickens are good at stripping soil of all vegetation, to allow you to see the soil and work better on what does grow there. Goats are great on high brush, sheep are good on low brush.

Boon - sorry about stepping here in to try and explain the process, I was concerned that some folks had not entirely understood what you were saying that you desired to attempt doing.

You are coming at agriculture, from a slightly different world-view, than some of the folks here on this forum. Again I suggest that you consider getting to know some of the organic CSAs in Maine. Some of those folks are practicing no-till.

I do no-till myself as well, in case you could not observe, however I have not yet been very successful in my efforts.

[starwalker]

Living "beyond the sidewalks" and power lines, etc. in Eastern WA raising my kids we got well versed in the "what can go wrong, will" dept.

Made me a big believer in redundant systems, alternatives to alternatives and creative thinking. Many a time I walked the mile to the year round spring with two, 5 gallon pails, to bring back water until things thawed... 'cause the truck wouldn't start either. A mile with two, cold wet sloshing 40 lb buckets over uneven, icy roads and up an icy hill was NOT fun, but it was do-able. I got "snowed out" one time, having left dishes soaking in the sink and came home to a sink full of frozen water! (kerosene lamp under the sink and getting the fire going eventually solved that one.)

Had no septic issues... but needed to make sure the outhouse was on an empty-enough hole before winter started.

Things you can never have too much of:
fire wood
matches (keep some in a coffee can with silica pack to keep DRY) as well as lighters and fluid
candles
food that cannot be damaged by freezing or interruption of electric service (home canned goods will expand and break the jar when they freeze, commercial cans may break the seal and become unsafe)
water storage (that can not freeze, in case of cold with no snow to melt)

We had a wood cook stove and when we moved up in the world a propane one as well, for the summer), kerosene, propane and 12V electric lights, propane fridge and root cellar, plus the back porch as a fridge in winter, solar food dryer.

I was always on top of the propane level as well as kerosene and candle stash

The alternative -- freezing and starving in the cold and dark -- was NOT an option.