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Living in an RV
By Jim Roberts
In this time of hard economic times many people are facing the challenge of possibly losing their homes. Over a year ago we were fortunate enough to sell our home. In order to save money and get some bills paid off my wife and I decided to live in our Zeppelin II Z271 travel trailer for awhile. We have made few modifications to the trailer since we have started living in it full time. Since it was designed to be a summer camping trailer, the gray and black water tanks are out in the open. The hot and cold water lines from the bathroom to the fresh water tank were also exposed. I installed some 1 inch rigid foam insulation between the frame under the trailer, wrapped the exposed hot and cold water lines, installed heat tape in some key spots and ran fiberglass insulation temporarily from in front of the gray water tank to the back of the black water tank. The couch that was located at the front of the trailer has been replaced with a 6'x2.5' folding table and a 2 drawer file cabinet. Under the table there are 3 computers and on top of the file cabinet lives a laser printer where Murphy our can likes to hang out. We run our business out of the home and the front of the trailer is my office. Last winter our biggest challenge was condensation that built up on every metal surface, mostly around the windows and doors. The trailer has an aluminum frame and so the walls over the fame also collected moisture. We have since discovered that leaving the roof vents open just a crack is enough to vent out moisture so this winter has not been a problem. This winter we also found a material that works well as a skirting around the bottom of the trailer. This creates a dead air space underneath and helps keep the floor warmer. We also got a 125 gallon propane tank that allows us to use the propane more efficiently. Last winter we went through a 12 gallon tank of propane a week. This winter has been better. So what is it like living in an RV. Well, it is a little cramped. We don't have a lot of storage space and it seems at times we move something from one spot to another to another which can be a little frustrating. Bella is more prone to claustrophobia than I am so I have to say she is more uncomfortable than I am. One major inconvenience was having to go to the laundromat. This summer we were able to get us a small shed which enabled us to pull our washer and dryer out of storage. (I made big points with Bella with this.) The heat tape on the water line to the washing machine as well as the small heater in the shed to keep the washing machine from freezing up makes up for the cost and inconvenience of not having the washer and dryer. I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but I am very thankful that we had this trailer to move into. |
  
Zeppelin 271 Floor Plan
Our home on Christmas Eve 08
Murphy
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May, 2012
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