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RTR

2024 Rubber Tramp Rendezvous!

The first day of the WRTR  was cold and windy but that did not deter the intrepid women who gathered at the Quartzsite Town Park to attend the seminars on nomad safety, hygiene, and off road travel. A generous donation from Columbia Sportswear and an anonymous donor allowed us to distribute puffer and fleece jackets plus hats, gloves, and warm socks to grateful attendees who could not afford to purchase them on their own.

                       

The next day the sun came out and the weather for the rest of the WRTR and RTR was beautiful. Attendees enjoyed interesting seminars; live music; making new friends; meeting Bob, trustees, and staff; viewing open homes; making crafts; and playing games. Food was available at the food carts, the free pile yielded good finds, and a group of volunteers with sewing machines made 100s of repairs. 

                         

                        

                                                                                            

                          

There was plenty of room on the ball field even on the days of the most popular seminars when attendance hit 500 people.  Social distancing space was still available for those who wanted or needed it.

Thank you to our supporters and donors! We are very grateful to Columbia for the donated winter gear and Marie Griggs Krause for the quilt donation.  We teamed with Escapees this year and they offered a free membership as a door prize.

A special thank you to the volunteers who show up every year to help make these important events possible! You can help too.  Please Donate!

 

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2023 RTRs Jan 7 – Jan 20

Over 14 days of WRTR and RTR hundreds of attendees enjoyed seminars, demonstrations, live music, open houses, crafts and games, and a screening of Nomadland.  Food trucks, buskers, a sewing station joined the attractions from earlier RTRs such as the free table, bulletin board, and button table. A good time was had by all! Make plans come to the 2024 RTRs and join in the fun!

Yummy stuff from the food trucks      Informative seminars                          Crafts and games

Performances by musicians like The Nomads, Gong Gypsy, Status Crows, and talented buskers.

Open house! A chance to check out everyone’s rigs for ideas and inspiration.

Learn skills and get tips. Charlene Bower, founder of Ladies Offroad Network, leading a seminar at the WRTR.

Sewing station for free repairs and hemming.

Sweepstakes tickets to win a Bluetti solar system, a Lectric ebike or a handmade quilt. Thank you to the donors of the sweepstakes prizes.

Nomadland on the big screen. You may even get to meet some stars!

Thank you to the many volunteers who helped make the RTRs a wonderful event!

The RTRs are always free, however, donations are appreciated and help pay for the rental of the park, stage, portable potties, movie screen, and movie. 

Thank you for your donations!

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Join Our Community!

Many of our programs foster community building and everyone is welcome to join us!

RTRS

In 2011, Bob Wells, president of Homes On Wheels Alliance, started our oldest program, the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous.  The RTR is held every year in Quartzsite, Arizona and features seminars on topics such as solar power, work camping, safety, vehicle maintenance, and other subjects of interest to new and experienced nomads. The Women’s Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, formed to address the concerns of nomadic women, held it’s first official gathering in Quarzsite, Arizona in 2018. Please join us at the 2024 the RTRs which will be held at the Quartzsite city park from Jan. 11 to Jan. 19!

Caravans

Realizing that many new nomads are alone and overwhelmed by the challenges of their new lives, Bob Wells started the Caravans in 2019. Caravan sites are marked with a flag and change location every 2 weeks to keep within BLM restrictions on camping time. The goal of the Caravans is to help new nomads form friendships, become comfortable with dispersed camping, and learn from each other, however, all nomads are welcome. Caravans

 

Virtual Caravans

Presented as Zoom meetings, Virtual Caravans were born during the coronavirus outbreak when in-person RTRs and Caravans could not be safely held. These proved to be very popular and will continue even though it’s now safe to meet in person. The Virtual Caravans give new nomads and people who wish be become nomads another way to make their journey easier as they can meet people in the meetings and then later meet in person. Virtual Caravans

Facebook

We have four Facebook groups that are geared to towards different aspects of nomadic living – general discussion, finding camping partners, RTR attendees, and WRTR attendees. These groups are moderated to keep the posts helpful and kind and are a wonderful resource for getting advice and sharing your journey. Join Facebook!

Volunteer

Hundreds of people have become successful in their nomadic lives with the support they received from HOWA’s programs. Many then give back by volunteering with HOWA online and in-person.

Your donations keep these valuable programs going!

 

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Rachele, an RTRs Volunteer

Rachele, Saturday, and Andrea, a fellow volunteer

Like many first-time RTR attendees, Rachele discovered the RTRs while searching the internet for the solution to a problem – where to buy an inexpensive but reliable car for her younger son. What she found instead was a YouTube video on the Cheap RV Living channel featuring Suanne Carlson living in her Prius. The concept was new to Rachele but intriguing so she gave her car to her son and bought a 20+-year-old Toyota Sienna with a good motor and transmission. After getting work done on the car to make it safe and dependable, Rachele was ready for her first RTRs.

In Rachele’s own words:

“I came to the WRTR/RTR with no expectations except helping, in any way needed, the organization that had helped put the skip back in my step.


I set a goal for myself after my son’s (Rachele’s older son) last cancer treatment, to start living life now and stop waiting for tomorrow! Goal 1, after I got my van running was to volunteer for the fabulous organization that gave me the encouragement to start living again, not just surviving for tomorrow.


I arrived at the volunteer camp so nervous I parked a wash away as to not disturb anyone. I showed up my first morning nervous as hell not knowing a soul. Spent the days with amazing people, bonded together by the joy of building community.  I found myself quite emotional leaving with tears of joy because I felt as if I found my tribe!!!”

Thank you Rachele for volunteering and helping make life better for all of the attendees!

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The 2022 Online RTR

The 2021 online RTR was so popular that it was continued in 2022. Questions were answered in the chat during the classes so be sure to check the chat, and the comments below each video, for additional information. All online sessions are posted on the HOWA YouTube channel and can be watched at any time.

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2022 Rubber Tramp Rendezvous Jan 14-23

The return of the RTRs! After reviewing the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccines and the rate of infections in the Quartzsite area, the staff and trustees of HOWA determined that the 2022 RTRs could be held safely. The RTRs are held completely outdoors which allows proper social distancing and lessens any chance of infection. All attendees were cautioned to follow CDC guidelines.

The venue for the 2020 RTRs, La Paz Fairgrounds, was excellent but the lack of close dispersed camping meant long drives for people who wanted to attend the seminars. For the 2022 RTRs Suanne Carlson, HOWA’s Executive Director, persuaded the Quartzsite officials to rent the town park to HOWA. The location of the park in the center of the town surrounded by BLM land within easy driving, biking, and even walking distance meant many more people could attend the seminars. Over the ten days of the RTRs hundreds of people gathered on the grass of the baseball field to listen to seminars on solar power, work camping, safety, vehicle maintenance and other subjects of interest to new and experienced nomads.

 Popular features such as the button table, the bulletin boards, the free tables, and the plywood van were joined by “Flat Bob”and a crafts area located at the first aid station plus an opportunity to buy sweepstakes tickets and win Bob’s van . A generous donor supplied funds to buy warm blankets, hats, and socks to be distributed to any attendee who couldn’t afford to buy them. On the final two days of the RTR attendees were invited to show off their vehicles at an open house event. Wonderful entertainment was provided by the Status Crowes  and the Gong Gypsy.

None of this would have been possible without the help of the HOWA volunteers. Due to the hard work and cooperation of many people the RTRs were a huge success. Any concern that the Quartzsite officials had about renting the park for the event vanished when they saw how professionally the volunteers handled their duties and how much support the attendees gave and received over the ten days of the RTRs. HOWA has been invited to come back next year! Thank you volunteers and attendees! Hope to see all of you at the Quartzsite town park for the 2023 RTRs!

 

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