PS: (Can you do a PS at the beginning of an email? I guess I am, regardless of the rules)
PPS: This is email 4 in the series of my Gypsy Cowgirl Diary… If you missed the first few you can check them out HERE!
So. The offer on the farm finalized and was officially homeless. Prior to listing I had also sold my older smaller living quarters trailer because, well, I knew I needed to move on from it and someone offered me cash. My dad, who had side hustled selling used cars throughout my childhood taught me your first offer is always your best offer. #sold.
Insert even more sleepless nights here. There was 6 weeks before the new owners took possession of the ranch, and I needed to hustle to figure out where I was going to live. Sure I had friends who offered me a room or to take me in or I could rent a place in a pinch – but going from owning and living on 80 acres to well, nowhere… I wanted something I could call my own. Plus – I had a horse that needed transportation wherever my dreams were gonna take me.
If you’re just getting to know me – I’m a recovering control freak. The old saying “if plan A doesn’t work – don’t worry – there are 25 more letters in the alphabet” – I’d be famous for having a backup plan all the way to Z. My latest mantra in efforts to become more flexible were that I now “plan to be spontaneous.”
Enter: countless nights, days, mornings, and evenings on the computer scouring North America for the perfect living quarters horse trailer. My must haves were a hay pod (essential for travelling with feed that wouldn’t spoil in the unavoidable event of a rain storm), minimum 11’ living quarters with a glide out, a couch, room for a desk set up to support my work from anywhere occupation, ducted AC on a thermostat (for Queen Fia the Corgi), an awning, and ideally an onboard genny, however that wasn’t a deal breaker as I had a portable generator from my last summer on the road.
Friends from far and wide shared my wish list, sent me DM’s and helped me find my new house. There was literally NOTHING for sale, and anything that was sold the same day for astronomical amounts.
I was starting to panic.
At one point I thought I had found a perfect trailer, it was a 3 horse Logan with a STUNNING interior, no escape door, no walk through, but it was a side load with a full back tack. I thought I would be ok with compromising on some (most) of my wish list. I was blinded by its beauty. I went so far as to send through a deposit – the only downside being it was south of the border, so I needed to buck up an extra 35% with the exchange, and import the darn thing.
When it came time to organize pick up and the bill of sale, the VIN label on the trailer was nowhere to be found. Maybe not a huge deal if we were exchanging over states instead of countries, but a VIN was a must-have in order for this to work in Canada. We started calling the manufacturer to figure it out, and all the while it became apparent that the trailer title was clear, but not in their name. Not being originally from the US of A, I don’t entirely know the ins and outs of this but do know that “title in hand” is an important factor in purchasing anything privately in the states.
The third and final red flag on this deal was that they wanted me to pay in full, drop the trailer off somewhere and leave me to wait for the VIN label to come in the mail which was going to take about a week, because they wanted the money now. Uh, I’m out.
I don’t know what the real deal was on this, but I accepted God was closing a door and I didn’t need to understand the reason, only keep walking down the hallway.
A few weeks later, one of my gun-moms called. I’ve been “adopted” by several wonderful women over the last few years in the shooting community and each one of them bring a completely different relationship to my life. This one happened to be one of the two that gave me a home in Arizona this last winter. In the fall as I was preparing for my inaugural snowbird winter I got a call from her out of the blue: “I think you need to take my trailer to the states.” She’s a woo-woo fan just like me, and said she had a feeling. As someone recovering from toxic independence caused by my abusive marriage: accepting help is hard – let alone accepting such a generous offer.
I had a pretty good little trailer last fall… but there were flaws. It was only a 3 horse, didn’t have a stud divider or an escape door for that extra storage space, no covered hay storage, no slide out, a small kitchen table that I used for a desk, and no where else to sit aside from crawling into bed. Hers was a tricked out fully stocked Lakota with more things than I ever thought I’d have in a trailer – I simply couldn’t say no.
Looking back, I feel like that was a pivotal moment in the progression to what is now my gypsy life. The comfort and luxury that trailer afforded me while living out of it full time for four months sparked both my realization that living with less was actually the real luxury, and left me wanting to do more of it. Had I been cramped in my little weekender I probably would have been dying to come home and stretch out.
Anywho, I digress.
Now. Back to the synchronicity of one of my gun moms. After I had returned the borrowed trailer to her and sold mine right out of her driveway without even seeing it since the fall – she called me to let me know that someone had just come to look at the trailer I had borrowed. She had already bought herself a newer upgraded model, but this family couldn’t buy her trailer without first selling theirs. I dared to ask what specs it has, to which she informed me it was a 4 horse with a hay pod, awning, ducted air conditioning on a thermostat, and 15’ short wall with a couch AND a table. It wasn’t even listed for sale yet, and that’s because it was meant to be mine.
I had a friend’s mom and dad take a look at it for me at a nearby event they were attending (look at me bucking my toxic independence traits!), and as soon as the family finished their high school rodeo season I made a 14 hour round trip to pick it up. (I used to balk at driving 6 hours in a day but now after commuting cross country I’m basically a long haul trucker) ;)
It. Was. Awesome. One of the best floorplans I’ve ever seen in a trailer, tons of storage and living space, and would suit all my needs. You can check out some of my video tutorials on packing and storage below:
The only downside to this trailer: Over the next month I uncovered one thing after the next that was wrong with it and needed repair. You’re going to gasp, then offer to start a gofundme once you read that journal entry.
Stay tuned!
Addy
Thanks for reading - I’m excited to have you join my traveling cowgirl email series! A little different spin from my typical content on Prime Equine, this series will focus on the behind the scenes journey of living life as a nomad. How long it will last, depends on how long I live like a gypsy! If you found this blog by accident, you can be sure to get all the updates by signing up HERE!