RTR
I attended the 2019 Rubber Tramp Rendezvous in Quartzite, Arizona from Wednesday, January 9, 2019, to Sunday, January 20th. This is the largest gathering of nomads in the world, people who live in their vehicles. Many choose to be homeless while others had this lifestyle thrust upon them, living in vehicles as small as a Prius to 40-foot school buses. I saw retired Fed Ex trucks, mail trucks, ambulances, Class A, B, and C RVs, home built boxes on truck beds, Airstream trailers, truck campers, and of course, the Chrysler Pacifica minivan I lived in for 12 nights.
Bob Wells, the founder of www.cheaprvliving.com, a website devoted to inexpensive nomadic living, started a Rendezvous of “Rubber Tramps” (named after the “Leather Tramps” who wandered about on their leather shoes during the depression) in 2010. It has since grown to 6,000 last year and probably more this year. Not all are nomads as there were a fair number of “posers” like me and “look seeyers”, people who drove in for the weekend to see what this was all about. “Look honey, there is a homeless man over there!”
While many Rubber Trampers are loners, Bob correctly felt that Rubber Tramps want to socialize with like-minded individuals on a regular basis, similar to the once a year Rendezvous that fur trappers once attended.
Seminars
The RTR had communal activities and seminars with topics like:
- Workamping – making a living on the road by working in parks and RV camps in exchange for a little money and free RV site – Think living in Yosemite National Park from May through September and not paying camping fees.
- Boondocking – living “off-the-grid” without electricity, water, or sewer. Definitely not KOA!
- Free camping – finding free sites on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, National Forest Service, Wildlife Refuges, Walmart and Casino parking lots.
- Stealth camping – camping in public areas such as cities without being detected
- Solar energy – a game-changing source of energy on the road
- Services – establishing a remote official residence and a mail drop
- Safety – how to interact with law enforcement and live with big trucks
- Prospecting for gold – a surprisingly popular topic as many of us still want to strike it rich
There was a Women’s only RTR for 10 days prior to the main event. There were probably as many solo women living in their RVs as men.
Quartzite?!
Surprisingly, this Interstate 10 whistle stop (population 3,644) in western Arizona has 1 million RVs descend upon the area to escape the cold winter. With an altitude of 800 feet, it enjoys relatively mild winter temperatures, ranging from the 40’s at night to the low 70’s during the day with lots of sunshine though we had one 20 hour period of 3 inches of rain … in the desert! Mud city.
Quartzite has many RV parks, Gem and Rock shows, and the Quartzite Sports, Vacation, and RV show. Begun in 1984, it is now billed as “the largest gathering of RVers in the world”. Dealers from as far away as Oregon bring in hundreds of RVs with the intent of selling all of them. Quartzite has become a common destination for RV buyers with routine 30% discounts off MSRP … BEFORE you begin haggling.
So what did I do?
I drove from Virginia and lived in my Chrysler Pacifica minivan, not your typical RV but not uncommon at the RTR. I chose to set up a cot in the van with a 3-inch thermal insulated air mattress and slept quite well inside. I had Reflectix insulation window covers so it was private and dark inside. To change clothes, I had a tall but narrow pop-up tent outside. It also served as a toileting area and a junk closet. Yeah, RTR is known as those people who “poop in a bucket.”
The minivan had the advantages of lower initial cost, great gas mileage, easy driveability and quick setup. I had a small camp seat for sitting and reading and used a solar-recharged LED light.
It is a different rhythm in the winter desert. The frequently spectacular sunsets were between 5:30 and 6:00 pm. After that, the temperature quickly dropped and the sunrise was not until 8:00 am the next morning, fourteen hours later. Hmmm, keep warm and do something interesting without much light. Not surprisingly we had a campfire every night and spent much of the day and evening talking before 10 hours of sleep.
Here are some random photos.
