Essential dirtbag gear

I am going to be living out of my SUV for a few months this winter in Ouray, so I am currently shopping around for ways to outfit my vehicle. I've removed the seats and built a bed on one side of the back of the vehicle. I'm looking for a camp stove and a heater as well, or any other specific ideas for/brands of essential equipment. Any ideas?

You can never have enough toilet paper...

Or just use an old t-shirt and wash it when the crusties build up too much. It's way softer than toilet paper and more sustainable : )

Ouray is not very livable in a car in the winter - days are way short. Our sunrises are an hour late and sunsets are an hour earlier than in the valley. It's hard to motivate early in the morning if you are camped out and the sun doesn't show till 10 am. You'll be spending a lot of time in coffee shops or bars and hot springs - might as well splurge on a room. Have you ever thought of how you'll be drying off your gear after the outings? Maybe if you had a van, you can wing it - but you'll be driving quite ways to camp, not worth it, IMO...

I'm only living out of my SUV until I can find a job, then a room. The plan is to be in the car November, and possibly December. Hopefully I will find a place to stay by then.

Check out this guy's van conversion on Supertopo:

supertopo.com/climbing/thre…

Lots of good info on making it liveable . I sleep a lot in my 4runner, and the thing I wished I had more of was the inside space of a van . Have you thought about bivying in a van instead ?

Dry ceramic space hearer

Inner construction
Try one of these candle space heaters for your heat source. Most propane heaters pump out too much moisture to be used in the back of a pickup/van

1. take a bag of quarters and hope there is a laundromat somewhat nearby to dry your gear

2. a smart phone and a goal zero go a long way

3. a can opener, it will be the last thing you think about and opening soup with a leatherman can and will make a mess, then your vehicle will smell like new england clam chowder (as charming as you may think this could be....it is not and it will make you hungry while you try to sleep until it starts smelling like old milk, then a hot day comes along and all your stuff smells like old milk)

4. a spare can opener

^^^^ I can see he's speaking from a bit of experience (nothing like dank clam chowder)

Locker is that your latest fling??? Lol!

Pretty sure the only thing you need to sustain dirtbagging indefinitely is...

$$$

Dan.Schultz wrote:I'm only living out of my SUV until I can find a job, then a room. The plan is to be in the car November, and possibly December. Hopefully I will find a place to stay by then.

About stove and the heater, I like Camp Chef stoves - they're pricey but durable. I've used one of those Coleman catalytic space heaters, they work ok in small spaces, just make sure you have your clothes and sleeping bag out of its way and it sits in a sturdy position. Just enough heat before you get to bed so you can change and get into your sleeping bag. Get a small to medium size propane tank, I think you can get one at Cabella's in Junction. There are no places to refill the propane in Ouray in the winter, but the gas station in Ridgway does. If you can find from a thrift store, get a down duvet/blanket. You will want it over your sleeping bag, even if you find a place to live later on it would be useful - most places use firestoves to heat. Get a membership at the Ouray hot springs pool, they sell 3-month ones I believe. what kind of job are you looking? I think the hot springs pool is hiring.

The greatest thing about dirtbagging is that it stimulates your mind to think outside the box. Go with bare essentials ( warm clothes, climbing gear)) and figure what works for you. Use your common sense and if you don't have it you will be sure to get one a few months into your dirtbagging venture. Happy trails rubber tramp!
There is a great documentary by an English guy called "American Nomads". Watch it. Very inspirational. Thought provoking.

$... and a steady supply

I highly recommend a fresh car battery and maybe a portable jump start kit. When you're living out of the car, it's easy to kill your battery, and there's not always going to be someone around to give you a boost.

Renters insurance.

If you're really setting up to live out a car for a while, an inverter wired into the the electrical system is not a bad idea, also a second car battery and switch for the primary will allow you to use electrical stuff without fear of stranding yourself; simply flip the switch to take the main battery out of the system to save it.

The car battery comments are good, but I would add this:

Get something like a yellow top optima or equivalent. The cost a bit more up front, but are designed to be ran down low and recharged (by your alternator or otherwise). Standard automotive batteries get thrashed if you run them down completely.

You'll need to figure out a way to keep your water jug(s) from freezing.

Definitely put up curtains on your windows, not just to keep people from watching you sleep, but to keep the sun/parking lot lights out.

The usual toiletries, paper towels, wet wipes, chap stick, etc

as Locker said, a DC to AC inverter.

Probably the most important thing you can have is a pee bottle. I like gatorade bottles because of the wide mouth.

txclimber wrote:The car battery comments are good, but I would add this: Get something like a yellow top optima or equivalent. The cost a bit more up front, but are designed to be ran down low and recharged (by your alternator or otherwise). Standard automotive batteries get thrashed if you run them down completely.

optimas were great a few years ago, now they are made in mexico and dont last more the 2 years with normal use save your money.

Get normal size propane tank, that way you can exchange any time or day of the week at a Walgreens or grocery store. The odd size ones need to be filled by hand m-f, 9-5, and often the filler will bitch about you buying $10 of propane.

Dirtbagging at the level you describe would be doable in a large van with insulation. Cataletic heaters work well.