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Thread: Homeless Truck Driver
- 01.31.2011 #1Light Load Member
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Homeless Truck Driver
Is there such a thing as a homeless truckdriver?
What I am asking is can you really live out of a truck?
The reason I ask is this. I live in Wisconsin. I heat my home with wood. If I am out on the road for 7-14 days then I cannot keep the house warm enough to keep the pipes from freezing. So I would have to purge the water line. IF I have to do that, I would rather just stay out on the road for the winter, than come home to a frezzing house which would wrom up fast enough, but the water would stay off because of the labor to purge it again when I leave. For 7 days off I would but not 2 days which is all I may get.
- 01.31.2011 #2Medium Load Member
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just leave the water drippin then it wouldent freeze
- 01.31.2011 #3Road Train Member
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Lotta people live out of their trucks. They do make electric pipe heaters that you can wind around all the pipes and then wrap insulation over it. As long as you have power you have warm pipes. Local hardware store should have all that stuff.
- 01.31.2011 #4Light Load Member
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I have been considering running heat tape and wrapping it. I will do a cost estimate and see how much I would have to invest.
Originally Posted by kajidono 
I was kinda likin the idea of staying out all winter and not come home until all the snow is melted off the driveway.
- 01.31.2011 #5Road Train Member
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That's what I'd do. Close the house up, have a neighbor that could check on things for me, and head south for the winter.
I don't think it'll cost you much. We did a house up with that stuff and quite a bit more on our own dime as our little company had run out of money. We didn't manage to pull the company out of its final nosedive, but we got that old house nice and warm.
- 01.31.2011 #6"The Legend"
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That may work in Florida when your lows get to 20 degrees. But it doesn't work in Wisconson when it is 40 below 0 & no heat. Originally Posted by fallinangel
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- 01.31.2011 #7Light Load Member
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I used to live out of the truck for about 4 years, not hard at all. Run all the time, when you want to have some fun/time off grab a hotel in your fav town and good to go. Had my mail sent to a relatives house.
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- 01.31.2011 #8Road Train Member
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i ran a line from where the main pipe comes into my house up to the water meter (my meter is in the house)..i was able to use what the package had, which means i did not have to buy any extra. it may not be a good idea to stay out all winter....what would happen if the roof collapses or a big storm batters the windows and they break, or some person decides to call your house his (squatter)..??? and by the by, what would you do in a severe snow/ice storm when the power goes out, and the pipes DO FREEZE THEN...and the pipes burst, and the power comes back on...?? are you aware that water and electricity do not mix...?? you could be coming home to a burnt out shell that once WAS your house... Originally Posted by BROKENSPROKET
not me, i want to be home on a regular basis to check on all that stuff.
over here in New England, we have been getting hammered with snow, and yes roofs are collapsing, on homes, schools, businesses, you name it....
we have already had at least 40 inches of snow in January, and tuesday into wednesday of this week, we are going to get a mere 5 to 9 inches MORE....
you might want to reconsider not going home.....
- 01.31.2011 #9Road Train Member
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I used to have an old farm house that was heated by a kerosene stove that you could not leave on a low setting, so I learned to drain pipes in the winter. But I also learned where the water didn't completely drain from too! If you have a water softener, take the head apart to let the water out of the plastic push valve!
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- 01.31.2011 #10Road Train Member
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You can heat the pipes under the house, but what about in the walls and power outages?
The proper way to winterize is to clear all the lines and put antifreeze in all the traps and toilets. This sounds like alot but with the right setup, it wouldn't take a few minutes.
I'd assume you have a basement in WI. Where the water enters the house should be the low point and has a cutoff valve. Install you a shrader valve right there. You can buy them in the plumbing section as plumbers use them to test new construction.
Go to Walmart or an autoparts store and buy you a portable air tank and some antifreeze. At a truck stop, buy you an airline adapter to hook up to your trailer airbrake line. All the pressurized air you need.
Your pipes are rated at atleast 400 psi so you don't have to worry about too much pressure. Turn off power or gas to the water heater. Simply cut your water off and pressurize the system. Then go around and open all the cold faucets and flush the toilets. Then recharge the air tank and go around and blow out all the hot lines. It takes a little more on the hot side for blowing out the water heater. You can finish draining the water heater by opening the drain valve. There shouldn't be over a gallon or two left after blowing it out. That little bit should expand up and not hurt anything.
Then go around and pour one cup antifreeze in each drain to winterize the traps. Then pour about two cups in each toilet.
About 1/2 gallon antifreeze each home visit and you're good to go.Last edited by CondoCruiser; 01.31.2011 at 08.18 AM.
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