South by Southwest

A Detour

I've made this blog mostly to practice writing and documenting my experiences with Runaway Travel trailers. With that said, I'm going to take this blog on a segue, of sorts, and document my upcoming March trip to Australia. Traveling and seeing other cultures and countries has a way of giving us a fresh look at our own culture or country. We tend to get so accustomed to the way we do things that we forget that there's a different way. I believe this opens us up to new ideas in other aspects of our lives and makes us just better people as a whole.

I chose Australia since it's openness to tourism and ample outdoor activities such as camping and hiking. I gave a lot of thought to how I'd travel in the country and would prefer to hike/hitch hike rides to my destinations but with only 2 weeks available, I figured that driving would be the best method. Besides, there's nothing like a good old fashioned road trip.

Cost

I used the Kayak app on my phone to find my flight. Total round trip costs was roughly 1400 USD which is much cheaper than I thought it would be. My flight departs from Panama City, Florida's airport to Charlotte, NC and a 4 layover. Then onward to LAX and finally a 15 hour flight to Sydney's Kingsford Smith airport. I booked a rental care, the smallest and cheapest I could get, which set me back less than 170 dollars for the duration of the trip. Gas will probably be my biggest expense so I chose a compact. hopefully they'll upgrade me to a Prius or other hybrid.

I'm a backpacking traditionalist so I've bought a new internal frame 60 liter backpack from Amazon for 70 dollars. I've also bought a new sleeping pad since most of my overnights will be outside and I've been given a sleeping bag.

Local insight into where to go, what to avoid, and what to see is important. Lonely Planet guide books are a invaluable resource for travelers and I've used them for years in my journeys. I went to Barnes and Noble and found the perfect book: Australia's Best Road Trips. It documents the 38 best road trips to take. So, after a little research I'll develop some sort of itinerary and post it here.

I hope you enjoy following along in my journey and I look forward to posting lots of pics and information here!

Happy vegabonding!

Wetting the Bed

Runaway Campers are ideal for sleeping in the rain. Their small size and the occupant's close proximity to the roof make for a pleasant sleeping experience. The droplets pelting the roof of my trailer woke me from a sound sleep. I laid there in bed at 3am listening to the sounds and enjoyed just being in the moment. Before too long I fell back to sleep. I don't know at what point the creeping cold and dampness startled me, but there's nothing like the feeling of waking up in a wet bed. My first thought was to wonder if I'd regressed to my childhood self and let loose my tinkle, but a quick crotch check and I very quickly realized that I had not, indeed, wet myself. The rain had stopped by this time, but a cool breeze blew in through the open window at the foot of the bed. Of course, I forgot to close the window.

So, I'd had this idea for some time and finally bought a set of wind deflector visors that are made the sunroof of a car. These are generic and not made for any particular car model, unlike the ones you might see along the contour of the driver's or passenger's side window. The Runaway Camper's windows are all 31 inches long. So, I found the cheapest ones on Amazon and bought three of the 38 inch long wind deflectors.

The visors have a self adhesive tape so application is easy but be sure to clean the surface around the top of the window. Also, I believe the adhesive is temperature sensitive so apply when it's higher than 65 outside.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07L6Q6PMD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Full Time Runaway Life

Sometimes life throws you a curve ball that looks suspiciously like a lemon. Sometimes relationships just don't work, in spite of the intentions of those involved. So, for the one or two people who happen to stumble across the blog, I am changing my focus of my writing from that of improvements and upgrades to my Runaway Rangerunner, to how I intend to live full time in my Runaway micro camper.

To summarize, I have no kids and am single. I also have no pets, so living the simplest life possible is now an option for me. Quite frankly it's something I've wanted to try for a very long time. There's something liberating knowing that all I can carry can fit on my back....or in this case, inside my trailer.

So, let's take a look at my humble effects. Inside I have built a bed that is raised with enough clearance for a storage box obtained from Wal-Mart for clothes storage. (For more info on the bed build, feel free to see my previous post on that subject.) This is low enough to clear the bottom of the bed yet long enough to keep more than enough clothes stored away. I don't wear dress or business casual clothes for work, so ironing or hanging is not an issue.

And yes, I have two computers. 

Also under the bed I keep extra shoes, hiking boots, a telescope for stargazing, two folding chairs, as well as some hobby related stuff. (I fly racing quadcopters when I'm not busy rebuilding or reprogramming them) So, even though I live an an area the size of some people's closets, I still have room for extracurricular activities.

Most of my clothes fold nicely into the storage box. Some of the bulkier ones I leave on the top shelf of the cabinets.

My largest item that tends to get in the way is my guitar. I don't have a case for it so I have to be careful when I move it so I don't scratch or chip it. I leave it on the bed until bed time and then I stand it up by the door at night.

In the front area I keep my toiletries and other things such as paper towels. I also have some watertight storage compartments where I keep small items such as USB cables, telescope lenses, pens, Chap Stick, and other various things that like to roll around when traveling.

The front cabinets tend to catch everything that doesn't have a specific storage area and that's what make the Runaways better than most teardrop campers. They can be added for not much extra money. And if you've got Ron Swanson skills, you could always build your own. 

I also keep a keep clothes on the top shelf of my cabinets along with a box of important documents such as Passports, college transcripts, birth certificate, and the like. Having all these things in one place is important, I think. Perhaps one day I'll buy a fire proof safe to protect them better.


Inside by the doors I have some self adhesive brackets that work perfectly for hanging my keys. I like to keep them in one place because I tend to go back and forth between my Runaway and my truck throughout the day.  Having them close by the door and elevated makes it easy to locate them without looking.

INSERT PHOTOS OF KEY HANGERS

No bachelor's life would be complete without outdoor adventure! I keep my kayak and paddle attached to the roof racks. My bicycle usually rides on my bike carrier on my pickup truck.

I have several bikes, most of which stay at a family member's place in storage. This is my daily driver bicycle. It's a single gear so there's less to break on it unlike bikes with several gears and derailleurs. The kayak is a "sit on" type and very stable in just about any water. I keep a water tight Pelican brand case with it for my phone. 

Essential camping tool: an axe!

I have more than one bungee cord holding it when I travel, I promise. 

Living full time in my Runaway is new to me and I'm still learning how to best store everything. But, the biggest change I've noticed is that I spend most of my time outside. As I write this I'm sitting under a mostly cloudy NW Florida sky that looks more and more threatening to rain. While in an unseasonably warm February this might be OK, but the heat of the summer and the debilitating humidity are just around the corner. My approach might be change to incorporating the outdoors inside somehow with a screened in portable awning. Until then I'll enjoy the weather as long as it lasts.