Welcome to the new sister site of cheaprvliving.com! Like the original, this site is devoted to
living a simple, frugal life in a car, van or RV. As paradoxical as it may seem, the mobile life
on wheels can be extremely green and earth-friendly. In fact I believe it is one of the most
environmentally positive ways you can live. Let me show you how green and cheap it can be
by looking at my life on wheels:
Now that is a very cheap, very green life!! And there are other stories on this site which are
even greener and cheaper (Living in a Toyota Prius and Living in a Tent). But I don't want
you to just take my word for it, so let's use the EPA Carbon Calculator http://www.epa.
gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html to compare my life and the average
homeowner. A carbon footprint is an approximation of the total negative affect caused by a
product or activity measured in carbon production. For example, when you drive your car it
burns fossil fuel and emits carbon into the air. When you turn the air conditioner on at home,
a power plant somewhere is probably burning fossil fuel to make the electricity to run it.
(For more details on carbon footprints click here) Getting an exact carbon footprint is
difficult and controversial, but that isn't what we are doing here, we are drawing a
comparison between two different ways of life to determine which is greener. This it does
very well. It's exactly like the EPA mpg estimates for new cars, there is no guarantee that
you will get that mpg if you buy it, but it is an excellent tool to compare mpg between two
different makes of car. Here we are comparing two different ways of life:
So you see that even though my pickup only gets 11 mpg, (the national average is about 20)
because I drive it less my carbon footprint is about the same as the national average. Where I
come out way ahead is not having any utilities. Moving out of a house means I don't have to
heat, cool and light a huge open space. However, the actual difference between my footprint
and the national average is far more than this shows. Because I have so little space I buy
much less stuff which all has a footprint of its own, plus I throw less away, again reducing
my footprint in landfills. My water usage is drastically lower than any home could ever be
(my water usage for a week is less than most people usage of flushing their toilets in one
day). Purifying and distributing water to homes, and then cleaning the waste water
afterwards is terribly bad for the environment and my usage is tiny. I don't mow lawns or
paint my house. In a huge variety of small ways, my lifestyle is infinitely better for the
environment.
The cheap RV life is inherently green because it is small, off-grid, and relatively free from
the pressure of consumerism. Now, you might think that I am living a life of sacrifice
because of my devotion to the earth, but nothing could be further from the truth. I embraced
this life because of how much I love it, because of all the inner joy, freedom and peace it
brings me. Being green was just a wonderful side-affect of the lifestyle I
choose for purely selfish reasons, there is no sacrifice involved! In fact, if I
had a nickel for every-time a camper came up to me in my campground and said, "Man, you
have the best job in the world, how can I get one like it?" I would be a very rich man! And
they are right, it is the best job in the world! Then in the winter, I have the second best job
in the world--no job at all!! I wouldn't trade my life for anything!
As you can probably already tell, this website is unlike every other environmental website
out there. Most of them come from the point of view that the earth needs us, so it is our
duty to make sacrifices in order to protect it. They stir you up with stories that fill you with
guilt and outrage at the way we are treating the earth. Of course we understand and agree
with their sentiment, but it isn't our point of view. We want you to live a green life because
the quality of your life will be improved right here and now. Everything we suggest you do
will improve the quality of your life, and is good for the earth. When you are done reading
one of the pages in this site, we don't want you to react in outrage or guilt, but in delight:
"Wow, that sounds great, I want that!" You know the old saying, "You can catch more flies
with honey than with vinegar," well it is just as true with people. Guilt and outrage are very
motivating for awhile, but for most of us, it quickly wears out. On the other hand the cheap,
green, RV life is a life of simplicity, freedom and joy, and that is something we all want more
of. If this life is for you (and it isn't for everybody) then it won't wear out, you will actually
live green for life.
Since this site is first and foremost about attaining the highest possible quality of life, the first
thing we suggest is that you examine the quality of your life right now:
If you answer those questions honestly, and you don't like the answers, then cheap green RV
living may be for you. If the American dream, has become a nightmare for you, you may be
in the right place. If you are sick of the rat race and decide to drop out, you won't be alone.
There is a small army of us out here (many more than you would think) happily living in our
cars, vans and RVs who made a clean break with that life.
We wanted to embrace simple living as a lifestyle choice by clearing out all but the essentials.
Generally, we needed a new vehicle because the one we had was unreliable or too small. An
easy way to get rid of junk or hard-to-sale vehicles is to donate cars to a charity to begin the
process which helps people in need. After shedding the old life, we bought a vehicle, moved
out of our houses and into them and embraced a life of wandering. For entirely selfish
reasons, we started to live very green lives. The stress and emptiness of our old lives fell
away. A sense of contentment and joy replaced them. Our bodies lost weight and became
healthier. Nature became our healer. Oddly, in our new life as "loners," we made many new
and deep friendships based on a common lifestyle. As we traveled to different states, and
even different countries, our minds and hearts were opened by the things we saw and felt.
We were deeply moved by the beauty we found in nature and in people.
There is a second way this site differs from most green websites. Nearly universally they are
focused on the problem of the environment and specifically with global warming. Since you
are here, you have probably been concerned with the plight of the environment for awhile
now, but whenever you thought about taking steps you may have found yourself paralyzed
with the thought, "The problem is so big, what possible difference can I make." And you're
right, the more you read about the size and complexity of the problem the more certain you
become that you can't possibly make a difference! All too often people drop-out of green
living altogether.
But what if we didn't focus on the problem, but instead focused on the solutions? On this
site, we are focusing on the benefits you will gain by making even small changes. One of
our motto's is "Green, Greener, Greenest." The idea is that you aren't responsible for the
whole earth, you are only responsible for your own actions. By living in a vehicle you are
automatically very green, anything else you can do is just icing on the cake. For example, we
have stories about someone who lives in an old RV that gets 7 mpg (but tows an economy
car that gets 35 mpg), another one about someone who lives and travels for months at a
time in a Toyota Prius that averages 45 mpg, and another one about a fellow who lives in a
tent in the desert and drives a scooter that gets 100mpg. There is no judgement here about
your choices. We are all different and we all have different comfort levels. None of them are
better than any others. If you are content with your choices, and the earth is better off
because of them, we rejoice with you!! Green, Greener, Greenest!
Finally, there is a third way this site is different from other environmental websites: we aren't
anti-anything. We aren't anti-coal, anti-oil, anti-big business, we aren't even anti-Republican.
What we are is pro-happiness. Not the easy, surface-level happiness of consumerism, but a
deeper, soul-level happiness that can only come from reconnecting with nature. You see, we
evolved for millions of years to be connected to nature, and then 6,000 years ago we
adopted civilization and threw away that essential connection. While it made our lives much
more comfortable, even luxurious, it did so at a very high cost, our souls. Today we are
alienated from the earth, from our inner soul, and increasingly from each other. Depression,
divorce, neurosis, addiction, suicide, burn-out and stress related disease are rampant in a
modern world at war with nature (for more on this see the article on Carl Jungs beliefs). It's
so sad we can't see that by being at war with the earth, constantly damaging and degrading it,
we are really at war with ourselves, damaging and degrading our soul. Our only hope for
happiness, for survival, is to surrender and to embrace the earth. Like the James Taylor song
says, "...we've got to get back to the garden." Living cheaply in a vehicle allows us to do
that, so we are pro-happiness.
If what you've read here resonates with you, we hope you will join us. You don't have to
become a full-time vehicle dweller to enjoy this site. Perhaps you will buy a tent, or a tent-
trailer and start camping again. Or perhaps you will just live vicariously through our stories.
It doesn't matter. What's important is that you take some of the things we will cover and
apply them to your life, wherever it is. If you do, the earth will be better because of it, and
the quality of your life will be improved. And for that, we will be very, very grateful.
A few comments about the site:
living a simple, frugal life in a car, van or RV. As paradoxical as it may seem, the mobile life
on wheels can be extremely green and earth-friendly. In fact I believe it is one of the most
environmentally positive ways you can live. Let me show you how green and cheap it can be
by looking at my life on wheels:
- I am completely off-grid. I have 190 watts of solar panels on my roof and a pair of golf
cart batteries, and that meets all my meager electrical needs. - I live in a tiny 6x10 foot converted cargo trailer with the minimal comforts. It's carbon
footprint is tiny. More importantly, it is so tiny I can't own much "stuff." It's full with
the essentials of living, leaving no room for frivolous luxuries. So by necessity I am free
of the consumer culture. - I use less than 20 gallons of water a week. I bathe and do dishes with a solar shower,
spray bottle and wash cloths. - While my pick-up gets poor fuel mileage, (10-13 mpg), I drive very little. That's
possible because I work as a campground host in the Sierra National Forest in the
summer. I park the truck and only drive on my weekends when I need supplies. In the
winter I live in the desert on BLM land. Because it is 14 day stay land, I have to move
every 14 days. So I find a beautiful spot to camp on, set up camp, and stay there for
14 days until I have to move again. I generally go into town once a week for supplies
and I have a small motorcycle(75 mpg) I use on most of those trips. - The only other fossil fuel I use is a very small (less than 10 gallons a year)amount of
propane to cook with. Because I am a "snowbird", moving with the seasons, I rarely
am in extreme heat or cold, so I very seldom need any heat and never use air
conditioning.
Now that is a very cheap, very green life!! And there are other stories on this site which are
even greener and cheaper (Living in a Toyota Prius and Living in a Tent). But I don't want
you to just take my word for it, so let's use the EPA Carbon Calculator http://www.epa.
gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html to compare my life and the average
homeowner. A carbon footprint is an approximation of the total negative affect caused by a
product or activity measured in carbon production. For example, when you drive your car it
burns fossil fuel and emits carbon into the air. When you turn the air conditioner on at home,
a power plant somewhere is probably burning fossil fuel to make the electricity to run it.
(For more details on carbon footprints click here) Getting an exact carbon footprint is
difficult and controversial, but that isn't what we are doing here, we are drawing a
comparison between two different ways of life to determine which is greener. This it does
very well. It's exactly like the EPA mpg estimates for new cars, there is no guarantee that
you will get that mpg if you buy it, but it is an excellent tool to compare mpg between two
different makes of car. Here we are comparing two different ways of life:
So you see that even though my pickup only gets 11 mpg, (the national average is about 20)
because I drive it less my carbon footprint is about the same as the national average. Where I
come out way ahead is not having any utilities. Moving out of a house means I don't have to
heat, cool and light a huge open space. However, the actual difference between my footprint
and the national average is far more than this shows. Because I have so little space I buy
much less stuff which all has a footprint of its own, plus I throw less away, again reducing
my footprint in landfills. My water usage is drastically lower than any home could ever be
(my water usage for a week is less than most people usage of flushing their toilets in one
day). Purifying and distributing water to homes, and then cleaning the waste water
afterwards is terribly bad for the environment and my usage is tiny. I don't mow lawns or
paint my house. In a huge variety of small ways, my lifestyle is infinitely better for the
environment.
The cheap RV life is inherently green because it is small, off-grid, and relatively free from
the pressure of consumerism. Now, you might think that I am living a life of sacrifice
because of my devotion to the earth, but nothing could be further from the truth. I embraced
this life because of how much I love it, because of all the inner joy, freedom and peace it
brings me. Being green was just a wonderful side-affect of the lifestyle I
choose for purely selfish reasons, there is no sacrifice involved! In fact, if I
had a nickel for every-time a camper came up to me in my campground and said, "Man, you
have the best job in the world, how can I get one like it?" I would be a very rich man! And
they are right, it is the best job in the world! Then in the winter, I have the second best job
in the world--no job at all!! I wouldn't trade my life for anything!
As you can probably already tell, this website is unlike every other environmental website
out there. Most of them come from the point of view that the earth needs us, so it is our
duty to make sacrifices in order to protect it. They stir you up with stories that fill you with
guilt and outrage at the way we are treating the earth. Of course we understand and agree
with their sentiment, but it isn't our point of view. We want you to live a green life because
the quality of your life will be improved right here and now. Everything we suggest you do
will improve the quality of your life, and is good for the earth. When you are done reading
one of the pages in this site, we don't want you to react in outrage or guilt, but in delight:
"Wow, that sounds great, I want that!" You know the old saying, "You can catch more flies
with honey than with vinegar," well it is just as true with people. Guilt and outrage are very
motivating for awhile, but for most of us, it quickly wears out. On the other hand the cheap,
green, RV life is a life of simplicity, freedom and joy, and that is something we all want more
of. If this life is for you (and it isn't for everybody) then it won't wear out, you will actually
live green for life.
Since this site is first and foremost about attaining the highest possible quality of life, the first
thing we suggest is that you examine the quality of your life right now:
- Are you happy, or are you just treading water, only getting by?
- Is your life full of joy, or is it full of stress?
- Do you love your job and wake up wanting to get to work, or is it a drudgery?
- Are you sick of the constant competition at work, in traffic, and even for parking
spaces? - Do you ever look around your house and say, "Where did all this stuff come from,
why do I have it? I feel like I am in prison." And yet you keep going to the store to
buy even more. - Do you like fighting traffic, breathing bad air, spending fifty weeks a year looking
forward to two weeks of happiness? When those two weeks come, do they just fly-by,
leaving you no more happy than you were before?
If you answer those questions honestly, and you don't like the answers, then cheap green RV
living may be for you. If the American dream, has become a nightmare for you, you may be
in the right place. If you are sick of the rat race and decide to drop out, you won't be alone.
There is a small army of us out here (many more than you would think) happily living in our
cars, vans and RVs who made a clean break with that life.
We wanted to embrace simple living as a lifestyle choice by clearing out all but the essentials.
Generally, we needed a new vehicle because the one we had was unreliable or too small. An
easy way to get rid of junk or hard-to-sale vehicles is to donate cars to a charity to begin the
process which helps people in need. After shedding the old life, we bought a vehicle, moved
out of our houses and into them and embraced a life of wandering. For entirely selfish
reasons, we started to live very green lives. The stress and emptiness of our old lives fell
away. A sense of contentment and joy replaced them. Our bodies lost weight and became
healthier. Nature became our healer. Oddly, in our new life as "loners," we made many new
and deep friendships based on a common lifestyle. As we traveled to different states, and
even different countries, our minds and hearts were opened by the things we saw and felt.
We were deeply moved by the beauty we found in nature and in people.
There is a second way this site differs from most green websites. Nearly universally they are
focused on the problem of the environment and specifically with global warming. Since you
are here, you have probably been concerned with the plight of the environment for awhile
now, but whenever you thought about taking steps you may have found yourself paralyzed
with the thought, "The problem is so big, what possible difference can I make." And you're
right, the more you read about the size and complexity of the problem the more certain you
become that you can't possibly make a difference! All too often people drop-out of green
living altogether.
But what if we didn't focus on the problem, but instead focused on the solutions? On this
site, we are focusing on the benefits you will gain by making even small changes. One of
our motto's is "Green, Greener, Greenest." The idea is that you aren't responsible for the
whole earth, you are only responsible for your own actions. By living in a vehicle you are
automatically very green, anything else you can do is just icing on the cake. For example, we
have stories about someone who lives in an old RV that gets 7 mpg (but tows an economy
car that gets 35 mpg), another one about someone who lives and travels for months at a
time in a Toyota Prius that averages 45 mpg, and another one about a fellow who lives in a
tent in the desert and drives a scooter that gets 100mpg. There is no judgement here about
your choices. We are all different and we all have different comfort levels. None of them are
better than any others. If you are content with your choices, and the earth is better off
because of them, we rejoice with you!! Green, Greener, Greenest!
Finally, there is a third way this site is different from other environmental websites: we aren't
anti-anything. We aren't anti-coal, anti-oil, anti-big business, we aren't even anti-Republican.
What we are is pro-happiness. Not the easy, surface-level happiness of consumerism, but a
deeper, soul-level happiness that can only come from reconnecting with nature. You see, we
evolved for millions of years to be connected to nature, and then 6,000 years ago we
adopted civilization and threw away that essential connection. While it made our lives much
more comfortable, even luxurious, it did so at a very high cost, our souls. Today we are
alienated from the earth, from our inner soul, and increasingly from each other. Depression,
divorce, neurosis, addiction, suicide, burn-out and stress related disease are rampant in a
modern world at war with nature (for more on this see the article on Carl Jungs beliefs). It's
so sad we can't see that by being at war with the earth, constantly damaging and degrading it,
we are really at war with ourselves, damaging and degrading our soul. Our only hope for
happiness, for survival, is to surrender and to embrace the earth. Like the James Taylor song
says, "...we've got to get back to the garden." Living cheaply in a vehicle allows us to do
that, so we are pro-happiness.
If what you've read here resonates with you, we hope you will join us. You don't have to
become a full-time vehicle dweller to enjoy this site. Perhaps you will buy a tent, or a tent-
trailer and start camping again. Or perhaps you will just live vicariously through our stories.
It doesn't matter. What's important is that you take some of the things we will cover and
apply them to your life, wherever it is. If you do, the earth will be better because of it, and
the quality of your life will be improved. And for that, we will be very, very grateful.
A few comments about the site:
- We are going to use the term vandwelling as a generic term to describe our alternative
mobile life. It doesn't mean you have to live in a van, although that is probably the
most common choice. It describes a lifestyle whether you live in a van, car or RV, or
even still live in a house and just dream of vandwelling or travel part time in a vehicle.
The term is all-inclusive. - Vandwelling is inherently more dangerous than the typical stick-and-brick life. Since
lawyers now rule the world, see our disclaimer page: Disclaimer - The irony of having advertising on a page about minimalism is not lost on us. But the
site (and the forum that goes along with it) cost money and need to be supported. We
have made a strong effort to not let the advertising be a distraction. And remember, the
site isn't about guilt, outrage and sacrifice, it is about a higher quality of life. As you
embrace vandwelling you are going to get rid of a huge amount of stuff, but you will
also need to buy new stuff for a new life. The ads can help you find that stuff. - Some people have wanted to help support the site out of gratitude and I understand
that. It makes you feel like you are a part of something, which is a very good thing, so
there are donate buttons on the pages. But, please, don't feel any obligation to donate,
this is a labour of love for us first and foremost. If you do want to donate, then make it
very small, no more than $5. - Initially I will do all the writing, but that isn't good. This is your site, and it needs to
have your stories. Our collective wisdom and experience is infinitely greater than mine
alone. So email me with stories and pictures about your green vandwelling life.
Anything and everything is fair game and can help someone else. It can be as simple as
product reviews (which are extremely helpful) to stories about how you are living
green, jobs that work with vandwelling, or converting your van or car. Also, we
welcome your comments about the site and ways to improve it. See the Contact Us
Page, or Email it to me at akrvbob@gmail.com
| Consider giving a small donation to support this site. |
Welcome to Cheap
Green RV Living!
Green RV Living!
"What's the use of a fine house if you haven't
got a tolerable planet to put it on?"
~ Henry David Thoreau
got a tolerable planet to put it on?"
~ Henry David Thoreau
| This website takes no responsibility for dangers you may encounter by following our advice. See disclaimer |
 | |  | |  |
| Cheap Green RV Living |
Two roads diverged in a
wood and I; I took the
one less traveled by.
Robert Frost
wood and I; I took the
one less traveled by.
Robert Frost
Visit our sister site: cheaprvliving.com
And our forum: cheaprvlivingforum.com
Wandering re-establishes
the original harmony
which once existed
between man and the
universe."
~ Anatole France
the original harmony
which once existed
between man and the
universe."
~ Anatole France
If the sight of the blue skies fills
you with joy,
if a blade of grass springing up
in the fields has power to move
you,
if the simple things of nature
have a message that you
understand,
rejoice, for your soul is alive.
Eleonora Duse
you with joy,
if a blade of grass springing up
in the fields has power to move
you,
if the simple things of nature
have a message that you
understand,
rejoice, for your soul is alive.
Eleonora Duse
Finding the Joy of Green Living by Living in a Car, Van or RV.
| The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth. ~Chief Seattle |
Check out our new 365 Green Living Tips for Vandwellers |
| Plan Now to Attend the Summer Rubber Tramp Rendezvous A Gathering of Vandwellers to Celebrate our Wonderful Lifestyle June 19 - July 3, 2012 Sierra National Forest, Fresno, CA |
|