Taking hobbies on the road

[ITSNO60]

What kind of hobbies do you take on the road? I know a lot of people take musical instruments, books, sewing stuff, sports gear, fishing gear etc. I am wondering about the future, when I am retired and we may spend extended times away from home. My big hobbies are wrenching and metal working. Kinda hard to take welders and such on the road but I have heard of taking a propane forge and anvil. Not sure how people would react to a
hammer clanging away on the anvil in an RV park though, probably a bad idea.

That pretty much leaves me with fishing and reading.

[thiel]

Originally Posted by ITSNO60

What kind of hobbies do you take on the road? I know a lot of people take musical instruments, books, sewing stuff, sports gear, fishing gear etc. I am wondering about the future, when I am retired and we may spend extended times away from home. My big hobbies are wrenching and metal working. Kinda hard to take welders and such on the road but I have heard of taking a propane forge and anvil. Not sure how people would react to a
hammer clanging away on the anvil in an RV park though, probably a bad idea.

That pretty much leaves me with fishing and reading.

I sold my old camper to a person who makes three string "cigar box" guitars. Such guitars are perfectly sized for a trailer--so much so that I asked to get one as part of the sales price.

Photography is my primary hobby and it's easily integrated into the trip.

I also like to cook, and I relish the special challenge that comes with a small kitchen stocked with local ingredients acquired at roadside.

And then there's reading.

[kamadeca]

Working out how to take a 24" folding floor loom along with us. It basically is a 36" cube when opened, but folds up to 36 x 12 x 48 high. The downside of Airstreams is that they utilize every inch of floorspace. We are thinking of removing the dinette as we usually eat sitting in our recliners. Lots of ideas percolating but haven't landed on anything just yet. Thought about buying a different type of RV (5th wheel), but nothing compares to an Airstream.

Any input on how to accommodate the loom would be appreciated.

[ITSNO60]

One thing I am counting on is my full size pickup bed with camper shell for my "garage". What is your TV?

[TravlinMan]

I have a little backpackin guitar and a camera. They both fit in the overhead compartment in the bedroom with plenty of room to spare for hats, sweaters, extra blankets and the small pillows. Playin guitar quietly inside the trailer can't be heard from the outside, if the windows are closed. But mainly I hike and explore. Also geocaching is a good way to spend time and all ya need is a gps. Lots of folks out there doing photography. Safe travels.

[pt.reyesfan]

Rock collecting.
(Typially 300- 400 lbs of rocks per 3 week trip.)
Thus, a heavy duty tow vehicle.

[AtomicNo13]

Vacuum tube audio is difficult on the road too!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

3D printing isn't all that hard to do. The same is true of small scale CNC work. Both normally require some sort of AC power. A small (quiet) generator is good enough. You *can* rig up a 3D printer to run off of 12V, it may (or may not) pull more than you are comfortable with off your batteries. With an extra solar panel (at about 200W) it's quite do-able (in the sunshine).

Bob

[judyjudy]

Knitting!

[Lily&Me]

Yes, judyjudy, tho I crochet as never could master two needles at one time.

I keep yarn and crochet supplies in a small storage ottoman.


Maggie

[uncle_bob]

Hi

A belt loom isn't all that large. You could easily take up weaving.

Bob

[McDave]

My hobby is archery, and my wife and I backpack and fish. There are always a bow and arrows and fishing gear in a bunk bed that is over our regular bed. Sometimes the whole purpose of the trip is to go to an archery tournament. Other times we are just traveling and sightseeing. We both enjoy finding secluded spots to boondock where can hang out with our dog, I can shoot a few arrows if I want to, and my wife can go on a hike if she wants to. We are somewhat spoiled in that fish are so plentiful in the backcountry lakes we visit on our backpacking trips that we don't often fish in lakes accessible by roads, but we always have fishing gear along in case the urge to fish strikes us.

[Wayne&Sam]

Two bicycles and a guitar for me, knitting and A LOT of fly fishing gear for Sam.

[PKI]

Nancy quilts - always a box of little ones getting made into big ones. Will be interesting to see how the generator works as a power supply. Visiting quilt shops and museums adds to the trip objectives. The pups are into eating, sleeping, getting rubs and investigating interesting new smells, especially if they involve friendly new playmates. I like to take snapshots that get represented as photography even though they never approach that quality. Also experimenting with fly fishing and finding that flailing the water is very relaxing. Attempting to make something that looks like an insect is as fun as the fishing. Having low expectations positively impacts the relaxation meter as is reasonable in retirement. But travel and seeing new places, things, and people is the prime objective of our RV adventure. So you could say that the big hobby take along is the shiny girl that follows us around. Pat

[WayneG]

Dont get me started on my hobbies...

[tevake]

You could get yourself an old classic motorhome, then you could bring tools and wrench to your hearts content keeping it going.. 😃

Cheers Richard

[VaTravelers]

Power decorative decoy carving.

[NHdigger]

Another rock collector! Between the heavy tools & rocks, weight is always a factor. Great way to stay active and outdoors. Would never work for a full timer.

[Minno]

Chris is a model railroader (N scale) and brings buildings to build for his set up with us. I quilt soI have a Singer Featherweight sewing machine and a few projects along all the time.

Kay

[TinShack]

Originally Posted by NHdigger

Another rock collector! Between the heavy tools & rocks, weight is always a factor. Great way to stay active and outdoors. Would never work for a full timer.

Yep, another rock collector here. We do week long prospecting trips in the desert and really have to be careful of the weight. I try and keep the specimens confined to 5 gallon buckets so i can monitor the weight. Generally about 50-75lbs per bucket. Last trip was 6 buckets plus the specimens to big to fit in the buckets. Definitely need a heavy duty truck!