Technical Books

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While I'm on the subject of book reviewing, I'll mention a few more. I have not been able to find many good books for land/road based mobile homes, but there are a couple that I am impressed with.

The first book is "The Bus Converter's Bible" by Dave Galey. This book is aimed at large bus conversions. Dave Galey spent his professional working life, primarily as a structural engineer in the aeronautical and oil industries which shows in his instructions for making structural modifications to buses. Along with a variety of design ideas, this book is really a systems manual covering everything from electrical and plumbing, to heating and insulation.

The next book is "Bus Conversion Floor Plans" by Ben Rosander With over fifty plans from bus conversion professionals and individual converter's, this book has a wealth of ideas. It includes excerpts from the works of Dave Galey, Larry Plachno and Louis C. McClure. This book offers some good philosophies and direction for designing bus conversions, including a good list of critical dimensions for the things you will want to install, like beds, kitchens and bathrooms.

When it comes to the nautical side of nomadic homes, I own a veritable library of good boat books, covering everything from design, building, maintenance, to seamanship, chronicles and lifestyle. Out of those books, the one I advocate above the others, when it comes to offering advice on accomodation layouts, is "Backyard Boatbuilding" by George Buehler. George is a practicing naval architect, who has been building and living aboard boats since the early 70's. His advice on accomodation is pure pragmatism and he likes to get a big bang for his buck. This book also gives critical dimensions for the stuff you will want like beds, galleys and bathrooms, which, incidentally, are different in requirement to those you would use in a motorhome.

The last book I will mention is "Boatowner's Mechanical and Electrical Manual" by Nigel Calder. This book is without a doubt the bible, when it comes to maintaining, repairing and improving your boats essential systems. I'm sure that this book would be invaluable for motorhome owners as well as it covers thoroughly, all aspects of AC and DC electrical systems, refrigeration and air-conditioning, toilets and plumbing, stoves and heating, as part of the boat systems.

Voyaging on a Small Income

This blog has shifted to a new web site called Nomadic Home. Click here to see it.

Nomadic homes come in many different shapes and sizes. As mentioned in previous posts, I don't believe that many production model nomadic homes are designed for permanent living. Irrespective of whether they are land or water based, custom design and building is usually required. In this process there are many facets of the lifestyle that determine the most efficient and ergonomic layout possible for a given circumstance. I have yet to find any really good books about self sustainable living in a land based mobile home, however there are a number of good books written by people living on boats, which have plenty of ideas relevant to land based mobile homes. Of these, my favorite would be Voyaging On A Small Income by Annie Hill. Here are a couple of excerpts from the forward, written by Tom Cunliffe.

"Unless you are already living creatively on the uttermost boundaries of the monetary system of Western civilization, you should read Annie Hill's book with the utmost caution.
The work you have in your hands purports to offer a series of hints concerning the art of voyaging on a small income. So it does, but if you think that is all you are getting, you have been misled by a remarkably innocuous title. What you are about to read is a volume dealing with the business of sailing in it's broadest context, but which also poses a number of serious questions about the true priorities of life for the long distance mariner. In case this makes you want to dump the thing like a hot ballast pig, don't panic. Annie Hill and her skipper, Pete, are emphatically not "drop-outs," pushing half baked philosophies to the disenchanted.
They are members of the Royal Cruising Club and are the most successful capitalists I have ever met. The fascination of the following chapters is that, for many of us, they may serve to redefine the meaning of "success.""

"Annie Hill takes us gently but firmly by the scruff of our consumer necks and leads us back to the all-but-forgotten green pastures of simplicity. She never patronises us for missing the point; she merely offers us rest from our labours and our stress. Even as we squirm and wriggle to find the flaw in her logic, the truth begins to dawn that there isn't one. To those with the courage to re-examine their lives and their needs, this book presents the possibility of genuine freedom experienced by only a few, even amongst people who are now sailing the great oceans.
So take thought before you dive into these pages. They might change your life, as my own was changed by a forward from Weston Martyr, whose work also occupies the first paragraphs of Chapter One."

The Weston Martyr forward referred to is called "The 200 pound Millionaire," written in 1932. If you are interested in reading the forward mentioned by Weston Martyr, google "Weston Martyr" and "Millionaire". There are several places on the web that you can read it for free. Here is one link to it that was working at the time of writing this post.

Annie Hill has lived what could be considered the contemporary version of Weston Matryr's story for over twenty years now, cruising from the Arctic to the Antartic, with many places in between. She continues to live this life, now on "Iron Bark" with current husband Trevor Robertson.