Ok… so I’m not on my land

I went to my land yesterday. But once I got there, I realized that I hadn’t sorted out my logistical issues. The Ryomobile can get me to within feet of the North East corner of my property, close to the paved road. But I don’t want to set up camp there because, well, it’s really close to the road. I didn’t buy 60 acres of land to camp by the road.

So, what to do?

I revisited my options, and decided that the best course of action was to buy an enclosed cargo trailer, put my stuff in it, rent a truck, and tow it to the back of my property via the dirt road (which is too rough for the Ryomobile, but probably not for a truck). I can leave the cargo trailer there for short periods of time, for instance, when I need to go away to see my parents next week. The major downside is cost. A cargo trailer costs around $2000, and a U-Haul truck would cost about $200 for the round trip. But at the end, that’s just money. I can always earn more of that.

But, of course, things aren’t so simple. I’m in Redding right now (the nearest city) and I called up half a dozen RV/trailer shops in the area, and none of them sell enclosed cargo trailers. I also asked if they knew anybody in the area who did sell cargo trailers, and they all said nobody in Redding did. I know there are at least 3 places in Chico that sell them, but that’s another 70 miles away.

And then there’s my electrical system. Right now, I have 60 Watts of solar panels, which might give me about half the electricity I need on a good day. My battery charger is either broken or doesn’t like the inverter I got, so that plan is shot. My battery is down to 60%, and even if my panels work at maximum efficiency, I have a deficit of about 20% per day. My battery will be dead in 3 days.

So, here I am in a Starbucks, trying to figure out my next move. I could go back to my land, and just camp by the road, and deal with my electrical deficit and less-than-ideal location. The other option is to leave Redding and find a trailer where ever I can find one.