Rv nomads

that would be a fun experience. if you come through chicago or michigan, snatch me up, i'll come with you.

 

My other half says there's only room for one girl in our camper, and if I snatch up anyone else to come with she gonna do bad things to me..lol

 

Bonnie and Clyde was a bust (ouch) given the distance I had to drive. At least in winter it's a waste of money. BUT if you were heading on I 20 to Texas through Shreveport... you'll probably make rent and some gas money. It's a rural crowd that wants rusty iron at low prices. Jewelry is not a hot item even though there were 5 others selling it near me. I only saw one "diabetic sock" vendor and one guy with just a little bit of "glass" and only one knock off perfume vendor. No DVD, CD, or dented can food sellers either; but the place was half empty.

You can arrive Thursday at daylight and stay until Monday sometime. The rent is $40 and they wanted me to pay another $20 to plug in. Their website advertises that "electricity and water are furnished at no additional charge" so I argued and they relented- "just this once" they said. If you plan on going there, check this link to see if they've changed the wording.

http://bonnieandclydetradedays.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=35

During the summer when you run air it might not be bad even with the extra $20 for a plug in. Very clean bath house, free dump station, and a nice clean less expensive laundromat not far off I-20. Pretty much a "free" 4-5 day stay if you have anything at all to sell or can wheel and deal with the other vendors.

I spent Monday night at the Alexandria, LA Walmart on SR-28. I briefly considered heading west to relive a brief portion of my misspent youth in the Ft. Polk/ Leesville area, but decided the 50 miles worth of gas could be put to better use heading toward Lafayette.

If there are any other rv nomads/gypsies around, I'm planning on "Jockey Lot" in Lafayette for the weekend.

fleamarketvendor

 

We did the Paris Tx market for a year while I dealt with the VA in Bonham and it was a good steady market and Bonham trade days were good with good markets in the towns down toward Dallas. Most counties have a park where you can stay a while for free. There are two markets between Stephenville & Dublin my hometown. Anyway we did markets living in our van for most of seven years ending up at Peddlers Pass in Prescott Valley, Az where I had my 4way bypass at the VA and we've settled.

 

Thanks for the information Ranger. If Jockey Lot doesn't work out I'm seriously considering Texas for a while. Canton is at the top of the list. It's nice to know there are other choices in the area.

Winnie and another the week after Canton (I forget the name offhand) have also been mentioned.

Take care of yourself. Its nice to hear the VA does good work. I might need it. I think my dietary habits too often stem from a quote attributed to Julia Child, "If you're afraid of butter, use cream."

fleamarketvendor

 

Literally thousands of people doing the Vandwelling thing in the US. Many of us can be found on the Vandwellers Yahoo group. Do a google search. It's a very popular lifestyle and growing by the day. PM me for more info

 

Yeah I sort of got the idea there were many already doing this sort of thing when I stopped in Quartzsite Az, and later to Slab City Ca last winter. Ever see 50,000 campers parked in one small town? The line at the Post Office could probably be seen from space... But Hey thanks the info, I'll check out that site.

 

Finally found the right travel trailer at a reasonable price. 29ft Keystone Hornet with super slide in perfect shape...going Sunday to pick it up...Yeahhh Buddy!!

 

congrats on the purchase, hope it works out for you. Love to see some photos

 

Thanks Ken, couldnt figure how to get a photo to post in the thread, but I did stick a few photos in my profile page...check em out. Cant wait to get the hell out of NY..lol People here just dont know how to live right..seriously!

 

T:
I spent sometime living out of my minivan a few years ago, and had the time of my life. I didnt see if you said this or not, but dont forget walmart parking, you can park there in a pinch up to a week, just move to a different area each day.
I am fixing up a windstar right now. I am currently rooted to a spot in NC, but I am looking to get back out on the road.
Something also to think about for constant travellers, is carrying your resume on a thumb drive for temp agencies. I worked in Detroit back in '05 for an agency that paid everyday w/ a w-2...but if you have a means to find somewhere to squat for two weeks you can make some cash.
Another thing to think about is intentional communities, you might look into finding some work and spot in one of those....also good for ideas for the future community you are thinking of.

 

I'll be retiring in about another 10 yrs and am considering becoming an RVer. I appreciate any info that might help me make up my mind.

 

Hey thanks for posting. I had a windstar a few years back, loved it. Now its a GMC 3500 Savana I use to pull our camper around ( sucks on gas but its whats needed to get the job done. Ya know I have camped at a few Walmarts over the last two year, but only as needed while getting from point A to point B, ( B usualy being way in the mountains or desert away from the rat race and all the bull shit if ya know what I mean.. Rest areas and truck stops worked good enough just the same , to get off the road for the night anyway. Luckily enough my girl and I dont have to work to make ends meet, but not to say I pass on any chances to make a few extra bucks. I'd like to check out some off grid comminities of some sort, could be cool, but at the moment wonderlust has its grip on us Free campsites Net, as well as some others, have some good info on free land use areas for dry camping, some even with water and bathrooms. We've checked out some of the listed spots and came to find some were really pleasant spots. Anyway, We're sitting put at the moment, getting in order a new travel trailer. Plan to hit the road again late summer. Hope to catch some of you guys on the trail . Cheers

 

M'lady and I have been living in our Winnebago down here in the Hocking Hills of Ohio for a year now... It's been mostly great, and the woodburner we installed made the winter nice and comfortable. We'd love to be involved in a community someday, but for now we're content where we are, and having no money at all doesn't help with the dreams of having land and such...

 

Yea I know what you mean about ny. Just about any place that would be nice to park is covered with those dreaded yellow signs.

Hopefully ill at least have a van soon. Right now I just have my car and a tent which will present some challenges to me.

 

Oh you know it, pretty much no free camping, and the pay sites are ridiculas with what they charge, even for a tent site its like 40 bucks a night..crazy!! Out west is like another world, as if signs starting with "No" dont even exist.

At least the seasons changing and you wont freeze to death in a tent. Where you at Dalamar?

 

This might help:

1. No rent to pay
2. No property taxes
3. freedom from same old same old
4. its wild crazy n fuckin fun
Any questions.

 

Hey thanks for sharing. So how do you manage where you are without owning the land? Is it a free state park or something or just a place you found to park where no one cares or hassles you.

 

This ship could use some fuckin pirates guys...an I aint taking no for an answer. Dont make me drive out of my way to come drag your ass off that couch. Lets fuckin go, we got shit to do!!...fuckers

 

Welp officially living in the 30 ft upgraded new camper for a month now and alls weller than before. Sold off the old 18ft Shasta trailer in less than 12 hours on Craigslist, for 375 bucks more than I paid for it. Six years ago I snagged it at a lien auction for 652 bucks, was in perfect shape and completely loaded with all sorts of gear. Within 3 weeks, sold off all content that came with it at a yard sale , which brough me back a little more than I paid for the entire thing. To sum it up, basicly paid nothing for it, used it for 6 years and still turned a profit on the dam thing. Just goes to show, there are ways to get what ya need on a tight budget. A little working cash used wisely gets the job done and then some. Now Im working on replacing the 4 tires that came on the new trailer, plenty of tred but dry rotted. So now its back to the ditches again to come up with a way to pay for the needed rubber before we plan to hit the road sometime this fall. Even though summer is beautiful in the northeast, I realy cant wait to get away from the general attitude of the area. There are some cool people around, but for the most part ,alot of petty nonsense and hassles seem to be the way of things. Id rather be where boondocking (free dry camping) is widely available and welcomed as well as being around other free birds like myself. Till then, its pay parking at this low key campground we stumbled on, hardly my style, but again not much other options out this way..at least they have a pool to keep cool for the comming months.