Trailer Life

Several of you have wanted to see pictures of our long-long trailer and how we live our day-to-day lives in a very small space. Let me first say that Matt and I rarely argue. We may become snippy but we're both somewhat laid back and respectful of each other that we can live in close proximity and not drive each other nuts. I have to admit that would not have been the case with any previous relationship I've had. The biggest space challenge is when we're both getting dressed to go out. Since our clothes are at opposite ends of our sleeping space we have to take turns getting dressed. Not a big deal but a little different than what most people go through on a daily basis with their spouse. Our biggest challenge so far has been where to store all of our stuff. It's amazing how many "junk drawers" you actually have until you move. We currently have a bin of junk drawer stuff without a home here on Mabel Rubain. We're working on a solution but it will take some time.

This is a picture of our little kitchen. It's small and we haven't really cooked in it yet but it's workable. We usually have an inaugural dinner of Hamburger Helper Lasagna when we are camping but we haven't done that yet. I really ramped down the kitchen stuff when we moved into the trailer. I have the basics but some of the things I didn't use often, like my stock pot, didn't make the transition. We do have a neat device that is like a slow cooker without electricity. You fill up the pot with whatever crockpot meal you want and bring it up to a boil on the stove. Then you put the metal pot into a plastic liner that insulates. It cooks throughout the day and by the time you get home it's dinner. When we get to VA next week I'm going to try some making some crock pot chili (yes, with beans).

This is the trailer looking aft from the kitchen. What you can't see is Gracie's crate. It's next to the couch. Most trailers would have a dinette where Gracie's crate is located but there wasn't one in the trailer when we bought it and it's turned out really well. Gracie and Charlotte both ride in the truck with us when we're traveling. Gracie isn't trustworthy when we're not around. Even though she's over a year old being in the kennel so long before we got her has stunted her level of maturity so we are still dealing with puppy behavior. We're here most of the time so she's out playing with her toys, chewing on our rugs and basically laying right where you need to be. She is a very, very, vary lazy dog. We take them both out for a walk each night and Gracie will just stop walking when she gets tired which is about 100 feet away from the trailer. We make her go for a walk anyway. She doesn't like it.

Here is our bedroom/office. We have a couch in the trailer (previous picture) that we can use to work on but we seem to migrate to the bedroom and work there. The cellular modems we use are not very good so when we have things to do that require we have a better connection we head out to a Starbucks, grab some coffee and go to work. That doesn't happen too much but on occasion we've had to resort to the kindness of Starbucks. Charlotte is in her usual place, on top of all the pillows. Her job is to bark at dogs and cats that are outside during conference calls. She does that very well.

Here's the trailer from outside. It's a MaxLite but the name is a misnomer. This trailer is anything but light. It's very well equipped which means that it is on the heavier side of what our truck can pull. It's made of an aluminum frame with fiberglass panels so it's sturdy. Not like the newer models made with 2x2s and corrugated aluminum. I'll deal with the weight and mileage hit for a more sturdy trailer. Since we'll be camping where it's cold the extra insulation and central heat will be welcome. Those aren't generally available in travel trailers.

The trailer has a fold out awning that keeps the sun out of the windows and allows us an outside spot for grilling and hanging out neither of which we've done yet. Matt has a bug phobia and hates to be outside. I'm looking forward to sitting outside on a cool evening in the VA woods with a fire burning in the fire pit. I have a feeling I'm going to be alone in that. Notice the stars on the awning. We're in a gay campground and everyone decorates their trailer. We were here for almost 2 weeks before we got with the program. We were looking a little poor there for a while. Now we are all set. We have LED star lights that change colors. I think their the best lights in the park now except for the couple with the disco-ball (yes, seriously they have a disco-ball).

We're a month into our adventure and having a blast. We've experienced some technology issues but for the most part we're working. Still no TV but that's not been a problem. We've learned the lesson of a place for everything and everything in its place. That is key to living in a small space.

Thanks for the emails and comments. Keep them coming.

Todd