Newbie & Green

[Janie]

can you see the female campers section now?

Hello,

yes I can see the Women's Camp now. Thank you very much

[Janie]

Still in the dark about posting, when and where to post - start a new thread or reply/add to an existing post. I've never spent much time on FB - not enough friends or relatives so I opted out of that a long time ago. I did try to find info for my area but didn't come up with very much helpful answers but I'm going to try again. I am tied to upstate NY because of a large storage unit I never successfully cleaned out and it must be done this spring//summer. I realized that I am a hoarder, this unit is 10X30 and I haven't made a decent dent in it yet. To survive the winter I am staying with  my nephew in NJ but can't stay here permanently so heading back upstate soon. Mostly worried about my van breaking down because I have nobody to call for help or a place to stay. It's what I call semi-rural - smallish towns about 8-12 miles apart. I live from SS check to SS check monthly so money is sparse. I'm just over finance guidelines for DSS assistance and I pay out $700 monthly for credit card debt. Thought maybe I should give up at my age but then I came across a little lady on You Tube, age 78 who's spending alot of time in her van. She has more than I can afford but that's not stopping me. I may not head west afterall but I will go south as an alternative. Maybe this wasn't the place to post this, I am not forum savvy guess this wasn't exactly a quick reply - sorry.  Thank you

[rvpopeye]

Hi Janey
I have much the same issue except my storage unit IS my rig....

10x30x how high ? That's 300 cubic feet if it's only 1' deep.
Hmmmm
I'm guessing it can't all fit in your rig so just how attached are you to the stuff?
If not at all , just abandon it by stopping the rent payments. Done.
A storage unit flea market?
Have your own auction ?
A dumpster ?
A bit of both ?
Sometimes people that have second hand shops or a flea market table might buy it all !
A cargo trailer might be of some use but now you're towing it all around....
A "EVERYTHING IS FREE" sign could work too.

Travel in unfamiliar territory. I wouldn't worry about that until something breaks down , stress you don't need.
I do have a friend in the Albany area.....

I just got a call and have to go pick up something but I'll BBL

[Scott7022]

Welcome to the forum. This came up on my unread thread so you posted it correctly. Had you not the weird pirate would have just given you a not alright badge and you’d be like most of us.

Thanks for joining and posting something personal. Thats the big rule so we don’t get inundated with bots and spammers.

I can appreciate your dilemma. You see I am international chapter nomad on the forum. Firstly because i was a Canadian and then more accurately because i can stay in one country. I’ve travelled to more countries since i retired. Than many do in a lifetime. Even if you fly biz class you are limited to 2 25kg bags of luggage. Thats about 100 pounds. Humping 100 pounds of luggage even if it rolls gets pretty lame pretty quickly. So you learn what ya need and what ya don’t very quickly. I recently went to Kazakhstan and a few other “stans” in the area for six months with a carry on backpack and one suitcase with 20 pounds.

I didn’t have a choice, if i wanted to see the world so. I gave/sold/ or left what I couldn’t put in a suitcase. Some valuables i left with close trusted friends but I got rid of tons of crap. Its true the crap you own ends up owning you.

Hoarding is a condition and I dont know if you’re being glib or actually believe you have this. But it is incredibly freeing to be able to have all you need, and in my case much more and very comfortable in a single rig.

It is also scary as this is it all I own and have. But this freedom is in my opinion worth the price. The danger is real but the fear is a choice. Everyone has a breakdown story and in 99%
Of them a stranger helped. People are generally good and try to help when they can. I had major emergency surgery in Russia and survived being a foreigner with limited language skills. So state to state I don’t think it’s a real fear. Past Getting the bill.

So welcome to our corner of the internet everyone here lives the lifestyle in their own way. There are no stupid questions and if you put something in the wrong spot, the weird pirate will fix it ask away get on the road to change your life, and I hope you find happiness most of us here have, and not without some tribulations, but we’re all here to help.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[shadowmoss]

Don't feel alone. I have a 10x20 storage unit, and I just got a 10x15 unit here in Quartzsite with the plan to downsize into it by September. I move from a small town higher in elevation in summers to Quartzsite in winter, and live in 2 30yo class A motorhomes. There is a story, but I'll spare you for now. The struggle is real.

[Janie]

Hi Janey
I have much the same issue except my storage unit IS my rig....

10x30x how high ? That's 300 cubic feet if it's only 1' deep.
Hmmmm
I'm guessing it can't all fit in your rig so just how attached are you to the stuff?
If not at all , just abandon it by stopping the rent payments.  Done.
A storage unit flea market? 
Have your own auction ?
A dumpster ?
A bit of both ?
Sometimes people that have second hand shops or a flea market table might buy it all !
A cargo trailer might be of some use but now you're towing it all around....
A "EVERYTHING IS FREE" sign could work too.

Travel in unfamiliar territory. I wouldn't worry about that until something breaks down , stress you don't need.
I do have a friend in the Albany area.....

I just got a call and have to go pick up something but I'll BBL

Thank you for your reply. My unit is 10 ft wide, 30 ft deep and I would say 10 ft high. I have stacked storage tubs 5 high (most are 18 gal. tubs) against the two walls down to the back. The back wall has a large steel shelving rack about 6 ft high with smaller boxes on it. The second row of boxes is mostly 5 totes high also. Then the rest is maybe 4 ft high with only a narrow walkway in the middle. 5 rows in total and some messy areas. Although I have gotten rid of atleast 30 totes in recent years it hasn't made much of a dent. It would be nice to sell stuff but that hasn't worked so well thru the years even trying a few flea markets and online ads as well as newspaper ads. There are people with money around the area like any other place but they aren't interested it seems even in my vintage glass type stuff. I have given away atleast 6 totes with vintage glass, nic-nacs and that type of stuff to a charitable organization also. 

Storage unit rules are strict so there won't be a yard sale. Abandonment might be tricky because the owners are suing somebody that abandoned their unit a year ago. It's locked and not cleared out either. No matter what I do I have to go thru it first - too much personal paperwork that's not all together and some items I need to keep. 

Breaking down has to be an issue whether the territory is familiar or not. I can have AAA tow my vehicle but what do I do then?  I guess I could stay one night in a motel if I can get there. It's a real concern for now. 

I will need a small enclosed cargo trailer, 5x8 maybe, because there is not enough room in my van, which is a 1997 Dodge B2500 conversion van with 78,000 miles (it hasn't been around more than once according to the car dealer.)  Right now I'm driving around without a spare tires because the back holder on the door rotted before I got it. Not much other body rust though. The engine does seem pretty good even after driving it 4 years which is how long I've had it. I do thank you for your suggestions. Most of it, if not all, will be free because it must be done before winter - preferably sooner.

[Janie]

Welcome to the forum. This came up on my unread thread so you posted it correctly. Had you not the weird pirate would have just given you a not alright badge and you’d be like most of us.

Thanks for joining and posting something personal. Thats the big rule so we don’t get inundated with bots and spammers.

I can appreciate your dilemma. You see I am  international chapter nomad on the forum. Firstly because i was a Canadian and then more accurately because i can stay in one country. I’ve travelled to more countries since i retired. Than many do in a lifetime. Even if you fly biz class you are limited to 2 25kg bags of luggage. Thats about 100 pounds. Humping 100 pounds of luggage even if it rolls gets pretty lame pretty quickly. So you learn what ya need and what ya don’t very quickly. I recently went to Kazakhstan and a few other “stans” in the area for six months with a carry on backpack and one suitcase with 20 pounds.

I didn’t have a choice, if i wanted to see the world so. I gave/sold/ or left what I couldn’t put in a suitcase. Some valuables i left with close trusted friends but I got rid of tons of crap. Its true the crap you own ends up owning you.

Hoarding is a condition and I dont know if you’re being glib or actually believe you have this. But it is incredibly freeing to be able to have all you need, and in my case much more and very comfortable in a single rig.

It is also scary as this is it all I own and have. But this freedom is in my opinion worth the price. The danger is real but the fear is a choice. Everyone has a breakdown story and in 99%
Of them a stranger helped. People are generally good and try to help when they can. I had major emergency surgery in Russia and survived being a foreigner with limited language skills. So state to state I don’t think it’s a real fear. Past Getting the bill.

So welcome to our corner of the internet everyone here lives the lifestyle in their own way. There are no stupid questions and if you put something in the wrong spot, the weird pirate will fix it ask away get on the road to change your life, and I hope you find happiness most of us here have, and not without some tribulations, but we’re all here to help.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Janie]

I hope that i am putting this in the right place. My reply to repopeye might have been in the wrong place - right under his reply and now I don't know if this box is a reply to Scott7022 I hope. You all have good advice btw. Yes, freedom is worth the price of getting rid of my storage unit. I have been hating it now for a few years atleast. It has me anchored in one spot and I should have been gone years ago. I cannot travel to other countries and even state to state will be a planned financial venture. If it were not for financial issues I wouldn't worry about breaking down. Anyway I will be digging in soon - dive into the storage unit so to speak and had better have enough sense to get rid of most of it as quickly as possible. I'm not getting any younger and anxious to get rid of this ball and chain. I also need room for a new companion- a dog - a great trade off.

[sternwake]

I think a huge hindrance to getting rid of stuff, is the owner places far higher value on the items, than anyone else ever will.

Also, when paying to store it, there is the need to justify having paid so much in storage fees for so long, further falsely inflating the value of items within.

I wasted thousands to store hundreds and wound up abandoning a fair portion of it.
Its true i do miss some of it, but nothing that is irreplaceable. I do wish i gifted some into the right hands, who coukd make use of it, but i was rushed and stressed, and when my tires looked too overloaded, said enough, and hit the road.

I also stressed over it the storage unit. Seeing shows like storage wars would grind my anxiety like sandpaper inside my skull.

Before I was able to decouple from the storage unit, I'd go in and organize and try and get rid of a little here and there, throw some stuff out, give some away. It was never enough, and barely made a dent, and all i had was a 5x10, which was more lime 4'6"x9, and 8 foot tall.

I look forward to when everything I own fits in a backpack or a bank acciunt, and signs are in a foreign(to me) language, and the locals are not hyoer entitled propaganda receptacles, vociferously railing against their own best interests.

[rvpopeye]

I imagine you have already thought of all this but just in case....

The fact that you have been driving the van around for 4 years is a good thing.
It's somewhat reliable.

Tires and brakes checked and an oil change and a couple qts extra so you can top it whenever you need one instead of waiting to find it.
A spare is a good idea if you have one , throw it in (two if your tires are even slightly iffy) . AAA is good , call and ask what their policy is on a trailer you're towing.
If you can fit it all in the van and a trailer that's great .
If not hopefully you can goodwill or dump enough to not be overloaded. The more you do there the happier the van will be. NEVER forget. Being able to move the weight isn't the same thing as being able to stop it....
Breakdowns and motels... Depending on how long it will be , renting a u-haul van (used to be $20 a day local) to move into is way cheaper .
Bringing a tent and camping gear could be a cheap option to have along too. Could also be used in that rental van.
(? Another option ?..... Renting a bigger van/ truck and skipping the trailer for the whole trip might be cost effective also.) Both cash wise as well as worry wise.


I spent 30 years moving vans and trucks full of sound gear millions of miles and traveled around the country in my own old vehicle a 1969 pickup and have experienced breakdowns in every form imaginable (including a motor home fire.)
and in many new and far off places .

And there was always a place that helped me get back on the road .

Some treated me better than I would have experienced in my home town uptah camp!
Never missed a show .
Well ,except for when that club burned down with all the gear in it ! (But we did get a couple weeks off that was sorely needed).


Welcome to the forums . It's nice to have a new face in the crew !
No worries about where or how you post. This isn't that kind of place.
A few have responded here and probably more will as they notice you're here.

Now , tell us more about your future new pooch !
I traveled for 16 years with a dalmatian.