Boon docking in my 25 foot Airstream was always going to be a challenge. This is, to be clear, a temporary situation as I wait out the planning/permitting process in California. My goal was always to have a house on my land. I’ll opine more on the specifics of that in a later post, so be sure to bookmark this webpage like it’s 2004. I am trying to get an email newsletter and email service going but I’m running into problems because I’m 41 and my ability to learn tech might be at capacity. I’m solidly in my Millennial bird-appreciation phase, though.
Anyhoodle doodles, I’ve compiled a list of that which would make my life feel less like survival and more like I’m a human being living intentionally. If you’re also living off grid or boon docking, please opine.
ONE: A big glorious deck, or even two glorious decks on both sides of my Airstream. I’m living in Dirtytown USA, where the motto is dusty dust everywhere all the time, in my hair, in my eyes, in my life. Because of the mica in the dust, it glitters. At least it’s pretty fairy dust, but I’m a bit sick and tired of it making itself to home in my abode. Decks would not only extend my living space a great deal, they would (in theory) cut down on the deluge of dirt atomizing in every nook and cranny of my trailer and my person.
TWO: A dual bevel sliding 12 inch miter saw. This is a basic, necessary and foundational tool to build the decks and many other projects of now and the future. I’m trying to find one used that isn’t priced new. I swear to Hecate, people on Facebook Marketplace are delulu as hell. If the item is used, it’s used, babe. Stop expecting new prices for a used unit, my brothers and sisters in sawdust. Also, is there something about the Y chromosome that makes it impossible to list the model number and BLADE SIZE in the Facebook Marketplace description? Y’all are fueling my feminist rage.
THREE: Internet that works when I ask it to. I’m using, not happily, the T-Mobile Gateway. It sucks more than my vacuum. It’s like in a secret union or something. Will it work when I turn it on? Doubtful. Will it keep working once it finds the signal? Don’t push it. Does it frequntly and without reason, just STOP working? All the time. ALL THE TIME. As much as I hate to send money to someone who tried getting onto Epstein’s Island (Elon Musk), I’m shit out of luck on the internet front unless I go Starlink. Which I had in Texas and which I know works.
FOUR: Victron Solar Charge Controller that works with lithium ion batteries. This item is actually on the way. My existing solar setup was built around gel batteries. But I had lithium put in, which means everything has to be replaced one bit at a time. Frustrating as hell, but I’m tired of being annoyed by it. My morning routine is to disconnect solar, wait thirty seconds, disconnect the battery from the solar charge controller to reset the system. The current charge controller thinks the battery is full even when the battery isn’t. This is, as we would say in the business world, a giant fucking problem. I don’t like having to micromanage a system that should be “set it and forget it.” I get plenty of juice from my 400 watts of solar panels. But needing to tell the charger to… fucking charge, gets a wee bit irritating.
FIVE: Storage shed. I downsized from over 4000 square feet of both living space and garage space. That is a significant territory to abandon for a 25 foot Airstream and open California air. I have shoved a great deal of my tools and belongings into my horse trailer. But the horse trailer is for horses, not storing my crap. To have a storage shed would greatly ease my troubled mind.
SIX: Clothes washer and chest freezer. Heading the the laundromat is a hassle, especially since the trip there is 30 minutes, the washing and drying is another hour, the trip back is another 30, so at least 2 hours roundtrip. To be fair, getting weeks worth of laundry done in 2 hours is actually swift. However. The giant drum washers, I find, almost suck as much as my T-Mobile Gateway. I’ve found that hand washing is a much more effective way to get dirt and grime out of clothes. After handwashing a few things at a time, I have come to the conclusion there ain’t no way these washers are getting my clothes as clean as I’d like them. But the Laundromat is costing me a small fortune. The middle ground, then, is a washer with an agitator. I’ll nestle it inside the storage unit beside the chest freezer, power both via solar and maybe wind, and call it a day. I needn’t get a dryer, I’m living in a dry climate.
SEVEN: Yard tools. These are also on the way. Gas in California has always been higher. That’s state taxes for you. It is something I knew coming here, but I didn’t mind trading high gas prices for places worth driving to. But it means that when I select tools for grass and weed control, I have to be smart. For the time being, I’m sticking with a manual push mower as used in the days long gone by, and a manual grass cutter (a modern scythe) for higher stalks. So I’ll be out there getting my workout on while cutting the grass. I’m strangely excited about this.
EIGHT: Shade control for the Airstream! Though it’s a bit cooler this week, last week we saw high nineties. IN MARCH. Hell no to the hellish temperatures. As a quiet enthusiast, I’m not thrilled about running the gas generator to activate the shitty AC in the Airstream. Because of the dry heat, usually shade will bring the temperature down to tolerable. And because wind barrels through every afternoon, the movement of air keeps things reasonable. What I need is a way to keep the west side of Syrah cool. I have hatched a daring plan to make planters for that side, but want a miter saw to do it myself to make the size I need.
NINE: Outdoor kitchen. Due to the rising temperatures which will come with advancing months as we move from spring to summer, it will be necessary to perform the cooking outdoors. The second I turn on the propane stove or oven inside Syrah, up goes the internal temperature. It was always my plan to have more outdoor living. But putting things on a list makes them real.
TEN: Airstream aesthetics. I’m a creative. If things bother me in anyway, my brain has a meltdown. I’m highly sensitive to my environment, like an orchid. I didn’t chose to be like this, it’s just how I am. It means a lot of things bother me: blue lights, big lights, things out of place, disorder, mess. Colors not working together. That kind of thing. One thing I want to do is warm up my interior lights. I do not like LEDs. I really do not like the cold bluish light they put off. It’s unsettling. I also don’t like sitting in the dark or keeping more things onboard than I need (like candles) and flames put off heat. We no like extra heat when it’s warming up. So I’ll be working on warming up my interior lights. Then perhaps adding some wallpaper here and there. Swapping out the silver hardware for copper or wood as budget allows. Small touches to make the trailer feel more cozy and mine.
There’s much more that I need (like a WATER WELL) but we’re keeping the listicle to ten for now. These are just things I need to feel like a human being who lives in the modern world. Not a gypsy queen washing her face with the blood of her ancestors.
Thanks for reading and keeping up with my continued misadventures in California. If you found this post entertaining and would like to support a starving writer and her menagerie, consider buying me a coffee. It helps keep the bills paid.