Welcome. This is Jeremy, founder of Parkmyhome. I first entered the mobile dwelling lifestyle in June of 2015 and am excited to share some of my experiences and lessons learned with you all!
Do Your Research
I jumped into full-time mobile dwelling living head first and quite unprepared, which did make it a challenge, but also exciting and ultimately fun. My intention was to use my RV as my stationary home base and commute to local employers. These articles would have been very useful to read:
Preparedness and Stationary RV Living
A crucial need most of us will experience is, where can I park and live in my mobile dwelling? At my onset, I did not fully understand or even consider the difficulty it would be to find long term parking spots. Depending on the type of your mobile dwelling, you may be able to park on the public streets and blend in with typical commuter vehicles. Check with the local police or online for local ordinances on overnight parking rules before you start staying in an area. In my case, having a vintage RV did not blend in well at all with standard vehicles and the city ordinance for overnight parking on public streets was limited to one night for travelers. So I parked on the side streets of business and industrial areas, moving my RV every 2-3 days for the first 45 days. This was a problem and Parkmyhome was my solution. I believed that some private property owners would be willing to rent there outdoor vacant for money or labor and created a platform for them to list their spots.
Check out these other good ideas for finding parking spots.
When traveling through National Forests and BLM land, Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) are an excellent resource for free camping spots, where you can typically park up to 14 days in a row. These forest road are typical dirt though.
Preparedness and Stationary RV Living
A crucial need most of us will experience is, where can I park and live in my mobile dwelling? At my onset, I did not fully understand or even consider the difficulty it would be to find long term parking spots. Depending on the type of your mobile dwelling, you may be able to park on the public streets and blend in with typical commuter vehicles. Check with the local police or online for local ordinances on overnight parking rules before you start staying in an area. In my case, having a vintage RV did not blend in well at all with standard vehicles and the city ordinance for overnight parking on public streets was limited to one night for travelers. So I parked on the side streets of business and industrial areas, moving my RV every 2-3 days for the first 45 days. This was a problem and Parkmyhome was my solution. I believed that some private property owners would be willing to rent there outdoor vacant for money or labor and created a platform for them to list their spots.
Check out these other good ideas for finding parking spots.
When traveling through National Forests and BLM land, Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) are an excellent resource for free camping spots, where you can typically park up to 14 days in a row. These forest road are typical dirt though.
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Showering and Bathroom use Adjustments: Newer and bigger RV's typically have a separated toilet area and decent sized showers, however my 82' 20' C-Class had a combo deal with a curtain to protect wallpaper from water. It was quite small and very inconvenient to use as a shower. Instead, I got a local rec center membership and showered there with unlimited hot water, hot tub, steam and pool, along with an entire gym. Today, you can find a 24 Hour Fitness in most major cities and larger towns across the country.
Unless you're parked somewhere with a direct sewer connection, you will want limit the amount of times you use your toilet at home, mainly so you not need to dump the tank frequently. I found myself using public bathrooms often when I was out in town or at work. |
Become Part of the Community
Share your adventure: Be enthused and proud of the path you're molding and tell people why you're doing it; you may just inspire someone to offer a hand. I tell most everyone I meet about what I am doing and that communication ends up helping me in ways I didn't expect. One night hanging out, a friend of a friend thought my journey was cool and offered a temporary spot to park at the place he rented. I ended up staying there for six months with a million dollar view!
Be aware of your surroundings: If you see other mobile dwellers parked in places around an area, investigate and ask questions. While driving around town one day, I came across a motel with RV's parked in the back lot. After a short conversation with the owners, I parked here for over 15 months straight for $10/day. For the other months, I parked on the private property.
Less is More: Even though the point of downsizing is to have less, there still doesn't seem to be enough space for that even. Pinterest has a wealth of ideas for finding more space within other spaces.
Learn from watching others: The Nomadic Fanatic is a favorite YouTuber of mine. He does a great job talking about all things RV, maintenance and full time living. Here is a list of 74 others showing the rest of us how the lifestyle can be done. You can read about my experience over the past three years to see how easy it is once you commit to doing it. This article showcases many different demographics living full time in various types of RV's.
Less is More: Even though the point of downsizing is to have less, there still doesn't seem to be enough space for that even. Pinterest has a wealth of ideas for finding more space within other spaces.
Learn from watching others: The Nomadic Fanatic is a favorite YouTuber of mine. He does a great job talking about all things RV, maintenance and full time living. Here is a list of 74 others showing the rest of us how the lifestyle can be done. You can read about my experience over the past three years to see how easy it is once you commit to doing it. This article showcases many different demographics living full time in various types of RV's.
Off-grid Living Suggestions and Tested Gear
Heating: If you can make a wood stove work in your mobile dwelling, I highly recommend this investment. The Scout Wood Stove by Cylinder Stoves did an amazing job keeping me toasty, sometimes too much! At 9" x 18", you can fit good size pieces of wood and it cranks out heat so much that on a 0 deg day outside, I was in shorts on the inside. This unit was already installed in my RV when I bought it and was a huge comfort and money saver! I found a video of its install by the previous owners.
To take the chill off in the mornings or while getting the fire going, the Mr Buddy Portable Heater is great choice for a primary or backup heat source. A couple of reviews say that the unit can get stuck on the high setting. The low setting puts out 4000 BTU which was plenty for my home, plus running it on high would get expensive quickly. There is an attachment you can buy to adopt a 20LB grill tank which will last about a week using 8hrs/day max. I've slept with this unit on overnight many times with no issues other than moisture build up on the windows. Fans help a lot to circulate the hot air. The Endless Breeze by Fan-tastic has been a nice upgrade to my interior! It runs on DC and only draws 1.2-2.6 amps powering 12" of fan area. The name does not lie.
To take the chill off in the mornings or while getting the fire going, the Mr Buddy Portable Heater is great choice for a primary or backup heat source. A couple of reviews say that the unit can get stuck on the high setting. The low setting puts out 4000 BTU which was plenty for my home, plus running it on high would get expensive quickly. There is an attachment you can buy to adopt a 20LB grill tank which will last about a week using 8hrs/day max. I've slept with this unit on overnight many times with no issues other than moisture build up on the windows. Fans help a lot to circulate the hot air. The Endless Breeze by Fan-tastic has been a nice upgrade to my interior! It runs on DC and only draws 1.2-2.6 amps powering 12" of fan area. The name does not lie.
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Wood Processing: Having a wood stove is a huge money saver if you gather and process down your own wood. Since living off-grid and using wood as my primary heat source, over time I have acquired two axes, two saws and a chainsaw to help me (see pictures above). Working with wood and a stove requires great gloves. The Tillman 1450 welding gloves have proven to be excellent for preparing the wood outside in the cold and snow and working the fire inside.
Axe 1: The Fiskars X17 works well for splitting small logs, like 6-8" diameter or less. It has a super sharp blade out box which has retained that edge through one winter.
Axe 2: The GransforsBruk Small Forest Axe, is hand made in Sweden, perfectly balanced, sharp enough to shave with and worth every dollar you pay for one. Great for felling and limbing small trees and splitting for kindle.
Saw 1: The Gerber Gator Saw was originally bought for camping, but is super compact, has a nice rubber grip, comes with two saws and cuts wood like butter! I've had it for years and have never really noticed a difference in its performance ever.
Saw 2: A standard carpenter saw, attained before last winter at a thrift store for $2; works well on 2-4" diameter limbs.
Chainsaw: An American made product popular with arborists is the Stihl brand. I found one with a 16" bar at a consignment shop and have enjoyed using it.
Axe 1: The Fiskars X17 works well for splitting small logs, like 6-8" diameter or less. It has a super sharp blade out box which has retained that edge through one winter.
Axe 2: The GransforsBruk Small Forest Axe, is hand made in Sweden, perfectly balanced, sharp enough to shave with and worth every dollar you pay for one. Great for felling and limbing small trees and splitting for kindle.
Saw 1: The Gerber Gator Saw was originally bought for camping, but is super compact, has a nice rubber grip, comes with two saws and cuts wood like butter! I've had it for years and have never really noticed a difference in its performance ever.
Saw 2: A standard carpenter saw, attained before last winter at a thrift store for $2; works well on 2-4" diameter limbs.
Chainsaw: An American made product popular with arborists is the Stihl brand. I found one with a 16" bar at a consignment shop and have enjoyed using it.
Electrical Power: Solar is the way to complete independence. The use solar panels to generate power is this the biggest no-brainer for ANY homeowner! This is FREE electricity, but in all homes, you need to use it methodically to lower the bills. Living off of solar power solely for over 15 months without plugging into the grid is a happy and satisfying feeling. I encourage everyone to seek ways to lower their electrical use and make power from renewable sources like solar and wind; even something small like this portable hydro generator/battery to power your gadgets.
My home was powered by a generic branded system using a single 100 watt panel mounted at 0 degrees which feeds two DC batteries in parallel to increase the AmpH's. In between the panel and batteries, you will need to install a solar charge controller which regulates the energy transfer direction. While there are so many different panel manufacturers and electrical components to choose from, professionals recommend the Trojan T105 6 volt battery to store the energy you capture.
In order to charge my laptop, iPad and phone, the power needs to be converted to AC using an inverter; the Bestek 150 watt with dual USB ports has been huge upgrade after replacing the previously installed and overdrawing 750 watt one. Size does matter here.
Useful Miscellaneous Tools:
Many years ago, my brother gave me a VictorinoxSwissTool. This multi-tool is the highest quality I've ever used. The blades do not dull and there is absolutely no play in the lock after years of moderately consistent use. An excellent all-purpose tool to have on hand.
Before my first winter, I drained the water lines to avoid the pipes freezing and breaking. In this process, I started using seven gallon jugs by Reliance. They have a nice functioning spout and can be equipped with a hand pump.
The Helio Pressure Shower is a nifty 11 liter portable camp shower that provides "running water" for rinsing dishes and quick hair showers during winter months! You can also leave in sun to heat up the water or add hot water. Do not fill with only boiling water, mix with some cold.
ECOS is a wonderful biodegradable, eco-friendly soap line I have been using for my dishes so I can dump the gray water outside and save tank space for more black waste.
A Barker portable black tank allows you to keep your RV parked and only move the waste to the dump out. If you have a trailer, this is especially nice not having to hitch up as often.
My home was powered by a generic branded system using a single 100 watt panel mounted at 0 degrees which feeds two DC batteries in parallel to increase the AmpH's. In between the panel and batteries, you will need to install a solar charge controller which regulates the energy transfer direction. While there are so many different panel manufacturers and electrical components to choose from, professionals recommend the Trojan T105 6 volt battery to store the energy you capture.
In order to charge my laptop, iPad and phone, the power needs to be converted to AC using an inverter; the Bestek 150 watt with dual USB ports has been huge upgrade after replacing the previously installed and overdrawing 750 watt one. Size does matter here.
Useful Miscellaneous Tools:
Many years ago, my brother gave me a VictorinoxSwissTool. This multi-tool is the highest quality I've ever used. The blades do not dull and there is absolutely no play in the lock after years of moderately consistent use. An excellent all-purpose tool to have on hand.
Before my first winter, I drained the water lines to avoid the pipes freezing and breaking. In this process, I started using seven gallon jugs by Reliance. They have a nice functioning spout and can be equipped with a hand pump.
The Helio Pressure Shower is a nifty 11 liter portable camp shower that provides "running water" for rinsing dishes and quick hair showers during winter months! You can also leave in sun to heat up the water or add hot water. Do not fill with only boiling water, mix with some cold.
ECOS is a wonderful biodegradable, eco-friendly soap line I have been using for my dishes so I can dump the gray water outside and save tank space for more black waste.
A Barker portable black tank allows you to keep your RV parked and only move the waste to the dump out. If you have a trailer, this is especially nice not having to hitch up as often.
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Home from 2015-2018 with 15 months off grid. Home from 2018 to present with full hookups
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That's it folks! If you have other questions, please write to us at iparkmyhome@gmail.com and I will be happy to to talk to you!
