Going Galt in a trailer-home

Subject: Going Galt in a trailer-home Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:28 pm

A suitable dwelling

The biggest expense most people have is the cost of their housing, so I
gave a lot of thought to what kind of dwelling would be suitable to the
lifestyle I wanted.
I had no intention of giving up the comforts of a civilized life,
especially since my philosophical principles require no such sacrifice. It
is not at all necessary to settle for what Rand described as Galt's dingy
little quarters:
"a long, bare garret with a bed in one corner and a gas stove in another,
a few pieces of wooden furniture, naked boards stressing the length of the
floor, a single lamp burning on a desk.... the wooden rafters of his
ceiling.... the cracked plaster of his walls, the iron posts of his bed."
Extending the idea of "escape from the moneylenders" to include escape
from other institutions that have economic control over everyday life (the
foremost among them being the utility power companies), I concluded that
what would be appropriate to my goals would be an inexpensive, energy-
independent, mobile dwelling possessing the comforts of modern technology.
I considered living in a motor home, but I quickly discovered that motor
homes and travel trailers are NOT designed for permanent residence, and are
even less than not designed for living in a cold climate, and are certainly not
energy-independent, or even energy-efficient. I wanted a home that would be
inexpensive to construct and maintain, be mobile, and still have all the amenities
of a civilized existence. So I decided to create one myself. I began by doing
renovations of vehicles - converting them into little "rolling homes." I
gradually figured out how to use my knowledge of physics and engineering to
convert an old van, truck or bus into a very nice little house - an inexpensive,
energy-independent, non-polluting, transportable dwelling - for a whole lot less
money than the cost of a new house, or even the cost of a new motor home.
After building several such dwellings - and living in one of them myself for a few
years - I came to realize the truth of Thoreau's observation:
"Most men appear never to have considered what a house is, and are
actually though needlessly poor all their lives because they think that they
must have such a one as their neighbors have."
Either as a permanent alternative to a fixed-box type dwelling, or as a
temporary transition between the city rat-race and a rural existence in the
country, a motor home can offer an inexpensive and comfortable lifestyle.
As a transition device, a motor home offers the city-dweller the means by
which he can get out of the city in whatever spare time he has (weekends,
vacations, holidays) and travel about in the country seeking land and
housing suitable to his desired rural lifestyle. If he does find land
without a dwelling on it, he will have a temporary living arrangement after
he has left the city and is building his permanent home on the land.
It is an excellent way to test your ideas about independent living: you
load up your motor home and trundle up into the mountains. Find a nice,
secluded place and live there for a few months, making a list of all the
things you discover that you don't have and all the things you can't do.
Then you trundle back down into civilization again and start crossing things
off that list. When the list is gone, you are ready to live an independent
life. I want to stress the importance of DOing it experimentally before you
make a full commitment. The actuality is never just what you expect it to
be.
As a permanent residence, I think this sort of home is a wonderful way to
beat the housing racket with its multi-kilobuck lifetime mortgages for
shoddily constructed boxes with built-in and almost irrevocable dependence
on the energy companies. A nice little home can be built in an old school
bus for a modest amount of money and, if carefully done up, will keep you
cozy and warm in the coldest climates (I have lived quite comfortably
through 20 Wyoming winters).
It's amazing what living in a Rolling Home does for your economic
situation. Gone are the mortgage payments. Gone are the rent payments. Gone
are most all of the utility bills (a small house takes much less energy to
heat, and if, like me, you don't drive it too much, gas is a small expense).
Gone are the huge tax bills laid on a stationary house. Sure, there are
still some living expenses but they are a tiny portion of the expenses
associated with a "regular" house. I can live on a MUCH smaller income than
I needed before.
And then, of course, there are all the benefits of mobility. If I don't
like it here I can always fire up this old clunker and trundle off down the
road, seeking warmer climes, more congenial neighbors, or even just a
different view from my window.

Some comments on technology: many people seeking an alternative lifestyle
reject technology. I think this is a mistake. I have a very high regard for
technology - insofar as it is the practical application of human
intelligence and creativity to the problems of living a SANE and SENSIBLE
life in the environment of this planet. What I greatly object to, however,
is the use of technology in irrationally insane manners that inhibit decent
human life and contribute to the destruction of earth's environment. The big
difference between me and many other environmentally concerned people is
that unlike them, I do not advocate the destruction of a pricelessly
valuable tool (technology) just because it is being used by some vicious
people for improper purposes. (Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!)
So I integrated two usually disparate ideas - a profound love for the
ecology and an equally great respect and admiration for technology - and
thereby established a style of life that incorporates all the stated
objectives of the most enthusiastic environmentalist with all the comforts
and conveniences available from modern technology.
I worked on the technological problems of self-sufficient living for many
years, concentrating on the use of solar energy as the primary source of
household power, and I found that a motor home - or a trailer house - makes
a splendid dwelling if it has been designed and constructed to be energy-
efficient (very well insulated) and frugal in its use of heat, water, and
electricity. The operating expenses of such a home can easily be reduced to
a few hundred dollars per year (assuming it stays parked in one place).

The lifestyle I have developed consists of more than just an unusual
dwelling; it is a comprehensive set of practices that have led me to
substantial economic success while reducing the extent to which I am
victimized by the government. Through the practice of this lifestyle, I have
lowered my living expenses to not much more than what I spend in the
supermarket, and an income of less than $200 per month (in 1994) can support
me very comfortably indeed. I have a higher standard of living than anyone
else I know, but my income is so small that I pay no income tax.

http://www.mega.nu/ampp/www.geocities.com/athens/olympus/7695/chaptr14.htm

Subject: Re: Going Galt in a trailer-home Fri Jan 09, 2015 9:36 pm

My tiny house was stolen': Texas couple's $35,000 eco-friendly dream home TOWED by robbers

Going Galt in a trailer-home 246F8CE800000578-0-Love_s_labor_lost_-a-53_1420492840609