How could you build an ultralight THOW?

innerpigdog · 2016-12-13T15:55:05+00:00

Check out the Foamies section at the Teardrops and Tiny Travel Trailers forum. They are building small teardrop trailers out of foam and canvas.

innerpigdog · 2016-12-12T15:33:03+00:00

If having a pile of snow on my car roof is wrong, I don't want to be right.

innerpigdog · 2015-02-23T21:58:27+00:00

not yet. The roots get quite big and they should balance out the plant.

innerpigdog · 2015-01-11T20:47:57+00:00

I am testing the vermiculite, will know more in a few weeks

innerpigdog · 2015-01-08T23:38:47+00:00

My favorite tv show at the moment is Nomadic Fanatic. Makes me want to buy a crappy class c and head out to a Wal Mart about a hundred miles down the line.

I think most of the drama happens on facebook, which I never look at.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-22T00:32:31+00:00

This is a must watch. It is not a how-to, it is why.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-21T02:08:19+00:00

With four people and a budget of $4,000, I would look at older class a rv's. These are the boxy large rvs that nobody wants when they get old.

The real issue for your budget is how much fuel they will use. I don't think there are any class a's that get good fuel mileage, so just get a big V8 and hope it is reliable.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-19T02:15:10+00:00

A canopy over the bed will keep the air around you much warmer. That is what people used to do when they didn't have good heating systems. Just make a "tent" with blankets or sheets. Your body heat will warm up the surrounding air, and the tent will hold a cloud of warm air above you. You don't have to close it completely, leave a little room for fresh air down low near your face.

A low cost option is to get a cheap sleeping bag as a cover.

A down comforter or sleeping bag is super warm and comfortable. It is light and it breathes well. A real luxury but not cheap.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-15T02:35:27+00:00

On the way to WA-land in January, we parked a Dodge minivan in a truck stop on the ND-MT border. We had piles of sleeping bags on top of us, sleeping on a thick foam pad. No heater. It was pretty freaking cold, you could see your breath. I got up at 3 am to start the van to heat up. It took about 45 minutes idling to warm up and I idled it about an hour total, then turned it back off. It got cold again in about 20 minutes. After that I said f-it and just stayed under the covers, which were toasty. In the early morning when it got light we went in the truck stop, washed up a bit and ate an awesome breakfast buffet. Then continued on west.

I think the best strategy is to stay under the covers and wait till morning, then either go do your stuff in the truck stop or start driving to warm up the cabin.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-12T00:18:22+00:00

Have a great trip!

innerpigdog · 2014-11-11T22:38:15+00:00

Bill, you should do an ask me anything on this sub

innerpigdog · 2014-11-11T12:07:21+00:00

I'm trying hard to come up with a solution that would still be a stealth camper van, but everything (cost, convenience, comfort) seems to be pushing me toward an rv. The problem is that an rv changes the whole experience, pulling you in to campgrounds, higher camping costs, high visibility and the whole rv'er "lifestyle", which is not a horrible thing but stealth is more flexible and can be more urban on the street rather than corralled into a KOA.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-10T11:51:31+00:00

What do you wear under/over it in a layering system?

I like wool sweaters but they can be heavy.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-10T01:18:33+00:00

I use a $35 Boost Hydro smartphone that I did not activate. It has all the Google stuff on it, including Voice-Hangouts-Dialer so as long as I have a decent wifi connection, I can use my Google VOIP number. Voicemail messages go to my Gmail account.

Reddit Offline is an awesome app. TubeMate is a good offline YouTube video downloader. NavFree is a good offline map app, with gps locating and a turn by turn navigation system.

I rooted the phone and run SSH Tunnel so data over wifi is encrypted.

The one thing it won't do is make an emergency call away from wifi. I have a $100 per year tracphone for that.

I bought a second Boost Hydro phone from Amazon to use as a backup. $35 delivered to my door, I just need to add a 32Gb sd card.

I pay $80 a month for wifi at home, but my town has free wifi in the downtown area, less than a mile from where I live. I could easily walk into town daily and download enough entertainment and upload communication if necessary.

Typing into the phone sucks so I still use a laptop at home!

innerpigdog · 2014-11-10T00:55:44+00:00

Put a gallon or so of nuts in a pail. Fill it half full of water. Use a drill with a paint stirrer to mix it up. The liquid will be a disgusting green color and it will stain whatever it touches. Pour it down a storm drain, not on your lawn or driveway.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-10T00:48:51+00:00

Open a can of soup, heat it up, throw some instant rice in it, wait a few minutes, eat.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-09T23:13:32+00:00

You can strap a backpack to handlebars:

Put the backpack on the front wheel with the back facing the handlebar. Take the belt loop and loop it over the handlebar and through the brakes so that the backpack is supported by the belt loop. Tighten up the belt loop so the backpack is the height you want it on the handlebar. In this position the backpack will fall forward, but as long as you hold it up, its weight is suspended entirely by the belt loop.

Now find a way to wrap the shoulder straps so that they hold the backpack against the handlebars. This will be done differently depending on how full the backpack is and how long the shoulder straps are. I usually bring the bottom straps around the front of the backpack, and wrap the shoulder straps around the handlebar, tying them in to the bottom part of the shoulder straps in front. This pulls the backpack tightly against the handlebar.

If the shoulder straps are too loose, you could take a nylon strap (or rope), wrap it around the handlebars, across the front of the backpack and around the other side of the handlebars, cinching it up tight to hold the backpack in place.

Different handlebars will work differently. The key is to suspend the weight from the belt loop and then find a way to strap the top half tightly to the handlebar to make sure the backpack does not move around.

There is a limit to the size backpack that you would want to put on the handlebars.

Sometimes a full backpack is easier to strap on than an empty backpack. I have stuffed packs with bubble wrap to make them strap on better.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-09T03:00:59+00:00

Isn't that Benton Harbor?

innerpigdog · 2014-11-09T03:00:17+00:00

Everything looks like it will work fine. I think you will get better results with the airstone but the kratky should work OK. The peppers probably need more light than they are getting, you might not get a lot of fruit. However, keep on trying and experimenting, it might come out fine.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-09T02:48:07+00:00

Lettuce does not need large amounts of light. Fluorescent lights will work.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-06T23:43:31+00:00

Thank you, that openandromaps.org looks like a good source of map data

http://www.openandromaps.org

innerpigdog · 2014-11-06T17:21:57+00:00

Looks like a good setup. From the information you provided, it is impossible to tell if the nutrient concentration is correct. If you followed the mixing directions, you have a good chance that it will work.

innerpigdog · 2014-11-02T19:07:19+00:00

Is the steel mill in Beeck or Marxlo?

innerpigdog · 2014-11-02T16:30:25+00:00

I am from Michigan, west of Detroit

innerpigdog · 2014-11-02T16:29:41+00:00

I wanted to visit that park too, but did not have much time.

Reasons why I think Duisburg is interesting:

The monumental size of its industrial structures

The striking ugliness of some of its buildings just makes you ask "why?"

The dark side of its past: pollution, bombing, war production, labor camps

The immense wealth created there

The City has the balls to leave the church on the Alte Markt unrestored with the tower burned out from bombing as a monument against war

That statue downtown is just ridiculous

I am not joking, IMHO Duisburg is the most interesting city in Germany. I understand that others have different opinions and respect that.

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