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.

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.

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.