Simple Stress Free Lifestyle

So you want to live a "Simple Stress Free Lifestyle?" I did it as a traveling photographer in a 1978 Dodge Window Van for a year. It was a great time. In 1994 I started driving a semi over the road, so I was able to see this beautiful country from sea to shinning sea. I have been to all of the lower 48 states and 2 provinces in Canada in that big ole rig.

In 1997 I bought another van. It was a 1977 Dodge Extended van. I tore out most of the "Stuff" that was not needed and put in a bed across the back and put the hose of my cooler out the bottom of the van so the water would run out on the ground. I enjoyed it, on my days out of the truck in Cloud Croft / Ruidoso, NM area. The weather there is great, and there is plenty of places to park and cook out with that grill.

Mechanically it has been rebuilt from the front to the rear. Rebuilt: engine, trans, new driveshaft and u-joints, tires, brakes, dual exhaust and shocks. Right now it is sitting in Indiana. The rust is really starting to get the body, as it has been doing a lot of sitting. Sitting just because I don't have the time to enjoy it, and because I started another van that has a high top! WOW! It is nice to stand up to dress and move about.

My current "Condo On Wheels" is a bit newer than I wanted. It is a 1987 Dodge Extended Camper Van. Already has a fridge, table, water tank, toilet, kitchen area with a small sink, closets and 4 captain chairs. I took out 2 captain chairs to make more room for "Stuff" and I am adding a shower. You have to just keep the basic essentials in your mobile lifestyle, as there just is not to much room for clutter and useless items, so storage space is at a minimum, and gotta watch the weight as well.

I have always wanted to travel the US and Canada, and even though for the most part it has been by the big rig, it has still been a great ride. However, I am tired of the big rig route, and I want to do it at a much slower pace, and get off the main roads to see more of what most people dream of, as well as having some peace and quiet.

Originally, I had thought of a big ole 5th wheel for my mode of traveling. That is one reason I wanted to drive a truck. I figured if I can drive a rig that is about 70' long, I should be able to drive a smaller truck and trailer. I have never had a 5th wheel, but I have had several truck campers for camping, a class c motor home and a 21' travel trailer. Man, how time flies! I have been traveling practically full time since 1994, but it is time for me to get in the slow lane to enjoy life in a "Simple Stress Free Lifestyle!"

Currently I am in Phoenix, AZ. Way to hot here during the summer for me, but the Williams - Flagstaff area is just perfect. I am trucking in the South West 3 states of AZ, NV and CA. Sometimes I see NM, but that is about it. I am getting ready to add my "Power Plant" to my "Condo On Wheels", so I will post pics as I progress with that. To see pics of my current set up, and to read about some of my "Adventures" and future updates, you can check out my web site at:
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If you are thinking about doing the same sort of thing that I'm doing now or have done in the past and want some tips or feedback from me...feel free to post and ask here, by PM or by email on my website.

GOD Bless, and Happy Travels,

Bernie

PS I only get Internet play time on the weekends, so please be patient.

 

Enjoyed your post and web site Bernie. Thanks ! One thought is to re-consider your choice in batteries. Those monsters are big and heavy and I suspect will take a lot of juice to keep charged. May I suggest that you consider two 6-volt golf cart batteries? One battery cable to the positive and negative battery posts will make it a 12v system. Golf cart batteries are heavy duty and will serve you well. Trojan t-105's are considered to be the among the best and I think they run about a 100.00 each if you shop around. I found another brand at Costco and I'm happy with them so far. I paid about 65.00 each. Just my 2cents for what it's worth?

 

Thanks Kenwilkes for reading my site and thanks for the tip on the batteries. I am not a pro on all this solar stuff, and I do remember chatting with a solar guy before about what I was wanting to do, and this is how I came up with this system, but I will run it by the pro before I make my purchase.

Here is some of the things I think I remembered correctly from that conversation. I do have to use the AGM batts since they are going to be inside my "Condo On Wheels". I also think he said that the 12v batts use to be not as good as a 2 6v batt set up, like you are saying, but that is not the case anymore. It sure would be nice to use the Trojan t-105's, but I am not sure where I could put them outside my living area. Got to be careful of the gases they give off when they charge.

I will keep this in mind when I go back and get ready to make my final decision and purchase, and I will try to remember exactly what he says so I can post back here for all to read. Thanks again for your 2 cents on my power plant. On my budget, every cent counts!

GOD Bless and take care,

Bernie

 

Well, I've read a lot about the gases that are put out while charging. I lived on my houseboat for a long time and kept the batteries in my boat and didn't have any ill effects. I always was aware of it and tried to not be in the boat when they charged or at the very least keep the boat well aired.

It may be different with the van as you may set your system up so that the batteries charge while you drive so in this case it does pay to be prudent.

I've been doing it a while on a boat but I'm not an expert that's for sure. Safety first always.

Best regards... kenny

 

Here is some good and simple cooking!

I have been using these cookers for years. I call it the "Lunch Box Cooker." It looks just like a lunch box, but gets up to about 300 - 325 degrees using your standard 12 volt cigarette lighter plug in.



I have cooked everything from Hot Dogs, Burritos, Pork & Beans with Hot Dogs sliced up, Chicken, Pork Chops, Cubed Steaks, Turkey in one and Dressing in another, TV Dinners, Pizza Rolls, Hamburgers, Chicken Hearts and Gizzards, Chili, Sloppy Joes, Meat Loaf, Lasagna, Bacon and not sure what all.

I have warmed soup in the can, but be careful when you open it that you don't get a steam burn! If you are not moving, you can poke a hole in the top of the can with an Ice Pick to let off pressure. Ravioli is a good one to, but I use aluminum foil for it and eat it with bread & butter.


The lunch box cooker is great for reheating things as well. I use to buy 5 roast beefs for $5 at Arby's and put them in the cooker for about 10 minutes when I was in the mood and there you have another great, economical snack!

One of my favorite sandwich combos is "Turkey, Ham & Roast Beef" with cheese that I buy from the cold meat section at the grocery store. Sometimes I prefer Swiss, and sometimes Velveeta! Warming it in the Lunch Box Cooker is really an awesome treat!

GOD Bless and Happy Safe Travels!

 

Here is a great deal I found at Walmart in the freezer section.



I left this in my cooler for a couple of days before I decided to go ahead and heat it up and give it a shot. Below is the pic after it has thawed out. Looks like a nice chunk of meat in there!



I always use aluminum foil or Turkey/Oven Roasting bags for easy clean up, and I put a small amount of water in the bottom so it makes a bit of steam. Below is the pic of the heated up $1.99 special.



I let this heat for somewhere between 30 - 45 minutes. Lost track of time when I was driving, but it did burn my tongue on the first bite! Ouch!

The pulled pork was really good, but the beans could have used more cook time from the production company, or perhaps an oven would have been the way to go. It was still good, but the beans could have been better. I would do it again, but I think some Bread N Butter would be a nice addition for the next round.

GOD Bless and Happy Safe Travels!

 

Hey everyone, here is a way to get FREE ICE for your cooler or drink cup which saves me a ton of money. I use to just take a small cooler that would hold a 6 pack in to the restaurants when I would eat and ask the waitress to fill-r-up. I have been turned down a few times, and one place wanted to charge me $1.

Pilot Truck Stops will let you fill up your own cup with ICE for FREE! I normally take in 3 rather large cups to fill up and bring back to the truck and dump in my cooler. I have seen guys with small coolers and some really large plastic mugs getting Ice, so as long as it is your own cup/cooler/ or what ever, it is FREE and you are good to go.

Hope this tip helps to "Keep Your Cool!"

GOD Bless and Happy Safe Travels!

 

Can someone tell me how to get my pic in there where the Avatar is now?

Thanks

 

good stuff Bernie. Do you have a link for that cooker oven thing ?

 

Hey Brother Ken,

Sure, here is a link to it, and to other 12 volt items as well.

http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/12vopost.html

If you can get to a Pilot Truck Stop, they are on sale at the moment. To see if there is one close to you, you can visit their web site and use the store locator feature.

http://www.pilottravelcenters.com/

Glad you have found this info useful.

 

I normally do McDonalds a lot, as they are having there $1 drink special. While I am in there, I take several other McDonalds cups in and fill them with Ice while I eat. I have never had anyone say anything, even when I have went in on occasion and filled my cups and walked back out.

I am sure that this would work with any restaurant you go to often that has the self help drink stations, by simply keeping that brand of cup. I mean, you probably would not want to take a McDonalds cup into Burger King, or a Taco Bell cup into Dairy Queen.

Keep Cool!

 

I've been working on an idea for a modified cooler that I wish to share.

Instead of a standard square Igloo or Coleman cooler I'm thinking of modifying
one of those orange 5 gallon water jug cooler things that you see on the back of
work trucks or at ball games.

Something like this

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-5-Gallon-Recessed-Resistant-RBH1685ORG/dp/B00002ND6\
V/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1285591815&sr=8-1-fkmr1

My thought is to increase the insulation factor by fabricating a round outer shell
that will encompass the jug. Keep ice for a lot longer. The shell could be as simple as a round plastic
garbage can with spray foam insulation.

The water spicket could be modified with a hose to be a drain as it may be
covered by the insulation? (or not). The outer shell would be made in a way to
allow each access to the jug for cleaning.

To insulate the top I would do some type of a fabric thing that would fit over
the top and maybe have pockets to store small items. Very handy

A more advance shell would have buckles so that you can remove the outer shell
without having to lift it up and over the jug. Low top van owners would
appreciate this.

A taller narrower cylinder might take up less floor space than a cooler? You
would easily have enough room for 1 or two 2 liter bottles and a day or two's
worth of food.

I would add some type of a divider inside the jug to keep the ice on top.
Picture something like a colander screwed into the middle of the jug that would
hold the ice in place but allow the melt to drain down to the bottom of the jug.
I would want the water to drain on the sides so that it won't meet the food or
food containers.

A more advanced idea would be to have a 3 layer system. The top layer would be
your ice, the second or middle layer would be for food containment and the
bottom layer would be for drinkable ice water from the top layer ice melt.

So basically you would open the top, be able to somehow grab hold of the ice
holder thing and lift it out to grab your nice cold coke.

Any thoughts on this other than I have too much time on my hands? LOL

 

I drove truck for a bit. Not my cup of tea. When I picked up work cooking at a truck stop I made sure the truckers got free coffee. At the first truck stop it increased business and tips (which the girls shared). And cost me my job. Manager had this idea that a selling a cup of coffee for 50 cents was better than letting it go for free, since the then-gross cost of the coffee was around 3 cents per cup. So when she started pulling a 47 cent profit per cup she also lost 1/3 of her customers.

Other truck stop did the free coffee bit, but it was put under the "advertising" part of the spread sheet. And I'd have to say that have the best coffee for free is the best damn advertising a truck stop can get!

 

Picked up that oven on Amazon for 31.00 delivered. Nice little unit. I hope to cook a lot of fine tasty meals in it.

Thanks for the tip brother Bernie

 

Bernie,

That's a cool little cooker. The perfect item for someone worried about space...like a van dweller.

 

My Brothers, I am glad you can use that tip! Yes, they are rather small, but for 1 person, perhaps 2, it is Awesome! Yes, perfect for a van dweller, as there is no expensive inverters required, and the clean up is so easy! Simply remove the aluminum foil and your done!

Here is a "Double Dog Snack!" I thought I would share.

Took 15 minutes from a cold plug in, so actually about 5 more minutes would have been more to my liking. The dogs where between really warm and hot, but still really good. I even gave my slice of bread about 2 minutes in the steam to really soften up. Worked really well.

Start with a small piece of aluminum foil for easy clean up, and then strategically place 2 yummy cold hot dogs on the foil. Put a small bit of water in the bottom (under the foil) if you like for a bit of steam.




Here is the result after about 15 minutes! Really does not look any different from the above pic, but I do know that they taste better hot!



I then strategically placed a piece of bread on top of the dogs and then re-closed the lid so the bread would get a bit of a steam bath to soften and warm it up a bit.



So what does the end result look like? Check out this wonderfully steamed "Double Dog Buffet with Ketchup, Mustard and a nice Sandwich Sliced Pickle on a Soft Steamed piece of Wheat Bread!" To add to the flavor, I had some Lays' "Flaming Hot" chips.



This was a great way to start my day off while I was waiting to be unloaded in Snowflake, AZ.

 

Brother Ken,

Sounds like you are doing some major brain storming on your cooler idea. Sounds great, and looks like that idea would "Multi-Task" for a van/RV dweller.

I had an idea and here is mine. I know it is a bit different than yours, but perhaps this will get some more ideas rolling around in all of our thoughts.

AWESOME COOLER!

Here is a way to get double duty, and perhaps twice to three times the life span out of your ice. Also, there are many ways to recycle the water and this set up will eliminate your food getting soaked and ruined with the splashing water inside the cooler. I have done this several times over many years with different brands of 12 volt coolers, and the results are always the same. Here is what happens with this simple but effective modification that has a cost of just a few bucks.


I go to Walmart, as they are normally cheaper than any truck stop and go to the RV/Camping section. Normally the furthest corner from where I enter. I find the coolers and then look for the 12 volt version. Most Walmart stores have them, but I have had a few disappointments.

This time it happened to be a Coleman brand.


Here is a pic of it standing up on end.




Below is the "Power" end of the unit. You can see the wire and fan here. There is some other kind of cooler part that actually makes it cool. This is not a fridge, but if you place the motor end in front of an A/C vent, I have had ice in my water before. However, it has to be really cool to cold in the tuck before that happens.




Once I got this item, I headed to the local hardware store. I got a hollow threaded rod thing that they use to run the electrical cord up through a lamp. They come in many different lengths, but the one I opted for was about 6". It is threaded the entire lenght of the shaft, and comes with thin nuts to hold the lamp shade, or in this case, my hose in the proper place. Sorry, but I don't have a pic of the hollow threaded rod.


I then get a drill bit that is the same size as the threaded rod and drill a hole as close to the edge of the cooler as I can to which a washer will still fit between the wall of the cooler and the threaded rod itself. Below is the inside pic of the hole drilled, washer in place with "Liquid Nails" glue and the nut that came with the hollow threaded lamp rod.



Here is the bottom of the cooler with the rod sticking out the bottom. I cut off several inches, as I did not want the rod to be to long and possibly break at a bad time. There is about an inch and a half sticking out, which gives me plenty of space to attach the hose.



I need to go back and put some silicone around the nut and shaft inside the cooler, as that is probably where the water is leaking around this set up. I have had them in the past not leak a bit, so I know I need to do a better job this time.

 

Here is a pic of the cooler sitting in the truck seat. I bought 2 straps in the automotive section that are ratchet straps for securing a load, an ATV, or in my case, a cooler!



So where does the water go? Well, I put a nice square recycled peanut can on the floor, and I empty it once a day.



I could not find a hose of the same size as the hollow threaded rod anywhere, so I went to Autozone to see what they had. It is a high preasure/high heat hose, and it was like $4 per foot! Geez, sure don't want to buy much of that. However, it slides right onto the threaded rod and stays right there with out a problem.

I have not been using the 12 volt plug in with this set up, as I can get ice from the Knight terminal in Phoenix, or other places like the Pilot truck stop and restaurants when I go in to eat.


However, if I know it is going to be a while before an ice stop, I can plug it it, and I normally get ice in my water, and the ice in the cooler will stay there for at least 2 to 3 times longer than normal.

 

add a little canned chili to those dawgs Bernie or even some baked beans ! Add some fresh onion if you have it or at least some of those dried onion flakes.