Monthly Archives: May 2012

Clever Solar Cooker

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Here’s a clever solar cooker made from an old satellite dish. The dish is covered with a reflective foil, and the design of the dish reflects heat from the sun into a small area above it. A pan is suspended from the old satellite arm. It might take you a couple of minutes to get the exact spot that will pin-point the most heat to the pan. You put your food inside the pan, and in a few minutes you will have warm food. Be careful sticking your hand in the center of the dish, it gets hot. You could use a clamp to hold a pan for your food over the dish. This guy has a BBQ brush hooked on the top of the arm. A clever “stove” that could be handy for a campsite, even an urban one. Hey the “fuel” is free!

Photos below

Uncle Paulie

Solar Cooker made from old satellite dish.

3 New Chapters of Gypsy Book Just Posted

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Those of you following the great work in progress “Gypsies of the New Millennium” now have 3 new chapters to read:  Chapter 7 – Money, Chapter 8 – Van Living, and the Epilogue, where Skip tells it like it is.  Soon to come is a chapter entitled “Further Reading”.  I suggest that you PRINT THIS book out and put in in a binder for future reference.  If you get a nice fat 3 ring binder you can add information to it as you find it.  Skip’s book, published on this web site exclusively is the only classic modern nomadic living book that delves into the deep shadows of our life-style.  This book tells it like it really is, and Skip is providing it here, right now, free of charge.  This is an invaluable gift of information and I sincerely hope you appreciate it.  The information in his book, and on this site has taken years to accumulate.

–Uncle Paulie

Bike Center in Santa Monica offers Showers and Lockers

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Bike Center in Santa Monica

If you carry a bike with you in your van (or if you don’t have one, go to a thrift store and buy a bike helmet and become an illusion of a biker), note that this very cool major bike shop in Santa Monica offers a lot of services, including showers!  A low $15 bucks a month and you got showers!  Towel and/or locker is extra, but is still very reasonable.  They offer a lot of services, bike repairs, education, tours, etc.  If you are camping out in your van “gypsy cool” style on the Westside this might be a spot you will want to go to, it’s near the beach on 2nd near Colorado.  They are open until 10pm. If you are camping in the area for an extended period, the yearly rate is only $299 for membership, including locker, towel and showers.  That’s less than $1 per day, so don’t be stinky, check out this place. Here’s the link:

http://bikeandpark.com/city/santa-monica/locations

Tell a friend about this one.  Paulie is going to try to get some video soon!  If you have a bike, Santa Monica has a lot of great rides.  With the new rail line, the Expo line set to extend that way, you could get to Santa Monica from almost anywhere in LA, (you can also take your bike on the bus).  Or just get there and rent a bike from them.  Lot’s of possibilities here for fun, healthy bicycling, shower, sunshine and great weather on Southern California’s beaches. You can enjoy the world’s greatest weather and laugh at all your dumb friends stuck in their hot-box apartments in the Valley.  (Anyone who has spent a summer in the San Fernando Valley knows that hell is just an afterthought.  In fact, rumor has it that the Devil came up to the Valley one day to check it out, but it was so hot he had to scurry back to Hell to cool off.)

 

 

Great Camping – Van – RV Stuff at Cabela’s Stores

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Cabela’s has lots of great stuff for vans and RVs, including portable toilets, some portable showers, and tons of misc. stuff.  I wish they had a store in California, but they offer good mail order service, and free shipping for orders over $99, which you could easily spend buying essential stuff and bargain prices.  Check out the website:

http://www.cabelas.com/home.jsp?WTz_l=Header

 

Sportsmobile Van Conversions

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Off Road Conversion

Here’s a great van conversion company, located in Texas (They also have a Fresno outlet and one in Indiana).  You can choose your vehicle, then choose floor plan and inside equipment. This company has been around a long time and knows what they are doing, with a very well organized website.  I wish I had the money for one of these, because unlike an RV which stands out in the city, these are “stealth” vehicles and can be parked anywhere.  This is very professional stuff, you could live in one of these indefinitely.  Here is the link to their website:

http://www.sportsmobile.com/