Rocks and Hard Places

Or...The Blog With All the Parentheses

The absolute hardest part of having (what I believe to be) a really good plan, is waiting to get started. Sadly, unless someone wants to throw a bunch of money at me, I don't really yet have a starting point. I have the instruction booklet, but can't afford any of the legos. Rocks and Hard Places.



So I've been filling my time with more planning. Then I'm taking those plans and dissecting them down into yet even more plans. Those plans get made into check lists which in turn create ever more plans, and all of this boiled from the insane idea that I can put together the money to buy a decent RV before driving myself absolutely insane.

To keep myself from going absolutely bananas with waiting, I've decided that I'll share with you some of my cockamamie ideas for an Off-The-Grid RV Lifestyle.  First we have...

...The Rain Bucket.

Okay, I actually like this one enough to possibly go through with it. Basically the idea is to cut a hole in the roof of the RV, towards the back, following the slant that (most) RV roofs have. This is already starting out well, right? From the inside of the RV, I attach a funnel to the ceiling underneath the newly cut hole, sealing it off with an outdoor caulk or putty or something similarly pliable and waterproof. There I have my collection spot.

Now, I have no idea where the water will go. All of that part is so heavily dependent on how the RV is built that there's no point in even my scattered brain to try and decide something concrete. But, the gist, is that there will be a large plastic container, probably a sealed Rubbermaid tub, with a hole drilled in the side or bottom for the purpose of attaching an outdoor spigot. Why an outdoor spigot? Well, friendly reader, not only should I be able to drink and cook with this water, but I should also be able to attach a hose to use the water to refill the RVs internal water supply (the one the shower and sink run off of). I think I'm so clever sometimes.

The question now becomes how clean the water I intend to use will be. I have two ideas here. The first is connecting the collection funnel at the roof, and the container inside the RV. A cleaning system in the piping itself. Regardless of whether I use a flexible or rigid pipe system (yesterday I was sold on flexible, today I'm leaning more towards rigid) at several points in the line I intend to install easily replaceable, fine metal screens, to act as filters. This will keep the bugs and twigs and bits of rock and things out of my water collection at the bottom. The second layer of cleaning will be in the container. The container will not only have a spigot at the bottom, but also an access at the top, perhaps a plug or a rubberized door. From here I can administer water purification tablets (available at any camping store, walmart, or any survivalists house). Screen filters in the pipes, chemical purification in the reservoir, and for around $25, a lifetime of clean, free water (providing it rains).
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As time goes on and I continue to struggle with my lack of forward progress, I'll share more of these plans and ideas here. You're all invited to comment with ideas for improvements, suggestions for other plans and ideas, or to tell me I'm out of my mind. There's a comment box down there for just such occasions.