If you have a nomadic home that you are looking to sell, check it out at http://nomadichome.org/classifieds/

©2012 Nomadic Home. All Rights Reserved.

Having said that, I think there are some basic rules of thumb for living comfortably in any form of mobile accommodation.

1: The more frequently you move, the less physical space is required to be comfortable in your home. If you are stationary for longer periods of time, space requirements increase, to avoid cabin fever.

2: Being self employed, or owning a small business is going to allow for more flexible earning opportunities, in regards to allowing mobility in your lifestyle.

3: Simplify systems; reduce electrical reliance as much as possible (do away with any need for A.C. hookups) Use manual pumps or gravity for water etc..

4: Go as small as is practically possible for your particular situation, and earning methods.

5: Remember that your choosen form of accommodation is just that, accommodation, it’s not your entire life.

Those that expect to be able to adopt a McRV lifestyle should expect to be financially independant before they embark on it, if they don’t want to be disappointed early on. For all others, there are many different ways to approach living successfully in various forms of nomadic housing.

The most eloquent, though by no means short, description of a successful entry into nomadic living I know, is by Glenn Morrissette in his blog To Simplify. It is worth reading from the beginning, to understand why he has been successful.

The reason that I think he has been so successful, is that he wasn’t aiming for the RV lifestyle. Rather he was a self employed person, who was looking to simplify his life. As a basic synopsis, he was living in an apartment in L.A. with a sports car, working as a self employed musician and composer. What he embarked on was a reduction in his personal possessions, with the aim of simplifying to the point that he could reside in a small RV. It is clear through reading the blog that his intention, was not aimed at moving into an RV and hitting the road, rather that was just how things evolved. Upon getting to the point of buying and moving into an RV, Glenn remained in the L.A. area for some time, continuing to work as he had previously done, while living in an apartment. He discovered early on that he could save travel time, by staying in the area of his current work commitments, until they shifted to a different area, where in he shifted to the new location. So he did not need to commute.

On the way back from a cross country road trip to a family gathering, Glenn realised that he was enjoying his new travelling lifestyle, and that with some modifications to his work practice, there was no need to stop. Essentially he did a stock take of his work. Realised that his composing work was not reliant on being anywhere specific, and after cheking with the people he was composing for, discovered they were happy for him to keep producing in the same fashion. He also came to the pragmatic conclusion that it would not be practical for him to maintain his live playing and recording work, so by all appearances stopped seeking that work, though I notice from his blog that Glenn does still do the occasional bit of playing work. Now after less than two years, Glenn is living a fully nomadic RV life.

©2012 Nomadic Home. All Rights Reserved.

When deciding on an appropriate computer operating system there are a few things to consider. Does it support the software I need for my particular vein of creativity? Does the software availabe play nice with the other software being used? ie is there a way to use audio software directly with video software for post production work? or software to touch up the images? How much of an imposition is it to do 3d modelling and combine it with your other work? What is the cost? will the operating systems restrict my freedom to do what I want, or charge money every time I want to do something else?

Every system has it’s advantages and disadvantages, so you need to decide what fits your needs the best.

Windows

Mac OSX

Apples OSX is a Unix system and has the best audio visual software on the market. It looks very good and like they say, it just works. For the serious commercial studio operation this will probably be the right choice and for good reason. It is however proprietry and almost all useable software comes at a price with most of the same restrictions as Windows based software.

Tux the Linux Mascot

Linux is free as in freedom. There are many different varieties of Linux known as distributions, it is not a single operating system as are Windows and OSX, rather they are independant operating systems that have in common the usage of the Linux kernel. It is primarily developed by the users themselves. Most software operates under a GNU licence allowing the freedom to copy, reverse engineer, change, give away or charge for copies at the users discretion (usually requiring no more than access to the original code free of charge and including the GNU licence for the original components). You will usually find equivelant software to do what proprietry software on Windows and OSX do, and for free.

In most cases I think that Linux would be the most suitable choice for the modern nomadic creative artist. For one thing the freedom inherent is more compatible with the nomadic spirit. The cost is very attractive too, FREE. Yes, some of the software can be a little rough around the edges, though by no means is all of it. Yes, the other operating systems have some good free software, like Open Office, Blender etc. In most cases, as with open office and blender, they were originally written for Linux and tend to be more stable there than on the other operating systems too. There are a multitude of software solutions for pretty much any type of application you care to think of, ranging from simple consumer level, through to professional.

While it would be fair to say that Linux isn’t at the level of Mac OSX (Final Cut Pro) for video editing, they do have a very acceptable solution with Cinelerra. They are up with the play when it comes to audio production, with the exception that mix down will be in stereo, I’ve yet to find a way of mixing down surround sound yet, though for musicians, unless you are Jean Michel Jarre, you will still be mixing down in stereo anyway. As is still the case with most video production. For photography you have the GIMP. If you want to get into big budget motion pictures, well Linux has been the mainstay of hollywood for years, being the choice for the likes of Weta Workshops, Pixmar and Dreamworks.

Below is a list of what I consider to be some of the high end programs.

Blender 3D content creation suite.

the GIMP GNU Image Manipulation Program. Though the interface is different, you can use it for everything you used to use Photoshop for, once you learn how it works.

Cinepaint was forked from the GIMP. It was used on the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies. It offers Support for 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit color channels of deep paint, High Dynamic Range. HDR images can go brighter than white. And gallery quality printing.

Inkscape is an Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.

Ardour is a top of the line DAW (digital audio workstation).

non DAW This is a real revolution in digital audio workstations. fully modular, it requires a different approach than other DAW’s. At the time of writing I have only had it running for one day and already I think it will rival anything in audio work stations, period.

Cinelerra is the most advanced non-linear video editor and compositor for Linux at the moment. Often derided by people who haven’t been able to figure it out, it is surprisingly easy to use with a little learning. Though it is a little buggy, it does recover well and can do most of the things that the big boys do.

Lumiera is a re-write of the Cinelerra codebase and will probably be a direct competitor with the professional offerings of the other proprietry operating systems, when it is released.

©2012 Nomadic Home. All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, February 27, 2010
A LAST LOOK INSIDE THE STEALTH TRAILER
HOLDING ON OR LETTING GO—–KODGER KING AT THE KROSSROADS—DECIDES TO SELL —–RESISTING THE HOARDING INSTINCT—-PUTTING “STUFF” BACK IN CIRCULATION.

Click here for the original post with photo’s

Switching rigs has been agonizing for me—and revealing—part of me wants to hang on to it–still be perfect for long trips–like Alaska.—-And what if I’m not happy with the larger rig?–I could hedge my bet by just putting it in storage. yadda—yadda—yadda. Finally, this morning, I gained clarity—a voice inside said:LET IT GO RANDY! Then I yammered about how much to ask—–A call to the dealer I bought it from (ph 888-657-4910) said it was worth $3,000 to $3,500 as a cargo trailer—so that’s what I’ll ask–never mind my work and the goodies inside. But I will only sell it to someone who wants to camp in it and with the understanding that they (at least yearly) tell me its travel story. I know I will miss it’s splendid sufficiency and simplicity.
A buyer will have to come to Quartzsite, Az to get it. The following pictures show what is inside and on top. A few details may be helpful–Featherlite is considered by most as the premier trailer because it is far lighter than steel frame versions–a difference of 500 pounds. Empty, it weighs only 1200 pounds—fully loaded with my stuff, it weighed 2,500 pounds but can handle a thousand additional pounds—has torsion axels—6 foot headroom and 6 foot 3 inches inside-width.

These rear doors were my joy–they have opened on a world of wonder.

I’ve left two solar panels on it—removed the rest for my new rig. The ladders are hinged supports for additional panels. Note the two large hatches for light and ventilation (18×24 inches) Also left in place is the wiring. If you look carefully you can see the spring tension system which allows the hatches 360 degree opening.

My friends know that I carried 60 shirts in this closet—my new one can only handle 30.don’t know what I’ll do with the surplus.

This is the couch/bed in couch position—It is held couchlike by a chord which when released–

makes into this 3 foot wide bed. There is room for a 4 foot bed should you need it.

Here is the stove and sink–both stainless steel–work beautifully. Below are 4 large storage compartments containing gray and white water tanks, Propane and room for 3 big batteries and a good inverter. All wiring has been left substantially intact.

Here’s the potty—it is mounted atop a large holding tank. Below that platform is a mascerator–simply flip a switch to empty the tank via a (provided)garden hose.

A padded lid comes down to cover the potty and make a convenient seat.

Here’s the 4 cu ft fridge—has served well. Thus ends the sales talk—I dearly hate selling things–so if it proves too much of a hassle, I will store it or try craigs list. Here are some final numbers about my 5 years living in it: Total cost of everything: $8,000–if sold for 3 then my cost of housing was about $5000 for 5 years—about $85 a month. It required no repairs at all–has only 2 moving parts—the wheels. (Never needed the extra wheel bearing set I carried.
Interested in carrying this experiment forward to new adventures–contact me by e-mail: randythepoet@yahoo.com or phone 602-402-9511.

©2012 Nomadic Home. All Rights Reserved.

Given that my target audience is mobile by nature, I try to keep the site as light to load as I can, for instance, by adding a mobile option at the bottom of the page for those connecting from a mobile device such as an iPhone or Blackberry. And not using Google-Analytics, which seems to slow sites down when connecting to them.

I have slowly been collecting resources for the site, but also been trying to display them in the easiest way that I can, for people to access them. There is not a lot of point having a huge amount of information on a site, if no one can find it. I will continue to modify the way the site runs, as I think of better ways to make information easily accessible. And add to it as time allows.

To me, a web site should be a living thing, growing and evolving. I can’t see how a site can be put up in it’s entirety in the first instance. Just as people gain experience as they grow and evolve, I think that a web site should improve with the same process.

When I started the blog, I was aiming for about three posts per week. I have discovered that is not practical for me and seem to be posting about once a month now. But as the rest of the site is gaining resources, regular posting is becoming less relevant to providing information.

An important part of this site is the blog links on the left hand side. They show a variety of approaches to a nomadic lifestyle. Some of them are updated frequently, and some not so frequent, or in the case of JM Campervan, not at all. What they all do show, is an evolving view of their lifestyles and it is that evolution that is important to see, in order to understand what a nomadic life style is about. I have chosen which blogs to link to with care. They are, on the whole, sustainable lifestyles for the people writing them, as opposed to holidays from their normal lives, which they have to return to when they run short on money.

©2012 Nomadic Home. All Rights Reserved.