#13 THE NEW NOMADS (part one) - 2 APRIL, 2024

WHAZAMMO & THE GILLIG

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A million Americans live in RVs...

In case you have not noticed... our numbers have (at least) quadrupled since 2018 when that article was penned... and promise to double again "before" this next Presidential election, as more and more of us are priced out of our apartments, rentals, and homes... as the earnings to inflation balance worsens, there is a return to small-"paid for" (not financed), affordable dwellings for full-time living... and a place to call "home"... spoken as RV.

Beginning back in the late 1700's gypsy (Romani) Caravan trailers (Vardo), some of which were/are elaborate, artistic, handcrafted and embellished heavily, the envious wealthy Class began to relate rather than revulse the nomadic, relaxed, camp-fire wanderer as some (misunderstood) alternative holiday adventure, a novelty, a return to mans primitive cave days... a "fun" experience.

As time brought in the railroad, and sleeper cars, dining cars, and luxurious sitting cars, smaller-space travel accommodations also slowly became acceptable, even "studio" apartments and cramped onboard ship/yacht staterooms all became... "OK"... the 1920's began seeing desperate homeless families moving into boxcars, trucks, and shipping crates to begin compressing the size of needed dwelling spaces, after WW2  the most common usage of the term RV was as a temporary accommodation when traveling, the 'Lucy-Desi" trailer episode triggered the canned ham Elkhart Indiana industry into being noticed, and Airstream in California legitimized it long before you could say "Winnebago".

Not to ignore all of the people who have "knowingly"... lived "full time" in alternative dwellings over the last few hundred years... the new social and public "acceptance" did not begin (in my opinion) until the late 1950s Beat/early Hippie bus-van-truck-caravan people arrived in-your-face around 1960 (pick your own year), suddenly it was allright, OK, to live in-travel-park and be "full time" in a "travel trailer, recreational vehicle, house truck, or "bus".

*An aside, my referring to the many tribes of Earth people needs clarifying: please know that I am aware of ethnics, natives, and the many variations of Rainbow, burning man, militia, and 10 or so "other" variations of what "I" use here loosely as "Hippie" ... one of my travel rags tells it well... https://thelandofwanderlust.com/different-types-of-hippies/

The RV acceptance meant you no longer had to only travel at night, park in the woods, camouflage yourself from view... now instead (with public acceptance) it went the other way, to bright amateur artwork, psychedelic paint jobs, bizarre designs, exotic anything-goes in-your-face renditions of the original gypsy Vardos, as "see-me".

Now, even being identified as a wanderer, nomad, gypsy was a badge of honor, and had prestige, this new breed of traveller even took on the clothing, and living standards, techniques, earth friendly ways and diets of the Romany they mirrored.  The inclusion of eastern culture music (balkan, Arabic, indian) influences, dress,and culture set the standards for hippie bus/boat/ truck living and the yurt, tents, travel trailers (caravans) that were the pre-cursor to todays tiny house modular home mindset all became validated

One cannot deny the pre 1980's hippie influence on what happened next, there were 100's of builders, private and corporate, jumping into the newly coined "RV" industry, the ensuing chaos of bankruptcy, buy-outs, patent rights, names, designs, during the past 40 years is mind-boggling, and now centered (mostly) in Elkhart and under three or so  monster corporations with deceptive-secretive  names.

Out of respect to their 1960s origins, they still use their bizarre (possibly drug-induced) psychedelic paint jobs, only now done in muted "earth tones" (remember, these are "earth" people 2024), and they openly unembarrassingly build these units to actually... "live-in" !! , the buyers of these 21st century vardos versions all have parents and grandparents ... "who were there", during the golden years of establishing this lifestyle.

What has quietly changed behind the scenes, is that the RV industry ran away financially from most of us after 1980 or so, today a 2 million dollar Prevost, or a 800,000 dollar 40 footer, a 50,000 dollar 35 footer, and a 20,000 20 foot travel trailer is the norm, and out of reach for most of us..

Down below that, lie us bottom feeders, DIY'ers, private builders, wood workers, mechanics, craftsmen, electricians, plumbers, and body worker-welders who do this on a budget... for ourselves, the across-the-board problem is, even with youtube, computers, blog siand web sites, by design... we have been pushed into "specialty" trades and occupations.

There no longer is a "general practicioner" category anywhere to be found in any craft... airline pilot, auto mechanic, home builder, truck driver, etc.  only a "Mom" or housewife has many diversified competent skills.

Specialization funneled us into "one" thing, hence, we (mostly) have an auto mechanic who is a parts changer or specialist, he cannot run the diagnostic computer/scanner and intelligently decipher the codes, then go reset the ring pinion lash, after rewiring a burnt out electric seat switch, re-chaining the transfer case, replacing that droopy headliner with the new one, then check left front wheel caster-camber, ohms verify the transmission shift points, checking turbo boost Hg, and welding up or plasma cutting a new cross-member for the receiver hitch.   all in a days work.

Instead we now have a "specialist" ... he only does or knows how to do"one" of the above functions (only), this trend has infiltrated all trades, carpentry to dental work, plumber to electrician... our grasp of the entire encilada has been taken away... so, when it comes to DIY, many are lost.... making building a RV/BOAT   oh so much  more difficult in 2024 than it was in 1964 when we all had experience in multiple skill sets.

So, we have lotsa' RV type things out there, and a lot more coming as the economy fails, but, we do not have the expertise to build according to the demand, AND, ...the RVIA owned parking places, and RVIA supported city attorneys prompting city ordinances and new restrictive parking laws.    All of those plastic, 1980's-1990's RV's you see on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, the Nickle newspaper, and in the various online sales ads are there because the RVIA has banned them from parks and campgrounds for being too old.  (planned obsolescence for profit).

The population of old RV-type units are out there... the skills to refresh, update, renovate, and outfit to 2024 living are missing, and the ordinances are assisting making this lifestyle a hardship.  Those of us building new units will fight the RVIA, and the ordinances as well, all of us, will share and develop the skills needed,  we are into the same pickle barrel... we are the new nomads, the new RV'rs, the new full-time tiny house, yurt, permanent under 400 square foot small space alternatives.  (a 45-foot Prevost tour bus has 320 sq. ft. of useable space, a typical Skoolie is around 250 sq. ft., that U-Haul 12-foot box truck is around 100 sq. ft.).

Similar to the 1960s "RV" flurry, the age of today's alternative Nomad is "young", their multiple skilled trades ability may be weak, but their wealth level is greater, making this a very similar time (revisited) just 50 years later in time..  what has changed is for the better, society and American culture is more tolerant (actually numbed) to alternative anything, the Southern border invasion, sexual orientation, sanctuary, judicial laxity have all enhanced the ability to "be" alternative.

I look for this new group of nomads to (unlike last time) have respect for common sense waste control, and leave no trace mentality, the RV colonies that will form hopefully this time around will self-police, and the inherited stigma of a bus, Skoolie, RV, trailer, van, boat, box truck lifestyle can be enjoyed without the hassle, rejection and lawfare of the past.      

Building safe, efficient, sanitary pleasing to the eye, well-maintained homes are paramount to the general public ever  "accepting" this alternative lifestyle., what you build, how it looks, and how safe it is are keys, the Skoolies of the past fried many a campground electrical system, or burned to the rims in place, became mechanically inoperative, boom-boxed the neighbors, accumulated and left behind so much refuse and excrement, that still today, anything dog nosed, yellow, and poorly done is banned, harassed, and unwanted (on the highway, in a parking lot, or campground/RVpark).   

Like any "community" (bikers, race cars, fishermen, hunters, tenters, bicyclists, sky divers, sail boaters, baseball/football/tennis/soccer aficionados, concert/conference/meeting goers, even religious groups) the group identity formed carries on long after the exposure, stay informed, and always share your knowledge, experience.

*Part Two will be coming up, watch for it !

The best compendium on the web, http://www.housetrucks.org/busbarn/busbarn.htm   DO NOT SKIP REVIEWING !

                  

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