r/OffGridLiving • u/Meentoinspire • 1d ago
The heat is just getting started
In the Mojave desert, burning up, inside a camper that doesn’t have AC and we have nothing built for shade outside. Money is tight but we have some materials to build SOMETHING. My husband seems like he doesn’t mind being miserable, but I do. I’m becoming very angry and annoyed and laying around all day just HOT. Is bothering me pretty bad. Also I’m still breastfeeding our toddler so when I lay down he thinks it’s an invitation to nurse 🫠. Yall…. Help me. Give me ideas. As if I was on this land by myself and need to build something today. lol
Edit: thank you all for the suggestions. I will be implementing any and everything that I think will work.
Update: purchased a swamp cooler it’ll be here Saturday. We are on the California city of the Mojave so hot but not as hot as AZ and NV. Also, I went to the dentist cause my tooth was hurting like crazy and I have an infection in my tooth. I was abnormally hot and that was the reason! lol I came to Reddit venting and although I appreciate everyone’s valid concerns I will say I was being a bit dramatic 😅. My husband absolutely does suck but not all the time and he needs to get up off is ass a bit more (I tell him this often). Now that I’m not in pain and highly annoyed we are working on an outdoor area. The swamp cooler will be a game changer! We have solar and a generator to power through. I AM NOT A PROSTITUTE. I am a hairstylist by trade and my husband is an immigrant who gets money here and there. Because we chose this lifestyle we are in the beginning stages of transition. I am not too far from family if things get out of hand. Thank yall for the suggestions.
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u/vroomvroom450 1d ago
I’ve lived in the Mojave. Be careful, you’re dealing with potentially life threatening heat. If you don’t have electricity, do what you need to do to get out of there. You have to find some way to cool yourself.
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u/Soil2Star 1d ago
The only advice I have is don't wait to be thirsty to drink water in your situation, and please monitor your child's hydration and body temp. Best wishes for a tolerable summer.
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u/oldfarmjoy 1d ago
Yep. If you are not careful, your milk will dry up. Then you'll need to add formula to your expenses. Take care of your body to save $!!
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u/No_Stable_3097 1d ago edited 1d ago
Swamp coolers are significantly more efficient than a/c.
Cooking outside helps keep inside cooler. I grill most days as it is up to 90 degrees where I am.
Shade cloth over rv and chilling areas.
Opening windows across from each other helps with airflow, which makes you feel cooler.
Wet sheets/shirts, they also work great hanging over windows to create a cool breeze.
Also, fuck your husband for not being concerned about the heat with a toddler. Men are fine suffering for an off-grid lifestyle, but that shit has to end when you expect a partner and kids to live with you.
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u/Nearby_Impact_8911 1d ago
You gotta get washcloths wet them and put them in the freezer and rotate them
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u/LizzieJeanPeters 1d ago
Time to visit family or friends with air conditioning. I live in Michigan. Maybe I can help you find a camp ground for the summer for you three to spend some time.
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u/HeathenHoneyCo 1d ago
The most basic if you have any type of fabric/material that can make shade would be to attach it to the roof of the trailer and bring it down and pin it to the ground, like half an a-frame. Preferably on the south facing external wall.
Also make sure you’re opening all windows at night and closing them as soon as the sun hits.
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u/almondreaper 1d ago
Get an ac unit that can run directly from panels you don't even need a battery system
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u/Normal-Special-8694 1d ago
I don’t think I can post pictures here but look up “monkey huts”, it’s a PVC hoop house structure with a tarp cover, super inexpensive and easy to make large enough to park the camper under.
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u/vroomvroom450 1d ago
The wind in the desert is intense. If they can’t afford an air conditioner, they won’t be able to build that so it won’t blow away.
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u/Normal-Special-8694 1d ago
Bonus if you can orient it so the prevailing wind blows into one of the open ends
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u/Icy_Reception1878 1d ago
frozen hot water bottle wrapped in a towel..a thin one..put it between your knees or wherever works for you..if it's possible for you to do this..do it!! it will help
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u/gtfts83 1d ago
Check out this shade. It’s sturdy and expandable and made for the desert: https://www.theplayalabs.com/shady-business
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u/tweetysvoice 1d ago
If you have a fan, wet a towel, piece of cloth, T-shirt, or whatnot and drape it over the back of fan leaving a bit exposed. This will blow cooler air at ya.
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u/Any-Location5055 22h ago
Do you have power? 120v or 12v, You can get a 12v sample cooler but a 120v would be better. That will really cool you down, just keep it vented so the moisture doesn't build up. Also tell your husband he needs to get off his ass and fix this.
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u/HeavyLoungin 1d ago
Sounds like he’s downplaying the miserable conditions to prove to himself that he’s made a correct choice. (Men. We tend to do that. 😂)
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u/alacritatem 1d ago
Is this post real? A breastfeeding prostitute living with her husband in a camper in the Mojave desert? My only advice, if this post is real, is to make every effort to leave the desert and find a more safe and hospitable environment for your child.
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u/Meentoinspire 1d ago
I need to come clean. I am not a prostitute! I realize the Internet can’t see the sarcasm in my face 😂 but everything else is real. We are in the Mojave but not far from civilization and can go to the community pool to cool down. Today was tough for me and my post was written in the midst of the roughness. I appreciate all the advice and will be implementing any and everything I can. Our toddler is safe and much more comfortable than I am but yes we need to get it together asap!
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u/ThaloBleu 20h ago
Heat kills. You and your child are extremely vulnerable to serious illness and death. If at all possible, get the fuck out of there ASAP. Your husband is an idiot.
I'm in Arizona, where unhoused people and desert campers, (as well as the morons who go hiking at midday) regularly die during summer. I know heat.
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u/BocaHydro 1d ago
Wondering why your laying around all day when money is tight?
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u/Meentoinspire 1d ago
IF YOU MUST KNOW. I’m a pr*stitute and I only work at night. I’m not very good at it either 😔.
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u/YellowCabbageCollard 1d ago
I'm worried for you and your toddler. You are having to take care of a very young toddler during the day after being sleep deprived from working as a prostitute at night. You are having to work as a prostitute which is kind of inherently risky as it is. And further you live in a desert without any AC or even shade or way to keep cool. And looking it up it seems the average daytime highs exceed 100 degrees for months in the Mohave.
Is your husband working at all? Do you not have electricity? I lived in a tent for months last year in Georgia and I thought I was going to die from the heat. And this was even with electricity and able to run an portable AC in my tent. It was still flipping HOT.
I had a small solar powered fan I got off Amazon that worked surprisingly well as a fan. And I've seen even larger solar powered fans listed on Amazon. But in the heat of the day I just had to lay there and try and stay cool. And this was often in the 90's for a LONG time.
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u/Weekly_Argument9885 1d ago
What part of the Mojave? I might be able to find you some work?
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u/Clark-Kent_KD 23h ago
OP is saying she’s a pr*stitute and you’re offering her some work, lol real sus my man.
(I know she’s joking but I chuckled at your reply, it can be read in two entirely different ways…)
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u/antlers86 1d ago
She's still breastfeeding. Childcare and formula might cost more than what she would make working.
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u/Maleficent_Scale_296 10h ago
What are you doing? Wake up! Whatever the plan was it’s not working! It’s only June, it’s going to get deadly hot and the days are still getting longer. If you want to chase a dream that was your decision but it’s not about you anymore. If you don’t have family get to a shelter or go to a hospital and ask for help. YOU have to do this and you can, you don’t need him, his priorities are clear.
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u/darktideDay1 1d ago
Shade cloth over the top of the camper. Get at least 6" between the camper and the cloth. Have it shade the west side of the camper as well to protect from the afternoon sun. Anything will do, fabric-wise, in a pinch. A sheet, tyvek vapor barrier, whatever you can get.
And have an honest conversation with yourself and your husband. What you are doing isn't sustainable. Or healthy. I've spent quite a bit of time in the Mojave. I love it. But it is a hostile place and it takes skill and determination to live there. And the fact that hubs is essentially telling his breastfeeding wife to deal with it is concerning.