Moving the 5th Wheel

For the past 7 months our 5th wheel trailer has been sitting at the KOA in West Wendover. If all goes well, JT will be driving out to Nevada the first part of May. We hope to move the trailer out to our land at this time. A well pump and generator will be our next purchases. This is the beginning of a new chapter in our move to Montello. Once the trailer is on site and placed in its permanent location, we can begin building our solar system and eventually be ready for full time living.
I am already dreaming of spending Christmas 2010 in our home in Montello. It may just be a dream but it is a nice one!

Cell phone tower!!!!

Just heard the great news! Thanks Geoff. Our property is right next door to Ron Watson. Having cell service in the area will be fantastic for everyone!!! This just made our day!!!!

2275 miles to go

Montello check list:
Property - bought
Conex container-bought and delivered
well- done
home- purchased
solar- planning stage
plumbing and sewer- planning stage
composter-purchased
propane- need to be purchased

Our next step was to move the 5th wheel to Montello. After numerous discussions and research, we determine the property was not ready for the 5th wheel. Solar has not been purchased, electricty will not be an option,and our sanitation system is still being finalized.Leaving the rv in Maryland was not a problem. We could leave it parked in our driveway indefinately, but we wanted it closer to our new home. That's when we learned West Wendover has a KOA campground! Lucy is the manager and we were able to arrange a 6 month deal at a reduced price. Now we just had to get the 5th wheel there



To save money we decided to stay overnight at truck stops and shopping centers that allowed overnight rv parking. This membership only web site was a great help in my planning our route, http://www.overnightrvparking.com/.

We left Burtonsville the afternoon of Sept 3,2009 heading to Morgantown,WV to visit JT's daughter. We parked in a Walmart parking lot.



Sept 4 on to Pittsboro,IN and overnight at a Love's truck stop. Home of Nascar driver
Jeff Gordon.Nice place, with friendly people and warm showers.



Sept 5 we are now headed for Iowa. JT did all the driving as I was too nervous to pull the 5th wheel. Plus just before we left Maryland the truck started to have issues. If we let the diesel get below 1/4 of a tank it would stall out. We were forced to refuel after just a 1/2 tank of fuel.

On long our journey (we had planned to drive 400 miles per day max), we saw a brush fire on the side of the road but very little in traffic. Leaving at sunrise was a great way to travel. We made it to Iowa faster than expected so we decided to splurge and spend two nights in a hotel. This was also labor day weekend and we knew we would run into more traffic. Hot shower, comfortable bed, plenty of rest.



We hit the road Monday Sept 7, 2009 heading for Wyoming, one last night on the road and we hope to be in West Wendover. The truck stop in Rawlins Wyoming was full so we decided to park in a rest stop. Some rest stops allow overnight parkng some do not. You need to check with each state individually. As the night progressed more and more truckers joined us. By morning the place was full.

We hit the road ready and anxious to arrive in West Wendover. The truck had a few issues but nothing major until Coalville, UT. We stopped to get diesel and that was it. Truck would not start. If you have to break down. Coalville is the place to be. Just off interstate 80. Everyone at the service station was ready to help. They offered to unhitch the 5th wheel and park it in a safe place. Local mechanics were called for advice. People stopped and tried to help. We were told to have the truck towed to Salt Lake and given the name of a great place that specializes in ford diesel trucks. Thankfully we had AAA and towing 100 miles or less would be free. Just as I was ready to call AAA I heard a wonderfull sound, and JT was smiling and waving. She started. YAHOO!!! Said goodbye to everyone and thanked them for their help and headed towards West Wendover. 170 miles and we were there!!!!


Picked a camp site, paid for 6 months and went to set up our home. We are so close to our dream. YAY!!!

More details on the truck later. Lets just say we had to keep it running alot. Otherwise it would not start and we would be stuck for at least 30 mins or more.

Temporary? home

Once the land was purchased we needed to decide what type of home we wanted. A log cabin was our first choice but is it practical in Montello? Not ready to make a decision we began searching for travel trailers, motorhomes and 5th wheels. We researched the internet for a listing of 4 season trailers and went to our local rv show for more information. It was decided that a 5th wheel travel trailer would work perfectly as a temporary home. Thanks to ebay we located and bid on a brand new 2008 Ameri-camp Summit Ridge. Shockingly we were the only bidder and got it for an unbelievable low price ("we stole it" per the rv dealer).

Already owning a diesel F-250 truck, all we had to do was add a 5th wheel hitch and pick up our new home. JT drove 265 miles to Danville, Va on March 5,2009 to have the hitch installed and to pick up the 5th wheel. He drove it home that evening, and we had our future home in the driveway of our current home.

It was love at first site for me. No regrets!!! A comfortable and practical home that if needed we could live in for a long time. Maybe even permanently. Storage space is limited , but then again, once we move to Montello who needs a lot of stuff. Life will be simpler, and both of us are ready for that!!

Purchasing parcels 2 and 3

We purchased our 20 acres off of Old Motel road in May 2008 and 40 acres on the other side of Pilot Mountain near the Bonneville Salt Flats also in May 2008. The 20 acre parcel is a nice, slightly rolling piece of land not far from the road, making access easier. This is where our home will be.

Now the decisions need to be made. Water,electric,road,septic,storage,type of home?
Being very independent people, obtaining a well was our only option. Water hauling was too cumbersome and we would have to rely on others or do it ourselves. Our goal is to be self-sufficient and have everything we need on our property. We made several trips out from Maryland to scope out the land and research wells and electricity costs,plus learning the rules and regulations of Elko County. It was during this time I found the Montello Alpaca company blog! A couple from our area moving to Montello! We were Geoff and Ellen's 8&9 th visitors, and have been friends ever since. The information Geoff provided on well diggers, surveyors and the power company were invaluable.

Before a well could be dug the land had to be surveyed with the corners marked. Geoff gave us the name of
High Desert Engineering
640 Idaho St
Elko, NV 89801
(775) 738-4053
They service the Montello area. The land was surveyed and marked March 25, 2009. Now we can proceed with the well.

Two well companies that service the Montello area are:

Hackworth Drilling Incorporated
5019 Manzanita Dr
Elko, NV 89801
(775) 738-9891
As of March 2009 the quoted price was $62/ft with a $600 set up fee.

Fertig Drilling
Lamoille Hwy
Elko, NV 89801
(775) 753-7960
As of March 2009 the quoted price was $54/ft and no set up fee if they were working
in the area on other sites.

Both drilling companies are very busy and could not give us an exact date for the well. It would be short notice when they had other jobs in the area. We chose
Mr. Fertig. It is a family run company, he and his wife were very nice people and completely professional. Mr Fertig has a great reputation in the county and is highly regarded. It took almost 6 months before Mr. Fertig could come out and work on our well. The well took about 5 days and was more costly than anticipated, but we are glad it is done and now we can proceed with our home.

Raft River 800-342-7732 is the electric company that services the Montello area.
After meeting with Heath it was determined that to bring power to our land would cost
approximately $15,000-$20,000 dollars. With Montello averaging 320 days per year of sunshine, Solar and or Wind will be our energy source. Plus bringing power to the land would require county inspections and land usage approval.

In the beginning

November 2007 JT and I were looking to buy land and get away from the Washington,DC rat race. Having lived here most of our lives, we were ready for a small town with plenty of space and a conservative mindset. We searched Florida, Tennessee, Texas and just happened to find land on ebay, near a small town named Montello,NV. We researched the area, saw that Salt Lake City was only 2 hours away and decided to go for it. Our first 10 acres was purchased. One month later we flew to Salt Lake and drove to West Wendover, NV. I can truly say we loved everything we saw. We attempted to drive up to our property only to learn there was no road directly too it. We explored the general area and were amazed by the view and beauty. But we also realized it would be difficult to build on this property. So we explored the rest of the area and the town. Both of us knew, we made the right choice. In a few years we will call this area home!

Welcome

A little late to the blog party, but JT and I have decided to enter our own blog on the web. With JT being an IT professional we felt it was time to join our friends on the net. It will take me awhile to enter our history but for starters, here we go!

We bought our first piece of land outside Montello sight unseen, in November 2007 on ebay. 10 acres off Pilot Valley road in the foothills of Pilot Mountain. We bought our 20 acre second parcel, off Old Motel Road in May of 2008. This is where are home will eventually be!
Our Conex container and well are on the property. I will post in future updates the process leading up to the surveyor, well and conex container installations. And our, 40 acre third parcel, is out closer to the Bonneville Salt Flats.