Off the Grid

Katie writes:
We have now been out on the land for 2 1/2 weeks, totally off the grid. Our little motorhome (24 ft. in length, about 100 sq. ft. of living space) has provided us the means for all necessities. And Mother Nature has been very generous with water! We have had over an inch of rainfall just in the past 24 hours! The canopy on our RV is tilted so that the rainfall ends up in a 24-gallon plastic trashcan with a mesh screen covering to filter out leaves and other large debris. We then use a small bucket to scoop the water out, and using a large funnel with a 1-foot long piece of dishwasher hose, we pour the water into our onboard water tank, which holds approximately 40 gallons of water.




This tank supplies us with water for dishwashing, showering, and washing hands. We add bleach to the tank, which we feel is sufficient for the short term here, until we get our water catchment system installed and start using all the filters, including a UV lamp. We have 2 five-gallon water jugs which we take to have filled with reverse osmosis water in nearby Kea'au; it costs $1.00 for 5 gallons of water, which is a bargain. We use this water for cooking, drinking, and brushing our teeth. So far, no problems! It is such a marvel to me, after living so long in Colorado and Arizona where water is so precious, to gather rainwater for our own use. So simple! Once our 10,000-gallon water catchment system is installed, I won't be so parsimonious about taking short showers! Our onboard water heater only heats up 6 gallons of water at a time (using propane, which is also onboard), which means that we take "camp showers" meaning you turn the water on, get wet, turn the water off, soap up, turn the water on and rinse off, etc. But we usually are conservative enough that one heating of the water tank is enough for both of us to take showers and also to do the dishes, which I only do once daily (Mom, don't read this!).



This is an 800-watt inverter connected to the 12-volt coach battery which provides 115-volt AC juice to recharge the laptop and cell phone batteries. The onboard generator is loud, so we only fire it up in the morning (a handy little switch inside the RV) for the coffee maker, the toaster, and the microwave. We usually don't use the generator more than about a half-hour a day, tops. But we are very conscientious about use of lights and other drains on the coach battery. Both of us read at night, or else we watch DVD's (we're currently watching Season 2 of "Lost" and we're totally addicted!), or write on the laptop, so we do use lights and the laptop quite a bit at night. We aren't suffering here, but we are conservative with energy use, which is good practice for when the electricity is actually hooked up...electric rates in Hawai'i are quite high.
And today, HELCO (the Hawaiian Electric Company) came out and installed the transformer and connected the lines....unfortunately, they brought the wrong meter, so we will have to wait for the right one to be brought back out....but POWER is in the near future!! At that point, we will run an extension cord from the RV to the electric pole, and voila....no worries about running the battery low! And our builder, Marlon, will be happy to have power for his tools so that he isn't having to rely on his generator (or our onboard generator, when his wasn't working). At times, we've toyed with choosing alternative energy sources, but for now, hooking up to the grid will suit our needs.
So our little self contained home on wheels has provided us a dry, warm (not that we've needed the furnace, but we do have one, and also an air conditioner onboard), comfortable abode while we are building. We have a 3-burner stove, a convection/microwave oven (I admit to not doing much baking in it, though), and a double sink for dishes. We do lack counter space, but we've managed nicely for 2 years now. We also have a bathroom sink, and of course, the toilet and shower. This RV is a "Class C" motorhome, which means it has a bunk over the truck cab. It also has a queen sized bed in the rear of the coach. So the bunk bed is used for our book case (yes, we read a lot!), and for storage of file boxes and other miscellaneous items. So far, although we've been tempted to build or buy a storage shed, we are doing just fine with the amount of storage we have onboard the RV. Nature does abhor a vacuum and empty space attracts "stuff."
This motorhome has been my house for 2 years now, and I will be sad to see her go, but once the house is built, I will need to sell the RV... we can use the profits for ...oh, simple things like furniture!!! LOL!! I figure someone here in Hawai'i will love having the convenience of living on-site while their house is being built, or else someone in the construction business will enjoy having all the amenities of home on the building site. So our little motorhome will continue to find use here on the Big Island, I am sure. And I have to admit that having a "bit" more space in the new house will be a welcome change, after 2 years of RV'ing!