Thursday, March 20, 2014

Our House is a Very Very Very Fine House

A number of people have asked me to explain what kind of trailer we are traveling with, and how our daily life is working when we live in a very small space. I thought I might give a few visual aids.

Our trailer is a 2012 Rockwood Roo. It is 23 feet long when we pull it. This kind of trailer is called a "hybrid," because it is a regular hard-sided travel trailer, but also has tent components. You can leave it unopened (and then it stays 23feet long), but for maximum space you can pull out beds that are covered with tent fabric (in this case a kind of vinyl-ized canvas with a screen layer). There are three of these beds (full size, but not king or queen); one in front, one in back, and one on the side. We sleep in the one that pulls out on the side. We have on occasion slept in the trailer without opening a bed, and that can best be described as "cozy."  We usually open two of the beds, one to sleep in and one just to have extra open space. The advantage of sleeping in them is it gives us a bit of a feeling of "camping" (even though in a warm indoor space like this we aren't really camping), because our bed is, or can be, in the open air. Of course when it is cold and rainy, we are mighty glad we can close the screens. There is also a heating system and an air conditioner, so we can control the temperature inside pretty well.  But on a dry warm or cool night, the feeling of sleeping in the outside air is great. The beds aren't bad at all, and because they are a few feet off the ground, it is a kind of inside/outside that is really nice.


Inside and outside

We have with us also a small "screen house" to put over the picnic table that is always part of each campsite, in case we are at a place with bugs.  This way, we can eat outside at night if we want to, and gives us a nice way to have coffee outside in the morning and feel a little bit of privacy.


Here you can see our bikes attached to the back of the trailer, our little screen room, our outside gas grill that Bob uses sometimes (we have a small Webber grill too that we store under our table inside when we are not using it), our outside chairs, and, of course,  our proud flag that announces both where we are from and the name of Our Team, should anyone wonder about either.


In the center of the trailer, in the part that doesn't change, we have a small kitchen. It has a three burner stove, a small oven, a microwave oven, a slightly larger than dorm sized fridge, and a small freezer. The appliances operate off propane, which is attached to the front of the trailer. But the fridge and freezer work off electricity when we are plugged in, which we usually are at a campground, and we have been happy to discover that the food stays frozen or cool when we are unplugged and driving from one place to another. This means we can keep food in there all the time, have lunches in the trailer when we are traveling, and make dinners at home when we arrive somewhere. In fact, we are eating most of our meals at home, and that, along with sleeping in the same bed at night, has really kept us from feeling too uprooted or tired of traveling. I have noticed we have both begun to refer to the trailer as "home" when discussing our plans for the day or week. Most of the time it just feels fine to be there, in spite of its size.



There is a narrow pantry closet next to the sink, where we keep dishes, utensils, spices, etc.   The door to the right of that is the bathroom. There is a  sink,  a very small shower, which we don't use, because in every case the shower in the campground has been better, and a chemical toilet that either is hooked up to sewer if that is provided by a campground, or which flushes to a holding tank underneath the trailer, as do the two sinks, and then must be flushed out at what is called a "dump station," which is available at every campground. This isn't as gross as it sounds, because it is all hoses. Still, I'm pretty happy that Bob takes care of this.


Here you can see how our bed is between the fridge and the closet. There is a true closet there, but  not a very big one, behind those hanging clothes. The broom, mop and ladder are in there too, so basically all of our clothes are folded and pretty much stuffed into cabinets. No ironing available, so no matter what it looks like when you pull it out of a squished pile, you wear it. Luckily many campgrounds have laundry facilities, so we manage to stay more or less presentable.

We have a couch, but it is mostly a place to put stuff, unless we need to open it out to sleep on it. Above it is a cupboard where we keep our food. Lots of trailer-related stuff underneath.


The blue bag, which I apparently forgot to move before taking the picture, has two iPads (yay Mala),  Bob's laptop, and all the assorted cords and plugs. Just to the left you can see another open bed.
This is our inside eating and sitting space (I am sitting there now as I write this). The small Webber grill is hiding there. This can be made into a bed also when for some reason you don't want to open the regular beds. The cupboard above there has towels and clothes, and there are drawers underneath. This eating area has what is called a "slide out." That means when the trailer is closed up, it is flush with that side. But it opens up four feet, so when we are parked somewhere, we have a lot more room.

This is how it looks when a bed is open. You can see the propane tank here on the hitch, and the car we pull it with, which is a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder, a behemoth of a car, but very comfortable inside and well up to the task of pulling this trailer. We will need all that power when we get to the Rocky 
Mountains and have serious need for muscle.

Well, now you can see how we make this work. It is a small space. But by following the weather and mostly trying to be someplace neither too cold nor too hot, we also have an outside life, which makes the small space livable. You can also see what you would be in for if you come stay with us! Takes a certain sense of humor, but it also is fun, and there is always something interesting or beautiful outside. We also have a tent with us, so there is no excuse not to meet us somewhere!



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