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.

Condensation

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On a forum that I follow, a question was asked about how to stop condensation. In this particular case there was a problem with condensation forming on the ceiling around the light fixtures of a motorhome.

This was my response.

It would probably help to see why you are getting the condensation problems. Condensation occurs when warm moisture carrying air comes into contact with a colder surface, reducing the relative humidity to the point that it condenses into liquid water.

There are two approaches to this. One approach is eliminating or reducing the temperature differential between the surface and the surrounding air. The second approach is to reduce the humidity in the air. A combination of both approaches is probably going to be the most practical.

Starting with reducing the surface to air temperature. It sounds like there is no, or little insulation around the light fixtures. They are obviously the cold points in your rig. It may be that there is a lack of insulation in that area to reduce fire risk, or it could be that it is just easier to install the light fixtures that way.

If you can fix some insulating material onto the area that is getting the condensation you will either reduce or eliminate the condensation.

The second thing to look at is the air humidity in your rig. Most of it is likely to be coming from the occupants. People release a huge amount of moisture into the air just from breathing. For this reason ventilation is king. It may seem counter intuitive, but keeping everything shut up to keep the warmth in, can will usually make things feel colder, because of the high humidity levels. You should have vents in your camper/RV. Make sure that they are open at all times. If they already are open, then try to keep a window cracked, if possible.

It is also worth evaluating any heating system you may have. If it is run on gas and is not flued externally, it will be introducing huge amounts of moisture into your accommodation.

Also humidity is relative to temperature. What that means is the higher the air temperature is, the more water it will hold in gaseous form. When the temperature reduces, it can't hold as much water in gaseous form and must release some of it in liquid form, usually by condensing onto a cooler surface.

Holiday Caravan

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Here are a couple of pictures of a caravan design I am working on (click on to enlarge). It is designed for short term accommodation only, but gives an idea of how much can be fitted into a small space, if you keep the number of people you are trying to accommodate to a minimum. In this case a couple. It is 12' long x 6'8" wide, with 6'3" headroom. The entrance is through a door at the back end of the caravan. The table will need to be split in two, with the end only used when making up the bed, otherwise it will be very difficult to access the sitting area. To make up the bed, the table is lowered to the same height as the settees and one of the back cushions fits between, to make a standard queen size bed. The shower is big enough for holiday use, but, I would go bigger for permanent accommodation. Unusual for mobile accommodation (especially in this size) is that there are two doors between the toilet and kitchen, like you would expect in a house. Also there is no allowance for heating, though a couple of ceramic flower pots turned upside down over the gas stove top would probably heat a small area like this adequately. Because I would plan on using gas for cooking, ventilation would have to be sufficient to prevent problems with carbon monoxide which can and does kill people. There is plenty of room left for storage under the settees and in the kitchenette, for food, clothing, etc.

Types of mobile accommodation

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What are some of the merits of some different types of nomadic home?

I think it is worth considering traditional types, that were, and in some cases, are still being used by traditional nomadic cultures. In many cases, contemporary westerners will be wanting a much more modern approach. But given the limitations imposed by most production setups, which if viewed honestly, are mostly designed for short holidays, rather than permanent living accommodations, could be improved by incorporating ideas from the more traditional nomadic lifestyles.

So, in no particular order.

Bus, truck, RV: Can be self contained, allowing for full independence on the road.

Caravan: Can be moved with a car, which means only one vehicle may be required if the home is to be left during the day. Home doesn't need to be replaced in it's entirety, when vehicle comes to the end of it's economic life.

Yacht: Can travel anywhere in the world, that has a coast or harbour and is self contained.

Tent: For the super mobile, low cost solution. Good accompaniment when primary transportation is a bicycle.