Snug as a Bug

I was warm and cozy last night. I had my electric heater turned up, my furnace going and yes I had my layers of clothes on and snuggled under three quilts. I was plenty warm enough. It wasn’t until this morning when I stripped down to wash, that I realized how d@#n cold it really was. 

Again, I keep the house colder on purpose, as keeping the thermostat set at 20 would use lots more propane, and cost me more money. When I am bundled up and moving about the house I keep it set to 15. I wear my hat in the house along with all of my other clothes and even sleep in them.  

Now, I have found that the actual temperature tends to be about 5 degrees cooler than what I set it at. So, when bundled up and puttering around I am doing so in about 10 C. It is common for me to see my breath in the morning as things get warming up, as I set the thermostat at 10 – 12. 

While my house is cold, I myself am warm enough, and that is the important thing to remember. My jug of water has not frozen yet, so the house is still above zero.  

As I said before, with Wanda’s plumbing deactivated, I don’t have to worry about heating her when I am not there, so no propane is used then. It is yet another adjustment to get used to and one that I will make. I will admit that this is not a fun way to live and it would be easier and more sensible to just rent a place. I can make this work and thereby get out of debt faster; that is what keeps me going. 

I have started to get back to the Tanea novel and look forward to getting this one done. I still feel that this incarnation of the story is the best yet. In essence what was one novel has grown to three; so one movie is now a trilogy. 

This really cold snap (yes the worst is to come) will not last forever. The warmer weather will return and I will have indoor plumbing again come April 1. This too shall pass. I will be sitting in my chair, just outside of Wanda with the awning down, enjoying the evening breeze as I sip on a cold drink in no time. And when I do, I will be much further ahead financially then if I were to rent a place now. 

Got Wanda Back

Okay, so I got lucky, the only damage that was done was to the water pump. That was 150.00 so add labour and the winterizing service, and you have a bill of about $375.00. The RV Dealer was nice enough to not charge me the dumping fee of $150.00. So they were nice and gracious in doing that. As well, they did the work done promptly. I appreciate everything that they did.

I still consider it a bit steep to charge me, or anyone, $150.00 to dump the tanks, which anyone can do themselves for $3.00 simply because you don’t want to do it. The process is simply connecting up a hose and opening a couple of valves. I still say they should do it as a matter of course during any RV service, a nice little thank you. It is not like they have to crawl into the tank and scrub it out.

So I did get Wanda back and did plug in and sleep in her last night. I was warm enough and was able to do what I need to do both yesterday and this morning. It was colder than a normal house, but again, I kept my temp set lower so as to not use too much propane. I also want to get myself used to a colder house so to not need to heat the house as much. 

So, while it is possible to do this, and it did dip down to just below -20, and the furnace was not going constantly, I am not sure I want to do this. I checked out prices for rooms to rent and only the scary ones or way across town are anywhere near $500.00. Most places want $800.00 and above FOR A ROOM! Not a basement suite, but a bedroom.

I won’t pay that much for just a room, simply for convenience, to do so would put me too far behind. It is criminal to charge that much for simply a bedroom in someone’s house. This is the bad and negative side of capitalism at work; it is justified because people say “the market can bear it.”

So for now, I am in Wanda and will stick it out, if the right deal comes along, I will consider it, but until then I will hunker down, stay in Wanda and pay my cards down, all the while refining my wintering in Wanda system. 

For one, I don’t think that I will put the slide out, out anytime soon, not until a Chinook anyway. As I don’t want to damage anything further, and Wanda doesn’t seem designed for the deep freeze. I know that I will be fine in Wanda in winter and if things get too dicey, I still have keys for work to warm up inside. Also I won’t be driving away from work unless I have to do any shopping, as I am planning to plug in each night so I can use my electric heater, it does seem to work well.

The “Polar Package” or whatever “Winter Package” sticker they put on the side of the RV looks nice and may help sell units.  Help sell units is all it is designed to do, not actually help you in winter, I am talking about all of the Manufacturers as they all seem to be the same. Don’t believe me? Just try to find a temperature rating for any of the RV’s on the market, “Winter Package” or no. 

Sure the extra insulation is nice and comes in handy but the heating system for the plumbing sucks and seems to not have been tested in conditions where it would be needed.  It may be worth the money, just don’t expect it to actually keep the plumbing working in winter.

It is nice to know that I can do this, that I can live in Wanda and make it through winter. It is comforting to know that one way or another I will be okay, I will survive and get through this. Each night that I stay in Wanda, each month that I do, is one step closer to getting these credit cards done once and for all. That is something worth being uncomfortable for: debt freedom.

Waiting for Word on Wanda

I stayed in a hotel for the past two nights and now I am technically living in Trea. Relax, I have no plans on sleeping in my truck but I have checked out of the hotel and don’t have Wanda. If worst comes to worst, I will stay in a hotel tonight too.

The RV Dealership will let me know later today if and when Wanda will be ready. I am on pins and needles as I wait to hear what, if any, damage was done and of course, how much it will cost to fix her.

I did get a bit of writing done yesterday and enjoyed the luxuries that others take for granted. I am still seriously considering living in Wanda for as long as I can, if possible, all winter. I won’t go over how it is possible and why I am interested in doing this, just know that I am seriously considering doing this. (I know me and most likely I’ll give it a go.)

I just hope that it will not cost too much to fix Wanda or take too long. I don’t need the financial setback, (even if it would be as a result of my own stupidity). I always promised to be honest and post what I am doing and why, as well as the outcome. So that others can not only be entertained by my antics but learn from my mistakes. 

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I am warm and have the luxuries that come with a “stationary house:” unlimited running water, unlimited heat, flush toilet, unlimited electricity and everything, heck even WiFi. I am in a hotel, one which, shall we say a quaint little hotel from Calgary’s past which has physically aged well, but not so in reputation, nor has the neighbourhood. Yet for someone who is not used to paying anything to sleep where I want, any price is way too much. 

Wanda is in for service and as we speak is snug in a shop, defrosting and thawing out. On Wednesday, the service people will look at her and see if any pipes burst or if there was any damage.  Mainly they will be “winterizing”  her, meaning they will be draining the tanks (charging me $150.00 to do what I can do for $3.00 because they ‘don’t want to do it’). They will also drain the plumbing and fresh water tanks and lines and put antifreeze in her lines and tanks so that no freezing will occur. 

This means that Wanda’s plumbing will be deactivated, but the rest of her systems will work. This means that I am faced with a choice ‘Should I stay or should I go?’ I know that logically I should rent a room for winter and wait to live in Wanda again in April. 

I also know that if I had a woman with me that we would have moved into some place on Saturday. (I can almost hear the non-stop bitching and whining . . . after all everything is my fault . . . I have a penis.) 

I am not saying that women can’t endure these conditions, just that they won’t. The women I have been involved with in the past, (most of them), seem to have dropped most of life’s problems on my door. Somehow I should have magically seen this or that coming and prevented it, or I am a dumbass because I didn’t do this or that. I digress (and yes, with this attitude I know I will be single for a very long time).

As I am alone, or as Johnny Cash put it ‘A Solitary Man, ’ so that means that I have the choice to either stick it out in Wanda without plumbing all winter or rent a room. Sure I will be using more propane but now that I don’t have to worry about the pipes freezing and plan to plug in every night, it shouldn’t be much more. Plus with my electric heater helping out, that cost will be reduced more. I also have warm clothes, so I know that I can do this. With no plumbing, -30 in Wanda doesn’t scare me. At absolutely worst, I can buy an -40 sleeping bag and be golden.

Why would I do this? Why would I live in a freezer in winter on the prairies? Apart from the challenge of doing this, I like the idea of trying to get caught up on my credit card paydown. I have long since stowed my pride or disregarded what people may seem as ‘proper’ or ‘dignified’ in how to live. I mean, who lives in an RV, parking in parking lots? Not ‘normal’ people, anyways.  

If I can do this, and stick it out in winter I will have put myself back on track to paying down my bills by August. That is the goal and what I am shooting for, that by the end of August 2015, I will be credit card debt free. Then I can talk to the bank in mid September to redo Wanda’s payments to make sure that when her payments are done, that she is done, no balloon payments. 

I am looking forward to the day when I am now saving money and paying down Wanda and Trea with fixed end dates. That would be great as then I will have an end in sight, and a date set for absolute debt freedom. 

Then, on that day I will have a place to live and no debts, I will truly and once and for all be free. I could then live and go where I like, needing a fraction of what I need now to live. That day, that image is what keeps me going, for that will mean that I can then pursue all of the crazy dreams that I have, not really needing to worry about a massive cash flow just to live. Once I have everything paid off, all I will need is: food, gasoline, propane, and yes enough for insurance payments.  

I am still furious and disgusted with the RV manufacturers, as don’t let them fool you they are all the same. Their ‘winter packages’ are in reality a ‘good fall package’ as they are not designed to work below zero. (the RV service department confirmed this)

I mean seriously, at -10 C I couldn’t drain my tanks because a couple of valves froze up. Let’s get serous, at -10 C most of us think if it is worth putting a coat on to take the garbage out . . . it’s T-shirt weather!!!! (I have walked out in a T-shirt, sweat pants and slippers at -20 C to take the garbage out).

If I had the resources I would start my own RV company and make units designed to easily work from +30 to -30. (Hmm, how about the “Loose Moose RV Company” or what about the “The Husky Beaver RV Company”).  Something which touts the Canadian pride and ability to not just survive harsh winters but thrive in them. Hmm, Investors, talk to me ;-).

I suppose I already know the answer and what I will do. I will continue to live in Wanda, just to get through this and onto that saving money phase as soon as possible. I still reserve the right to pull the plug and move into a room later, if it seems unfeasible, but for now, I am staying. All that remains to be seen is what damage, if any, had been done to Wanda and how much it will cost to get her back. 

Don’t worry, I won’t be starting any Crowdfunding campaign  to pay for it, this is my problem and my own lack of foresight. Learn from my mistake, and if it looks like it will dip below -5 C drain your tanks and winterize. Then decide if you wish to live in an RV in winter with no plumbing.   

No Plumbing

So, apparently Wanda has the circulation of a 96 year old woman; at the first breeze of cold she clogs up. I mean sure she is fine to -6 or so, but at -10, the water doesn’t flow. 

I have the heat tape turned on and I did plug in last night, so the furnace was going and my heater was going. I myself was warm and fine, I just lost my indoor plumbing is all. 

There is a chance of some sort of damage, which will not be made evident until Wanda warms up. I have booked her in for service to get winterized. It makes sense as it seems that for the next few months I will not be able to use her indoor plumbing anyways. 

Yesterday I did make my backup toilet and this morning I officially broke it in. I also washed by heating up water on the stove and washing with a rag, soap and a small basin. An odd experience to be sure.

The construction of said backup toilet is simple. First you will need a 5 gallon pail. Why a 5 gallon pail?  It is not only the right height and shape but it is also solid enough to sit on. 

Next you will need a kitchen garbage bag, at least big enough to fit around the whole opening of the pail (trust me you don’t want to miss that bag). 

No shopping bags from the store will not do, as they always have little holes in the bottom of them . . . trust me, don’t cheap out, buy the kitchen bags. Then you will need a bit of plumbing pipe insulation. 

Here are the supplies

To assemble, just put the kitchen garbage bag in the pail properly. Next using the opening of the pipe insulation fit it around the rim of the pail. Cut off the excess pipe insulation. The insulation gives a bit of a cushion as well as it keeps that bag in place. 

Here is the finished backup toilet. You can build this for less than ten bucks.

It works, not fancy but effective. Trust me don’t cheap out on the bags and try to use it for more than one use . . . tie it up and dispose of it right away.

For my backup Greywater tank I just bought an extra five gallon pail with a lid and will dump it once a day.  My blue jug is now sitting on Wanda’s toilet, as I can’t use it now anyways. 

Again, this setup worked, not fancy but it worked. I am now using my blue jug of water for freshwater and my “backup graywater” jug for waste water and that backup toilet as a toilet. It is not a desirable situation, but it can work, so far this has proven that. 

On the subject of possible damage to Wanda, it may be made evident that a few thousand dollars of damage may have been done. What’s done is done and I have to deal with that and move on. If this is the case I can just wait until spring to fix it (as even if it was fixed now, I can’t use the plumbing). This is frustrating, as it means that instead of paying down a credit card over winter I will be saving up to fix Wanda, all because I didn’t dump and drain tanks on Saturday. 

As it is, I don’t know what has happened. I have left all of the taps open in hopes that as the pipes thaw that they will push the water out the open tap, rather than burst. 

I kinda saw, or feared rather, that this situation was coming, as Wanda was designed and built by Americans. What does that mean? Why is that bad? For the most part it isn’t bad, as there are a lot of fine and good details to Wanda. There are a lot of nice small touches around Wanda which show good design. Most of all I am happy with the way that she has been well thought out.

However, let’s face it, a bitterly cold winter south of the 49th is when it drops to zero. Even then they didn’t figure anyone would be out and using it in winter. What is frustrating is that I am not talking about having problems in -30 or -40. I am having problems at -10 . . . all this with a ‘polar package,’ installed in Wanda. 

Without the plumbing, the heating and insulation are fine; Wanda works great. It is just the lack of water, for whatever reason which is bad. I haven’t checked if the grey and blackwater tanks are still fluid. I was going to dump this morning and when I went to check if water would flow, the dumping valves were frozen shut. 

Once again, I can’t dump and drain my tanks until Wanda is warm, so that is why I booked her in for service, I should hear today to know exactly when I can bring her in, hopefully this afternoon or tomorrow morning. 

I know what you are all thinking, why not call it a season and rent a room. At the end of the day, I want to stick this out to see if I can do this. I guess I just want to prove that it can be done, that you can live in an RV year round. The harder this gets, the more I want to stick it out. I am just stubborn that way, so, plumbing or no, I’m staying.  (Quonset hut optional).

To Poop in a Bucket or Not

That is essentially the choice I am facing. I am now at the cusp of this cold snap and according to one weather source it will get down and live below -20C but according to two others, and local weather stations, at its worst it will just dip below -20C.

I plugged in last night and ran my electric heater and furnace and I was toasty warm all night and the water still flowed. The furnace and electric heater were not maxed out nor was the furnace constantly running.  I am sure I can be fine down to -20 while plugged in, much colder than that I will surely have problems.

So I must decide today to drain my tanks or not. I will still buy what I need for my makeshift toilet, just in case. I have a feeling I will be fine as I can run the furnace at its lowest setting all day (+5C) and leave it run. Then at night I can run it a bit higher and wait to plug in where I can run the electric heater and turn on my heat tapes for the tanks.

I can’t really check what Wanda is rated for as RV manufacturers will not tell you a temperature, as they would be liable if things go wrong. At least I have not been able to get a straight answer from them. One salesman told me south of -10C and you will have problems, but I think that is conservative.

I will take the risk and not drain my tanks, but if it looks like it will get much colder than -20C I will drain my tanks and switch to my “backup toilet and graywater tanks.” As in two buckets, one to fill with sink and dish water (to dump later) and the other to be used to hold a garbage bag so I can “do my business” in.

I did pick up a few other warm clothing items that I needed. I couldn’t resist this classic number.

I will take this cold snap day by day and see how things go. I hope I don’t regret this but I can’t be afraid of anything below zero. If I am to stick this out, I need to find a way to cope with the colder weather. The true decision is to determine how cold it can get with water in my tanks and lines, before it gets too cold and that water freezes, or it becomes economically unviable to keep the tanks liquid.

I a tough, I have lived on the prairies long enough to have worked out in really cold weather. I can deal with this, the question is, can the water tanks handle it, and if so, how much can they handle?

Winter Is Nigh

Okay kiddos and blogerenos, things are going to get interesting this week, as the deep freeze is coming. It is going to get cold this week, colder than I had expected and earlier than I had expected. I thought that it might get down to like -15C or so in November and be okay until late December. Well that is not the case, apparently, take a look.

I had started to make some preparations as I have bought that heater that I can use to augment the propane heater. 

I have also bought a second pair of thermal underwear, this one size larger than the ones I previously bought.  I intend to wear these over top of the other ones, thereby having two pairs of thermal undies on. I also bought a large sweater so I can further keep warm. Finally I bought some warm socks to go under the ugly, yet warm socks I already have.  

And here is me wearing this ensemble (yes, all of those clothes at once) I call it: “Geoffie’s War on Nard Freezing”. 

(Mental note to self: need to buy a good toque, yes for inside Wanda)

The trouble with the deep freeze is not necessarily keeping me from freezing, but keeping the water in the various tanks and pipelines from freezing. This is a problem because water expands and usually this is not a problem. When it does so in a confined space, unless it can freely expand within that confined space, that confined space is going to crack. While still frozen ice and a cracked container is not soo much of a problem but when it thaws, that ice turns to water and damages everything, (more than just the cracked pipe or tank).

So with this in mind I am going to drain my tanks on Sunday and also do a bit of shopping to enable me to be able to function this week. I will make a crude toilet by using a 5 gallon pail, a foam ring and kitchen bags, this will work and prevent me from using the toilet in Wanda, as frozen poop cracking my blackwater  tank is not something I want to deal with.

I will use my ‘reserve tank’ of water (my 5 gallon jug of water) as my only fresh water tank as I don’t care if it freezes, but since it will be in Wanda with me, it should be fine. 

I will buy a small tub to wash dishes and use as a sink. While the poop will be in a handy bag and can be tossed in the garbage, the waste water from dishes will have to be disposed of somehow. (Not sure but I think I hear a tree or bush calling).

If I can get through this week, things will warm up and I will be okay. If I can get through and survive this week I will know that I can survive in Wanda all winter. That is a plus as if I can do this, this will save me serious money, and eliminate a major fear I had while starting this quest to debt freedom. 

I still plan to write today at the library and plug in tonight as I am shopping and running around tomorrow, I can’t take the time off and write at the library.  

As I said earlier kiddos, this week will get interesting, but I will survive (don’t make me break out into Gloria Gaynor). Hmm, on second thought, maybe “Eye of the Tiger” is more apt.