I've got a little Lincoln Mig with Argon cylinder and the aluminum spool/gun that's a pretty capable little welder. I figured that should cover my bases when I go 4-wheeling out on BLM land and bust a fuel or water tank bracket, or a support beam in the aluminum trailer. Worst case scenario, I pull in to a luxury RV park and hang my shingle out advertising my services... "knives sharpened, wood whittled, pigs butchered, and a gamut of elixirs for whatever ails ya"
Oh AZB…[sigh]…
And
@CC268 , I blame you, and you alone, for this (and I think you know why) …
So, you are “planning” on RV-ing full time. I say “planning” in quotes because you seem to do a lot of “planning” on many things, per se, which I personally am not convinced will ever happen, but that's just my opinion and I digress. Any who, so as a part of this plan to RV full time, you have decided you are bringing a welder as part of your list of necessary equipment for the RV-full-time life. To me, this is akin to saying something like, “I infrequently wear suits and formal wear. Full time RV-ing, I will still infrequently wear suits and formal wear. Therefore, while full time RV-ing, I must bring along a portable dry-cleaning machine, tetrachloroethylene, and a press.”
I have a mid-sized arc welder, and an intermediate level skill at welding. But even I, at home, rarely do my own welding. The last time I needed some welding done, I did consider doing it myself, but there are so many welders around, doing it for so cheap, I figured it wasn’t worth my time/effort….and again this was while I was at home, with all the conveniences of home. You are planning on dragging a welder around, with a generator large enough to run it, all so you can infrequently fix something while on the road??? The gasoline used to haul the extra weight alone would never offset the cost savings of paying someone for an infrequent weld job. Then there’s the space it would take up, securing it in a trailer, also packing a large generator, rod, scrap metal, clamps, etc. Even the tiny welder that Zeldman has pictured would require constant almost 3000 watts or so from a generator, and because of its size it would be very limited in what it can do.
I’ve never full-timed in my RV. The longest I’ve ever done in one of my RVs was 3 weeks. Even at just 3 weeks, I had to cut back on what I wanted to bring, vs. what I did bring (and I was also pulling an enclosed trailer). I should note that those 3 weeks were in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I don’t know if you have ever been to Michigan, but unlike the lower peninsula, the upper if very sparsely populated, with moose, bear, wolves, and an average population density of less than one person per square mile. But even here, I have never gone more than a 30 minutes’ drive without seeing a “Welder” sign at the end of someone’s driveway. I travel out west, and seen ‘em frequently there too.
But hey, it’s your dream: pack what you want. While adding it to your shingle, you could add:
AZB’s Internet Ad Sales
AZB’s Mobile RV Welding (pending)
AZB’s Bush Pilot Gold Panning (pending)
AZB’s 1500 nm X/Cs (pending)
AZB’s Antique Aircraft Restorations (pending)
AZB’s Aircraft Parts Manufacturing (pending)
Sooooo, I guess this is my long-winded explanation why I’m finding this so funny. But when ya gotta explain the joke…
