Blog has Shifted

I have shifted this blog to a Wordpress platform on the Nomadic Home website. I will leave this blog here, but will not be updating it any more. Instead I will continue this blog on the new platform. Clicking on the title of this post will take you there.

Stoves and Ovens

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There are a variety of stoves and ovens that are suitable for a nomadic home. I would avoid using electric ones, due to the expense of generating enough electricity to run them. So you will be looking at stoves/ovens that run on a combustable fuel. The following list gives some comparison of fuel types.

Kerosene (paraffin) is reliable, cheap and has a hot flame. It is readily available in most parts of the world.

Alcohol provides less heat, is fairly expensive and is not as widely available around the world. It is popular and available in North America and Scandinavia.

LPG/Propane/Butane is very convenient to use and has a hot flame. It is usually fairly economical to use. Disadvantages are that different geological locations use different fittings to connect the bottle to the stove, which can also create problems getting bottles filled. Due to the fact that LPG/Propane is heavier than air, it can be hazardous to use on boats, with leaking gas settling in the bilges, creating a risk of explosion. Probably not such a concern in a nomadic home, which sits on wheels, as an open door would let the gas run out, of it's own accord, if a leak were to develop.

Diesel is available just about everywhere and when used in stoves/ovens such as the Canadian made Dickinson and British made Taylors are excellent in cold climates, as they also both warm and dry the entire nomadic home. Generally they will also share the same type of fuel as the homes engine, which means you aren't carrying an extra type of fuel, just to do the cooking. Due to the fact that most diesel stoves/ovens take quite awhile to reach cooking temperatures, they are not particularly well suited to traveling in hot climates. For those who spend time in both hot and cold climates, a diesel stove/oven can be suitable with the addition of a portable stove, using one of the above fuels. They can be set on top of the diesel stove/oven when in hot climates.

Wood/Coal/Charcoal. Stoves/ovens running on these solid fuels are much like their diesel counterparts in use, with the same advantages and disadvantages in the main. Some of them are only designed for burning one type of solid fuel, which can be problematic. For instance charcoal is sold in many places, only during summer. Coal is sometimes only availabe in winter and not at all in some places. Wood is freely available in some places and scarce in others. If a solid fuel stove/oven is the choice of preference, then a multi fuel (wood/coal/charcoal) burner would be a sensible choice.

A First Home

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My work friend Terry has done something, which in modern society is probably considered unusual, but I think is actually quite far sighted. For his teenage son's bedroom, he has bought an old house bus.



The bus is fully self contained with kitchen, bathroom, shower, wood fire and running hot/cold water. For a teenage boy, having the bus now means he has a certain amount of autonomy, which is important at that age. Along with the fact that the bus is old, Terry feels that it was not thought out that well, in conception. So he plans on doing it up with his son, to make it more functional, with better use of space. He is also planning on mechanically improving it as well. Currently it has the original petrol motor, which will be replaced with a modern diesel. The suspension and brake systems will also be updated. Because father and son will be doing the work together, Terry intends for his son to become competent at carrying out maintenance for himself. Most important in my opinion is that once his son is old enough, has learned to drive and has the relevant driving licences, Terry intends to hand over ownership to his son, so that he will start his adult life already owning his own home! I don't know that many people get that kind of start in life.

Here are some photo's of the interior as it is currently.

New Link on Website (The £200 Millionaire)

I have just put up "The £200 Millionaire" by Weston Martyr, in it's entirety, with a link to it on the web site. www.nomadichome.org

Don't let appearances deceive, I will tidy it up, before expanding the site, but am learning as I go.

Pics of my Westfalia (Set up for Two)

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This post is republished here with kind permission from http://www.faliaphotography.com
It gives a good perspective of how two people can live comfortably in the small space, which is a VW van.

I posted pictures, several months ago, of what the inside of my van looked like when I was the only one living in it. It was very organized, cozy, and everything had its place. Believe it or not, my van is still very organized, even though there are now two of us living in it. I got rid of a bunch of stuff before Dan moved in, and I only really kept my essentials in here with me. It takes a lot of focus some days, but I always try to put stuff away before things get out of control in here. When things start to get messy, they get messier real fast. This is what happens if I haven't felt like cleaning in a few days, I need to get into my engine compartment, and my bench-seat storage compartment isn't easily accessible. I go crazy when I don't have any floor space:


Luckily that doesn't happen too often. I try to keep it like this with two of us living in it:






I don't think I've posted any photos yet of my awesome front "breakfast nook" and "typing area" that appears when I set up my table and swivel the front seats. It really gives my van a stronger sense of home, especially with the top popped:




It is really amazing how huge my van seems when the top is popped up. It literally gives me an upstairs where I can feel completely alone inside my van, even if someone is typing up front and someone else is hanging out on the "down-stairs" bed. I love my van... (but you all know that)

My van makes me a true home-owner. Back when I actually "owned a house," I didn't actually own a house. The bank owned it. I don't know why that classified me as a home-owner. NOW I am truthfully a home-owner, since my van is bought and paid for. The best home I could ever ask for is all mine, on wheels, and organized better than my stick-built house ever was.

Web Site (Off Topic)

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I started this blog as a blog, because it was a: free, and b: required no technical skills to publish on the internet.

I do like the blogging format, but feel that a web site would enable me to compile more resources in a more useful format. To this end I have decided to start one. Here is the address www.nomadichome.com Until I start to figure out a bit about putting a web site together, it will be as it is now, which is a title page linking to this blog, but I do intend on developing it, as I develop the skills to do so.

Heads and Holding Tanks

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I don't know if it is the same on land based nomadic homes, but for people living on boats, an inordinate amount of time and energy is spent on the toilet. Most of the time it is either trying to fix it or thinking of ways to make it so it doesn't need fixing. I have noticed that a lot of motor homes, house buses and trucks being sold advertise as having a marine toilet, so maybe mobile people on land do spend just as much time on it too.

This post is based entirely from the water-born nomadic home perspective, as that is where my own experience is from. My guess is that a reasonable amount of it will apply to nomadic homes on wheels.

There are several different approaches, with different pros and cons.

Bucket and chuck it: Very cheap, reliable, doesn't take up much room. In fact this is probably one of the most pragmatic solutions. It's not my choice. I just don't like it, but there is no practical reason not to.

Porta-pottie: These should work for most people in most situations. They are very portable and can be emptied at any public toilet. I have one for camping, but must admit I have always been able to find a public toilet when I have taken the porta-pottie with me. I'm actually a little hesitant to use it, because of their reputation for smelling. I think that the reason people have smell problems with them is because the treatment chemicals most people use are formaldehyde based. Not only does it have a bad chemical smell to start with, but is also toxic to handle and creates an anaerobic process in the holding tank, which will permeate the air with the sent of sewerage. I have an alternative product called Bio Magic. It contains no poisons, enzymes, bacteria, bleach etc. It is supposed to work by supplying large amounts of oxygen to the existing bacteria, creating an aerobic process, which doesn't smell. When I do try it out, I will report on the effectiveness of it.

Flush toilet: With or without a holding tank, this is what most people aim for. These units also account for the most regular maintenance problems of any system in a boat. The problem in my opinion is that they are invariably over engineered and over complicated, often leaving their owners up to their elbows in sewerage, at the most inconvenient times. By way of remedy, I have one word Lavac. Lavac's are a vacuum toilet, in either manual or electric. I have a manual one on my boat and the only moving part is a Henderson mark 5 diaphragm pump. The whole front of the pump unscrews, to clear any blockage quickly and cleanly. The Lavac can be either plumbed straight over the side, or to a holding tank. If you do plumb it to a holding tank, you still only need the one pump. With the addition of two Y valves, that one pump can either discharge overboard, into the holding tank, or be used to pump out the holding tank.

Plumbing: Smell from a flush toilet comes from two places. Plumbing or the holding tank. This is one area that you don't want to economize in. Sanitation hose needs to be made specifically for the job. It is expensive, but nothing else will prevent smell. Even proper sanitation hose will need to be replaced periodically, but you should get a couple of years use before odors start to permeate. Rigid PVC pipe works well, is impermeable but won't last in the constantly moving environment of a boat. I don't know if the same problem occurs with nomadic homes on wheels. If it doesn't, it would be the material to use.

Holding tanks: There are only two materials that you should consider for a holding tank. Polypropylene or Linear Polyethylene. Don't go thinking that a stainless steel tank is a good option either. It needs constant oxygen to avoid corrosion, which it won't get, if it is holding sewerage.In the case of Polypropylene, the wall thickness should be at least 1/4 inch thick, to prevent odor permeating and thicker for strength in bigger tanks. There are a lot of superstitions regarding odor control with holding tanks. Some people recommend using very large breather tubes to get plenty of air in, to aid the aerobic process. Others will try to run fish tank aerating pumps to achieve the same thing. It doesn't work. The tank has to be impermeable to odor, which is why I have specified the two above materials. In the past I corresponded with a gentleman who designs municipal sewerage systems. In his opinion, it is impossible to get enough oxygen into a small system, such as a holding tank. Instead the best option is to keep the odor in the tank. You will still need a breather pipe big enough so that the tank doesn't implode when being emptied, or explode when being filled. This will emit some odor when flushing, as air is expelled from the tank at the same time. Afterward, the odor will stay in the tank.

Terry's Caravan

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Terry is a friend from work. He has also spent most of his adult life living in house trucks, so I though it would be worth checking out his current living situation for this blog.
Awhile ago he bought a piece of land at the top of a BIG hill. here is a composite photo of his view. Click on it to get a better idea of what he looks out onto.


For accommodation, Terry has placed a collection of old buses, trucks and a caravan. This is a work in progress, which should be quite comfortable when he is finished. At the moment he is using the caravan as the kitchen. He is also planning on going traveling in it, when his son has grown up and moved on. despite outside appearances, it will be luxury for a single person.


This small, old, home-built caravan, is Terry's pride and joy and after having a look through it, I can understand why. It is only about ten feet long, but because the interior has been so well thought out, has much more room than the size would suggest.

At the front is a table between two seats (with proper inner sprung cushions!). The table drops down, to create a single bed, which ends up with a comfortable inner sprung mattress, using the seat cushions. Along the back is a couch, which converts into a double bed and along the right hand side, (with loads of storage under) is the kitchen.


Above the sink are a couple of storage lockers.



All of the way around the top of the walls and under the overhead lockers is a fidrail shelf, which adds yet more unobtrusive storage.


I didn't take any photo's of the left hand side of the caravan, because it only shows the doorway and a floor to ceiling cupboard. Terry feels that, that cupboard is a poor use of space (the only issue he has with this caravan), and he plans on replacing it with a really nice old "Runlight" wood burning oven that he has. The Runlight is a small stove, being only about 18 inches wide and about 12 inches deep. I have spent time on a couple of boats that had them, when I was a child and have very fond memories of them (they require very small amounts of fuel, cook magnificently and provide nice dry heat). He will mount the stove at about knee height and will put a storage cupboard under it.

Earning a living

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One of the most common questions asked by people who are interested in starting a nomadic life is: how do you earn a living, while on the move? It is also the one question that seems to be completely ignored by authors of books, telling of their glorious lifestyles, living and traveling in their various nomadic homes.

I would like to correct that omission right here and now by giving the answer to that question; however it is not that simple to answer, which is why almost no-one else explains how to do it.

Because I don't have the complete answer, I will give my thoughts on the subject, based on my own perspective. Maybe some other people will comment on their ideas or experiences.

From my perspective, I want to travel to other countries, where I already know that I will be denied any kind of work visa, so that adds an additional hurdle. I know that many people in this situation do under the table work for cash, to get around this legality. I don't consider that approach to be sustainable, because if you are caught, you will be booted out of the country and probably won't be able to get back in. So I am only interested in legal options.

Also from a moral perspective, the words gypsy, tinker, carnies etc.. conjure up negative connotations with many bricks n sticks dwellers, due to some of those nomadic dwellers who have made their incomes by scamming or stealing. Our actions have an effect on people who follow us, so we have a duty to not only live our unconventional lives honestly, but also to be seen to live honestly. I don't like to see governing bodies given ammunition to further restrict peoples legal rights, criminalize, or otherwise penalize them simply for living in a nomadic home.

That really only gives me a couple of realistic options. The first and most obvious option is to live off savings, which I have already discounted as being unsustainable. Once I start, I want to be able to be nomadic indefinitely. Living off interest and dividends is a sustainable alternative, but by the time I have enough invested to do that, I will have missed the opportunity to enjoy the lifestyle.

The most practical solution that I can think of is to run a business, based in my own country (New Zealand). By my understanding, provided any services that my own business provide come from my country of origin, then I should be able to work within the laws of other countries, without needing a work permit. That means that if I am selling anything, the products would have to be payed for in my home country and shipped from there too. It would in reality be an export business. The internet makes it much more feasible to work a business, on the move than was the case, just a few years ago. I have started doing some experiments on the internet to test the feasibility of this idea.

If I can generate enough income, it would become viable to start building an investment portfolio, to supplement living costs until such time as I could reduce the amount of time needed to work a business. Realistically the best kind of cash-flow to be developing is a passive one, so that my time can be both more productive and spent more, doing the things that I want to do.

So the next thing to decide is what kind of business do I have relevant experience to start and also requires minimal resources to start and run.

Looking back at my work history I have worked in the following industries/jobs: Broadcast Media and Audio Engineering/Musician/Private Music Teacher/Retail and Mail Order Management. For about the last six years I have been working in different roles, on the coal face of Transport/Freight/Logistics.

I don't think that any of the specific jobs I have done would work in a future nomadic lifestyle, but I do think that I should be able to use skills and experience gained from the combination of jobs to develop something new. Part of writing this blog is to help develop my writing skills, which I think will also come in handy.

I believe there could be a roll in broadcasting via the internet, but nothing specific comes to me specifically, that I can see an immediate way to generate income from and gain satisfaction at the same time. But I will keep it in the back of my mind, just in case I do see an opportunity.

Creating music also looks to be a difficult task to create an income from, though I have enough equipment to do recording and with time, I should be able to create and refine enough original music to be able to start selling it through the internet. I don't see much income coming from that, but once it's created and online, there are no real costs for making it available, so could be a small part of a diversified income stream. For me it is also a fulfilling pastime when I get time to do it.

I don't see any potential in teaching music, as apart from it being very labour intensive, rather than passive earning, it would require a work permit in any other country. The experience that I gained in educating people may come in useful though, if I could think up some kind of consulting role in an area that I have worthwhile experience in. As a big part of my teaching was in full band production, I know a lot about team building and co-ordination from a practical perspective.

My retail and mail order experience is definitely useful and I see that becoming very useful for developing any kind of internet based business.

Landscape photography is something that I have been very slowly working on for several years now. Due to prior broadcast video camera experience I do know how to frame good shots. I have got to the point of having high quality posters printed from a couple of my stock photo's, which I am starting to experiment with online selling. At this point in time I am using 35mm transparency film which will blow up to a maximum of A2 in size, and retain full clarity. Neither digital or colour negative film can be produced to the same quality at this size yet. At such time as I become more serious about photography, I will probably need to get a medium format camera, but I don't think that makes economic sense at this stage.

Transport/Freight/Logistics is a subject which I have become interested in, as I have been working in different sectors of it. I think there is a possibility of developing a consultancy niche within it, once I work out where my experience can offer specific value to businesses (probably small businesses) that isn't already being met. Because I still work in this industry, I am still gaining experience and insight in this field.

Due to the fact that I am still in full-time employment and work very erratic shifts throughout the 24 hour day/seven day week, my time is limited for developing my nomadic income ideas.

Part of the equation in my circumstance is that my partner and I decided that it would make more economic sense to buy a house with enough land to build my dream boat own, than to rent land to do it, while living on the boat that I currently have. In some ways this slows things down while we are paying a mortgage, but in the long term, I think it will make things easier. If we can pay off about half the mortgage, by making extra payments, then the remaining payments will be low enough to get a property manager to rent it out and cover the mortgage payments while we travel. This could also allow us to pay it off sooner and give us additional rental income, reducing what we need to earn and gives us a place to return to periodically from our travels and permanently when we reach the age of decrepitude.

Seating

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Living in a nomadic homes tends to involve a lot of time spent outdoors. Why else would you do so much traveling, if not to experience the places you go to?

At the end of the day, though. When you retire to your nomadic home, you find yourself doing a lot of sitting down, so some thought should be invested into making this as comfortable as possible.

There is some flexibility in both height and depth of seats, provided they relate to each other. In other words, the more depth you have, the less height and vice-versa. as a guide, the depth (front to back) can be between 16 and 22 inches (400mm and 560mm). The height can be between 12 and 17 inches (300mm and 430mm). So as an example of how to use that scale, it could be 16 inches deep by 17 inches high, or 22 inches deep by 12 inches high, or somewhere in between, provided the same inverse scale is used.

The back rest should be angled back by about 10 degrees. Straight back rests can become very uncomfortable, very quickly.

As has been pointed out to me by several long term house truck owners, the most comfortable seating on wheels, is the standard house hold couch. It's a shame that house hold couch's are not practical on most boats, they are used on some large barge's and house boats, typically where they remain in sheltered water.

Another consideration when designing seating areas, is to make sure people can be seated without facing each other directly. Even facing at right angles can give the illusion of more personal space in what is a confined living area, which can go a long way in maintaining relationships with co-habitant's.

A Place For Everything and Everything In It's Place: Storage

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Storage occupies a large area in the minds of people living in a typical nomadic home. Given that the typical size of a nomadic home is not very big, organization is essential. So everything needs to be well planned.

Because by it's very nature, the nomadic home moves, everything needs to be secured in one way or another during travel. More so on salty water than on the road. Never the less, the principle is the same. For the record, even though my nomadic living experience was entirely on the water, I have also been a commercial, long haul articulated truck driver, so am familiar with the way stuff behaves on the road.

I am only going to go into basic principles here, as there are numerous different ways to achieve the specifics, depending on the situation. If anyone wants me to extrapolate on the storage of a specific item, just mention it in the comments and I will either reply, or do a post on it.

Anything breakable such as glassware and crockery needs to be secured firmly, from movement. Some padding between items will cut down rattling noises, but isn't necessarily needed, depending on how it is secured.

Something to consider with hanging clothes, is that movement of a nomadic home will cause chafe, which will wear them out much quicker than normal wear and tear. Some options here are to accept the need to replace them much more regularly. Don't wear clothes that need hanging, or at least reduce the number that do.If you have a flat base (not slats) under bed or seat squabs, you can layout clothes flat between them, to keep them looking at least semi pressed.

For other items, including clothes, the usual method of storage will most likely be cupboards, lockers and secured, or lift and pull draws.

With closed compartments like lockers etc, ventilation is important. Particularly in humid conditions like those found on boats. There are various ways of achieving this, with a common method being to provide openings at the bottom and top of the entry doors. This allows natural heat convection to move the air through by itself.

Staying Warm and Cozy

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There is nothing so miserable in a nomadic home, as being cold, tired and well, miserable.

The principles for keeping a nomadic home warm and cozy are the same as for a bricks and sticks house: Heat source; insulation, ventilation.

Because my idea of a nomadic home precludes the need to be tied to a fixed electricity grid, electrical heat is not an economical proposition. A nomadic home is only nomadic if it can move at will and remain fully functional where ever it is.

This pretty much leaves combustion as the most likely heat source. There are forced air diesel heaters like Eberspacher and Webasto which reportedly produce very good and quick heat. My issue with these heaters is the amount of electricity they need to run. I have also heard that they can be noisy. Because nomadic homes require enough maintenance to keep them mobile as it is, I try to keep everything else as simple, mechanically, as possible.

Cooking stoves can often provide enough heat for very small nomadic homes, especially if a small ceramic flower pot is put upside down over the burners. Also paraffin/kerosene lamps will add heat, if they are used for lighting. Portable gas and paraffin/kerosene heaters are also available. Plenty of ventilation must be provided if flames are not vented outside, to prevent oxygen depletion and carbon monoxide/carbon dioxide poisoning.

My favorite form of heating is with liquid and solid fuel stoves that have external flues. While exhausting directly outside, they also draw fresh air into the home, increasing passive ventilation. You can usually cook with them as well and nothing improves the atmosphere of a nomadic home in cold weather like the smell of a soup or stew simmering on the fire. These type of stoves can often be fitted with a wet back for heating water and/or running radiators too.

With the exception of the forced air heaters, the hot air will sit at the top of the nomadic home, leaving your feet in cold air. To remedy this it is necessary to keep the air moving, to keep it an even temperature. A ceiling fan blowing down will work if it is practical. Otherwise one or more floor to ceiling ducts can be set up, with a computer fan inside them to draw air through. Computer fans are generally quiet and don't use much electricity.

There are various forms of insulating material available (fibre-glass batts, rockwool, foam matting, expandable urethane foams, double glassing etc..). The purpose of using insulation is three fold. It requires less heating in the first place, keeps heat in once it is created and stops condensation from forming, because the warm air won't be coming into contact with cold surfaces inside the nomadic home.

Finally, good ventilation is essential for not only keeping up oxygen levels but also keeping humidity under control. The typical nomadic home is a small space and is therefore unable to dissipate humidity to the extent that a house does. People breathing, cooking and showering create huge amounts of humidity in the nomadic home and this alone can make it feel colder than it actually is.

That Place Where Good Food Comes From

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The Galley/Kitchen, is in my opinion, the very heart of a nomadic home. It is also a place that more often than not only receives a minimal amount of space. A galley doesn't have to be very fancy to work well, but it does need space. In particular it needs a decent size working bench. What it doesn't need is clever space saving things, like covers over the sink to give more bench space, as they only make it difficult to use the sink without actually giving any more bench space.

Personally, I think that the smallest clear bench area needed is about 36 inches (900mm) long, by about 18 inches (450mm) deep. But would go to about 6 feet (1800mm) long by about 2ft6inches (750mm) deep if possible. On boats, all benches and tables should have fiddles to stop things sliding off and I thing they would be worthwhile in motorhomes too.

I don't consider refrigeration to be a necessity, having never had any while living aboard. Refrigeration uses a lot of energy, which you have to generate yourself and can become an expensive luxury. The trade off is that you either have to change some of the ingredients you use to things like milk powder instead of fresh milk and for meat, use salami and bacon which keeps quite well without refrigeration and/or shop more regularly for fresh foods. With experience, people discover that a lot of things that are generally kept in the fridge don't need to be. Eggs for example.

Sinks should be deep, but don't need to be elaborate. Plastic buckets can work well, if you don't mind carrying them outside to empty. My preference is deep double stainless steel sinks. You can also use them for storing things in while traveling.

You also need plenty of secure dry storage for ingredients and utensils.

Cooking stoves, I will leave for another post, as they are a topic all of their own, as is the water supply.

A Place To Sleep

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When it comes to sleeping arrangements most types of nomadic home take the same approach. They all tend to try to accommodate as many people as is physically possible. The usual way to do this is by making every horizontal surface into a convertible bed. This works for fishing trips or taking the family on holiday two weeks per year and makes sense for that purpose. To the full time nomad, however, making up a bed every night and packing it away every morning is just an inconvenient routine that shouldn't have to be put up with. That's why I believe having a dedicated bed, that is permanently set up as a bed is the biggest priority when putting together a nomadic home.

For guests, it is fine to retain the use of converting surfaces for beds (usually settee seats). Full time nomads will not want to encourage overnight guests anyway. You will generally enjoy guests company for a meal and an evening, but will want to send them home or to a motel at the end of the evening, unless they have had to much to drink. The fact of the matter is that when you live a permanent nomadic life, you develop very specific routines to manage daily life in your nomadic home, which by it's very nature, is a small space and guests disrupt your routines without even realizing it.

Most amenities share the same desirable characteristics in pretty much all of the different types of nomadic home, whether it be a yacht, motorhome, launch, bus etc.. The bed, though, is different in that respect. If your nomadic home is an RV, house truck etc.. I would want a full size bed. Probably a standard queen size 60X80 inch (1520X2030mm).
In a sea going boat and particularly a yacht, big is definitely not better. In fact it can be down right dangerous as you can be thrown around in a big bed. You will still want to retain full length in a berth but the width should be restrained to about 48-52 inches (1220-1320mm) for a double and should be split down the middle to allow for lee cloths, to restrain the occupants in heavy seas or when sailing heeled, if it is to be used as a sea berth, rather than at anchor or dock.

These Areas Are Not Open To Compromise

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The average nomadic home is a small space. To fit everything into a nomadic home, that most people think they need, you would need to compromise the amount of room for each specific area. There are some areas that I believe, are not open to compromise. I think, therefore, that those areas should be planned first. If there isn't enough room left after this small list I have is finished, you are better off not trying to get the other stuff into your nomadic home. My list of priorities in order are;

1:Bed
2:Galley/Kitchen
3:Heater (in cold climate areas)
4:Storage

If you managed that, you can live in relative comfort.

If you still have room after those things are in, I would then continue with;

4:Seating
5:Dining Table
6:Shower
7:Toilet

If you managed to fit all of that in, without compromising on the size of any of it, congratulations. You now have a nomadic home that can be more comfortable than most peoples houses.

I have already posted my opinion about how to set up a shower in a nomadic home. In future posts I will give my opinions on the rest of this list.

Showers/Washing

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Showers are a selling point in many a nomadic home. Unfortunately they all to often degrade the nomadic home, more than they enhance it. There are two main reasons that a shower can degrade a nomadic home. They are either to small to be practical to use and/or they are put it in the same space as the toilet, which makes everything (including the toilet paper) wet. In either scenario, I think you are better off without the shower, and should find another way to wash.

If you feel that you have enough room to install a shower, I believe that you need a minimum base of 24X32 inches (600X800mm). You can fudge these numbers a little, if you use a triangular shape, but you still need a cross section of about 32 inches (800mm) minimum.

When it comes to the plumbing, you can go to town with electric pumps and hot water califonts. Personally I prefer a more low tech solution, which can give just as good a shower.
Having grown up on the briny ocean. I know only to well, just how quickly the sea air destroys just about anything, especially if it has metal, moving parts, or relies on electricity. So for the low cost, low tech, low pressure solution, I would go with a plastic solar shower. Just heat your water to the desired temperature on the cooking stove, fill the shower and use. Or even better, if you want more pressure, while retaining low cost, low tech, then a six litre (1.5 USGal approx) garden pressure sprayer. Again heating the water to the desired temperature, on the cooking stove. Fit a shower head to the end of the hose, give a few pumps and you have a cheap, efficient, reliable shower.

Alternatively, if you don't have enough space to fit a shower inside your nomadic home, you can mount a shower curtain on a three foot (900mm) diameter hoop and attach it to either a tree, the mast on deck, or the back of your mobile home. Then use either the solar shower or garden sprayer.

While it's not a method of washing that I am an expert in. I have it on good authority that a sponge bath with a cloth of just the right size and texture is a sybaritic luxury in at least the same class as a good shower, requiring much less plumbing and water.

Outline of a Plan

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, I would like to cover a gambit of nomadic homes with a house-truck, canal-boat and go anywhere cruising yacht.

Because the yacht is the biggest project of all, it is the first project for me to start. The others will take place during the project to build the yacht.

The yacht I have chosen to build, is by an American designer, by the name of Tom MacNaughton. The design is called Crown Jewel. It is a heavy displacement flush deck yacht of 35'6" length and a laden displacement of around 9 ton. It is rigged with a single Junk sail, on a free standing mast. To see one of these boats sailing, click on the S/Y Linnea link in the blog roll of this blog. This example was built in Sweden by Matti Palm and family. Matti started building Linnea about nine or ten years ago and while he still needs to finish building the interior, his family have been sailing in her, for the last two years.

The next largest project will be a canal boat. The biggest issue for me with choosing a canal boat is that I live in New Zealand, which isn't exactly renown for it's canals. In fact the canals I would like to spend time on, are all on the other side of the world. So for me, the most practical option, is to find a design that will fit inside a shipping container. While most canal boats are built out of steel (for practical reasons), it is not a material that I intend on using. My preference in this case would be plywood, covered in glass cloth and epoxy, which can be given protection with a couple of beltings of stainless steel tubing. One near the waterline and another, higher up. At the moment I am looking at a design called Topaz, by American designer Philip C. Bolger.

It is 31' long, by 7'4" wide, with a fully loaded hull draft of 11". Ideally I would like to add an additional three to six feet in length, so as to be able to add heating, additional storage and a showering/washing area. I have sent a letter to the designer to ask about the feasibility of doing this. It is not wise to change the dimensions of a boat, without having it checked out by a competent naval architect, as it can have big negative effects on the capability of the vessel and equally it can increase the cost and complexity of construction out of all proportion, even when only making what appear to be small changes to the hull. It will be interesting to see what kind of response I get.





For my land based nomadic home, I intend on getting an old chiller truck, with a net weight of around four or five ton and a gross laden capacity of about seven to nine ton. Something similar to Kevin's truck, from an earlier post here. The reason I am looking at using an old chiller truck is that they seem to be about the same price as other comparable trucks, but they already have a fully insulated building on them. So all that would need to be done, is to fit it out. In fact I could use it from day one, just by throwing in camping gear that I already have, then fit it out as time and resources allow. In fact with some wood, epoxy and paint, I already have most of the stuff to fully set up a nice house truck now, except for the truck itself, which I intend to buy in about two to three years from now.

What Kind of Nomadic Home?

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What kind of nomadic home do I want? Actually I want most kinds. Different nomadic homes for different types of traveling. I want a house truck/bus/RV/motorhome for traveling around on land, in New Zealand, North America, UK and Europe . I want a canal boat for traveling through Europe, And I want a yacht for cruising around Scandinavia, UK, USA, Iceland, Patagonia, etc.

All of this is going to equal expensive, no matter how you look at it. There are, however, ways to make it more economical than just trying to buy what is available. In any case, what is available, isn't necessarily the most practical solution, even if I could afford to just go out and buy it. What it does mean though, is that careful long term planning needs to be put in place, if I am to not only achieve getting all three of these types of nomadic home, but also the ability to enjoy using them. I started putting a plan together about three years ago, which will take about 20-25 years to complete, though various parts of that plan will allow me to participate in a nomadic lifestyle from time to time, while I am working towards my end goal, which will be enjoying retirement with all three forms of nomadic home, available for me to use as I wish.

Of course, with such an ambitious plan, it will need to be revised continuously throughout the duration. In future posts I will show more detail of my plans for each form of nomadic home. In the mean time I will say that, in order, I will start with a nomadic home on wheels, then a canal boat and will finish with the largest project of them all, being my ultimate go anywhere cruising yacht. Also, with the yacht being the largest, most expensive and time consuming project, I have already made a start on it.

I should also say that I am not single. If I was single, I could do all of the above quite cheaply and quickly. Because I am not single and don't particularly want to be, my accommodations need to be both larger and more thoroughly equipped, to maintain the same level of comfort.

Mobile home design considerations

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I was talking to a guy by the name of Kevin recently. He was good enough to let me take some photo's of his current house truck.

Kevin has been living in various buses and trucks for quite a few years now and has come up with some specific criteria, that he feels are necessary, for comfortable living in a nomadic home on wheels. Essentially, in Kevin's opinion, less is more. He doesn't like a mobile home to be extensively fitted out with built in furniture, saying that you end up with only a small place to sit and you are forced to sit bolt upright, in the small built in and uncomfortable seats. The impression that I got, was that the most important item for him in a mobile home, is the standard household couch.


When Kevin bought his current house truck, it was built on an old Bedford chassis. Because the truck was old, it was expensive to run and would have required considerable maintenance to keep running. So he bought an N series Ford, which had been retired from life as a round town freight truck. This truck has a longer chassis than the old Bedford, so the part of the accommodation that used to sit over the cab now stops just behind the cab. This has allowed enough room under, for Kevin to build a large tool storage cabinet and he intends on building a small bathroom in the space left over, on the other side.


For comfort, Kevin has installed a used log burner, out of a house. For such a small space, it requires very little wood to heat his truck. In fact he has been able to run it entirely on scraps from various carpentry jobs he has been working on. Next to the fire place is a fairly large flat screen television, which like the fire place, is placed for an excellent view while seated on the opposite side of the truck, on the couch.


His bed is a decent sized one, located in a loft, above what on the previous truck was the cab. There is also a loft at the rear of the truck, which is is used for storage.



The kitchen is still a work in progress, but has all of the essentials. Decent size stove/oven, bench, sink and storage. This currently works for Kevin, though he does have plans to improve it.


Looking out the back door, has the feeling of being in a small cottage. The big difference, though, is that the scenery can be different every day. From over looking the harbour, as on the day these photo's were taken, to maybe a view of the forest or lake the next, or maybe in the middle of an exclusive suburb. Or you could step out and be at work, if you happen to park there, not wishing to wast time getting to work in the morning.



Unfortunately Kevin had no notice that I was going to visit and take photo's of his home, as he was just about to travel out of town to do some building work for a client. He normally has much less clutter inside, which would have allowed clearer photo's.

My over all impression of this house truck is that it is well setup for a single person, as Kevin is, to live in comfort. If I was to set up a truck of the same size for myself, I would use much the same type of amenities, though I would probably arrange them differently. Of course it is much easier to do if you are starting from scratch, unlike in Kevin's situation of having an existing housetruck, which he moved into as soon as he took possession. The N series ford is in my opinion a good sized truck for either one person or a couple to build a home on. It is big enough in both size and weight for reasonable sized self contained accommodation, yet is small enough to keep running and maintenance costs within limits.

Earn Money by Cutting Expenses

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I've been talking to a few people and reading forum posts about earning enough money for a mobile lifestyle. A recurring theme that is too often over looked when trying to increase income, is that any money you can save on expenses is actually the same as extra money earned.

In business it is recognized that profit comes from two areas. More income and reduced costs. There is no difference when it comes to personal finance.

So how can we apply this philosophy into our every day personal lives?

To start with, we need to take a close and objective look at our current lifestyle. This probably applies more to people who are contemplating a nomadic lifestyle, than those already living one. But future plans of transitioning to a nomadic lifestyle should also be examined in the same way.

The key here is to look for ways to simplify our lives. This doesn't mean the same thing as making everything more convenient.

As an example, eating out is more convenient than making a meal at home, but in the broader context it is not simpler. On the face of it, eating out is quicker than making a meal at home, but when you look at the whole process it is not. There are two things to look at here. The first is cost and the second is time. We are all familiar with the term "time is money."

If we start with the cost of a meal, it is reasonable to suggest that the one we get at a restaurant will be about twice the price of one we can make at home with the same calorie and nutritional value. This is in straight dollar terms. To counter that, you may suggest that the extra time taken to make the meal yourself costs more in lost earnings, than you have saved by the convenience of eating out.

So now, lets look at the time side of the equation. Say it takes three quarters of an hour to make the meal yourself and another fifteen minutes to wash the dish's (I'm assuming you don't have a dish washer, remember simplicity), so you now have an additional hours work to do over eating out. Or do you?

First off, you spend time driving to where you are going to eat. This takes both time and costs money running a vehicle, which you wouldn't have done if you were making your own meal at home. Now that you are at the restaurant, someone still has to make your meal, which is still going to take time, unless you are going to a fast food outlet, in which case you are getting even less value for money with your food (very poor nutrition) then you are going to spend more time and money driving your vehicle home again.

So you have lost all of the time you would have saved, staying at home and preparing your own meal; it has cost you twice as much up front, plus you have the additional cost of running the vehicle to and from the restaurant.

I used to eat out frequently. Now I rarely do. I now spend less money on food and also eat much better. The money saved equates to less hours that I need to work to have the same amount of money, though in practice it means I have more money to do things that I want to do.

Practice doing this kind of cost benefit analysis on every aspect of your lifestyle and you will be surprised at how much extra money you can have in your pocket, without having to earn any more money than you already are.