Weirdo camper we lived in

"Stupid is as stupid does." ........ the sage words of Forrest Gump.

Yep.  I've done stupid.  I admit it.  Meh.  *shrugs*

So there I was..  done stupid.  I was broke, less than broke, like hiding from creditors broke..  newly divorced..  and had an 10 y/o girl to raise.

I had gotten myself in to a pickle.  I needed a cheap place to live.  I had one solution..  enter, the ugly as a butthole camper.

This camper was definitely a homemade version of a travel trailer made from what was once a camper on the back of a flat bed truck.  A few years before someone had given my dad this old camper that went on the flatbed of the truck, the guy wanted the use of the flatbed again and just gave the camper to my dad.  It would look like the camper part of this: 

 

 

But only...  minus the truck..  and add about 30 years in age.  But hey, it was free.  My ex and I decided to buy it from dad (he just gave it to us) and we decided to put it on a trailer so we could hitch it on a regular tow hitch off the bumper of our truck.  It sure got some looks, that's for sure.  But really it wasn't too bad, the underside where the over cab was where we kept propane bottles and a tool box, and it was shade for doggies from the sun.  It was about 16' long, but I think that is including the over cab, haha.

On the inside it had the bigger bed that was the over cab section.  A small wet/toilet that was pretty tight, but did what it was made for.  A tiny closet.  A small full kitchen.  And small dinette at the back which made into a small bed.  Hey, for free, you can't beat that!

So anyway, I was down pretty bad and needed some place cheap to live.  And as it was my dad who gave us the camper, I got the camper in the divorce.  It was my cheapest and best option.

Me and my daughter lived in that tiny ugly thing for 6 weeks while waiting for an apartment for low income housing to come open.  But really, it wasn't bad at all!   I parked it at an RV park, they charged at the time (year 2000) about $250 a month for parking, water, sewer and cable.  It was across the street from a grocery store and dollar store.  My job was about a mile away.  All in all, it really wasn't that bad.  It was like camping all the time.  My daughter enjoyed it quite a bit, actually.  We made a game of it.

My ex did try to raise a stink about it when he found out, but after I consulted someone, I found there wasn't anything he could do about it.  There was a roof over her head, she had her own bed, there was a toilet and shower, a stove/oven, a sink, and a refrigerator.  All of her needs were met.

I was finally able to start paying some on those creditors because I was able to live so cheaply.  Why didn't I get it way back then?!   Ugh!  *hits self on head*

Any friend that came to see me just thought the RV was the neatest little thing since sliced bread.  Even old and ugly, they thought it was cool.   I wound up leaving it with a friend of mine after we moved into an apartment, they liked it so much they kept it.   I still don't know what happened to that little rig.  But it did service us very well when we needed her.  Farewell, old friend.


#Camping  #Stories