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Mobile Home Living

The other day when I was walking up Ravine Road I passed that off grid homestead where they live in a trailer… 🏡

Well actually a mobile home is the proper term for these low cost, usually low income form of housing commonly seen in rural communities. They are kind of looked down upon, kind of seen as a home for people who can’t afford better. Most have very little residual value, much of their value isn’t the trailer but the land they reside upon.

So what exactly is a mobile home?

Typically it’s a prefabricated structure with a rectangular steel steel base where wheels are initially mountained on for towing, with 2×6 wooden floor joists and 2×4 wall joists. The walls are typically insulated with fiberglass insulation like most houses, although often thinner than code requires for modern houses.

The outside is weatherized with a plastic vapor barrier and then protected from the elements by thin aluminum sheeting that is nailed onto the beams and caulked to prevent water intrusion. The inside typically uses thin sheets of lightweight and thin pressed board made of wood chips and a binder material, some of which is covered by plastic resin to improve its waterproof nature. Appliances and plumbing are typically lighter weight to reduce the weight when towing onto the site and compensate for the smaller footprint of the building.

The problems that mobile homes face is multi-fold. One is the structure is lightweight and it can be difficult to upgrade to heavier materials like sheet rock or hardwood flooring can poses excessive weight on the floor joists, requiring extensive bracing to the ground. Insulation is another issue, as the thin beams don’t allow for the thicker insulation called for in the building codes for more modern buildings.

Why would I consider it?

Money is a big reason and what properties are available. I’d rather have more land and less house. 40 acres and a junk trailer beats 2 acres and a fancy suburbanite house. An off grid cabin, made from wood or more durable material would be better but sometimes that’s not an option. A junkey old trailer could be demolished with useful parts salvaged for other purposes.

Why might I not consider it?

Getting rid of a nasty old structure can be a lot of work. Even if you can burn a lot of the debris, scrap the metal pieces, your still left with a lot of junk that doesn’t burn that has to hauled off to the landfill or used as back fill on your property. Moreover, some of that rubber and plastic stuff used in mobile homes is really nasty to burn even if you are in a fairly unregulated area that let’s you burn what you want after notifying the fire department. It might seem like a good deal on paper but how good of a deal really is it?

Honestly though…

The videos on YouTube are quite fascinating to watch on this topic. While I certainly grew up in rural area where a lot of people lived in trailers I didn’t know much about the structures and the tear downs, repairs and demolitions on YouTube are fascinating – along with learning how all the different materials go together are used and interact in the structures.

Would I Want to Have a Road When I Own Land.

When I eventually own land and a home, one question I wonder is if I really want road access from my house.

Boreas Road Campsite Driveway

Most people’s houses are on the road, or connected to the road via gravel or in the city, blacktop driveway. Due the cost of maintaining a road, most driveways are relatively short, with houses being within sight of the road. There are good reasons for having a road, namely it makes it easier to get to and from home, and in case of a fire, makes it much easier for a fire to put out by the fire department.

The flip side, is having a road means your closer to the road, with more noise, less privacy. But it also makes it a lot easier for random people to stop by and visit. Few people are going to venture up a heavily posted four-wheeler trail, certainly not strangers. You are more restricted what you can do on your land, if you have nosey neighbors peering in all of the time.

Roads are expensive to maintain in the back country. Mother nature abhors roads, it is always trying to wash out culverts and gravel, erode driveways up the mountainsides. Trees come down blocking access, and mud season is particularly problematic, as big heavy 4×4 pickup trucks really can tear up roads especially on soft ground with regular use. Plus driving a rough road can make a mess out of the suspension, wearing out all kinds of components prematurely.

But if you don’t have a road, walking out to your vehicle can quickly get old, especially if you are a few miles back from the road. Riding a quad or snowmobile is a lot of fun, but for most jobs they probably don’t appreciate you showing up to work smelling like gasoline and covered with mud. I guess the alternative would be to have a trail that wide enough for an enclosed UTV, which could make it through the mud and muck, without having a full-blown road to use.

Then there is the problem with leaving a vehicle un-monitored at the start of the trail back to your home. A car or truck left on the road without anybody supervising it could lead to vandalism, especially if your back in the woods for an extended time period. While a solar panel and charge controller could keep the battery topped off, and you could use a game camera to monitor the vehicle, you have to wonder the wisdom of leaving something sitting for days without you monitoring it.

A year of remote work without home internet 💻

I was thinking this afternoon when the work day came to a close, it’s been one year of remote work, since the start of the pandemic. While in autumn, there was a few work days in office, there wasn’t a lot. Most everything was remote, often in my case, from quite remote country. I’ve survived a year without ever having to get permanent Internet at home, by a mix of having a work laptop with mobile broadband (always keeping a watchful eye on data meter), my cellphone, and later upgrading my phone to a hotspot plan and using that with my laptop. And lots of hours spent at the Town Library and Town Park, Five Rivers, the laundromat, along with numerous other places with free Wi-Fi. For a while, I really got into bird watching while I worked from truck. Eight hours a day looking out the windshield at the birds can do that.

Maybe I am just stubborn about refusing to get my apartment wired for the Internet. After all well over 80% of Americans do have home internet, and probably in my fairly well-off suburban neighborhood, the percentage is much higher. For a suburbanite household where the primary resident is under 65 percent, probably Home Internet is close to 95% percent. I will be the first to admit it kind of sucks at times on particularly hot, cold or rainy days to be working down at the library from the cab of my truck, although these days with my phone set up as hotspot or Zoom on my phone I can usually work from home when things are particularly inclement. I probably could afford it, although I’d have to find money somewhere in the budget, and I always keep a tight budget with little money left in non-interesting bearing account at the end of week.

From time to time I get advertisements for Verizon Fiber and Time Warner Cable, although after all these years, they’ve kind of given up on me. I may be just a bit too stubborn about not having Internet at home, although I have to say since I upgraded to the 20 GB a month hotspot plan for my phone and unlimited mobile phone data, I’ve been far less careful about my internet use at home, and I certainly use it more for recreational purposes then I wish. It used to be I didn’t do internet at all from home. It was something that was a special trip to the library. But it’s not as convenient to go down to the library anymore, as they don’t allow use from indoors until the pandemic is over. That means if I want to use the library WI-FI, I have to drive down there and sit outside in the cold or heat. Although more recently, since the worse of the virus has slowed, I have walked down there and sat on the bench or park table — I’m not so worried about touching things any more based on what we now know about the virus.

For sure, there where some awful hot summer days working down at the library last summer, sweating like a dog. Other very cold days in December, shivering in my truck with the windows fogged up from my breath. There were times I was staring at the power gauge, wondering if I would make it to five o’clock with the battery under-voltage meter not tripping out again. Or that rainy day my laptop camera fogged up on the Zoom meeting. But then again, there were some fun days hanging out in Green Mountain National Forest in a hammock writing reports for work, or sitting at the Lake Pleasant Beach with my laptop answering emails. Then there was the time I was on a phone with a client, and a float plane splashed down on the lake drowning out the call briefly. Or that time answering client calls from the side of Lows Ledge outside of Horseshoe Lake outside of Tupper Lake. I can’t think of the countless hours doing Zoom meetings or sending text messages from the Speculator Library. I almost lived there for a while from the cab of my truck.

Last spring through the autumn, I used over 50 kWh generated by the solar panel alone on my truck, from all the time I spent charging my laptop off the solar panel. To say nothing of power generated by the alternator. It was 63 night camping out in the wilderness last year, several weeks just working out of the woods or a lot of the time spent up in Speculator. I spent enough time out by Lake Pleasant Park, I almost was became a permanent resident. I got to know the Mason Lake – Speculator Tree Farm – Perkins Clearing easement really well, maybe too well.

I am the first to admit things are probably coming to end at some point in the but it’s been fun and crazy too. Eventually I will be going back to working downtown, and I will end my hotspot plan. I don’t really want unlimited Internet at home. I like the walk to the library. And no more days writing reports or answering emails from the hammock or taking phone calls and writing memos from the shores of Lake Pleasant. No more playing on my computer at home, or being able to watch random Youtube videos from my bed in the evening. I liked having my Internet limited to the time period spent at the library or park. But regardless, it really was a pretty crazy year in a good kind of way.

Muddy Roads

As somebody who often ventures in the backcountry during the spring time, I am well aware that many state truck trails are closed in spring time, and those that are open tend to be a muddy mess. Watching my favorite off-grid Youtube channels got me thinking about how problematic mud and muck really is, especially if you don’t have a well built road.

Muddy Mess

These folks in Idaho are all but stuck …

NB888 tries to chop away at the snow banks to try to dry out his road sooner …

50 acres and a Cabin doesn’t struggle so much with mud, but he has a lot of problems with erosion on the last part of his road to his cabin in West Virginia…

And so on. A four-wheeler or UTV might be less likely to get stuck and easier to winch out, and indeed there is more solitude to living somewhere an ordinary motor-vehicle can’t get to, although it makes it harder to haul large loads, and an open-four wheeler can mean you get quite muddy, smelling like gasoline before you make it to work or off the mountain where your land is.

Plus the issue of leaving your truck, unattended down by the road, means you risk it getting damaged or vandalized without you knowing, although certainly many people to enjoy the privacy and quite of living someplace without a full motor-vehicle road, and all the problems easy access to a homestead can cause.

I’m thankful for small towns not too far from home

I’m thankful for…

The country, the small towns, the rural life that is only a few minutes away when hopping in my pickup truck. While I don’t explore the backroads as much as I did in my younger years, I still spend a lot of time visiting small towns and camping in the wilderness. I always like seeing the farms, the mountains, the charming downtowns and businesses. While I don’t live in the country today, I know some day I’ll will again have that opportunity.

Decided to take the scenic route back home via NY 79 to NY 206 to NY 10 to South Gilboa Road to NY 990V. First time I had ever taken NY 10 along West Branch Delaware River, very scenic between Walton and Stamford, although there is no shortage of good hills on NY 206 on both sides of Bainbridge.

Decided to take the scenic route back home via NY 79 to NY 206 to NY 10 to South Gilboa Road to NY 990V. First time I had ever taken NY 10 along West Branch Delaware River, very scenic between Walton and Stamford, although there is no shortage of good hills on NY 206 on both sides of Bainbridge. I really should spend more time exploring the Western Catskill Mountains outside of the Blue Line. Actually a few years ago I may have been in Walton when I camped at Bear Spring Campground off season and explored that part of the state during Veterans Day Weekend. Nice country for sure.

Most of my camping gear is unpacked although I decided to leave my normal gear in my truck that I keep in their all summer long because I really don’t drive that much in winter and I’m sure in a few weeks I’ll probably have the itch for another night in wilderness. Christmas and New Years are four day weekends for me, as I took the eves off. Honestly, unpacking after a week camping trip is no more complicated than a single night, mostly the same steps.

Pond

Columbus Day Road Trip Ideas

Over the past couple of days I’ve been thinking about what I want do for my Columbus Day Week Road Trip. While it feels like I just got back from my five-day August eclipse trip, that is really a fading memory, and I’m ready for another big trip.

One option, mostly discounted would be a Vermont Northern New York trip. This would be good if I don’t think I could spend the full nine days on the road due to bad weather, some issue with the truck (unlikely), having to do work (also unlikely), or family needs.

That trip if I do it would consist of overnight in in Southern Green Mountain National Forest, then heading up to Mid-State outside of Middlebury then head north and drive through Smugglers Notch. I’ve never driven through Smuggler Notch and that would be interesting. From there head east to the Northern Adirondacks or maybe outside of Malone to the Deer River State Forest then to some of the state forests I’ve long wanted to explore in Saint Lawrence County, like Wolf Lake State Forest and Frank Jadwin State Forest. Then come down through the Tug Hill Plateau. That might be an interesting trip, but that’s not the one I really want to take.

The October trip I really want to do is the multi-state trip that I did to years ago to West Virginia and Virigina. But with some different destinations then two years ago. I think I want to actually see the Blackwater Falls in West Virigina, visit Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania, drive through more of the farm country in the Shenandoah Valley and do more of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virigina. This year, I’m much less interested in Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive, as I feel like I’ve done that before, and I’m not interested in the constrained forms of recreation that parks provide. I’d rather spend more time seeing the Blue Ridge Parkway, where the speed limit is 45 MPH and the curves in general are much less sharp and hills are smoother. The Blue Ridge Parkway is such a nice drive compared to so many other roads these days, especially the steep hills of West Virginia.

The one thing about this trip option is it will have me staying more in developed campgrounds then I would like. Yes, most of the $10 or even $20 fees are nuisance fees in the grand scheme of things, but I like having my space while camping. It’s just not the same to camp when you have somebody else 20 feet away and you have to keep the noise down. That said, showers are nice.

The places I would camp in West Virigina in the Mongehella National Forest, along with the George Washington National Forest are dispersed camping areas and are remote enough I probably wouldn’t see many people around except for a passing pickup. I like West VIrigina, but those roads sure are steep, twisty, and narrow. I don’t want to overheat my brakes again or worry about that.

One thing that Northern West Virginia has going for it this year with my new phone is that the AT&T GSM network has much better coverage up there, especially outside of the hollows. On the long autumn nights, I like to be connected to the Internet, surf the web, update my blog, and no I can summon emergency services should I run into mechanical problems. I’ll take a long gun and extra food but I don’t like having zero service for multiple days on end. I just hate being totally off grid, especially in such remote country. The lack of cell service with my Verizon network CDMA phone more then anything else bugged me a lot about camping in West Virigina.

This year though, if I go down, I probably won’t first visit the Alleghany National Forest but will instead stay at Asaph Run or more likely County Bridge Primitive Campgrounds. They are $10/night but they are worth it as they closer to being on the way, and I can then hop on US 15/US 220/Interstate 99 and head straighter for Cumberland, Maryland then West Virigina and either to Forest Road 13 outside of Thomas, WV or Camp Run in Fort Seybert, WV. I liked the dispersed camping a lot along the high-elevation swamps on Forest Road 13, although I always worry about their being enough campsites up there because it’s somewhat limited along the road. That would bring me close to Blackwater Falls for visiting the net day, and also along Corridor “H” which is a newer expressway to Thomas. It passes by a massive coal fired power plant, which might be interesting to drive by just to see what is like in person. Another option down in the corner of Pennsylvania by West Viriginia is the aforementioned Ohiopyle State Park, which I’ve been interested in a while but are more interested since that hunter last autumn that I ran into on the trail told me what beautiful country it is up there.

Dolly Sods Wilderness is quite scenic but it’s a way up and I’ve been there before so I may skip that. Same thing with Gandy Run Camping Area and Spruce Mountian, the highest elevation in the Mountain State. I’d rather hurry down to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I would at some point crossover to Viriginia — I’m thinking US 250 — then drive down in the Shenandoah Valley for a bit before heading up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. I’ve seen the Shenandoah Valley from Shenandoah Parkway but never spent much time down in it.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a nice drive. The North Creek Campground in Bucchan, VA is quite nice, for $10/night and even had a bit of CMDA cell service there. No showers though. The next overnight would be the Flat Rock or whatever the developed campground is on the Blue Ridge Parkway is south of Ronoake. I think that one is like $25/night but they they have showers and maybe even electricity at campsites.

At that point, I would almost be to the Tennessee line and I doubt I would go further south. I would probably come back part of the way I came, then more of the Shenandoah Valley, camping over again at North Creek Campground in Buchanan then probably heading up to West Virigina and camping over at Camp Run in Fort Seybert. I might then drive home from there or maybe overnight at County Bridge or Asaph Run in Wellsboro, because I really don’t like driving that much, and it gets dark so early in October.

I don’t have everything planned out and I need to study maps some more. But that’s fine. I’ll work on that tomorrow, and realize there is more to plan. That said, next Saturday, October 7th will be here before you know it.