Ten Years of RTR Gatherings!

    2020 is a big milestone for the RTR which was started by Bob Wells as a gathering of about 25 people who met in the desert to form friendships and share ideas. Over the years Bob’s website and YouTube channel have influenced and helped many more people. Homes on Wheel Alliance, which was founded in 2018 and now sponsors the RTRS, is providing another way to support nomads who are struggling and need a little help.

    This year has brought a lot of changes to the RTR. The BLM officials made finding a site to hold the RTR difficult. The areas offered were too remote, too dusty, or too expensive. After months of exhaustive searching by Suanne Carlson, co-founder of HOWA, a decision was made to hold the RTR seminars at the La Paz County fairgrounds, south of Parker, Arizona. This is not an ideal situation because attendees can not camp at the fairgrounds and must drive in every day from their camping spot on BLM land. Car pooling is encouraged. Most of the seminar attendees are new to van dwelling which is the usual scenario. The seminars never attracted as many people as the general RTR gathering. Most of the people who came to the RTR gatherings over the years to enjoy the comradery of fellow nomads have formed groups on their own this year.

   As a trustee and representative for HOWA, I been spending my days manning the HOWA booth and answering questions. It’s always fun to hear the stories of new van dwellers – how they made the decision to hit the road and where they plan to go when the weather warms up. Lots of excitement and smiling faces.

    We really miss camping in the midst of the larger gatherings but as volunteers, we get to stay at the fairgrounds and we don’t have a daily drive. Next year will probably bring more changes but even as the RTRs evolve they still carry on Bob Well’s mission to help people live the best life that they can!  RTR 34.01964, -114.23318

Map

                                          
              The free pile has graduated to tables.

    Signing the van

                              Always good to see old friends.

 

Trying out the electric bikes. Thanks to Lectric eBikes!

Bubbles! 

Seems like there's always a film crew following Bob.

 

Volunteer parking

2022 Rubber Tramp Rendezvous

 I’m really far behind on my blog so for now I’m jumping ahead to the RTR which was held from Jan 16th to the 23rd. The RTR was cancelled last year due to coronavirus but with the outside location and the ability to be vaccinated it was determined that we would all be relatively safe.

 In 2020 the RTR was held at the La Paz County Fairgrounds which is pretty far away from most of the dispersed camping areas in Quartzsite, Arizona. This year the city officials in Quartzsite agreed to rent the town park to HOWA for the RTR. It worked out well – lots of parking for all types of vehicles, a large grassy field for seminars, and near by dispersed camping. Best of all, we made such a good impression that we are invited back next year!

The location is better for people with mobility issues than any of the previous locations. The baseball field has hard packed dirt along the edges that makes rolling easy. There’s plenty of room for accessible parking and the lot is fairly level and hard packed.

Bob Wells recently bought an ambulance to use as his home on wheels and donated his van which was on display at the RTR. A sweepstakes drawing will be held on Feb 2. The ticket sales have generated over $80,000 for Homes on Wheels Alliance!

Once again I manned the HOWA booth which also became somewhat of a hangout spot for volunteers and staff. :- )

We camped with a nice group of volunteers. For most of them it was their first RTR so they were pretty excited. :- ) RTR  33.676, -114.2102

RTR Access for People with Mobility Concerns

     Quartzsite, Arizona where the RTR is held is located in the northern part of the Sonoran Desert. Most of the flat ground is covered with angular rocks that knit together to form an even surface known as “desert pavement”. The pavement is fairly easy to roll along until it’s disturbed then it becomes very rough and everyone with any type of mobility issue has problems getting around.

  Years ago when the RTR gatherings were smaller the fire pit and seminar area was the recognized handicapped camping area but other people were welcome to camp there too. Since the RTR has grown so much two large areas were marked this year as handicapped and they got a lot of use. It was good to see so many people pushing the limits of their abilities especially since I’d been the only person using a wheelchair at many of the earlier RTRs.

  I waited too long and lost the opportunity to talk with most of them but here are a few of the ways people found to get around more easily.  I use a FreeWheel which is a large wheel that attaches to the footplate of my wheelchair. It lifts the small front wheels off of the ground and also provides some extra stability. Putting it on and taking it off takes just seconds. I highly recommend it.
    

  Tom, who has multiple sclerosis and has attended three RTRs, has a RMBev Multi-Point electric scooter. The large wheels glide over most of the rocks.
    

   Bob, who lost a leg in an accident, and was a first time RTRer has a Renegade All-Terrain Wheelchair that has push-bars and gears.  The Almost Happy Camper posted a nice interview Here.
   

   I’ve forgotten the name of the woman who had a Firefly electric handcycle that attached to the her manual wheelchair but it worked very well for her.
 

 Cody, pictured here with Bob’s dog Cody, used a standard hospital style wheelchair and just powered his way along using his arms and good leg.
            

     Our friends Jerry and Nelda have trouble walking far and sometimes use their Segways.  The larger the wheels, the easier the Segways climb over the rocks.

  I also saw people using scooters and electric wheel chairs. The ones with small wheels tended to get jammed up on the rocks so off road models are a better fit.

  I encourage everyone to attend the rendezvous but be aware that the desert and the town of Quartzsite are not very accessible and there’s only so much that can be done to provide access at the RTRs.  RTR   33.64909, -114.14563
Map

RTR 2019

 This is the ninth Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. The number of people attending doubles every year so this year 10,000 people are expected, Yikes! We were a little worried but the BLM moved us to a new site that is much larger than the previous sites and farther away from the rest of the Quartzsite boondockers. Today is the first day that people are allowed in and tomorrow the RTR seminars start. This is a good way for anyone new to the lifestyle to learn about van and RV dwelling and to meet other like-minded people. So far everything is going great!

  We’ll be here for about two weeks and hanging out with friends for a few days after the RTR so I probably won’t be posting very much for a while. RTR  33.64909, -114.14563

Thoughts on the 2019 RTR

 Another Rubber Tramp Rendezvous has come to a close with a good time had by all! The days were mostly warm and sunny and the rubber tramps were friendly and happy. The attendance projections were a little high – I don’t think we hit 10,000, maybe 3,000 to 5,000 over the 12 days as new people arrived and others left.

 Traffic on the one lane wash was handled by the volunteers who had two way radios.  The day of rain didn’t sweep anyone away although a few people got stuck because they parked or drove on soft ground.  The ground was mostly dry and firm by the next day.


 New to us were the porti-potties (they were there last year but we missed that RTR), a huge dumpster for trash, and a stage for the seminars. The RTR has become a big-time event!

 We were very impressed with the courtesy of the campers. Generators were off by 10 PM and if there was loud music at the PTR (partier) camp, we did not hear it. We did a sweep of a couple sections of the camp area before we left and found just a few bits of micro trash and no fire rings that had not been dismantled as requested. The volunteers who kept everything running smoothly deserve a big Thank You!   RTR 33.64909, -114.14563

First Day of the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous!

  The Rubber Tramp Rendezvous is a great place for new RVers to learn everything about fulltiming while staying within a budget. The RTR, which is held on BLM land on the outskirts of Quartzsite, Arizona, lasts for two weeks with seminars almost everyday on a variety of subjects. For experienced RVers and van dwellers it’s a wonderful place to hang out, lend a hand if needed and catch up on what everyone’s been doing since the last RTR.
This is the fifth RTR and the first one that we’ve really attended. We did catch the last days of the 2013 RTR where we met many fulltime RVers and van dwellers so we’re looking forward to visiting with old friends and meeting all of the new guys this year.
I probably won’t be posting much for awhile but please check back in a couple of weeks. :-)

Scenes from the 2016 RTR

  Another RTR has come to an end. :-( It was wonderful to see old friends and meet new travelers. We really missed Lesa, Mike, Cheri, Atlee, Shane and Lily – hope you all can make it next year!
This was the largest RTR yet with a lot of new members eager to learn and experience life on the road and on public land even if it was just for a couple of weeks or a few days.
        

         



         
                                            See ya next year!

More Colorado River Boondocking

   One of the best things about the RTR gatherings us that we get to meet and become friends with people who have had vastly different life experiences, who have lived all over the country and world, and who bring new and different ideas into discussions. When the RTR is over everyone wanders off to find camping spots which is how we ended up down on the Colorado River again, enjoying the good company of new and old RTR friends who discovered this great campsite.

   The public land along the river is managed by three agencies – the Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Trust, and the Bureau of Reclamation.  Our camping spot happens to be part of the Bureau of Reclamation which, as I understand it, has basically the same rules as the BLM.

   We really enjoyed this spot because it’s a short distance off the main road so we had no traffic passing by and it’s on the backwater channel of the river with lots of bird sightings.  It’s also large enough for group camping.  There are so many good camping spots along the river that it’s not very hard to find a suitable spot for any group or activity.  Boondocking  33.53095, -114.55602