I have two AC units that provide cooling to my place, but only one is working. It seems my two-zone electronic thermostat isn’t allowing me to change the zone in front, so I have max cooling in back, but the front is stuck on heat pump. I’m concerned the back unit will get the place so cold that the front unit will come on to heat things up again.

Oh, the joys of full-time RV living. At least I get to change the view from my front window in 10 days.

Like a ship or a boat, any repairs to an RV can get expensive. If the package the part comes in has the words “marine” or “RV,” you can be sure the price is three times what an equivalent, regular home product would be. A two-zone thermostat in a regular house can cost around $100. For the RV, it comes with the controllers also needed in each AC unit, and the price will be around $300.

I’m so used to living in small places in ships and submarines that this place seems positively huge at times. Some places I park the rig, I put out my awnings, outside mat, some camp chairs, lights and a cooler full of refreshments. My patio has a changing mood to it, since I can be at the beach at times and in the mountains at other times. With my outdoor room, the total floor space goes up to about 540 square feet. Some apartments aren’t that big.

I stay in campgrounds, but I must admit that is stretching the word just a little. My home has satellite TV and radio, Internet, full kitchen, bath with shower, lots of storage space inside and out, a queen size bed, and just about everything a regular home has, so “camping” isn’t what it used to be.

Lots of people are full-time RV folks. We seem to have many things in common. A lot of us are veterans, so “sea stories” and military stories abound. We also talk about the price of fuel, and the thought that we can get diesel here in California for under $3 a gallon will send many folks to the pumps to fill up. I’ve been told I’m lucky in my rig gets slightly over 10 mpg. My fuel tank holds 90 gallons. So I pull up to the pump and ask for a loan.

I tow my Jeep behind the RV. I’ve learned from that experience, too. Things like: Be sure to release the emergency brake on the Jeep before you move it. Jeep tires are a little pricey. At least it was only the rear tires and not all four. It was also good to know the brake held.

So, what does all of this have to do with the Santa Clarita Valley? Well, in looking at the various campgrounds between Acton and Canyon Country, I find it kind of cool that up near Vincent Hill there is a RV Park, and another close to where Ravenna used to be. I can drive down Soledad Canyon, and in places where there used to be little towns or mining camps, there are now RV campgrounds. It’s almost like days past when the buildings in the camps were easy to knock down and move to the next strike. Today the buildings are self-contained and can be taken just about any place there is a road.

I take a little bit of the SCV with me when I do leave the area. We full-time RV folks do like to talk about our hometowns. We also compare the places we call home.

I’ve figured out I like the SCV as a home. Of course, having a rig that has California license plates makes one a real target. “Welcome to Arizona where fuel is nearly $1 less.” Let me tell you, I’ve been tempted to drive to Arizona just to get fuel.

When I move the rig again, I’ll have a view of the hills northwest of Acton. Back to where I am today, I may get under the trees or maybe get a view of the southwest mountains. Right now, outside my bedroom window I can look out and see the hills that contain those rich gold mines up here in Acton.

This is somewhat a “home on the range” lifestyle. Coyotes howling. Stars so bright at night, too. Yep, right where the deer and the antelope play, or at least used to play. Why do you think it is called the Antelope Valley over that next ridge?

Seldom do we hear a discouraging word up here, because what the heck can an antelope say?

Darryl Manzer grew up in the Pico Canyon oil town of Mentryville in the 1960s and attended Hart High School. After a career in the U.S. Navy he returned to live in the Santa Clarita Valley, where he serves as executive director of the SCV Historical Society. He can be reached at dmanzer@scvhistory.com. His older commentaries are archived atDManzer.com; his newer commentaries can be accessed [here]. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].