Travels With Miranda

Talking with my Franco-Ontarian neighbours yesterday, we somehow got on the subject of the layout of our rigs.

I told them that I could not live in a class A like theirs because they are too open for me and therefore feel very small. Some class Cs, like mine, are much more like an apartment with several rooms, so I can have an office and then use the overcab bunk to sleep.

The gal replied, “Oh, you sleep up there!”

And her husband wistfully replied, without a hint of sarcasm, “Man, I wish my RV had two stories.”

I’ve been following Tioga George‘s roof makeover adventure and one thing has left me dumbfounded: he only has one roof vent/hatch left.

My roof hatches are one of Miranda’s best features! I have one in the study, one in the dressing room with a fan (plus a skylight over the shower), a giant escape-sized one in the kitchen, and a little one above the bed in the loft. I do block the latter one with a block of styrofoam for darkness, but I’d be lost without the other three.

The study and dressing room hatches have a cover over them, so I can have the hatches wide open when it rains and have fresh air when it’s impossible to keep the windows open. The roof hatches also let less noise in than do open windows, so I can shut myself in to do transcription but still breathe fresh air. If I’m going away for the day, I can securely let some air into the rig without worrying about granting miscreants easier access. The hatch in the kitchen can’t be left open in the rain or if I’m leaving the rig, but it adds tons of light in the front part of the room:

Even closed and with covers over them, the two rear hatches let in a lot more light than would a closed ceiling.

What are my readers’ thoughts on RV roof vents/hatches?

Jody and I went to another small RV show and sale this afternoon. I was much more impressed with the units on display this time! Last time was mostly Keystone and this time was mostly Jayco. Again, there were no motorhomes to speak of since Albertans have a truck culture and therefore favour trailers and 5ers.

Here are a few things that caught my eye:

Jody and I went to a small RV show this evening. Neither one of us was impressed by the offerings. We’ve concluded that we need to get into the RV design business!

Here are some shots of things that caught my eye:

The week has been bitter cold, with day-time temperatures dipping into the mid negative 20s, with the windchill nearing -40. I don’t even want to get into the nighttime temperatures! I went for a quick walk on Monday afternoon, but heeded the frostbite warning the last two days and limited my outdoor time to running around between my buildings. I’ve also had a huge transcription project the last three days that ate up the rest of my days. So I haven’t had much of a change of scenery for four days. Today, it’s a balmy-feeling -18, so I’ve decided to walk the two blocks to Montana’s for dinner!

In the RV, having to do several days of hard work with no real opportunity to go outside hasn’t made me feel claustrophobic. I get to prepare and have my meals in another room and at the end of the day, I can retire to the front room to decompress before moving to the loft. In The Apartment, I have to stare at the same four walls all day. It’s slowly becoming an insufferable situation. While I am thrilled to be in a warm place this week, I am very glad I only have about eight weeks left to go before I can move back home. This winter has proven to me that it is the number of rooms in my home, not the square footage, that determines how happily I can live there. If I had to stay on in Lethbridge in The Apartment for any longer, I would be quite content to remain there, but I would get furniture that would allow me to separate my spaces. Not that I need to think about that!

One of the things that I will doubly appreciate when I return to Miranda is the fridge. Do you housebound folks have any idea how LOUD a compression fridge is?!

In other news, a tenant must have noticed that I was working late this aftenoon and brought me a cup of tea and a slice of banana cream pie. There are perks to working here.