Northern Alberta Again

 We are back in Northern Alberta, Canada

Well it's been a while since but we moved back up north as Cranbrook, British Columbia didn't really work out quite as planned.

Raewyn's work finished around xmas and Working for Optimistic just wasn't worth my time or effort. You can read my rant in a previous post so we packed up and left on the March the 25th. It was a fairly uneventful trip north but there was an issue as the weather was still into the the minuses at night I figured that the single battery does not hold enough power to run the furnace over night so we decided pick up a generator in Olds, Alberta. 

Our route was pretty much the way that we went south to Cranbrook, BC. Hwy 3 to the princess highway 2 north through Cowtown, Edmonton. We stayed at a Truck stop Junction 42, it's near Gasoline Alley (Red Deere, AB) and if you are familiar with the area Gasoline Alley is nolonger truck or anything longer than 35 feet in length for that matter.

Junction 42 is just a large truck stop with parking area. We parked on the side so that we wouldn't end up with a refrigerated unit or a Swift driver parking next to us. Well the purchase of the generator was a good idea as it was a cold night with lots of snow. We drove to Edmonton, Alberta and up to Peace River where we stayed the night as it was too late to book in to the RV park.

It took about 2 days to get ready to leave Cranbrook as we had to remove all the skirting and store everything ready to move.

Most of the materials used in the wood framed skirting and foam insulation (about $250 CAD) was thrown/given away. One of my goals for 2021 is to make fabric skirting for the RV then at least you can stick insulation to the inside of the skirting, roll it up when finished and take it with you.

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RV'ing in sub zero temperatures

 Yere, it's been cold here in Cranbrook, BC

It's February 10th today and we have spent the last two days without any water to the kitchen. Water to the bathroom has been unaffected thankfully as it's right above the service area where the furnace etc. are located. which is always warm.

The hot and cold water lines run from the service area down under the floor then back about 5 feet then come up through the floor and into the cupboard under the sink. No mystery there but as it turns out there are some low-point drains that poke through the skin that covers the all of the underneath of the RV. We originally thought that as the tanks are heated so should be the path that the water lines follow. I mean that they are close to the ducted heating. The tanks are infact heated as they are close to the furnace ducting.

A heater pointed at the low-point drain fixed the problem within 30 minutes and we were surprised at how easy the fix was. At this point we have three electric heaters in the RV two that basically have been running for about 2 months non-stop and now a third that lives under the RV. This one can be turned on when required to de-ice water lines.

We should be good for about minus 20 degC we hope and besides, it's all a leaning process. I guess in a way we are still getting setup as full-timers and learning how to cope in certain situations but Canadian winters are a challenge.

EDIT: Feb 12, 2021

Last night our furnace stopped working the temperature inside the RV dropped to 15 degC while it was a chilly -26 degC  I noticed it was cooler than it should be in the RV as Raewyn and I were being smothered by Lilly and Tux as their fuzzy, furry coats weren't providing sufficient warmth. I reset the furnace (shut it down then restarted it) and found that it would run for about 20 seconds then shut down. While I come from a technical background I am not familiar with furnaces. A quick trip around YouTube and I came across this little video that addresses the problem. 

The issue was that the sail switch get's coated in dust particles, fluff of fur from pets and prevents the sail switch (a little micro switch with a large fin on it) from closing and allowing propane to flow. It's a safety device that checks that the fan is running before the burners are lit. It's an easy fix which is nice as working in -26 is not fun.

A Dometic furnace with the cover and exhaust ports removed. Circled in red is the location of the sail switch just below is a reset button. Removal is dead easy it's just two screws just be careful removing the switch. 

Switch removed fluff etc. will build up at the base of the long silver switch lever carefully clean of lint and remount in to fan housing and replace the furnace cover and test.

Note: The linked YouTube video is not my property but belongs to this guy Our Road To Camelot It was the first video that was returned when googling "RV furnace runs then shuts down".

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 Wintering in an RV

Well today the 23rd January 2021 was our first real taste of actual cold weather in an RV. Today we discovered that our pipes were starting to freeze. We were lucky enough to get away with just the hot water freezing in the kitchen, all others were unaffected  luckily enough We think that the reason for this is that the bathroom water lines are in the service area underneath the floor next to the passthrough. While the water pipes that run from the service area to the kitchen (a total of about 6 feet) are close to the outer skin under the kitchen floor. We have since added a heater to that area and pointed it down the access pass that runs down the middle of the RV towards the back where the fresh water tank is located.

The heater faces an area where electrical cables and water lines make their way to the kitchen, back further towards the rear of the RV where the fresh water tanks are mounted and the 50 AMP socket is mounted. There is a furnace duct that is dedicated to directing warm air to prevent freezing but It needs some help when it's below minus 15 outside.

Well we did have other issues mainly with the sewer hose. It froze solid We figured the issue arose from too many tight bends and as too gradual slope for the flow from the RV to the RV park's drain. Well, we were partially correct with regards to the bends in the pipe. There is a fair distance for the water to travel but at least it's straight now. It's been around - 15 degrees C for the last 48 hours and water seems to be flowing through okay without it slowly freezing up over time.

A gradual slope with minimal sharp bends in the hose is the way to go. It's about 8 feet with a drop in height of about 2 feet from the RV to the park's plumbing. We check it periodically by tapping it to see if ice is building up in the pipe. If so we run a sink full of hot water to melt it.

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Let me tell you about British Columbia

 Musings about British Columbia

Let me tell you about my experiences with living in southern British Columbia. Please bear with me this page eventually gets back on to the RV topic.

The first time we moved to Oliver, BC

We moved to Oliver in April to work for a winery as I had previously worked in viticulture in Victoria, Australia. 

Yarra Burn Victoria, Australia

I worked for a winery in Oliver, BC, and while the work was similar to Yarra Burn there seemed to be a hierarchy. More than just the chain of command. The "ol'e boy" system that exists in England and to a lesser degree in Australia is alive and well here in southern BC at least.

Yarra Burn was a great place to work, I actually enjoyed my work and the views rolling hills and temperate rainforest. The winery in Oliver included the same kind of work, I was operations manager, which means I basically managed the machinery used in the operation of a vineyard.

So while the work was similar the work ethic and the attitude towards employees is completely different.   

Here in southern British Columbia (the Okanagan and the East Kootenay regions) are the regions that have the mildest climate by Canadian standards. So these regions have typically medium industrial , commercial and alot of hospitality due the amount of tourism in the area. Increased tourism generally will mean low paying jobs and this is what you will get in these areas. I mean the average hourly rate seems to be around $20 - $27 p/hour. which is certainly a meager wage in an area with expensive housing and cost of living when compared to other areas.

Second time in the East Kootenay

Employers in others areas seem to be fine with asking you to do additional work that will be unpaid. I was a bit miffed at this as it does not benefit me financially at all, actually it seems that employees feel grateful for the privilege of being able to work. When I queried a fellow employee they said it was normal and that it's just part of the "sunshine tax" 

Pretty as a picture just don't work there

 The "sunshine tax" It's more a case of tight-assed small/medium companies in a position to screw over it's locals who have limited options of employment.

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Plans for 2021

As seems you can't make a living in Southern BC, anything substantial anyway. we will be possibly heading north again and maybe even wintering in Northern Alberta, this should allow us to eventually winter in the States not withstanding COVID border restrictions.

Raewyn, hasn't experienced the Northern Lights and you need to be up north in the winter to see them in their full spender.

We are currently looking for a heated shed for the winter that will fit our RV and perhaps a car or two. Now this is a task as you could imagine they would be fairly highly sought after. The RV park that we stayed at had some dedicated heated sheds for this purpose. There not cheap but they are a cheaper option than renting a house or a unit as we have animals to consider. 

That's interesting eh? a heated shed for your RV. Not something you would need to consider when living in an RV and Australia has a lot of "grey nomads" full timing and living on the road.

We do figure that 18 to 24 months in the oilfield will be sufficient to catch up financially and to have enough to finally get down south for a work-free winter finally.

I don't get the differences in pay rates in different provinces across Canada. I mean I can understand the differences in mining industry work and other work but similar employment between provinces? It seems to me that in British Columbia people think that $20 p/hour is a reasonable wage when based on the cost of living it should be more like at least $25 p/hour. People here just laugh it off and say it's the "sunshine tax". That's Southern BC for ya'. Don't get me wrong I mean it's not a pretty place and were here as we didn't want to winter unprepared in northern Alberta. It's just the wages, they suck! 

So in all, Rocky Pines RV "resort" is serving it's purpose even if it's located on the side of an unstable hill and I mean unstable as we have had to adjust the leveling jacks on occasion up until the ground started to freeze. They do include a carpark for people here who's vechicles cant get up the hill to their RV's.

Rocky Pines RV Park

We were lucky to get that site as there are alot of RV'ers that cant get south. On the plus side they do have fast internet. The sites electricity is currently un-metered (they have slapped an additional $100 on top of the site fees of  $600 so we have switched as much as possible over to electricity, even bought an additional heater or two to save on propane usage.

So as the moment we are looking leaving on or around mid March.

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Cranbrook, British Columbia

Life in Cranbrook, British Columbia 

We arrived in Cranbrook late October to enjoy the remainder of the warm weather. Rocky Pines RV park is located on the eastern end of Cranbrook just off highway 3.

Rocky Pines RV Park was not our first or second choice for that matter. Cranbrook is not as touristy as Fernie which is just down the road but has a bigger population, we were hoping to spend winter on Vancouver Island but most sites were already booked out due to the Canada/US border being closed. The snowbirds need to go somewhere I guess, as it turns out Cranbrook was a better choice for picking up work quickly.

Cranbrook's main industry is logging and tourism and meth production. The last one is a judgment based on the amount of "tweakers" spotted while driving through town.

Since my time in Canada, I have found that working in BC seems to be treated as a privilege as most employers pay as little as possible and expect far too much for free. Locals just laugh this off and say that it's the "sunshine tax". I guess that is why my bias lies with Alberta.  

Rocky Pines RV Park is on the side of a hill where all the RV spaces are all cramped together with only dead pine trees for shelter. The park does have surprisingly fast internet speed that has a relatively good uptime. All sites have 30 and 50 amp power, water and sewer mounted conveniently halfway on the edge of each site. None of the sites have meters so each site has an additional one hundred on top of the six hundred per month for the site so it's a case of running as much as possible on electricity.   

As the RV park was landscaped in 2019 with power going in 2020, there is no laundromat (construction started in late 2020 with the intended opening in the first half of 2021. There are two laundromats in Cranbrook, a conventional laundromat complete with homeless and tweakers and a drop-off service.

Our first winter

Upon setting our RV at the park we had to look at skirting our RV for the winter and organizing a few 90 Lb. propane bottles. It is an obligation or a condition of wintering at this RV park that you skirt your RV with either a custom skirt or with wooden framing with insulation foam. While this is a common practice it seems wasteful to spend three hundred or so on materials only to give it away when we leave in mid March 2021. 

The general consensus is that skirting is necessary for sub zero camping. We have found that our cougar is good for minus 10 degrees C, we did find that the floor was cold even though the heating was set to 20 degC.

The median temperature in Cranbrook for December are supposedly around minus 5 degC but of late it's been around minus 6 at night to -2 to plus 6 degC I did some work under the trailer and did notice it was significantly warmer so I believe the skirting even in these mild temperatures would be saving in heating costs.

We found that at temperatures above minus 15 degC we have to turn down the furnace as the two small space heaters are sufficient to maintain an average temperature of around 20 degrees inside the RV. There is one distinct advantage  that 5th wheels have over travel trailers (caravans if your an Aussie) is that as the bedroom is the highest point it's generally the warmest room especially when you have a kelpie and a kitty sleeping on you.

Cranbrook, located in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia is similar in climate with The Okanagan which is further to the west. The Okanagan has a higher population with Pentiction and Kelowna both being larger that Cranbrook.

Leaving Peace River, Alberta for Cranbrook, British Columbia

 Heading South for the Winter. Cranbrook, BC

Being the first summer in our RV we were able to set up our little home on wheels for the warmer weather but we figured out that minus 20 Deg C weather was not an ideal first winter for us so I took a 6 month sabbatical from working in northern Alberta so we packed up and headed south, well as far south as COVID would allow. We were originally going to stay on Vancouver Island for it's mild winters. We made a few stops along the way, as we had a few days to get to Cranbrook. It would also mean a stop for a few days at one of the bigger RV parks on the outskirts of Edmonton, Alberta.

Dimond Grove RV Park, is about 6 hours south of Peace River. it's one of those RV parks where your average rig is worth around $250.000 plus. We were greeted by a grumpy RV attendant who guided us into our site and explained ad nauseum about how to back our RV a difficult 30 feet and DON"T DRIVE ON THE GRASS!!! Seriously this guy was as condescending as hell. I figured that this asshole was just used to assisting overly cautious, over cashed retirees reverse the kids inheritance into it's spot. 

The RV site rules were somewhat draconian such as all wood for firepit's and BBQ's had to be bought from the site otherwise "fire privilege's would be rescinded. Other RV park rules were standard as you would expect, such as animals on a lead etc.     

Service with a frown

The site on a daily fee was $50.00 per night, which is the most expensive way to pay for a site but as we were there for three nights it was our only option. RVer's stay at this park. It's open all year around, just don't bring your own fire wood.

Our time in Edmonton allowed us to catchup with friends and Raewyn's family. We left for Lethbridge, AB and encountered 100Km winds which managed to partially remove some of the plastic fender. Like I said, these RV's break. I was surprised as the crosswinds didn't seem to push the RV around. We did notice that the fuel consumption did increase considerably. 

We left Edmonton for Lethbridge to stay with friends then on to Cranbrook, BC where we are going to stay for the winter.

 

Life in the Peace River region of Alberta

 Welcome to Peace River, Alberta

For the duration of our stay in the Peace region allowed us to take stock of the new RV and our new way of life as three days prior we were living in a house in Oliver, BC. Raewyn, was in the process of going back to fulltime study in business & HR management. I was working within the oil and gas sector in the Peace Region. I had already been working fir the same company for two years prior and was fly in and fly out back to Oliver.

When we arrived in Peace River, Alberta the temperatures dropped to below freezing but was a few degrees over by mid morning so our non-insulated water hose for the RV supply would partially  freeze.

As previously mentioned we were over loaded while transporting the RV over the Rockies from Oliver, we needed to continue to go through our stuff to see what we really need and can do without. For the interim and to preserve our sanity we rented a small storage unit through Rendez-Vous RV park. While the reader might think "out of site out of mind" it still allowed us some space to go through stuff over the next 6 months. One benefit of COVID was that the holiday season for Northern Alberta was relatively quiet, particularly as roads crossing into the Territories were closed for the season.

The bulk of guests at the RV park were employed within the energy sector or working in construction twinning the bridge across the Peace River and various projects around the region. Due to the extremes in climate most construction happens in the warmer months. 

Yep, people live in RV's in -40 Deg C

During our time we were hoping to take some time out to travel and explore the local area unfortunately due to the COVID restrictions that were inplace at the time and my workload traveling the area was fairly restricted. 

High Level, Alberta

We did get to relocate to High Level, Alberta which is about 3 hours North from Peace River, Alberta for a few weeks which was made easier with the bulk of our stuff in our storage unit. What can I tell you about High Level? It's a town in the middle of nowhere, it's about as far north as you can grow wheat even for that it's pretty marginal as the summer season is so short. The main income is from oil and gas and forestry with some tourism mainly hunting and fishing. Any further north and it's mainly tundra and muskeg.

How to constructively break stuff

We were soon to discover how easy it is to break stuff in the RV. Cabinets and fittings are fairly fragile not to mention keep an eye out when opening and closing slides particularly in the kitchen and under the bed as where there seems to be alot of unused space. It's amazing how well a slide can crush pots and pans!

While you can store kitchen stuff there don't close that slide!

We learnt early on on that before you open and close slides be sure to check that cupboard doors, and that crush spaces are clear of obstacles as not only do they get damaged they can cause damage to the slides themselves.

For all of the wood grained paneling there isn't a large mount that is actually made out of wood. it's mostly MDF with a plastic coating. This generally means that fixtures and fittings fall off or can be damaged through general use and while the RV is being towed down the road.

As someone said its like a house in a tornado/earthquake for the duration of the trip.

There is a reason for the materials used in the construction of an RV that is weight. The RV has to be built to be within the weight that the axles are rated to and ofcourse the towing capacity of the vehicle and license restrictions that may apply. A basic tool kit and some items such as screws, plumbing fittings and glue will come in handy. Most of the repairs we have had to do since we bought the 5th wheel have been fairly basic such as replacing broken plumbing fittings due to a few cold and frosty mornings, remounting cabinet doors and anything else likely to fall off.

 

Traveling from Oliver, British Columbia to Peace River, Alberta

Oliver, British Columbia to Peace River, Alberta.

We left Oliver in mid April 2020, with the aim of staying overnight in Jasper just over the border in Alberta in the Rockies. The journey involved heading north through the Okanagan, British Columbia. So it was a good test with the RV loaded, being a 5th wheel I found it easier to pull than a travel trailer with more even weight distribution on the front and rear axles on the Ford. This journey was the first time we pulled the trailer with all our worldly possessions. The trip took us over a few mountain passes with about 10 hours in total, allowing for a few stops to take the odd photo, coffee and to check wheels and tyres. When you're towing it pays to plan your trip with plenty of time to complete your journey as bouncing down your typical Alberta road you're going to end up with broken plates and your stuff bouncing everywhere. 

The route we took through the Okanagan and the Rockies to Jasper, BC. When we arrived in Jasper, as we were just there for the night we found some off-street parking and opened the bedroom slide.

Fortunately when all slides are in you can still access the bathroom, the stovetop and the bed. One disadvantage we found with the RV is that the 12 volt batteries that power the lights, slides, leveling jacks and the furnace are only charged when the RV is plugged into the towing vehicle. When we were checking all the functions on the RV we found that the single 12 volt battery was pretty much discharged after extending the slides and setting the auto-leveler, which lowers the four stands and levels the RV. So while on the road we couldn't afford to flatten the battery so we only extended the bedroom slide for the night. Later in Peace River we would eventually add a trickle charger to the battery however this would only charge the battery when plugged into a mains power outlet or connected to a generator.

Trickle charger maintains battery charge

We found that running the lights, furnace would discharge the battery to about fifty percent during the day and recharge overnight. Something that needs to be corrected this coming spring in 2021 is to add an additional battery and solar panel on the roof. While this will not be enough to run the air conditioner it will be sufficient for lights slides and furnace. 

When we reached Jasper  for our overnight stay the temperatures were around 2-3 deg C and out first night of sleeping in the RV. As we didn't unhook the Ford it was just a matter of retracting the bedroom slide a quick coffee and we were on our way. The day's travel we would continue our drive through Rockies to Hinton in Alberta where we would then head North through to Grande Prairie, Alberta.

The route levels out once you are close to Hinton, Alberta. As you head north to Grande Cache, Alberta the terrain changes to rolling undulating hills and rough secondary roads. Grande Prairie was the main stop along the way for a break before the final leg of the journey. 

We had to arrive at the RV park by 8 in the evening to check in and to allow time for RV site staff to show us where the sight that we booked was located. As Peace river is located fairly North that it was daylight until 10pm so setting up late in the evening wasn't going to be an issue. We arrived just after 8pm after going via Rycroft and Grimshaw.

Due to COVID the park was relatively empty when we arrived in March. there are 2 sections to the park the northern side being the newest has smaller wind brakes but is closer to the council park and trout pond. The RV park was mainly inhabited by people working on the new Peace River bridge. While we were there a few families stopped at the park but numbers were down through the peak holiday season. You know people RV here in the winter? Indeed, even with the regions' minus 40 degC winters. People actually do stay here over the winter in Peace River and this park is open all year around but we didn't want to try this for our first winter in our RV.

Yep, that pond is stocked in spring. The layout of the RV park and council park means that this RV park was ideal for pets

One thing we did learn while setting the 5th wheel up was that it can be completed in a relatively short time. Once we backed the trailer into the site set the legs and stabilizer legs, extended the slides, connected power, water and waste water  we were pretty much setup within one hour and we learnt that once you have stopped once inside use caution when opening kitchen cupboards as everything had moved around, thanks Alberta roads.

Home sweet home for the summer at least.

If you're in the Peace River area the Rendez-Vous RV Park is worth a look. 950 Woods Rd, Peace River, AB T8S 1Y9 Phone: (780) 618-1345.

An aussie a kiwi and a 5th wheel

If you take a kiwi and an aussie

This blog is about an Aussie and a Kiwi couple who lived and worked in Australia, migrated to Canada in 2015 and are now living the RV life in Canada. It is not a "how to" or a "guide" for living the RV life. It is just the thoughts and experiences of a couple who never thought that their house would have wheels and the transformation and changes that led to the RV life. You can draw from this blog what you will and , I would hope it will give a view into the mindset that if you apply yourself you can achieve your goals . Life is not a destination it's a journey.

Just to bring you up to speed

Raewyn had lived and schooled in Pukekohe, New Zealand. After finishing schooling in NZ, Raewyn scrimped and saved to holiday and "to see what would happen" in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Up to this point I had lived my life in Adelaide, Australia managing wool harvesting operations.

Raewyn and I met online 12 years later in a Microsoft "IT" chat room when I was working on a mixed farming operation in Eastern Victoria. After various share house accommodation situations in Adelaide and Melbourne. Chasing cows, sheep and planting crops wasn't all it's cracked up to be so I went back university to study project management and software development in Adelaide. We moved to Melbourne and rented in Brunswick the Goth capital of the world.

We were both living the cosmopolitan lifestyle in Brunswick and working in the trendy parts of Melbourne. Our story does not finish here. Australia we bought a place in the Yarra Valley in Eastern Victoria, Australia 

Raewyn and I were living in the beautiful Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia. We purchased a property nestled in a temperate rainforest that forms part of the Melbourne rainwater catchment area. The Yarra Valley had all the benefits of living the country life with being within a commutable distance from the CBD of Melbourne, that is if you didn't mind making public transport or your car a second place of residence.

Raewyn on her way to the platform at Lilydale on the outskirts of Melbourne, Victoria prior to working in eastern Melbourne. You know the 7:15am train was full three stops later at Croydon and it still had six stops to go as an express service. I guess I could insert a sardine can comment here. All was worth it considering we had this to come home to. 

Raewyn was a contract administrator for a division of Goodyear based in Bayswater on the eastern edge of the Melbourne CBD which is a handy commute via automobile. While I was working as a network admin (InfoSec) for Lloyds Register based in Docklands, Melbourne. We were living the DINK (double income, no kids) lifestyle indeed.

As previously stated the daily commute was inhumane, I eventually moved into viticulture and was working at a local winery called Yarra Burn just a leisurely 20 minute commute in the trusty Toyota Land Cruiser.

How we ended up in Canada

The year was 2014 and the Australian economy was beginning to very much look like a recession.

Raewyn was retrenched from Goodyear which was eventually bought out by German interests. After a few temp positions it was suggested that Raewyn could find better work in Edmonton Alberta, Canada. She missed her bud's in Edmonton anyway, so why not. So she packed her bags on a six month jaunt to the northern hemisphere. The plan was to reassess the situation in six months. It was at this point it was suggested that I should apply for permanent residency. So I made the application and started the renovations required to get the fortress of solitude in the Yarra Valley on the market. 

Vancouver, BC shares similarities with Melbourne, Australia. 

Meanwhile Raewyn was working to ATCO in Edmonton. I landed in Vancouver (pronounced Vangcoova) and processed my permanent residency then proceeded to miss my flight to Edmonton, a 12 hour long-haul flight does wonders for the soul. As a suggestion, fly Air Canada as they are more liberal with the booze.

We moved to Lethbridge in Alberta where I worked for a precision farming company running commercial sprayers and Raewyn was cooking the books for a local realestate company. We relocated to Oliver in the Okanagan, British Columbia for better quality booze and the chance to get some plonk on the cheap. We resided in Oliver for two years enjoying the mild winters and hot summers where it was so hot that you could fry an egg on a shovel in less then three minutes. Okanagan is the upper reaches of the Sonoran Desert, which extends through California and Mexico. Oliver, is an awesome place to be in Summer that is unless you have a fan to sleep under and yere, it's hot by Australian standards. It's an awesome place for water sports with close proximity to multiple lakes nestled in the Southern Canadian Rockies.

While Raewyn and I don't have an "expert palate" we do know what a good wine should taste like. After all we lived in one of the best wine growing regions in Australia, where a shiraz slaps you in the face and says. "Hey! I'm I'm a shiraz!". The Okanagan is a much younger wine growing region did you know they actually make wine in Canada? Hell yere, sure were going to grow as many varieties as possible and were going to grow it in rocks and sand!

This means that wine in the Okanagan needs to stand out, which it does however the pallet is going to be more subtle and refined you need to get in quick post harvest or you will miss out.

So let me recap, at this point Raewyn is now a fry chief at a local bank and yours truly is implementing a spray program for Burrowing Owl.

Now enter COVID and the downturn in the British Columbia economy. Raewyn is retrenched from the financial institution and takes a role at Hidden Chapel Wines in Oliver. Great! more opportunity for cheap plonk.

At this point the author moves to a oil and gas company in Peace River, Alberta for some extra spending money. The full effects of COVID are felt in the Okanagan with the closures of "non essential services" (which means cellar door sales). Meanwhile we come up with the idea of living in a 5th wheel. Well actually we met a few families that are already doing the "5th wheel thing" and were enjoying the lifestyle. Some seemed to be more stationary than mobile While this seemed to be a option for some people we felt that if our house is going to have wheels were going to make them turn.

It seems that there are a few categories that people who chose to live in an RV fall into.

You have the retirees in the $200,000 plus 5th wheel or Class A motorhome (usually a Prevost) who are spending the kids inheritance while they take a 12 month sabbatical around Canada and the States.   

The Prevost, big bucks.

The next category would have to go to the RV that hasn't moved in the last few years and wont for the foreseeable. When you find yourself in the Okanagan, British Columbia why would you move. I mean it's credited as having the mildest winters by Canadian standards and hot during the summer even by an Aussie's who has a tolerance to the baking Central Australian temperatures. 

Seasonal workers and the semi-retired who winter down in Arizona and Texas. Due to COVID and the border closures winter options are Vancouver Island, which as of October 2020 is currently at critical mass with Snow Birds who couldn't make the trip south. The more determined are having their RV shipped south of the border then are flying to the states to continue on with their winter escape to the south.  I'm sure this was frowned upon by inhabitants within the US however, apparently it works both ways as American RV'ers were found to be having a lovely little holiday in Canada whilst on their way to Alaska. Taking in the sights of the Banff and Jasper national parks.

The next category that we find is the seasonal worker, Summers in the Northern Canada working in the energy sector and South to warmer climates taking on various roles in southern Canada, typically British Columbia. Raewyn and I seem to fit into this category When British Columbia government deemed cellar door sales as a "non essential service" we picked up a Keystone Cougar.

  

How to make it all fit

The next issue was how to fit the contents of a one bedroom with study, kitchen with large entertaining/dining and make it fit into a 34 foot 5th wheel. First of all we had to go through everything and determine what we needed, then reassess what we actually needed. I mean, the RV looked fairly roomy with all the slides out minus any possessions onboard. At least we had the summer ahead to continue to figure out what works and doesn't within the confines of the RV as the issue is not only the ability of being able to live and work from the RV but the axle weight.

A 34 foot Keystone Cougar as a dry weight of 5,500 Kg which leaves a meager 600Kg for personal belongings. The vehicle that was to pull our new tenant on wheels has a towing capacity of 9,500Kg. 

Looks spacious enough when it's empty, we were able to include a study for Raewyn. 

The advantages of a 5th wheel is the high ceiling particularly in winter as heat rises and heats the bedroom as the front of the RV is over the 5th wheel hitch.

We managed to make most of the important fit. We started with the kitchen and quickly discovered that you can't store multiple of the same item. The advantage of a 5th wheel over a travel trailer (like a caravan in Australia and Europe for that matter) is additional storage space under the bedroom.

We found that the range and the oven is considerably smaller than a residential stove. The oven is 15 by15 inches so most of our baking pans needed to be replaced. No problem, after all it's just the two of us living in the RV.  It's a small kitchen with a maximum occupancy of one person but everything is within arms reach.

We found that in the warmer weather seemed to spend alot more time outside than compared when living in our house. So cooking on BBQ's is a regular occurrence. The dining table only comfortably sits two anyway. I have to admit that that oven has the most accurate thermostat in RV history. We did need to place a pizza stone on top of the heat diffuser to prevent food from getting too hot at the base.

 Rendes Vous RV park in Peace River, Alberta. A new park adjacent council parks and a fully stocked trout pond. Peace River, great from mid spring till mid fall. Minus 40C in winter.

The bedroom is roomy enough considering it's an RV, just don't get out of bed too quick otherwise you will hit your head on the top of the slide. The wardrobe in generous in size even for winter and summer clothes

With most of the storage aside. Yes, when we left Oliver, British Columbia the combined weight of the RV and towing vehicle was 10, 500 Kg, a clear 1,000 Kg overweight and left for the Peace Region, Alberta.