Streamlining the Airstream Life

We’ve been on the road now for 4 weeks.

Living in a traveling tiny house is not for everybody, but honestly, unless you absolutely are claustrophobic or something akin, you shouldn’t knock it till you’ve tried it. We loved the idea and always wanted to give it a go. When Norm gave us an actual truck & trailer, we took that as a green light. So far so good. We’re learning a lot about this beautiful silver home on wheels. Quite often lessons come in the form of the classic Berenstain Bears’ The Bike Lesson. (One of my favorite books, btw)

As we roll down the roads, we’ve learned there are some that don’t particularly lend themselves to pulling an extra 27’ 9” behind an already 22’ long truck. Slow is our friend. Brakes can not really be slammed on. Every item in every storage area should be tightly packed. Use those little plastic bags with air inside for mailing a tiny object in a big box as filler. Or extra towels, t-shirts, ramen packages…..whatever can be wedged in to eliminate movement, and subsequently breakage. All cabinets and drawers must be checked for tight closures and then rechecked. Don’t be offended, be offensive when preparing to drive off into the sunset with your beloved. You check my work, I’ll check yours. There’s true experiential meaning behind the phrase “batton down the hatches”.

Also, having a plan doesn’t necessarily mean having no fun. A difficult, but necessary lesson for a free-spirited individual. On the contrary, preparation and planning are key to safe, joyful travels. Otherwise you may discover many campsites, parking lots, beckoning side roads can’t accommodate longer vehicles in tow and unfortunately often have no suitable place for turning around once you’ve driven in to find out. Sometimes it’s wise to humbly admit fault. Sometimes it’s wiser still to forgo the wanderlust until your turning radius is much shorter.

Other educational scenarios have alerted us to the importance of calling and talking to an actual person at the actual location when making a reservation. Yes, when not if. Apparently while we were busy tent camping on summer vacations, living (full or PT) in a Recreational Vehicle has become quite the band wagon. Everyone is jumping on. Reservations are almost always required if Wally Mart isn’t your kind of overnighter. And some store locations don’t even allow it. I’m reminded of the Signs Signs Everywhere Signs song. No Overnight Camping. No Overnighters. No Parking 11pm - 5am. Pretty much gone are the Friday morning spontaneous “let’s go camping this weekend” plans. At least not in an RV.  (Unless you go off road. Off grid. Boondocking. Which can be done with a bit more research, I’m told. But currently, we’ve booked ourselves through March. After that, we’ll keep you posted.)

These one-time-only-needed lessons are immediately effective. And blessing upon blessing, they have given us opportunities to become more familiar with our travel budget, and our mobile dwelling’s nooks & crannies, and to practice good character traits like patience, kindness, forgiveness.

Additionally, there are a plethora of delightful positives about a small dwelling with wheels. First, it has wheels. You no like a spot, merely hook up and drive to another. Only ten steps from couch to nightstand, probably making spring cleaning a breeze with a stick vacuum, which we just ordered from Amazon. There is an amazing amount of storage for a 24’ x 8’ x 6’ living space, especially when you include the shower stall which is invariably useful as such if you shop in the ultra-petite section of your local children’s clothing store. Although you don’t really need what you think you did when you first packed, unless you’ve by now used all those long sleeved shirts as packing material.  (However, you do need a few things you thought you wouldn’t, like air freshener)  The ac/gas refrigerator (lettuce’s bff) is a welcome addition to the old Igloo cooler, which we now use mostly for beverages. (Hydration is very important especially in warmer climates that grow citrus.) The propane heater is fast & efficient on those cold mornings. It also has a heat pump. AC: what luxury! And when mother nature calls, just pull over, hop out of the first vehicle into the second one and “Bob’s your uncle”!