There are some additional challenges of living in an RV in a cold climate than elsewhere. One thing I have to be very mindful of is the potential for freezing pipes. The compartments of concern are the sewer drain compartment, the water inlet and junction area (under the bed), and perhaps a few of the inaccessible drain areas, such as under the shower. Other important temperatures to keep in mind are inside the cabin and what the actual outdoor temperature is.
I found a weather station that has three channels and three wireless temperature sending units. The cost was $40 and the unit itself tells the indoor temperature and relative humidity. The system is by ‘Ambient Weather’ and I picked it up on Amazon.com.
I plan to place one sending unit in the sewer compartment, another under the bed near the outer wall, and the last on the back of the vehicle, so that I know the outdoor temperature. The point is to know what my freezing danger is in each of these areas and what the potential is based on the indoor and outdoor temperatures.
This particular system has some oddities. For instance, the unit has to be reset by taking a battery out when a sender’s batteries die, then the whole system seems to have to be reinitiated. That means resetting the clock, time zone, etc, which isn’t difficult, but is a pain. However, for $40, it seems like a reasonable compromise and an irritant that should only occur once a year or so.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Checkpoint: How's living in the RV?
It has become apparent that I'm living on some fringe as a student living in a motor home full time. So far, one of the most frequent questions is, "What's it like?!" I think the answer is actually super simple.
Considering that RV's are made for those who don't want to exit the hard-shell home space of a home, motor homes are made as tiny houses on wheels. "Tiny" has some wiggle room to it, since some of the boats out there are gigantic.
What I have learned is that it's simple, easy to clean, and has all of the comforts of home, just on a smaller scale. Since my rolling home has a stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator/freezer, shower, toilet, two sinks, a kitchen table, a full-sized queen bed, and two TV's, I have everything that was important in my stick house, but on a scale fit for one person.
The only oddities that I'm consciously aware of are the need to drain the sewer once a week (opening two valves, no mess), and that showers have to basically be less than 8 minutes since the hot water heater is only 6 gallons.
So, the answer is simple -- it's just like living in a house, but on a small scale. So far, I really like it. One problem I anticipate is winter -- the walls are insulated with styrofoam, but the temperature changes appear to be quite severe. I'm going to have to find a way to conserve energy during winter, but not freeze pipes. Lots of new insulation will be needed in strategic places. Otherwise, still having a great time with it!
Considering that RV's are made for those who don't want to exit the hard-shell home space of a home, motor homes are made as tiny houses on wheels. "Tiny" has some wiggle room to it, since some of the boats out there are gigantic.
What I have learned is that it's simple, easy to clean, and has all of the comforts of home, just on a smaller scale. Since my rolling home has a stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator/freezer, shower, toilet, two sinks, a kitchen table, a full-sized queen bed, and two TV's, I have everything that was important in my stick house, but on a scale fit for one person.
The only oddities that I'm consciously aware of are the need to drain the sewer once a week (opening two valves, no mess), and that showers have to basically be less than 8 minutes since the hot water heater is only 6 gallons.
So, the answer is simple -- it's just like living in a house, but on a small scale. So far, I really like it. One problem I anticipate is winter -- the walls are insulated with styrofoam, but the temperature changes appear to be quite severe. I'm going to have to find a way to conserve energy during winter, but not freeze pipes. Lots of new insulation will be needed in strategic places. Otherwise, still having a great time with it!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Holy Grad School, Batman!
Grad school so far has been great. It's a lot of work, though. Of course I knew that when I signed up, but I can't emphasize how different it is to have to read an entire book between Tuesday and Thursday and understand the material well enough to have meaningful discussion about it. It seems that the reading load for three courses is between 300-600 pages of reading per week.
I have talked to many who have done grad school and it seems that the consensus is "learn what you need to read." The reason behind this is that the reading load, in addition to assistantship duties and life, is just always too much. At the moment, I'm torn whether I like this advice, because it seems that one might miss a lot by not reading --everything--, but it also seems like quantity is the theme, while I think quality is a better method.
As I continue, I'm sure I'll come up with a better understanding of what the best method is. Right now, I'm erring on the side of caution and reading everything, mostly to get a beat for how much is being assigned and what I'm getting value out of and what I'm not. It's just not leaving much time for much else!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Settling the RV - Current Challenges
I'm basically settled in the motor home and have a good system working, but I have yet to figure out exactly how I'm going to solve a few of the necessities for the coming Winter.
First, I have to find a way to heat and insulate the water hose. There are commercial solutions available, but none are great. Heated hoses don't tend to be shorter than 20' and hose heaters tend to be a mixed bag of fire hazards and are often incompatible with soft hose. I'm now strongly considering making my own fixed pipe with PVC then using pipe heat tape and insulating it with either fiberglass wrap or with common foam insulators.
Second, I have to get heaters in place for the sewer compartment and under the bed where the water lines are. In this, I also need to come up with new insulation for these compartments, so my heat isn't just lost through the 1.5" thick Styrofoam walls. So far, it seems like light bulbs will be a good way to go, though I would like to find a thermostat solution that would allow these to come on and off automatically, as needed. Perhaps the technology hasn't caught up to what I'm trying to do here.
Third, I need to get a "skirt" on the beast. The park I'm in requires a skirt, which is actually a good thing to prevent tire rot and to prevent wind from whistling through the underside constantly. I'm considering everything from plastic/fiberglass corrugated sheets and a wood frame to modified canvas tarpaulins with snaps that go around the vehicle. I think the canvas option would be better for fitting to the ground and moving events, but might actually be more difficult since so many snaps will need to be set for it to work. A screw-snap will need to be set every 10" along the body and whether it will hold in the wind is another issue entirely.
I never thought this would be easy, but these items that aren't readily available on the market have proven quite time consuming and require quite a bit more thought and innovation than I had hoped for.
First, I have to find a way to heat and insulate the water hose. There are commercial solutions available, but none are great. Heated hoses don't tend to be shorter than 20' and hose heaters tend to be a mixed bag of fire hazards and are often incompatible with soft hose. I'm now strongly considering making my own fixed pipe with PVC then using pipe heat tape and insulating it with either fiberglass wrap or with common foam insulators.
Second, I have to get heaters in place for the sewer compartment and under the bed where the water lines are. In this, I also need to come up with new insulation for these compartments, so my heat isn't just lost through the 1.5" thick Styrofoam walls. So far, it seems like light bulbs will be a good way to go, though I would like to find a thermostat solution that would allow these to come on and off automatically, as needed. Perhaps the technology hasn't caught up to what I'm trying to do here.
Third, I need to get a "skirt" on the beast. The park I'm in requires a skirt, which is actually a good thing to prevent tire rot and to prevent wind from whistling through the underside constantly. I'm considering everything from plastic/fiberglass corrugated sheets and a wood frame to modified canvas tarpaulins with snaps that go around the vehicle. I think the canvas option would be better for fitting to the ground and moving events, but might actually be more difficult since so many snaps will need to be set for it to work. A screw-snap will need to be set every 10" along the body and whether it will hold in the wind is another issue entirely.
I never thought this would be easy, but these items that aren't readily available on the market have proven quite time consuming and require quite a bit more thought and innovation than I had hoped for.
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