[HollidayS]

My husband and I are planning on going nomadic as soon as we can sell our small organic farm here in Indiana. What I'd like to know is if there are any members who have lived the RV lifestyle and still prepped. If so, can you give us some advice as to what to do, or not do. Thanks

 

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

your going to want to know your unit inside and out and be able to fix most of it

RV repairs on the road are very costly , keep some extra parts , keep a second mode of transport , a car you tow or a motorcycle

keep up on the maintenance and form freindships , it is very handy to be able to pull up in front of a friends house to visit and spend the night , maybe even fill up the fresh water tank

I did not live on the road , but when i was about 6 my grand parents retired and full timed it for 10 years , then did 10 more as snow birds I spent some time with them grandpa kept up on his maintenance , they had good tires before they headed out , he had bussiness contacts from when he was running his trucking company and worked through them for tires , they would return "home" to where family was for much of the summer they might spend a few nights in front of our house and a few at my uncles , then go visits grandmas brother and sister then head off for a short trip up north then swing back

it can help to have a home base , although with so many things gone to email and online it isn't as the same as it was , My dad was the Base for my grandparents , he got their mail deposited their checks , took phone calls and they called to check in these were the days of standing at a pay phone calling home , luckily it was just as calling cards came about and got affordable.


I am sure others will have more ideas for you.

 

[HollidayS]

your going to want to know your unit inside and out and be able to fix most of it

RV repairs on the road are very costly , keep some extra parts , keep a second mode of transport , a car you tow or a motorcycle

keep up on the maintenance and form freindships , it is very handy to be able to pull up in front of a friends house to visit and spend the night , maybe even fill up the fresh water tank

I did not live on the road , but when i was about 6 my grand parents retired and full timed it for 10 years , then did 10 more as snow birds I spent some time with them grandpa kept up on his maintenance , they had good tires before they headed out , he had bussiness contacts from when he was running his trucking company and worked through them for tires , they would return "home" to where family was for much of the summer they might spend a few nights in front of our house and a few at my uncles , then go visits grandmas brother and sister then head off for a short trip up north then swing back

it can help to have a home base , although with so many things gone to email and online it isn't as the same as it was , My dad was the Base for my grandparents , he got their mail deposited their checks , took phone calls and they called to check in these were the days of standing at a pay phone calling home , luckily it was just as calling cards came about and got affordable.


I am sure others will have more ideas for you.

Thanks. for the input. Those are things we had counted on, but thing thing i'm concerned with is prepping on the road. I have been canning, dehydrated, etc., for over 40 years and don't know if there are pitfalls besides weight. I realize my camper has to stay under a certain weight for my husbands 1 ton 15 pass. Ram van to pull. I was trying to tell my husband that we should do all our canning at our home base and just take what we can carry and still stay under the weight restriction. We will be buying 3 separate pieces of land. One north, one south and one half way in between. We can have stock at each one.

 

[beaglebiz]

Don't forget the heavier the rv is.. The worse the mpg's. Traveling with it packed all the time is not cost effective.

 

[Cygnet]

I live full time in a fifth wheel, though it's parked and not going anywhere.

Consider cold weather. If you end up stuck somewhere in winter, do you have what you'll need to get through? Most campers are NOT designed for true cold, even the less expensive "four seasons" type rigs. Even if you can baby a poorly designed trailer through freezing temps, you'll spend a ton on propane. (Mine sails through winter easily, but it's actually, truly, designed for cold weather. Little details matter, like a propane furnace that vents the moisture outside, and heated compartments for the wastewater tanks -- a pyramid of poo is annoying enough to deal with, without it being a frozen pyramid of poo.)

Also, if you plan to do canning on the road, I'd suggest that you get an outside propane burner and extra tanks for it. Remember that you need to haul all your gas with you. Also, most campers have tiny kitchens, with midget sized appliances -- I'm pretty sure my pressure canner wouldn't fit on the range in my kitchen, and even if it did, the burners probably wouldn't support the weight.

(While you're at it, if you plan to can or bake on the road, get yourself a GPS that tells altitude, so you can adjust cooking times accordingly.)

 

[fordy]

My husband and I are planning on going nomadic as soon as we can sell our small organic farm here in Indiana. What I'd like to know is if there are any members who have lived the RV lifestyle and still prepped. If so, can you give us some advice as to what to do, or not do. Thanks

...............You need to do a considerable amount of research about the various types of RV's before you invest your $$$$$! Some trailers have lots of storage and some have almost none . The newer RV's both 5'vers and tongue pulls come equipped with frames that are NOT as strong as they should be and they bend and come apart causing ALL KINDS OF DAMAGE , that may OR may NOT be covered by the mfger and\or the owners insurance .
...............I've been living in my 5'ver almost 8 years and I'm still learning every day that goes by . An older , well built trailer , will be a heavy trailer and will require more than likely a dually , one ton truck to haul it from place to place . Really , everything depends upon how much dinero you have to invest in good equipment to facilitate your new lifestyle . , fordy

 

[Vosey]

So I'm grappling with this issue for a big move this Spring. Just a 3 week trek across the US in a truck camper and I'm stressed trying to figure out the prepping.

Water worries me, I'll take a pile of water purifier tabs.

I'm planning on a small amount of "meals in a jar" like chili and stew, beef to shred or make into soups. I've been focusing on dehydrating our harvest this year instead of canning. Lightweight and makes great soup, additions to stews, scrambled eggs etc. Dried milk and dairy for emergencies.

But dog food is going to be a big issue. 3 dogs and dog food takes up a lot of room. Will just cross our fingers we can buy it along the way

Looking forward to some ideas here!

 

[fordy]

So I'm grappling with this issue for a big move this Spring. Just a 3 week trek across the US in a truck camper and I'm stressed trying to figure out the prepping.

Water worries me, I'll take a pile of water purifier tabs.

I'm planning on a small amount of "meals in a jar" like chili and stew, beef to shred or make into soups. I've been focusing on dehydrating our harvest this year instead of canning. Lightweight and makes great soup, additions to stews, scrambled eggs etc. Dried milk and dairy for emergencies.

But dog food is going to be a big issue. 3 dogs and dog food takes up a lot of room. Will just cross our fingers we can buy it along the way

Looking forward to some ideas here!

...........For a truck camper I'd suggest acquiring a 12 to 16 foot , tandem axle cargo trailer and use it to enhance your storage of necessary items as well as organize your 'prepper' inventory . , fordy

 

[wy_white_wolf]

Make stashes along your planned travel routes. Water, food, and fuel. if the van is gas get rid of it for a diesel. That would store longer without going bad.

Preppers had an episode in the first year of a trucker that was a prepper. it's available on Netflix so it may give you some ideas.

WWW

 

[Ernie]

I know people who converted an old school bus to a very nice and functional living quarters that they travel around and live in. Family of 5.

 

[dlskidmore]

What are you planning to preserve on the road? Generally it is cheaper to buy pre-preserved food than to buy it fresh and can it yourself. If you're going to stay parked long enough to grow your own, that's your home base and you can store everything there. You'll need a small structure for storage, may as well put a small prep kitchen in it and have a good sized propane tank.

 

[Forcast]

I know people who converted an old school bus to a very nice and functional living quarters that they travel around and live in. Family of 5.

Inlaws live in a school bus. Have for ever. have water hauled in to tanks on a hill and use a hose. Washington State

 

[used2bcool13]

Do you want to prepare your preps on the road or are you looking for ideas on how to store your preps.

The lightest items would be best obviously, in our rv we have storage under the beds and seats, easy to store dry goods and dehydrated foods, My canner wont fit on the stove, like cygnet said, you would need an outdoor stove to can. If you could come up with a solar dehydrator that would be great, esp if it mounted on the roof, lol.
Great ideas.