Instagram
FULL30 Blog
Member Map
FULL30 Store
Giveaway Page
Ammo.com Gift
Tactical Reviews
SOG DonationsThere is a saying I have heard over the years, “Doing is not the same thing and thinking.”
This is a fact in life and all of us know it.
I have camped out in the woods or deserts, along the coast lines for a very long time. Longest has been 2 weeks at a time. It changes you, to camp that long “off grid”
To actually live off grid is a whole nother ball game I have found out.
After loosing my life lease after 3 years of working hard on it, i had to regroup in a hurry.
I sold off a lot of my things, searched from the Canadian border to the California border for a place.
I only had 90 days… FYI…
By all accounts, i had zero budget and yes, i was getting nervous.
6 months prior to getting the 90 day notice, i had started to look for a place. I KNEW things were not working out with my “faminly” after they threw me under the bus in April 2021
I had found a place then in Forks Washington… an old pole building used for maintenance on logging equipment.
Well, as things would turn out, i was able to buy this place. Vee and I have been working VERY hard to make it home.
It was, by anyone else’s mind a total distaster…
But, it was over an acre of land, had a “structure” and was only 67 miles west of where I already lived.
I should say, it does rain a LOT here… but I have webbed feet so I am ok with that. I also absolutely love the Washington coast line, it is my favorite place to be and I am now 20 minutes away from it.
Ok, back to it… sorry…
So we buy this place. Start the clean up 4 days before the 90 day deadline for me to vacate the house I was living in.
I move my broken down trailer onto the property and start moving all my accumulated crap to the new place. Snow, ice, rain… all helped in the move.
No power or water at the new location and as it turned out, it needs an entire new roof and 10 of the outer posts are rotten at the base (one so far is 100% compromised)
The good things, is that the building had been wired (even had 3 phase) and plummed… saved $30k because we found the septic system in operational condition!
We set up water collection immediately and start securing the place. What an undertaking!
A month later, the new chicken
coop is ready and I move my birds.Now… you may think, WOW what are you bitching about?
Oh, im not complaining at all… but understand this. My trailer only has propane cooking. No lights, no bathroom, no water, no refrigeration.
I ripped out the broken toilet and converted it to a closet. Shower now holds plants for the time being…
I have a portable propane heater i use when I have too…
I charge my phone in my car, use my power converter in my car to charge up tool batteries when I am driving.
I have been blessed with a cousin who is helping me. He lives an hour and a half away, lets me use his place to shower, wash clothing, keep my refrigerator and freezer plugged in.
I keep ice in the fridge, eat completely differently than I used too.
It makes you appreciate clean water and power in a hurry!
We use bottled water (5 gallon containers) and a lot of rain water. I have mixed nearly all the concrete using only rain water and a wheelbarrow.
We have over 400 feet of fencing up but had to use a generator to do it. T posts had to be pre drilled… with a 1 1/2 SDS Max bit run off a generator to get them into the ground.
Getting power from the local PUD has proven to be… interesting . They do not give you ALL the information to make an informed decision.
I ended up ordering a $1830.00 power pole so they would supply the cables. If not, i was looking at $5k to go underground…
To any effect, it is not like camping… I can drive 8 minutes west and take a sometimes COLD
shower for a $1 and I wear my cloths for more than one day. I can shop at the local store that is 3 minutes by car from my place and buy just what I need for the day…But still… I eat a LOT of top ramin and eggs… LOL
It has taught me a LOT about where I am. There is no way anyone could survive out in the woods here without supplies during the winter. You ARE going to get wet, and you ARE going to get cold. Those things here will kill you.
As we move forward building our new place, i am thankful i do at least have a shelter and a place to call my own. Despite using propane, we have been quite ok living without power and other luxurious things… LOL
If we can, we will get solar panels and new batteries for the trailer. With enough propane tanks, we could live off grid for a very long time.
, though you still have a lot ahead of you 
