The Gypsy Tour - A Retrospective
Written May 20, 2004
It was the ultimate road trip! We spent 9 months on the road, from August 2003 to
April 2004, traveling from place to place, with no rules about what to see or how
long we would stay at any given place. Our home was our Eurovan Camper, and our
front porch was the world!
As I write this - just a few weeks after returning - I already long for the freedom
and space the gypsy life provided. If Margaret enjoyed it more, and mortgage rates
weren't climbing, we'd still be on the road, perhaps for years. I love nature, and
I love traveling. I can think of nothing more satisfying than watching squirrels
go about their business, listening to birds sing their happy songs, or going for
a walk and not seeing another person the whole time.
Significant events:
August 24, 2003 - Roger and Margaret marry in Boulder, CO.
August 27 - September 11, 2003 - Two week test trip to Montana
and Canada.
September 24 - November 8, 2003 - Tour the northeast United States,
visiting Chicago, Niagara Falls, the Adirondacks, Vermont, New Hampshire, Boston,
Lancaster County, Washington, D.C.,West Virginia, Kentucky, St. Louis.
November 9 - December 5, 2003 - Back to Colorado because the house
went under contract. Host a few goodbye dinners for friends, pack up and sell the
house, and move all belongings to Santa Rosa, California and put in storage shed.
December 6 - January 1, 2004 - Visit Margaret's childhood friends
and parents in northern California. Crash at Margaret's dad's place. Since the dog
Kiya is not allowed at the apartment, drop her off with Boulder friend Mona.
January 2 - February 1, 2004 - Margaret stays in California to
pursue a new career in law, while Roger heads to Wisconsin (picking up Kiya along
the way) to spend a few weeks visiting his parents. Leaving Margaret was a hard
decision, but I still had a strong urge to travel. Don't worry, the marriage was
fine - Margaret and I talked on the phone about an hour a day, and I intended to
join Margaret in California when I was done being a gypsy.
February 2 - 19, 2004 - Roger heads to Florida to meet his folks
and Margaret. The four of us take a Royal Caribbean cruise Feb 7 - 14, after which
Margaret spends another few days with Roger before flying back to California to
resume establishing her new career. Roger and Kiya stay in Florida.
Febuary 20 - April 5, 2004 - Roger and Kiya settle down in Florida
so Roger can work on his software project. He rents a tent spot with electricity
near Ocala for a month. He has a few diversions where he visits friends and his
first ever VW campout, but mostly he works on the computer all day.
April 6 - April 23, 2004 - Roger and Kiya depart Florida and drive
west, visiting museums, swamps, forests, and deserts along the way. On April 23,
Roger and Kiya reunite with Margaret in Petaluma, CA! The Gypsy Tour ends, leaving
us refreshed and invigorated.
Quick facts
- Miles logged: 30,0000
- Length of trip: 9 months, from August 2003 to April 2004
- # of travelers: 3 from August to December (Roger, Margaret, and dog Kiya); 2 for
remainder (Margaret was itching to get a job)
- # of mechanical breakdowns: 0
- # of campgrounds: < 10. We preferred to stay at free places, such as national
forests, rest areas, Wal-Marts, and friends' houses.
- Most expensive campground: Washington, DC. $37, after our AAA discount.
- Cheapest campground: West Virginia, $5. Also happened to be secluded and on a
beautiful lake. Nearly paradise if not for the Japanese beetle invasion.
- Friendliest people: Vermont. They were absolutely wonderful.
- Most interesting event: Meeting the Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Check
out the November 1 diary entry to read all
about it.
- Favorite place: Southern Utah. The desert is teaming with life if you look for
it, and the massive canyons are spectacular!
- Least favorite place: New York City. Full of concrete, steel, and car exhaust.
We could only handle one day before we had to escape to the country.
- # of ticks we pulled from Kiya: About 10.
- Cell phone bill: $120/month, which included unlimited 56 Kbps internet access
- Mortgage, electric, water, sewer, and garbage bills: $0.00
10 Best Things About the Trip
- No responsibilities!
- Hanging out with Margaret all day
- Seeing birds and animals I've never seen before
- Seeing landscapes I've never seen before
- Seeing the personalities of small towns around the country
- Museums
- Reading the local paper, and listening to NPR
- Feeling connected with nature
- Being able to engage in fun hobbies (reading, programming)
- Getting away from suburbia
About the camper
The VW Eurovan Camper was the perfect choice for us! We considered full size conversion
vans, pickup campers, even RV's. But they all have significant downsides, most notably
poor gas mileage and lack of maneuverability.
We settled on a newer 1999 to help ward off breakdowns, and the plan worked. Oil
changes and new tires were the only reasons we visited shops on the trip, with one
exception: The check engine light came on at one point, which was traced to the
leak detection pump. That took $500 to fix, but considering it was the only problem
in 30,000 miles, I can shrug it off.
I spent a lot of time getting the van ready for the trip. I added shelves, drawers,
satellite radio, an indoor/outdoor temperature gauge, and much more. Check out the
EVC Mods page for more.
Ten Great Features About the Camper
- Great gas mileage (about 21 mpg)
- Fridge, stove, sink, bed, and furnace all in a vehicle that fits in a single parking
spot
- Agile and easy to drive (for a camper). While it is no sports car, there is excellent
visibility out the windows, and driving it is a piece of cake.
- Not having to turn around when you get to a sign that says "RVs not allowed"
- Low step-in height
- Large water and propane tanks mean we can be self-sufficient for up to a week
before needing refills
- Good lighting, giving us bright lights when needed and small handy reading lamps
when going to bed
- Ability to stealth camp. Can park on any street for the night, and you just look
like a minivan (if you keep the top down)
- Furnace for those cold nights
- Comfy front seats with plenty of leg room. I could drive all day and not get the
least bit sore.
Ten Not-So-Great Features About the Camper
- Low ground clearance
- The quality of some of the camper items is questionable.
- Maintenance and repair costs are high. Some oil change places won't touch it.
- Engine won't start when passenger seat is swiveled, and no idiot light tells you
why your engine isn't starting. We nearly had to get it towed until we figured it
out.
- Squeaks and rattles when driving
- Wasn't designed to make best use of precious storage space. Had to spend dozens
of hours improving this.
- 2 adults and a 50 pound dog make for a tight squeeze, especially if the weather
is cold and you're passing away the day inside
- No bathroom or shower
- No freezer
- Deep cycle battery only powers laptop for a day or two, forcing us to seek alternative
energy sources
Lessons learned
The most important preparation Margaret and I made was a two-week test trip just
after the wedding. When we returned, we learned a lot about what worked, and what
didn't. We learned yet more things after spending months on the road. Here are the
significant findings:
- Above all else, make sure every item has a "home", and store it there when you're
not using it. Letting stuff lie around will quickly clutter up the van. This includes
shoes. We built special shoe holders that kept them
up and out of the way.
- One person and a dog uses about 12 gallons of water a week. Since the water tank
is 12 gallons, that means you need to refill about once a week. If you take two
showers a week in a sun shower, add 4 gallons.
- The 8 gallon gray water tank fills up just when the fresh water tank is getting
empty. The sizes are well balanced.
- If you are running your fridge on propane, you can expect a full tank to last
several weeks (assuming 70-75 degree days). Using the furnace will really cut into
that, though.
- If you're really, really disciplined, you can do without the Rocket Box. With
the limited interior space, I thought for sure we'd need extra storage room, so
I mounted the Rocket Box on the roof. But this came with the price of a heavier
roof that was difficult to raise and lower. And, it turned out we just didn't have
that much stuff to store up there. While it certainly was useful, I think next time
I'd leave it at home.
- Leave the bikes at home, or make sure your bike rack isn't a big hassle to use.
Ours was. It was a hitch mounted rack, and every time we needed to raise the hatch,
we'd have to lower the bike mount.
- The eastern US has far more rules and regulations than the west, unless you're
talking about the far west, like California, where there are lots of rules again.
- The lack of counter space makes cooking difficult. It's tough to wash and dice
your veggies, so I resorted to V8. One dish meals like mac and cheese, chicken sandwiches,
and bean soup becomes the norm.
- If you're traveling with another person, don't take the dog, unless you totally
love him or don't really have a choice. The van gets crowded quickly. If you're
traveling by yourself, then take the dog.
- Take a laptop and buy a cable so you can use your cell phone to connect to the
internet. Of course, if you're not a slave to computers and your email, then leave
the whole thing at home.
- Connecting to the internet inside national forests is nearly impossible, but making
a phone call is pretty easy. I used Verizon, and at this moment it's unlikely any
other company is better.
- Unless you plan to stay at campgrounds, bring along a sun shower.
- Remove your closet doors, and add shelves.
- Get satellite radio. All the local radio stations are run by Clear Channel anyway,
so you're not missing anything.
- National forests are the absolute best way to camp! We'd drive along a forest
service road until we found a quiet, out of the way spot. The dog can run off leash,
there are no neighbors, and it's totally free. How can you improve on that? (Well,
ok, a toilet and shower would be handy.)
If you're thinking about a trip of your own, I'd highly encourage it! If you have
any specific questions, feel free to contact us.