A New Heartsease...

Motorized minimalism at its most pared down is living in one's car.

What?!!! Are you kidding me?

No, I'm not kidding. There are happy, content nomads out there that have chosen to live in their sedans and SUV's.

Who would do this on purpose?!

The answer is both surprising and makes a lot of sense.

There's a variety of reasons someone chooses to live in their car. Those who've opted for the car life are happy, adventurous souls who've made a life on the road. They travel to beautiful, natural vistas of desert, mountain, and seashore. Some are entrepreneurial, operating a business from the driver's seat, the trunk of their car, a park bench, folding table, coffee shop, or library in a town they happen to be passing through. Living, adventuring, and thriving in one's car is the ultimate motorized, minimalistic lifestyle.

Then, there are those who've been forced by life's exigencies to live in their vehicle because of job or home loss, or some other tragedy. This last category often rues their circumstances and suffers feelings of loss and deprivation...some may even feel shame for their diminished circumstances (they shouldn't).

A few of those in the "happy" category first passed through the second and discovered to their surprise that they love the lifestyle.

An SUV is a popular "home on wheels" due to its roominess. A creative built-in allows for maximum storage and a place to have a bed. If you have an SUV and need or want to hit the road, you're well on your way!

Most "roadie nomads" simply have little choice but to live in whatever car they already happen to have and arrange the interior to best fit their needs. Surprisingly, a Prius is one of the most popular cars for making a life on the road. This is because the engine will automatically kick on to recharge the battery. Thus, one can sleep with heater or air conditioning running and not have dead battery issues. Also, the Prius has lots of storage room and a roomy trunk.

This "build" allows for a bed and plenty of storage. Some nomads opt to sleep in the front seat in its reclined position or remove the rear seats completely to accommodate another bed arrangement.

The reasons a person chooses to live in his or her car are as varied as those doing it. Often it begins as a lack of money or a desire to save money. It's also a popular option for college students wanting to save money on rent while maximizing their job income.

Here's a "home" office pared down to its essentials.

The advantages of the car life is that one saves money on rent, taxes, and home maintenance. This allows for the saving of money and a frugal, but monetarily maximized lifestyle. The basic expenditures are auto maintenance, licensing/registration, insurance, gasoline, and food. Forget the rent, the mortgage, property taxes and insurance, maintenance of home and gardens.

As with other modes of on-the-road-travel-sans-bathroom is that bathing usually consists of public showers, gym memberships, lakes, rivers, streams, natural hot springs, a daily spritz or wet wipe.

Nearly all the comforts of home - and companionship - fit into this SUV.

Three decades ago I spent several months getting mileage (before the days of GPS apps) to rockhounding sites in both Southern and Northern California for my book, Rockhounding California. I spent between two and six weeks outward bound at a time mapping and camping/living out of my wee Suzuki Samurai.

Mapping desert rockhounding sites, I lived in my Suzuki Samurai for up to six weeks at a time.

I slept in my sleeping bag in the reclined passenger seat. My kitchen occupied the small cargo area in back along with a folding chair and my small Igloo Playmate ice chest. A net bag of oranges, potatoes, and onions, some canned foods, eggs, water, seasonings and some olive oil made up my provisions. A skillet, cup, and small pot, a change of clothes, herbal tea bags, and my one-burner Coleman camp stove, rock pick, shovel and a couple rolls of toilet paper, topo maps, paper and pencils, and a compass filled out my kit.

I got by just fine with very little and "boondocked" in solitary, beautiful spots with only my self for company and the beauty of desert and forest vistas. In my four-wheel drive "Sooze' I camped out of sight of major highways and wilderness roads. A branch brushed away my tire tracks to my found, but well-hidden camps.

Most folks who live in their cars have much more than I carried on my mapping expeditions. And while I have no monetary need (i.e. no mortgage) or desire to live full time in my present vehicle, researching for this post and the memory of my days living part-time in my Suzuki, made me yearn to go car camping again. I'm considering in a couple years time of wintering over in the Arizona desert to escape the Northern Idaho winters where I now live.

I've decided to go with what I already have (thank you, Linda, of Serene and Simple Life on YouTube)...my 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV.

My Jeep will seem palatial compared to my Suzuki.

I've been outfitting my Jeep with a cushy 8-inch memory pad (being almost 70-years old requires thicker levels of comfort) that I ordered off Walmart that will assure that I'm snoozing in maxed out comfort.

I ordered a 4-inch, full-size memory foam mattress and used an electric knife to cut in in half and trim it around the rear wheel well. The two halves, one atop the other, equal a comfy 8-inch mattress for "Princess and the pea me"! I've left the spare tire bolted in place. Some gear fits inside the pocket on the cover and there's room behind it to store atlases, maps, books and devices, etc.

The only thing I needed to remove after folding away the rear passenger seats was the passenger head rest so as to accommodate my 5'7" head to toe length. The extra thickness of the mattress raises the bed so that my pillows rest evenly on the folded up edge of the passenger seat adding a needed extra three inches to the length of my bed. My kitchen and bathroom bins stack against the back of the drivers seat and double as a side table to my bed and are handy to my kitchen which will be situated at the rear driver-side wheel. I'll be posting more on my setup in the future.

I could have removed the rear passenger seats and front passenger seat as was done by this SUV owner, but as I will be car camping instead of full-timing, I needed my car to function as a passenger and cargo carrier, able to carry groceries, goods, and passengers when friends and family come to visit.

My personal philosophy/theory of car camping (and living) was formed when I mapped rockhounding sites. Part of my thoughts were formed by watching how others negotiated their nomadic lifestyle. Another aspect is informed by my age and ability.

For me, maximizing the comforts/pleasures that are most important for me, or for anyone thinking about this lifestyle, is what makes or breaks the experience.

My most needful things are a comfy place to sleep, and to sit, and tasty food to eat. I want a cup of herbal tea upon rising in the morning and a relaxing libation in a lovely spot in the late afternoon. I also want to feel clean and hygienic and secure in my surroundings. These are my "go to" needs. When those are filled all else is negotiable and doable and the "roughing it" aspects of the remaining issues are all part of the challenge and the fun.

I was inspired by Linda (of Serene and Simple Life on YouTube) - a woman who lives happily and roaming free in her Honda sedan - "to use what I already had" rather than purchase a van or RV.

I was further inspired by Tristan (SUV RVing on YouTube) who frequently car camps while exploring and hiking the beautiful areas of Utah and Idaho.

Both Linda and Tristan are entrepreneurs whose car lifestyles have carried forward into online businesses.

Check out Linda's "gypsy nomad" life on her YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG_GabIBd_cIU6mKckySX0g/featured

Linda operates her business on line and out of her trunk, Say It, Display It, consisting of beautiful, inspirational cards and display stands.

Say It, Display It

https://www.sayitdisplayit.com/

Check out Tristan's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC07IPCu6BQGWh0Fdk9Q2Z2w

and his business and car camping products at Kamchatka Gear - https://kamchatkagear.com/

Stay tuned for upcoming camping adventures and more tips on how to live an electively frugal, abundant, simple, and grace-filled life while "slaying the monster" of runaway materialism and marketing propaganda!