Digging the deep diamonds

Oh, hey. No I didn't lose my fingers in a circular saw accident. Nor will I, ever! But before you go saying "oh, he fell off", consider this: no, nevermind. No excuses. I just took some other work for a while is all. Had to. The money ran out.

The first girl I ever dated, my highschool sweetheart tore me away from playing my beloved guitar for pretty much a solid year. Not that I'd blame her. Its just a natural tendency to follow the shiniest object. Anyway this break was kind of like that. You come back with a newfound cynicism and contempt for all of your old ideas. This is in my opinion, the basis of all good creative endeavors. Good works just emerge from tension.

There are some very big ideas that I'm not ready to write right yet. Or maybe readers aren't ready to hear them. Things might get different and scary around here for a while. Hell, I might even begin editing my posts before I slap em up here. And stop using so many sentence frags and parenthetical (fat chance).

What I can show is a few things that have gotten me going. I think certain communities will have strong feelings one way or another and I hope they see this. What I won't say is how I think of what's going on here. It's more of a scopophilic consumer indulgence.

***Also as a caveat, I do not claim any of these photos as my own property, I'm just appropriating them here. Nor do I claim that they aren't 'shopped***

Sprinter

Shitty Lo-RES photo.
associated vehicle & floorplan

Volkner








CONTRAST



Watch out Sean Connor! T-1000 is pissed and he is trying to take a stylish vacation.

http://sealander.de/ 

Take it all on your back

Like a turtle, hermit crab or snail. This is a choice to have everything you need with you and mobile. There are those extreme minimalists who would tell you that you can 'outsource' what you need. Then there are homesteaders who send down deep roots into the DIY ethos. The concept behind the BodPod is to design around a lifestyle and find a way to take that on the road.

An extreme example: Take a whole city on the road

While it Bod is the acronym for bio-centric on-road dwelling, on-road could easily be replaced by off-grid. My design ethic is heavily influenced by ecological design and permaculture. So while most RV's or campers can plug into the umbilical cord of electric and sewage at a campsite, the goal of the BodPod is to close as many loops as possible. Water is a loop, energy is a loop, food for the inhabitant, etc. I'm considering what the inputs and outputs of this small home are and finding ways to close these loops. I'd argue that closing loops is one knight in the vanguard of the battle against climate change ecological destruction.

While it may be more convenient to outsource your energy, water, waste, and nutrient needs to a third party, it provides much less freedom. The idea of being on-road and off-grid is centered around the concept of freedom. While a minimalist could simply make sacrifice and shit in the woods, I believe that 'making it sexy' or even just comfortable and elegant is important if the idea is going to spread. That's what the BodPod is attempting to do. Provide mobile self sufficiency in a way that is beautiful and enjoyable.


It's a belief of mine that most emotions stem from the two most basic ones: fear and love. Hate and love are not opposites. It seems obvious that hate is just a result of fear. Something threatens our egoic boundaries and defies our beliefs which makes us afraid and we can respond with hate. Why would anyone bother to deny ecological destruction? The science is solid. People are afraid of what climate change, ocean acidification, habitat loss, growing economic inequality, or corporate hegemony can mean. So we deny. Fear 
causes people to build walls. 
 






On the other hand we can intentionally seek out beauty and love. As I remember Keith Morris saying once, "you give a person a choice between two tomato sandwiches; one is made with factory grown tomatoes, wonder-bread, miracle whip. The other is made with a juicy red heirloom tomato from your backyard and bread from your friend the miller." One is the obvious choice. The more authentic option. 


Going on the road is not running from something but moving towards something. It is motivated by love, not by fear. Move towards your bliss. 

Going mobile

BRINGGG. That's the peal of a bell smacking out the second round. So it turns out that BodPod is not a misnomer. Although the journey was stressful, the rig moved on-road! Basically I trussed it up simply on the inside with 2x4s. After last post, most of the framing studs were cut but not nailed together. I found that if I set up a piece of OSB (read: nasty) plywood on my sawhorses, I could cut blocking pieces to allow me to frame solo.

Speed square, screws, 1/8" drillbit to predrill for nails which makes it easier, drill, bright nails, hammer.  Pieces of blocking can be moved around for leverage.

I used sheet metal screws to fasten the old aluminum skin and frame to the new frame. It cinched up with a satisfying pull. Each structural member had the rig tighter and less bouncy. Eventually I took a deep breath and lowered the hitch.. The wheels had submersed themselves in the earth and after they got out of their holes, it was alive. It is indeed possible to hold your breath for an hour. Stopping off in the hardware store parking lot for some lock nuts, I got (or rather the BodPod) a constant stream of stares and "some project"s. So thats good. It passes the funk test. I even got a notice from a golden years chap driving a nice expensive Super Duty. He asked Blair if she had built it. "Yes I did", I thought from inside.

 The day of moving was a tactical decision, as well. I think a Sunday morning was the best day. I only passed one demure law officer and no-one was in a rush to get to work. Still, I caught myself gripping the wheel too hard and holding my breath. It was such a test for an amateur builder, taking such a funkwagon on the road.

There was one notable experience with vigilante justice. About a quarter of a way through the trip a rusty black Explorer whose license plate no. I won't share here flew by me doing 65 or so. The older bald man leaned his head and shoulder out the window, screaming "get off the road". While I wasn't going more than 5 under the speed limit, a long line of cars was forming behind me. I was frustrated and already worried about the towing job, why wouldn't he just let me be? Blair kept me reasonably calm by telling me to chill out. About 3 miles up the road he was there stopped in the middle of the road waving me to pass. Isn't this crazy? I thought. Why would I pass? I figured he was mocking me in a road rage. If he had a problem, he should just call the authorities, not try and take it into his own hands. Well of course I slowed way down not wanting to pass him, and he kept going. Not a mile later, he was stopped again, and this time he wouldn't budge. So I came to a halt too. The long line of cars passed and the road rager drove on. It occurred to me then that what I had mistaken for pissed off was a confused sort of benevolence. He may just have been trying to pilot car a whacked-out tow job down route 15.

And the destination, you ask? None other than Willow Crossing Farm. Great vibes and amazing people for this year's Permaculture design course. What an inspiring place to be working and designing.

Next Step:
At this point I am more or less satisfied with the structural elements of the trailer. While they need some adjustments, it rides, and I trust it to bear stresses. I think in retrospect, the best part of the design was the posts. Through the 2 point bolt-on connection system it is possible to adjust the position on many different axes. While this can be frustrating for getting the whole roof to sit level, it provides so much flexibility that the design in effect becomes modular. I could add a different roof by simply unscrewing the clamps and popping a new one one. I could even remove the roof and post structures altogether.

Still, the nose cone is not installed, which is the next step. I will probably do a mini-post about the construction of a round-frame wall and using a wire spool as a 'giant lazy susan' The plan is to have the whole front nose cone open up like a combination between beetle wings and an observatory. Can't wait to show this graphically, but it will have to wait until I get my own computer.

BodPod

You may be noticing a subtle shift in the blog as of this post. First, the egregious abandonment of the 'tiny house on the prairie' moniker.What in the hells is a BodPod? Freak not, dear readers for things are only heating up. I'll explain the difference soon after I tell why I am not the 'Tiny House on the Prarie' any longer. Firstly, I think the reference to the pastoral image of a remote little cabin is selling this project short, with all due respect to Laura Ingells-Wilder. This is something more sci-fi than fantasy. As Orson Scott Card put it, fantasy has wagon wheels and sci-fi has rivets. This project is turning out covered in rivets.

What I mean to say is that I am intentionally making things from scratch where I could be modifying. After a lot of back and forth over what it really is I'm doing, I've found what seems to be the best description. This isn't a renovation. I started by thinking that I could renew from the inside out and make a substantial difference in the space. What really got me going, however, was the idea of starting new. It is now more like I am re-building. Further, the project and design isn't constrained by demands of a client. There is no end client. There are demands, but they are simply those collective demands which all design takes into consideration: clean air, a beautifully conditioned living space, being surrounded by 'growies', comfort, ergonomics, efficiency. The list may continue.

Which brings me to the Bod-Pod. I was trying to stab at re-defining campers in the earlier post. While I still think this is relevant, I have decided to focus on a concept. Bod is bio-centric on-road dwelling.

Bio-centric is emphasizing the role of the pod as a kind of life support system. There is a senseless glut of drawers, cabinets, and boxy forms in campers, trailers and RVs. This is 'dead-space' and not essential to fulfilling biological needs. It is accessory space. Bio-centric means devoting design features to needs. Streamlining gadgetry. Sacrificing clutter. Suppressing the hoarder within (starve it).  This is a change of priorities away from status quo to a home which supports a healthy lifestyle. Other forms of life are to be welcomed as well (still thinking moss shower).

On-road is a bastardization of On The Road. While I'm changing the title of the blog, I'll leave the url. After all, the Merry Pranksters (or at least Kerouac) are a huge formative influence for me. I think that it is important for our generation to reclaim this sense of freedom. We're the generation of indentured cubicle-college debt-slavery and there has to be a better way. Travel isn't something that should be set aside for one week of the year. Especially when it comes to seeing this beautiful country on one of the most impressive trans-national highways in the world. True to the ethos of On The Road, there are too many experiences to be had, to many paths to cross for one week of the year. We shouldn't have to sell our lives in order to live our lives. And I'm not trying to eschew work (completely), just advocating for working with intention.

Normally, if I had to design a home or any building that was fixed to the ground, the natural way to go about it would be to design based on its bio-region. But this concept project is different. It isn't made for a specific bio-region. In fact, it is made to be nomadic. So what could be the substitute for bio-region? Instead of place, I think this project is as much based on time. Our time in history and space in culture.

Dwelling means that the construction and detailing will be grounded in a tradition of dwellings. This means applying craft to the interior to ensure a sense of familiarity. The warm fuzziness created by well executed woodwork will balance out more novel design features that might chafe the habits.

So there you have it. This is the concept statement. This is a concept project to draft up a new kind of mobile dwelling.

Sky blue sky.

I know, I know, the suspense must be unbearable. I'm going to let it ride for a while so stay hungry. Well the seriousness of last post's proposition to re-roof was on my mind, too. Actually the whole gravity of this whole endeavor was staring me straight in the face. I do recognize failure as a constant option. After all, in terms of building and design skills I am a babe in the woods. A novice. I own this fully and that reality. After acceptance, there can be persistent effort. Chopping wood and carrying water. The best I can do is pour my heart and soul into  the effort. I've had to constantly remind myself to forget about the 'pot of good' at the end of the rainbow and just immerse fully in the process.

Thursday's roof raising was a manic success. Where to start? I have to say first and foremost to everyone who lent a hand, it absolutely would not have happened without your generosity and adroitness. First we put the kabosh on deconstruction, essentially leaving only the floor and outer studs and aluminum. Many wires were accidentally severed in the process, which I'll have to set straight later. It finally came time to evict the hornets from their home in the fridge but the bastards really hadn't paid rent the whole time anyway.

Then the roof started to come off.. This process was nerve wracking to say the least. Or more like nervous racking (the term used to refer to off-axis movement of structural elements). Once that roof started coming off, even the floor was less stable as the box keeps the walls tied to each other. Even though the craftmanship was slipshod, every inch of stapled studs and aluminum sheet makes a big difference. I was being inefficiently methodical, and luckily the intrepid gents who were helping me had the ganas to rip the roof off like a band-aid. That method worked like a charm.

Next was the installation of the new posts. I cut their respective holes into the floor from above (made me appreciate the value of a Versacut). We went around and hand tightened all the bolts to the point where I could see the 1/4" steel flex a bit. Rounding the corner and coming into the last attachments, I realized that I was short on bolts! I drove frantically to the Lowe's to grab some more. While hurtling down the road doing 70, passing cars in the double lines and leaving tar and feathers behind me, I had the impression of racing the sun, which was setting as surely as ever. The burning sunset sky had the effect of making the final countdown even more dramatic. Finally made it back to see Westford at ripe dusk. Everything was good to go. Box locked, lights on, roof raisin' time.

I believe it was Zach who thought to jury rig a pulley onto the frame up and over my companion pine's lowest branch. There wasn't even a one-two-three as we hucked the steel up and over our heads. I ran around inside the box and started clutching at the tube and lifting with all kinds of unknown muscles. There was no way this thing was gonna fall. Then we were all inside setting it on the posts. And wouldn't ya know in the fog of urgency we'd put the damn thing on backwards. That was set straight easily enough.

And there it sat.

I was almost surprised that it went. I'll go ahead and count this as a level up. Of course I knew what the dimensions were going to be from my renderings, but its hard to tell in advance what the changes are going to feel like.

The ceiling clearance is now over 8 feet at it's highest and I am seriously considering a lofted rope bed. Of course it is strong enough. Even though the frame hasn't been fastened yet, I've still been busting pull-ups from the top bar. That represents compressive strength which is there in spades. The rig still wiggles back and forth when the frame shakes however, and now I need to install a truss system which doesn't cut down on interior space.

The feel is definitely impressive. It's unusual to be in a space this small with a ceiling this large. The narrow/tall/wider at the sides design almost seems like a tuna fish with a large dorsal fin. Also, there are structural advantages to adding a 'tail' so that might be something that comes along soon. Woody Giveen, who painted the initial exterior has agreed to come back on the job, and I'm very excited about being able to use his work to unify some design elements.

I'm considering different ways to make this thing into a roof rather than a frame. The list mostly includes light weight materials that can take on high curvatures. The materials have to also be both damp-resistant as well as insulative. Right now I'm really considering polyeurethane spray foam insulation. I need to do more research to see if it will meet moisture demands.

Speaking of moisture, you might be wondering what is happening with the space between the walls and the posts. I think I mentioned before that one of the biggest design changes that absolutely NEEDED to happen was some kind of pitch to the roof. It's obvious why a flat roof would lead to the rotting joists and headers that I saw when deconstructing. Not only that but my desire is to make this rig as self-sufficient as possible. That means not necessarily needing water hookups. Those two challenges when considered together suggest one obvious thing: rainwater catchment and storage. I'm hoping to use the space between the wall and roof for this purpose. There is also another opportunity here to use water for thermal mass and climate regulation to further decrease the rig's dependence on outside inputs.. More on that later.

Right now I've gotta jet. I'm pretty sure that the project will be relocated soon. There may even be some more interesting developments along the lines of possible collaboration and a KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN! So watch out! Also going to the Tiny House Summer Camp with Deek and other tiny house enthusiasts on the weekend. So big things popping off, and plenty of inspiration to be had. Plenty more to say but at risk of overblogging I'm going to leave it there.

much love
-F