The last couple of weeks have finally started to settle after a winter preparation and unexpected challenges from Mother Nature. This whole off-grid living experiment has become a lot more fun and a lot less stressful. I’ve learned so much already and have slowly adapted to a new normal.
Last week was all about sitting back and seeing what Mother Nature had in store. By Sunday, the forecasted snowstorm had been significantly downgraded—any snow on Monday would supposedly turn to rain quickly with “little or no accumulation.”
Mother Nature: “Hold my beer.”
Surprise! It’s a Blizzard.
Monday morning, I woke up to falling snow.
By mid-morning, it still wasn’t turning to rain. In fact, it was coming down harder. By midday, it was clear the forecast had been completely wrong and snow was accumulating fast.
That afternoon, I drove into town to pick up my new battery and WiFi router, only to find over a foot of fresh snow in some places. So much for “little or no accumulation!”
By evening, the snow on my property was as high as my boots, easily 10 inches deep. Up valley in Mazama? Friends were reporting nearly 30 inches!
This was a massive snowstorm for Twisp anytime during the winter, let alone this early in the season. But let’s be honest, nothing makes me happier than a huge snow dump, and this was glorious.
I “plowed” my driveway by driving my truck around in circles and then grabbed my Hoks. Hudson and I spent the afternoon skiing all over the property, playing in the snow like kids. It was ridiculously fun.
As I stood in my winter wonderland, I realized I sure wasn’t towing the Airstream out of here anytime soon.
Instead of feeling nervous or worried, I felt more relaxed than I had in a long time. Maybe because I had no choice. It was clear I wasn’t going anywhere. Many friends had told me to pack up and head to Arizona for the winter. And sure, that would have been the logical thing to do. But on Monday, as the snow fell all around me, I knew without a doubt this was exactly where I wanted to be.
Internet… in a Cooler?
Monday turned out to be exciting on multiple fronts.
First, gobs of snow. Then? Internet in a cooler.
I know, my life is riveting.
That evening, I unpacked my new $20 router, plugged it into my battery, and tucked them both into a small cooler I had picked up at the hardware store. Then, I set the cooler outside, plugged in my NCI wireless satellite, and…
Voila!
For the first time since moving onto my property, I had high-speed internet.
The cooler actually worked! The heat from the battery and router kept everything warm despite the freezing temperatures. Though my little Skyroam hotspot had kept me working and connected for the last few months, my bandwidth limitations virtually nixed any kind of movie streaming. That evening with my internet in a cooler, I curled up with a hot chocolate and watched a movie on Netflix.
It’s funny what starts to feel like luxury when you’re living off-grid. Before bed, I went outside, unhooked the satellite, and brought my little “internet cooler” inside for the night.
Off-grid living sure has its moments.
Tales of terrible thermostats.
With temperatures dipping into the 30s, I had been running my furnace a lot more, which meant dealing with one of my least favorite things about the Airstream:
The god-awful stock mechanical thermostat.
Why do they install these things!?
Problem #1: Because the thermostat is mechanical, every time the furnace turned on and off, the thermostat made a loud TWANG, like someone plucking a steel guitar string inside the walls.
It was so obnoxious that it scared me awake every single time.
Problem #2: The lowest temperature setting was 50°F, which, despite seeming chilly, was way too warm.
- I prefer to sleep cold with tons of blankets.
- Running the furnace at 50°F all night was horribly inefficient and wasted propane and battery power and created tons of condensation.
- On sunny days, I didn’t need the furnace at all since solar heating kept the Airstream at a comfortable 55-60°F.
I had zero desire to keep dealing with the thermostat’s nonsense. Most nights, I turned the furnace off, set an alarm for 2 a.m., got up half-asleep to turn it on for an hour, then shut it back off.
Obviously, this was not sustainable. What I really needed was a quiet thermostat that had a temperature setting lower than 50°F.
The Great Thermostat Upgrade
After some RV forum research, I found that someone had replaced their mechanical Airstream thermostat with a $20 Honeywell heat-only digital version that could be set as low as 35°F.
I ordered one immediately.
On Thursday, with temperatures set to drop into the 20s overnight, I decided to risk it all and install the new thermostat right then and there.
If I screwed it up? Well, I’d likely be spending the night in subfreezing temperatures with no furnace.
Hey, what could go wrong?
Turns out it was one of the easiest projects I’ve done! I disconnected the batteries and unscrewed the old mechanical thermostat from the wall. Sure enough, there are only two wires that have to be disconnected and reconnected and it’s nearly impossible to get it wrong. There is an “R” (red) and “W” (white). Of course, they’re not color coded, but there are labels on the thermostat. You just have to pay attention which one is connected to the R and which one is the W and not get them crossed.
I hooked the wires into the new thermostat and carefully put a new screw hole in the wall for the backplate. Naturally the existing screw holes didn’t line up. I snapped the cover on and everything seemed ok. I held my breath, flipped the batteries back on, and turned the switch to heat.
Voila! My furnace fired up and everything worked!
Now I set the furnace at 40, which is the perfect overnight temperature for me. I’ve slept so good without that obnoxious twanging and the furnace only runs a few times overnight.
I can also leave for the day and set the furnace at 38 or 40 to prolong my battery and propane while I’m gone. A big key to off-grid living is smart power consumption and this thermostat has been an easy, cheap upgrade with huge payoffs. I only wish I had done it sooner!
I believe in you.
This past week marked 30 days of off-grid living on my land, and every day, I feel like I’m solving another piece of the puzzle.
With reliable high-speed internet, I can work remotely without a hitch. With my new thermostat, I’m using less battery power and propane.
And the best part? The snow just keeps coming!
This weekend, Hudson and I spent hours ski touring in fresh powder just minutes from home. Pure bliss.
I also got a visit from some dear Airstream friends who have been full-time RVers for years. As we swapped stories over a glass of wine, they told me, without hesitation, that they had zero doubt I would make it through the winter.
It feels good when people believe in you, especially if you’re not sure you believe fully in yourself!
No Place I’d Rather Be.
One evening, I stepped outside to take in the dark, starry sky. Okay, technically it was only 5:30 p.m., but this time of year it felt like midnight. The thermometer read 28°F. A month ago, that would have seemed freezing. Now? It didn’t feel cold at all.
All my worries about whether I could survive winter in an Airstream suddenly felt like a distant memory.
Sure, I know there will be more challenges ahead. A mechanical issue with my batteries or furnace could be a big deal.
But standing under those stars, I felt proud and empowered of everything I had already figured out.
And despite the challenges? I wouldn’t trade this snowy, wild winter in the Methow for a sunny season in Arizona. Not in a million years!
