Travel Channel "Killer RV Upgrades"
This is a good summary of the trip. It was part of a Travel channel show on RV upgrades.
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Panorama 14 January 2011
Grace's Article in American Girl Magazine
Grace sent the following interview into "American Girl" today,
1. Well, I was born in San Diego, California, just before we moved to Fallon, Nevada. Then we moved to Jacksonville, Florida; Annapolis, Maryland; and Naples, Italy, each for three years. I’ve loved everywhere we’ve lived, but especially Annapolis (where my best friend Audrey lives), and Naples (with the warm weather and awesome traveling). We were so excited to move overseas. Not many people get to have that chance. My mom and dad had been to Europe before, but for us kids, it was the first time ever that we’d be leaving the United States.
2. We lived in Naples for three years, and it was totally amazing. I mean we got to see Mount Vesuvius every day on our way to school, and we were able to really see the historical sites around Naples, which took us almost our whole first year, since Naples is full of fantastic sites like Pompeii, Herculaneum, amphitheaters, villas, museums, castles, and countless churches. Then we started really traveling around Italy and into other European countries. Compared to the other places we lived, we traveled and toured a lot more when we lived in Naples. Also, we lived in an Italian community, so all of our neighbors were Italian. School was different too. First off, we’re in a different country. But it was an American school, so, thankfully, everyone spoke English. Also, I was with a lot of kids just like me: having to move to a different school every three years or so. So it wasn’t at all weird being the new kid, because there were always new kids.
3. At first, I thought my dad was crazy. Who builds an RV? But after some thought I figured it would be a great experience and also a great learning opportunity. When I first saw the RV, with just the wooden outline (no windows), I thought this thing is HUGE, and we’re going to be working our tails off this summer, and my dad’s an awesome builder. I mean not many people build their own RV.
4. I did a lot of painting, sanding, and cleaning up along with my sister (what a great way to spend your summer vacation J). My brother taught me some building techniques. He worked a lot on the outside with my dad, while my mom, sister, and I worked on the interior. We needed a way to get electricity for our lights, cooking, computers, charging, etc., without having to hook up at an RV park everywhere we went. So our way of being independent and helping the environment at the same time was putting up 10 solar panels lining our roof. So we always love having a warm sunny day, which is kind of hard in the winter, but we manage. On really sunny days our way of rewarding ourselves is making things like cookies, pizza, or chicken nuggets in our oven, since it takes a ton of power. Also, we can wash clothes in our washer/dryer all-in-one (made for boats but works on home-made RVs too). Since we left England, we have not had to hook up at an RV park for power. Water is a different story, so we conserve it by taking the shortest showers possible and washing and brushing our teeth with limited water. Whenever we run the water, you can actually hear the pump, so the whole family knows when you’re “wasting” water. We fill up our water from RV park hoses and occasionally truck parks and gas stations. Once filled up, we’re always on “max conserve” as my dad says, because we never know when we’ll next be able to fill up again.
5. Surprisingly, we actually are all getting along well. Being with your family 24/7, you would think we’d be going crazy, but we’re still getting along fine. We’re getting our family time for the year, so that’s good. But having separate rooms really helps. So when you want to be by yourself, you can just go in your room.
6. My room: It’s definitely a lot smaller than any other room I’ve had before. To give you and idea, the rug in my room that covers my whole floor is a bathmat, so there’s not much walking room. But it’s cozy! And you don’t see many RVs with three separate bedrooms, so we’re pretty lucky. I have a shelf above my bed and on the wall facing the door next to my sink. And yes I do have a sink in my room, right next to my bed. My dad included a sink in each of the kids’ rooms so we wouldn’t fight over the one in the bathroom or the kitchen. So I can lie in my bed while brushing my teeth, so it’s pretty handy. The door to my room looks like all the other cupboard doors in the kitchen, so it’s sort of like living in Harry Potter’s broom cupboard, except I need a ladder to get down into my room. I have a tiny little dresser/drawers, so I had to choose carefully what to bring. We were limited to one medium-sized suitcase, so I chose practical clothes for all the seasons. It was hard parting with some of the things I had to leave behind like clothes, stuffed animals, my bed L, etc., but I quickly got used to having a small room – there’s so much less to clean! It also helped that I got to paint it. I’ve never been able to paint my other bedrooms where I’ve lived, so it was pretty exciting picking out the color and painting my room pink.
7. It was a little weird having a mobile house, but again, you get used to it after awhile, and it was much easier than I thought it would be. It surprised me how quickly I got used to living in such small living quarters, being somewhere new every day. Another thing that surprised me was how cold it could get, but luckily we have a small fireplace that has kept us warm (again made for boats but works in homemade RVs J). It’s much easier to get up in the morning when it’s warm. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the really bumpy roads, especially here in Turkey, or the fact that everywhere we go, people can’t help but stare at our house (and take lots of pictures). But I can’t blame them, because it is so unusual looking. Most people think it’s a horse trailer. We’ve had some occasional visits from some people who are really curious, and a lot of people’s jaws drop when they figure out we made it. J
One of my favorite things is looking out my window every morning, because we could be anywhere – out in a city in France, seeing a temple in Sicily, or in the country in Turkey – wherever we are, from my bed, the view is usually awesome, with each place better than the one before.
My sister Shannon, my mom and I usually get up pretty early in the morning , do math (it’s kind of weird having your mom teach you algebra with your pajamas on). Then we usually go touring, and I mean most of the time we get history first hand. I finish the rest in the evening, science, language arts, reading and Geography. With all the textbooks Shannon and I have, I know we could never have back packed Europe, which was one of our original travel plans. My textbooks take up almost my entire big shelf in my room, and that’s a BIG shelf! Speaking of textbooks, that’s another one of my favorite things about our travels – actually seeing the things I learned in my textbooks. For example, I was learning about the Pont du Gard (in France) in my history book, and a day later, we actually saw the real thing! That will happen to me like when I see a place, painting, or a statue in my book, and then I see the real thing, which has happened on multiple occasions. It helps me get a better understanding of what I’m learning and appreciate even more the experience I’m getting.
1. Well, I was born in San Diego, California, just before we moved to Fallon, Nevada. Then we moved to Jacksonville, Florida; Annapolis, Maryland; and Naples, Italy, each for three years. I’ve loved everywhere we’ve lived, but especially Annapolis (where my best friend Audrey lives), and Naples (with the warm weather and awesome traveling). We were so excited to move overseas. Not many people get to have that chance. My mom and dad had been to Europe before, but for us kids, it was the first time ever that we’d be leaving the United States.
2. We lived in Naples for three years, and it was totally amazing. I mean we got to see Mount Vesuvius every day on our way to school, and we were able to really see the historical sites around Naples, which took us almost our whole first year, since Naples is full of fantastic sites like Pompeii, Herculaneum, amphitheaters, villas, museums, castles, and countless churches. Then we started really traveling around Italy and into other European countries. Compared to the other places we lived, we traveled and toured a lot more when we lived in Naples. Also, we lived in an Italian community, so all of our neighbors were Italian. School was different too. First off, we’re in a different country. But it was an American school, so, thankfully, everyone spoke English. Also, I was with a lot of kids just like me: having to move to a different school every three years or so. So it wasn’t at all weird being the new kid, because there were always new kids.
3. At first, I thought my dad was crazy. Who builds an RV? But after some thought I figured it would be a great experience and also a great learning opportunity. When I first saw the RV, with just the wooden outline (no windows), I thought this thing is HUGE, and we’re going to be working our tails off this summer, and my dad’s an awesome builder. I mean not many people build their own RV.
4. I did a lot of painting, sanding, and cleaning up along with my sister (what a great way to spend your summer vacation J). My brother taught me some building techniques. He worked a lot on the outside with my dad, while my mom, sister, and I worked on the interior. We needed a way to get electricity for our lights, cooking, computers, charging, etc., without having to hook up at an RV park everywhere we went. So our way of being independent and helping the environment at the same time was putting up 10 solar panels lining our roof. So we always love having a warm sunny day, which is kind of hard in the winter, but we manage. On really sunny days our way of rewarding ourselves is making things like cookies, pizza, or chicken nuggets in our oven, since it takes a ton of power. Also, we can wash clothes in our washer/dryer all-in-one (made for boats but works on home-made RVs too). Since we left England, we have not had to hook up at an RV park for power. Water is a different story, so we conserve it by taking the shortest showers possible and washing and brushing our teeth with limited water. Whenever we run the water, you can actually hear the pump, so the whole family knows when you’re “wasting” water. We fill up our water from RV park hoses and occasionally truck parks and gas stations. Once filled up, we’re always on “max conserve” as my dad says, because we never know when we’ll next be able to fill up again.
5. Surprisingly, we actually are all getting along well. Being with your family 24/7, you would think we’d be going crazy, but we’re still getting along fine. We’re getting our family time for the year, so that’s good. But having separate rooms really helps. So when you want to be by yourself, you can just go in your room.
6. My room: It’s definitely a lot smaller than any other room I’ve had before. To give you and idea, the rug in my room that covers my whole floor is a bathmat, so there’s not much walking room. But it’s cozy! And you don’t see many RVs with three separate bedrooms, so we’re pretty lucky. I have a shelf above my bed and on the wall facing the door next to my sink. And yes I do have a sink in my room, right next to my bed. My dad included a sink in each of the kids’ rooms so we wouldn’t fight over the one in the bathroom or the kitchen. So I can lie in my bed while brushing my teeth, so it’s pretty handy. The door to my room looks like all the other cupboard doors in the kitchen, so it’s sort of like living in Harry Potter’s broom cupboard, except I need a ladder to get down into my room. I have a tiny little dresser/drawers, so I had to choose carefully what to bring. We were limited to one medium-sized suitcase, so I chose practical clothes for all the seasons. It was hard parting with some of the things I had to leave behind like clothes, stuffed animals, my bed L, etc., but I quickly got used to having a small room – there’s so much less to clean! It also helped that I got to paint it. I’ve never been able to paint my other bedrooms where I’ve lived, so it was pretty exciting picking out the color and painting my room pink.
7. It was a little weird having a mobile house, but again, you get used to it after awhile, and it was much easier than I thought it would be. It surprised me how quickly I got used to living in such small living quarters, being somewhere new every day. Another thing that surprised me was how cold it could get, but luckily we have a small fireplace that has kept us warm (again made for boats but works in homemade RVs J). It’s much easier to get up in the morning when it’s warm. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the really bumpy roads, especially here in Turkey, or the fact that everywhere we go, people can’t help but stare at our house (and take lots of pictures). But I can’t blame them, because it is so unusual looking. Most people think it’s a horse trailer. We’ve had some occasional visits from some people who are really curious, and a lot of people’s jaws drop when they figure out we made it. J
One of my favorite things is looking out my window every morning, because we could be anywhere – out in a city in France, seeing a temple in Sicily, or in the country in Turkey – wherever we are, from my bed, the view is usually awesome, with each place better than the one before.
My sister Shannon, my mom and I usually get up pretty early in the morning , do math (it’s kind of weird having your mom teach you algebra with your pajamas on). Then we usually go touring, and I mean most of the time we get history first hand. I finish the rest in the evening, science, language arts, reading and Geography. With all the textbooks Shannon and I have, I know we could never have back packed Europe, which was one of our original travel plans. My textbooks take up almost my entire big shelf in my room, and that’s a BIG shelf! Speaking of textbooks, that’s another one of my favorite things about our travels – actually seeing the things I learned in my textbooks. For example, I was learning about the Pont du Gard (in France) in my history book, and a day later, we actually saw the real thing! That will happen to me like when I see a place, painting, or a statue in my book, and then I see the real thing, which has happened on multiple occasions. It helps me get a better understanding of what I’m learning and appreciate even more the experience I’m getting.
Examiner.com "World's best overland expedition vehicles"
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-world-s-best-overland-expedition-vehicles
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-world-s-best-overland-expedition-vehicles
Story for Shelter Publications book
Shachagra was built by, and for a family of five with plans to travel for a year through Europe and Asia. A specific truck for a specific trip, she was a means to an end, not an end herself. Regardless, in the end, she was pretty nice, and the trip was amazing.
From previous family travel, my wife Stef and I knew that sane, continuous travel for a year with two teens and a tween, (Shannon 17, Charles 15, and Grace 11 (ShaChaGra)) would benefit from any stability and privacy we could offer the children. We decided on an RV, but could find none that suited both our needs and wallet so we designed and built our own. The 18 months of designing in my spare time and four months of building full time were well rewarded by the 16 months of comfortable travel and countless memories she provided.
Shachagra was designed, built and equipped like a boat with a structure of marine grade plywood an epoxy and fiberglass skin.
Here is a list of a few things that set Shachagra apart from your average motor homes:
International 7500 4X6 chassis, she is a dump truck with 4 beds vice just one. 8 of the ten tires are live, providing traction when needed and a 52,000 pound capacity for a 32,000 pound truck, eliminating the potential to dangerously overload the chassis.
4 Individual staterooms. Three of the rooms are in the “basement” It took some ability at Tetris and numerous models to get the pieces to fit, but each room has a twin size bed, closet, sink, desk and 7 feet of standing headroom.
2100 KW solar array. Large enough to power our needs through an English winter, the array was more than enough for most of the trip, allowing us to spend weeks on an isolated beach consuming no more than food, water and time.
Nearly single fuel. Diesel powers the truck, a boiler (cabin and water heat,) a stovetop and fireplace. All other power requirements are fulfilled by solar. If I could have found a diesel Vespa, we’d be single fuel.
Vespa Garage The Vespa, like a dinghy, is hoisted into its own garage in the rear, essential for running errands and scouting out the road ahead.
340 gallon water capacity and filtration system. Though water was always available, it was nice to not have to run for it every two days. We would average 10 days between fills.
240 Gallons diesel. 1600 mile range plus months of heating capacity.
9 cubic foot drop in freezer. Gave us the ability to buy and freeze meats and ice cream when we could get it, for those long periods of time when we couldn’t.
Soaking tub. Heated and filtered. I spent over 400 hours in that tub, soaking away the stress of travel.
Shachagra is currently parked (anchored) alongside the St Johns river near Palatka Florida. A weekend getaway home and summer travel RV, she fulfills our long term plans for an off grid home on the river, and when the children have flown the nest, she will be our nest for two.
From previous family travel, my wife Stef and I knew that sane, continuous travel for a year with two teens and a tween, (Shannon 17, Charles 15, and Grace 11 (ShaChaGra)) would benefit from any stability and privacy we could offer the children. We decided on an RV, but could find none that suited both our needs and wallet so we designed and built our own. The 18 months of designing in my spare time and four months of building full time were well rewarded by the 16 months of comfortable travel and countless memories she provided.
Shachagra was designed, built and equipped like a boat with a structure of marine grade plywood an epoxy and fiberglass skin.
Here is a list of a few things that set Shachagra apart from your average motor homes:
International 7500 4X6 chassis, she is a dump truck with 4 beds vice just one. 8 of the ten tires are live, providing traction when needed and a 52,000 pound capacity for a 32,000 pound truck, eliminating the potential to dangerously overload the chassis.
4 Individual staterooms. Three of the rooms are in the “basement” It took some ability at Tetris and numerous models to get the pieces to fit, but each room has a twin size bed, closet, sink, desk and 7 feet of standing headroom.
2100 KW solar array. Large enough to power our needs through an English winter, the array was more than enough for most of the trip, allowing us to spend weeks on an isolated beach consuming no more than food, water and time.
Nearly single fuel. Diesel powers the truck, a boiler (cabin and water heat,) a stovetop and fireplace. All other power requirements are fulfilled by solar. If I could have found a diesel Vespa, we’d be single fuel.
Vespa Garage The Vespa, like a dinghy, is hoisted into its own garage in the rear, essential for running errands and scouting out the road ahead.
340 gallon water capacity and filtration system. Though water was always available, it was nice to not have to run for it every two days. We would average 10 days between fills.
240 Gallons diesel. 1600 mile range plus months of heating capacity.
9 cubic foot drop in freezer. Gave us the ability to buy and freeze meats and ice cream when we could get it, for those long periods of time when we couldn’t.
Soaking tub. Heated and filtered. I spent over 400 hours in that tub, soaking away the stress of travel.
Shachagra is currently parked (anchored) alongside the St Johns river near Palatka Florida. A weekend getaway home and summer travel RV, she fulfills our long term plans for an off grid home on the river, and when the children have flown the nest, she will be our nest for two.