Wednesday, July 26, 2017

cargo trailer


CARGO TRAILER

I have yet to be so excited that I’ve reached the point of giddiness, religious fervor or most days even feeling it is noteworthy, but occasionally YouTube does throw you a bone.  I usually give it an hour a day as I am so mentally weary from writing and Internet reading for a good six hours that it helps me relax enough so I can then crack open a regular book later.  Occasionally I even get an article idea, such as from the SouthernPrepper1 guy.  I couldn’t watch the channel if it was on the computer, but since I can watch it on TV it has become a daily distraction, even if it does usually irritate me as did Rawles and SHTF Plan blog and other Fluff & Fold sites.   It is bad enough that the Yuppie Scum Survivalists infest the place like maggots on meat on a warm day, but they also must be getting paid by the minute because usually they simply won’t get to the point.  Kind of like me, but with nothing to say and with terrible hair.  The guy on “Cheap RV Living” channel had pretty bad hair, the default “shaggy dog and hippie beard school of saving water, money on razors and comb purchases”, but at least he got to the point quickly and had something interesting to say, even if he took too long saying it in toto ( the last half showed the inside of the trailer, but it had already been gutted by the new owner and was far less interesting than the first half of the video ).

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“10 Reasons To Choose A Cargo Trailer” was an interesting piece, if you are considering a travel trailer for off grid junk land living.  It wasn’t applicable to me, but it just might be for others.  He brought up a lot of good points.  They are much cheaper as you can get a brand new cargo for the price of a used piece of crap RV, the new RV ( travel trailer ) costing  something like five to six times that of a cargo trailer, at a minimum.  This is of course because you are buying an empty shell rather than a loaded for living equipped home, but as anyone who has ever had a used RV can tell you, what they shove inside is pretty low quality which sparkles brighter than unicorn glittery farts but is a cruel and expensive façade.  Another point is that the roof of a cargo trailer is far superior to that of all but the most expensive RV’s, as is the axle and pretty much any other part.  I’ve rarely had an RV that didn’t leak, and I’ve owned a lot of RV’s.  Of course, thirty years ago buying a used RV was a whole other matter than it is today.

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Back in the day RV’s were probably no better than pre-2005 units, but if they were made cheap it was cheap compared to the standards of the day.  I have my cab-over which was made in the Sixties and although it was justifiably headed for the junk yard it is no worse off than trailers made ten or twenty years on, as far as longevity.  You know what I’m talking about just by looking at how they made cars.  Pre-mid to late ‘60’s, give or take as I’m no car aficionado, they were tanks.  After that, it was form over function.  Anyway, when I first started buying trailers to live in, they were more affordable to buy new ( remember the general rule for everything but electronics-half the wages to buy in the ‘80’s ) and folks realized the depreciation and gladly got rid of them cheap.  Today, they are made cheap compared to the standards of today, which you know is terrible already, are certainly NOT affordable ( a combination of consolidation-long ago ceasing to be a cost cutting measure and now due to the debt, one guaranteed to jack up costs-and the FedGov and Katrina artificially increasing costs ) and not one single swinging jag-off cheese dingus asswhore wants to admit he overpaid and refuses to reduce the cost of used units reasonably.

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I’ve never paid more for a used RV than what a cargo trailer has cost, but then not only have I been lucky, had lower standards than most and just seemed to always have good timing, I still agree with his general point.  The era of affordable functional used RV’s is over.  More often than not his advice is sound.  With a used RV, the walls do have water rot, the roofs do leak, the pipes also.  The heater and AC are usually not working.  The fridge is more often than not trash.  Now, this is not to say that even a cargo trailer is a good idea.  I’ve given up on RV’s as cheap shelters long ago and just advocate building your own shack.  But if you are in town and wish to down grade your living arrangements on the way to living on junk land, using a trailer in town and as you build underground, then a trailer has a lot still going for it even if it isn’t as cheap as I’d like anymore.  One of his reasons on the list was that a cargo is a lot more stealthy than an RV ( illegally parking in town ) and also that it is a blank slate.  Since everything is busted in a used RV, you need to spend big bucks buying replacements that were designed for the RV.  Why not spend a lot less and improvise all your own appliances?  Composting toilets are superior to RV black water holding tanks.

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One other example he gave was the crappy propane furnaces RV’s come with and how quick they break and how expensive they are to replace, so he was more than happy to just go with the Buddy Heater in his cargo trailer.  Sound advice, EXCEPT you are advised to avoid the Buddy heaters at all costs.  His might still be going for years because he barely ever uses it, but I had poor results from mine.  Yes, the older ones lasted years.  Then, same model at a higher price, the quality went to crap.  Now you were lucky to get a year out of them.  Within a few hundred hours, they were toast.  The old ones got at least a thousand hours.  Hump you, Buddy brand.  Even if you have to make an air intake next to it, I’d go with a regular cook stove, low flame under a ungreased cast iron skillet.  Don’t buy the sheet metal camp stoves.  The gas regulator is built into the appliance and fails quickly ( Wal-Mart camp stoves used to last five years.  Now five months.  On more than one unit, this happened.  I always give a product a second chance by trying another unit, to be sure it is a deliberate design rather than a single lemon ).  If the stove can use the disposable propane tanks, it has the gas regulator built in.  Buy the cast iron camp stove from Sportsman’s Guide.  Barely more expensive ( cast iron compared to sheet metal ), it uses a hose with the regulator attached.  That should be the last stove you need to buy.

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Hippie Dude also mentions how much better your cargo trailer is going to be with insulation.  RV’s, and I’m talking even the more expensive units, have terrible insulation.  My last one was one with rigid board insulation long before that was standard, and while better than most RV’s, it was uncomfortable to live in off grid.  You know the manufacture does a bad job when I could add bubble foil and squishy foam to the ceiling and walls with blankets over the windows and get it much better insulated.  Looked like crap, but when it is in the single digits outside, you appreciate ghetto insulation.  With the cargo trailer, you start out with quality insulation as you install it with no obstructions and in the thickness you desire.  The other reasons on the list were all good points.  Easier and more rugged taking off road ( no water and sewer tanks and pipes to tear off-I can relate to that one ) was one.  The resale value was great.  There was no depreciation on them.  I think I’m missing about a quarter of the points, but I didn’t take notes and I covered the major ones anyway.

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If you have decided a trailer works for you than watch this video and you will learn a lot.  I wish I had thought of this prior to getting my last trailer, even if I had gotten a really good price on it.  Just the insulation alone!  Of course, I was still learning all of this off grid stuff at the time, not even knowing the cheap composting toilet secret.  I had no idea of the solar fridge, and PV panels were still ruinously expensive at the time anyway.  So, while this would have been a nice option I’m not sure it would have been feasible anyway.  But now that you know all these tricks, a cargo trailer, IF you are wanting to live in a trailer instead of a cabin or shack, is far superior to a travel trailer.  Check this guy out ( I haven’t seen any other of his videos, but will shortly.  I’ll pass on anything relevant, probably as a note rather than an article ). 

END( today's related link http://amzn.to/2t84GqQ )
 
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24 comments:

  1. My cargo trailer had crappy axles and tires. Leaked pretty bad and flaked paint. Thinking I would only use it once a month I got the cheaper one. I got rid of it. I would suggest old horse trailers. They sit abandoned all the time. The uglier the better. Most are build strong. Best of all no need for a toilet, just crap on the floor.

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    1. Dude, crap on the floor IF it has hay on it. You need to be specific around here.

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    2. the original compost toilet - crap in the hay!

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    3. But now new and improved! Just add glass! Of course, before it was gunpowder nitrates, so it might be a wash, improvement wise.

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  2. I saw the cargo video a couple weeks ago, maybe. Guy made a lot of sense.

    One of the reasons that new RVs are such junk is that car lemon laws do not apply to them. Just look at dealers -huge showrooms and plenty of salesmen. Tiny service departments with long waiting times.

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    1. What isn't junk anymore? I'm sure there is some kind of economic law about the inverse relationship between quality and sparkles.

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    2. Nightshift here, Six Bears, great to see you! I'm all for using a cargo trailer as a do it yourself platform. Get the pointed nose. Cuts down on wind drag greatly and you get extra room cause tongue space is used.

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    3. And good to see you still are here also, NS. Damn, things are getting too polite around here :)

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    4. I read every day. Just don't like posting from my phone. I think you're due for a care package. I get something together. Nightshift.

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  3. Unless mobility is essential or you live in mild weather 12 months a year, RV or cargo trailer is a poor substitute for any structure you can truly insulate.

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    1. I got hooked on them while living in CA, and even in the mountains had free electric, so I knew not what I was doing. One other thing though-they help you on your property taxes.

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  4. Hmm? Didn’t know that the cheap rv living dude had his own channel. I think I’m the minion that first dropped his blog link here a while back.

    I live in an RV; it sucks. The problem with RV’s is that they’re set up for short term living. The way that my RV is laid out, you have no more than 4’ of space at the widest point. A smaller sq ft shed laid out proper would actually be roomier. It’s also very cold and miserable to live in over the winter, as you’re well aware, and I’m in Kalifornia. For a weekend of camping in cold weather, it’s no big deal to run the heater constantly, but for the long term it’s not practical. Knowing what I know now I’d have went with an office trailer, or a gutted trailer that I could layout in a way that was best for me. It’s also easier to add additional insulation in this scenario.

    If you’re going to get a trailer, it’s best to try and get something where someone actually took the time to design a proper roof (Airstream or similar). The roof on my RV leaked as well. I used some of that Leak stopper with the optional repair fabric, and it hasn’t leaked since. Of course you’re supposed to refreshen it every few years or so, but I haven’t as of yet.

    It sounds like I got lucky with my Mr Buddy heater. It’s been going strong since 2014, and I use it a fair amount over the winter. I refill the 16oz propane cylinders using the adapter, and save quite a bit that way. Plus it allows the heater to be more portable so that you can move it around if you need to.

    I was going to do the stealth parking thing before the job layoff in order to save on motel costs, which was eating half of my reduced hours wages. I was thinking possibly a full size passenger van (seats removed) with blacked out windows. The key is for it to be something that no would think that you’re living in. Obviously a camper or an RV is a no no.

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    1. One guy I saw had a mini cab-over on a mini truck. I had the tailgate up and secure which covered the door, giving the illusion no one was inside ( he used a metal pole and hook to lift up and secure ). Not sure how feasible that is but still ingenious.

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    2. The idea Jim was to be able to just pull into any 24 hour retail chain such as a safeway, climb in the back, and crash for the night. It would have had to have been something that couldn’t stand out in any way; think something that a soccer mom would drive. A utility van with business signs would have worked. A box van would have been even better. One guy at the cheap rv living site lived in a box van that was converted to a small apartment.

      Of course that’s all water under the bridge now, as I’m jobless. But it’s a consideration that might be of help to others that are still employed, and in a financial bind. I would have saved around $700 a month.

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    3. Any story to tell the minions about your general situation? The last time I was homeless I just went back to the old wife-not very instructional.

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    4. Sorry, I should have been more clear in my last post. I had a place to stay, but my job was 75 miles away from where I lived, and there was lots of traffic coming and going. If it weren’t for the traffic, I probably just would have bit the bullet and drove the distance both ways every day. But the traffic added a 2 hour + commute each way. So I stayed at a local motel in the area that had the cheapest rates that I could find. Sometimes I camped at a local campground, but there was a time limit for how long you could stay there. The van would have really been the ticket, but by the time I got around to that way of thinking I was pink slipped. I was a skilled worker (Electronics industry) so it can happen to anyone. Now I’m middle aged, and well, I suppose I needn’t say more, as you know how that goes...


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    5. I wish folks would listen to that. "skilled worker so it can happen to anyone". Skilled, hard worker, invaluable, adds value, works cheap. None of that matters when layoffs are kicking the can down the road for a companies survival. Greed isn't always why, but survival. Heed!

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  5. I have been following Bob Wells for a long time. His videos Have all kinds of information in them about living on the road. NOTE- He sold his cargo trailer and bought an almost new van and put a high top on it.

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    1. I think I would want at least an old U-Haul AND a cargo trailer if I was living on the road. Too cramped, inconvenient and cluttered otherwise.

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    2. Listen to the master: parallel tracks of bucket wheat and junk land. The rv/trailer/stealthvan are fine for crashing in while waiting for the employment to end. Cash the last paycheck, fill the tanks and head out with a destination. Joel Skousen's multi-layer coffee table map book of "safe (er) places" makes interesting reading when looking for a balance between getting paid to live in a ghetto powderkeg and a fortress in a county with 0.06 persons per square mile, inset 8 miles up 4500 feet with no neighbors in National Wilderness taking care of a seed vault/radio relay station/secret landing strip.

      Most likely, a regular person can buy a waterless piece of map coordinates sporting a few tumbleweeds. This is much better than being paid to sit on explosives among people who hate you, at least leave when you see them hooking up the caps and spooling wire.
      -pdxr13

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    3. White and undamaged, with current plates/tags (commercial is best, civilian vehicle _truck_ next, with RV plates least desirable. Disabled Veteran permanent plate is the Gold Standard for well-behaved occupant stealth vehicle camping. Your State may vary.) is the minimum to stealth camp. Never be seen entering your vehicle and not driving away. Pull up and go dark/quiet until morning, then pull away. Light and sound discipline while parked is essential.

      Damaged/expired RV's are looked upon as a plague on the better neighborhoods where you want to park. Class-B full-size van or VW Westphalia (Westy is insane $$$ for an old rig!) is reasonably a 2nd vehicle that mom might drive, but a thirty-five year old 33' Itasca without known-neighbors claiming it is a danger to a middle-class-striving neighborhood. Expect it to be called a nuisance, then a potential crime scene (based on density of 5-11 year old blonde girls in neighborhood). Parking patrol at first, then neighborhood teens make your life hell. Tires can't stay inflated, crankcase will be drained, sugar in tank, nails driven into radiator (low for a slow leak, high to strand you on the highway), as well as "night letters". This kind of meanness & abuse is for people just broke and trying to stay dry/warm, not entrepreneurs running a meth lab/brothel/pornfactory on wheels.

      City of Portland is passing new rules to allow for towing in 20 minutes or less, instead of previous 72-hour green tag. This will mean a temporary glut of parts to repair your backyard RV, then a shortage (higher prices) of repairable units. They hate us for not paying enough taxes and not taking on $2.3M in unpayable slave debt each. ;-)

      pdxr13

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    4. The worse the economy gets the more those people will hate. It is a self delusion program. Can't happen to me, why is this bastard out there reminder me I'm lying to myself? Plus, yeh, those "lost wage" taxes are a nice reason to send SWAT over.

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    5. Good to see that -pdxr13 is still around; sound advice dude.

      Yeah, you don’t need Joel Skousen’s book to know where not to go Jim. Take a look at the lights of America map. That shows you real quick where you don’t want to be.

      http://image.minyanville.com/assets/FCK_Jan2011/Image/Lila%20July11/us.jpg

      Funny, but I tried that sugar in the gas tank thing in my cousin’s Vega and it didn’t seem to work (I was pissed at him at the time, and he was a fag anyways, so who cares :D ).

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