Wednesday, September 19, 2007

State of affairs

For all the bragging and excitement and simple-life preaching I got around to, the Truck House project hasn't amounted to shit yet. I came within about an inch of just selling the truck and starting a savings plan to get a used camper. I looked at a lot of campers on eBay and in person. The whole project seemed thoroughly derailed - completely crash and burn.

To make a long story short, being $10,000+ in debt, broken hearted and worried about life is not the right time to try out living in a box truck with zero amenities. I got a job with 1-800-GOT-JUNK, made a 5 year plan, and I'm leveling out emotionally. Now I'm thinking about Truck House again, and how to make a Truck into a home. Sleeping rough in the box isn't going to cut it for me. I tried it for one night in Philly, and I didn't last long. I've been scoping out street parking in West Chester and slowly reassuring myself not to quit the project.

For a couple weeks, I was looking at truck campers - the type that slide into the bed of a pickup - and I was convinced that I went the wrong direction with Truck House, and I should have gotten a used camper. The camper option would be an easy way to get everything I need all at once in a tidy package - and it doesn't necessarily cost more either. However, I'm attracted to the idea of creating my home from scratch, and the glory it will bring. I've been researching the working systems of RVs, and I'm going to borrow from all that since it clearly works well. I am very much in debt, and wish strongly to get out as soon as I can. I can't pour lots of money into building Truck House while I am paying off debt. I have a 5 year plan which includes a schedule for being debt free in 11 months. How does it work? Nearly all of every paycheck goes to my credit card, and I live at home for awhile.

The good news is that working at 1-800-GOT-JUNK provides a great opportunity for getting free stuff and materials that I can use to furnish Truck House. Beautiful couches are thrown away constantly, and it's only a matter of time until the perfect one is available for me. I'll try to outline other changes as they happen. I know this whole project is disgustingly slow - but it's still in the works. If I get money above what I need for my 5 year plan, a lot of it will be dedicated to working on Truck House, one step at a time. The first step is to install an entrance door designed for an RV. That should be about $250, unless I can find a better deal. It's going to take some serious guts on my part to rip a hole in the side of the box with a sawzall - but I'm going to do it.