I grew up in Sierra Blanca - late 80’s. Many people tried to live and build out there - especially going down on Farm Road 1111 south. They had the Shamrock ranch down there….unless you have major income to maintain electricity, water….it’s not an easy place to live outside of town. You’ll find dozens of trailers and half finished structures that the elements will eventually claim. You’ll have to drive monthly to El Paso for groceries. I still go out to visit the cemetery to visit. I’ll subscribe - I hope to see you all do well.
Not really, we have better technology now, and I live on the Shamrock Ranches! I pay 35 dollars per month for 5000 gallons of water, I buy food from Walmart and Amazon delivered free to the post office. I grow food year round in 4 Tower Gardens, inside and out one tower feeds two people, saving 90% of the water. And come spring fruit trees, berry bushes and berry shrubs, in ground along with many Hügelkulturs, mounds four feet tall, saving 75% of the water, with plant debri under them, to grow most of the food, come spring all under shade cloth. I had all these before I moved to Sierra Blanca Solar for electric, 5 kwatts of used ploy-crystalline panels. 12 kw mppt solar inverter. 100 kwatts of LiFePo4 batteries, this was my largest cost. You can get by with 6x 5120 watt hour LiFePo4 batteries for 6,600 dollars, for 30 kwatts. you can buy it piece by piece. 150 dollars for two 5 kwatt diesel heaters, I can also use them to heat water. It does not cost that much, if you do not need to go to town but once per week for mail, you can make it easy on less than 600 per month/ Food, diesel and gas. I have internet Starlink 120 per month, no need for a Tv, I use tablets with 6 apps for that. Plus it saves power. I use the Textnow app on my cellphone, free unlimited calls and texting.
I purchased 56 acres just north of Fort Hancock. I take the 17 hour Amtrac Train ride from Houston to El Paso and keep my SUV/supplies in a RV storage lot in El Paso. The cost of the ticket for the train for me is $86.00 vs the $400.00 in gas. I take 6 rifles when I go for shooting and Amtrack allows gun transport.
We have never seen our property there because during our trip back to Oregon from our vacation home in the Rio Grande Valley, TX it was snowing quite heavily there and had to continue home. We bought 60 acres at unit 637 sec. 14 blk 71
Super excited about this. My mom has 40 acres out there and my husband and I are getting ready to head out there in May to begin our adventure of homesteading.
I graduated from Sierra Blanca years ago, its funny to hear big tank road, thats where I used to take my girlfriends to make out. I little help there isnt any water out there, or electricity, solar only and carry any water you need. They have had a good amount of rain this year and the dessert is beautiful. Not trying to scare anyone but it is the dessert, please take plenty of water. There are not many services in town, gas, hamburgers, and enchiladas. I think there is a mechanic in town still. The county is one of the most impoverished, in Texas. The folks from Sierra Blanca will welcome you , but cautiously. Sierra Blanca itself has water issues, quantity and quality, so just be aware. Most supplies must come from El Paso 88 miles away. The SB u took a picture of is repainted every year by the freshman, or at least it was. I still have many friends that live there a go back on special occasion, look forward to seeing you.
Solar power isn't very expensive if done right. I buy 100 watt panels on Amazon because bigger actually costs more per watt. Batteries should never be wired in parallel. A good storage system is golf cart batteries ( Crown CR-220). You wire 2 in series for 12 volt. If all your LED lighting and fridge are 12 volt, your standby wattage will be low. I just use camping pure sine wave inverter s for vacuum, vcr, small stuff. It's better to have like a 1000 watt and a small one, separate, so you don't run too much drain. Water will be catchment, but find stainless steel food grade tanks just for clean drinking water.
Houston to West Texas sounds like pretty good drive. My dad lives over in Orange, Texas. Beautiful down there. Excellent drone footage. Thanks for sharing.
I will follow you later this year. Not the fanciest, but it's a start. I love it. While I had not thought of that, I would imitate you when I arrive. Cheers James
Take the single axle trailer back and get a 2 axle rig that will carry about 5 thousand pounds. If you do not then you will need to make more trips back to the store. How will you keep folks from stealing anything you leave there? Maybe you can buy a large steel shipping container. They are carried on ships and I have seen them at construction sites. They cost about $2000. You will need to buy a one ton pickup. Diesel will save you gas money but they are very expensive to repair if they break down. You need one to pull heavy trailers. The transmisson will be destroyed if you pull with a light pickup truck. A heavy duty pickup will last a long time. They just dont break down often. Ford made a 7.3 liter engine for its heavy duty trucks in the 90's. They could last 200 to 300 thousand miles if you keep all the fluids changed. You might get one with just over 100 thousand miles and pay about $5000. There is a reason you see all the ranchers around there driving pickups.
It is a slow process. We are building as we go. Fencing will be going in soon and cameras are already up. There are not many people in the area we are in.
Congratulations! Honestly, we are just starting out too, so not much is done yet. We are planning another trip out there hopefully within the next month or so to start with our fence and get another survey done because we cannot find out back markers. We will be posting another video and any vendors we do use, I will let you know :) good luck!!
@@citytooffgrid If your drone has a 'distance' readout from where it took off then that can be a huge help locating the markers. Take off parallel with a known marker and head in the direction of the next 'unknown' survey marker until the distance reads what is on your plat map, then land there and locate the drone (or hover until you can walk to it). Good luck and God Bless
PLEASE TELL ME YOU STILL USE THIS THING!!! you guys are about to become my best friends ive been looking at property near sierra blanca for the past couple of months and i plan to make a purchase within the next few months. i have LOADS of questions of your open to that type of thing. this is the first video of yours i came across, i'll check out the rest, great to see it from a on the ground view
Love the video. We own 100 acres on the North side of 10 and are looking to pay someone to do some drone footage for us. We plan on building end of this coming summer.
Hello!! Loved the video and subscribed. I will be moving out to Sunset ranches in March also from North Houston (Willis Texas ) Have you started looking into or receiving water out in that area ?
Do you get a real property title once you are done paying for the property? Also are you able to resale one day if you want to? I will be moving to El Paso soon and looking into buying 20 acres at sunset ranch and don't want to waste money and get ripped off. Thank you on advance.
The info on the paperwork says after payoff, you will get the deed.. I see people posting their property for sale, so I’m sure you can:) I say go for it!!
I have five acres on Highway 62/180 50 miles out east of El Paso with Highway Frontage 12,000 asking price 400 a month with no interest and I do have the title and deed for it
I noticed you went through a gate. Is this your gate? Are the roads generally open out there or are there Sunset Ranches gates to go through to get to your property?
Hello. Sunset ranches is all open however, there are sections with gates because they keep cattle out there. Just have to make sure when you go through, it’s all closed up :)
I’m leaning very hard to purchase property out there what’s your opinion and how much does it cost to get water to the property if you don’t mind me asking
Are there any people here in the SUNSET RANCHES area ? I will be moving to UNIT 119 Tract 7 Section 7. if anyone is out there I’d love to pick your brain between now and the first of March
Looks great! We're looking at land in Hudsoeth or Culberon counties. Maybe 20-40 acres for hunting with an off-grid small hunting cabin. Any advice if we go through with it? Able to obtain water in this particular location?
For hudspeth county, you would need to have a water well or pay a monthly water fee to Haul your own water from town. I know for Sunset Ranches, you can only hunt if on your own property. More info can be found on their website www.Sunsetranches.com
Even drilling can be a gamble. Some of the underground water is toxic and you cannot drink. Before you purchase property check with a driller. he might be able to tell you about the water underground in that area.@@citytooffgrid
@@citytooffgrid Very cool. I got lot unit 424 lot 28. It is off Big Tank Rd and sits between Breeder Pass and Maverick Run. Close to Jones Locker hotel.Hoping to move from NE Ohio in March. I want to come see the property in the next few weeks.
@citytooffgrid Thank you!! What are you guys doing for water? I plan on a cistern for a while. I want to dig at least 1 pond and maybe 2. When is the rainy season? Are you doing raised bed gardens or using the soil that's there? Sorry for all the questions. Just exited there's someone in the area.
You need to stop right now and take a loss. The fact that no one lives out there and that most of the lots been bought and resold many times for 20 years should give you a pretty good indication it’s not going to work. There are 1000’s of off grid properties available that would be so much better to live on than that area. No doubt it’s exciting and fun but the end result is not going to be what you expect.
Very true Mike. I'm super happy for her but I wasn't sure if the waste had been remediated yet. I know that Bernie Sanders designated this place as a dumpsite for waste products from the East Coast. If they've cleaned it up I would love love love to do what she is doing! Her dogs look so happy too! It looks awesome and so much space still available.
@@citytooffgrid I believe there is enough people moving out there that can make a change, keep living your dream. Im in Houston area too and land is high AF!! in our surrounding areas, you guys will do fine. its a win situation for you.
Good luck, that is a tough area to make it work. Gonna have to truck in water, if you can find water. Your videos need a lot of improvement. Put some faces in the videos.
I grew up in Sierra Blanca - late 80’s. Many people tried to live and build out there - especially going down on Farm Road 1111 south. They had the Shamrock ranch down there….unless you have major income to maintain electricity, water….it’s not an easy place to live outside of town. You’ll find dozens of trailers and half finished structures that the elements will eventually claim. You’ll have to drive monthly to El Paso for groceries. I still go out to visit the cemetery to visit. I’ll subscribe - I hope to see you all do well.
Thank you so much :)
Are there any natural springs in the area to collect free water.
Not really, we have better technology now, and I live on the Shamrock Ranches! I pay 35 dollars per month for 5000 gallons of water, I buy food from Walmart and Amazon delivered free to the post office. I grow food year round in 4 Tower Gardens, inside and out one tower feeds two people, saving 90% of the water. And come spring fruit trees, berry bushes and berry shrubs, in ground along with many Hügelkulturs, mounds four feet tall, saving 75% of the water, with plant debri under them, to grow most of the food, come spring all under shade cloth.
I had all these before I moved to Sierra Blanca
Solar for electric, 5 kwatts of used ploy-crystalline panels.
12 kw mppt solar inverter.
100 kwatts of LiFePo4 batteries, this was my largest cost. You can get by with 6x 5120 watt hour LiFePo4 batteries for 6,600 dollars, for 30 kwatts. you can buy it piece by piece.
150 dollars for two 5 kwatt diesel heaters, I can also use them to heat water.
It does not cost that much, if you do not need to go to town but once per week for mail, you can make it easy on less than 600 per month/ Food, diesel and gas. I have internet Starlink 120 per month, no need for a Tv, I use tablets with 6 apps for that. Plus it saves power. I use the Textnow app on my cellphone, free unlimited calls and texting.
@@thesurvivalist.Right. The technology is definitely more advanced. We have land out there too.
@@thesurvivalist.amazing. I’ve been thinking about buying some land out there. Where do you get the water? Thanks in advance.
I have 21 acres in South Sierra Blanca, That place is beautiful.
Who did you get your property though if you don't mind me asking? I just bought 20 acres down there as well
Lone star investments
I purchased 56 acres just north of Fort Hancock. I take the 17 hour Amtrac Train ride from Houston to El Paso and keep my SUV/supplies in a RV storage lot in El Paso. The cost of the ticket for the train for me is $86.00 vs the $400.00 in gas. I take 6 rifles when I go for shooting and Amtrack allows gun transport.
Sounds like a good deal there you have. Speaking of some range shooting, any hunting possibilities out there?
@@markwest8960 I have seen some pronghorn, rabits and javilina, but not too many. Ive only been there 2x since I made the land purchase 2 months ago.
We have never seen our property there because during our trip back to Oregon from our vacation home in the Rio Grande Valley, TX it was snowing quite heavily there and had to continue home. We bought 60 acres at unit 637 sec. 14 blk 71
Hey we are practically neighbors, sec 15 blk 71 here. Howdy! I've yet to see my property in person as well.
Just bought land here!!! A little nervous. Did you do a title check
Super excited about this. My mom has 40 acres out there and my husband and I are getting ready to head out there in May to begin our adventure of homesteading.
How awesome!! 😊 good Luck!!
How was the land??? Just bought 20 acres?
Fun video, I enjoyed going along and seeing what you guys are up to...!!!
I have 50 acres on the Gunsight ranch I hope to do the same with. Good luck with your adventures.
Thank you! You as well! 😊
I graduated from Sierra Blanca years ago, its funny to hear big tank road, thats where I used to take my girlfriends to make out. I little help there isnt any water out there, or electricity, solar only and carry any water you need. They have had a good amount of rain this year and the dessert is beautiful. Not trying to scare anyone but it is the dessert, please take plenty of water. There are not many services in town, gas, hamburgers, and enchiladas. I think there is a mechanic in town still. The county is one of the most impoverished, in Texas. The folks from Sierra Blanca will welcome you , but cautiously. Sierra Blanca itself has water issues, quantity and quality, so just be aware. Most supplies must come from El Paso 88 miles away. The SB u took a picture of is repainted every year by the freshman, or at least it was. I still have many friends that live there a go back on special occasion, look forward to seeing you.
Nice! We can’t wait to move out there full-time.
Solar power isn't very expensive if done right. I buy 100 watt panels on Amazon because bigger actually costs more per watt. Batteries should never be wired in parallel. A good storage system is golf cart batteries ( Crown CR-220). You wire 2 in series for 12 volt. If all your LED lighting and fridge are 12 volt, your standby wattage will be low. I just use camping pure sine wave inverter s for vacuum, vcr, small stuff. It's better to have like a 1000 watt and a small one, separate, so you don't run too much drain. Water will be catchment, but find stainless steel food grade tanks just for clean drinking water.
Houston to West Texas sounds like pretty good drive. My dad lives over in Orange, Texas. Beautiful down there. Excellent drone footage. Thanks for sharing.
I've made the trip twice - about 9.5 hours
Wow, Orange is literally live. It's 13 hours!
This is super exciting! Can't wait to see what you do with your property!
I have 40 acres at Sunset Ranches, haven't been out there yet. But we're planning a trip in Oct.
I bought some there, too. We will be going in August.
Hey Ricky, I bought 100 acres from sunset ranches 4 years ago. I'll see you there in a couple years.
This is awesome, I will continue to follow as I have business plans in this community
Thank you so much!
Hello from the Big Bend Valley!!!!!!! We travel from NC to there to the land lol got a tiny house last November :)
We're in NC too and looking to buy some land out there in Hudspeth as well.
I will follow you later this year. Not the fanciest, but it's a start. I love it. While I had not thought of that, I would imitate you when I arrive. Cheers James
Definitely stay strapped
Take the single axle trailer back and get a 2 axle rig that will carry about 5 thousand pounds. If you do not then you will need to make more trips back to the store. How will you keep folks from stealing anything you leave there? Maybe you can buy a large steel shipping container. They are carried on ships and I have seen them at construction sites. They cost about $2000. You will need to buy a one ton pickup. Diesel will save you gas money but they are very expensive to repair if they break down. You need one to pull heavy trailers. The transmisson will be destroyed if you pull with a light pickup truck. A heavy duty pickup will last a long time. They just dont break down often. Ford made a 7.3 liter engine for its heavy duty trucks in the 90's. They could last 200 to 300 thousand miles if you keep all the fluids changed. You might get one with just over 100 thousand miles and pay about $5000. There is a reason you see all the ranchers around there driving pickups.
It is a slow process. We are building as we go. Fencing will be going in soon and cameras are already up. There are not many people in the area we are in.
Any tips that you can give us? List of vendors you’re using? I just bought a property out there too 20 acres! 🥰 thanks for posting
Congratulations! Honestly, we are just starting out too, so not much is done yet. We are planning another trip out there hopefully within the next month or so to start with our fence and get another survey done because we cannot find out back markers.
We will be posting another video and any vendors we do use, I will let you know :) good luck!!
Thank you for the follow!
I am so happy I found your video! I am buying 20 acres with frontage on FR1111. I look forward to future videos.
@@citytooffgrid If your drone has a 'distance' readout from where it took off then that can be a huge help locating the markers. Take off parallel with a known marker and head in the direction of the next 'unknown' survey marker until the distance reads what is on your plat map, then land there and locate the drone (or hover until you can walk to it). Good luck and God Bless
@@houstonfirefox perfect!! Thank you :)
I'm looking at a property there, but there is no road access, guess that is normal for the area!
PLEASE TELL ME YOU STILL USE THIS THING!!! you guys are about to become my best friends ive been looking at property near sierra blanca for the past couple of months and i plan to make a purchase within the next few months. i have LOADS of questions of your open to that type of thing. this is the first video of yours i came across, i'll check out the rest, great to see it from a on the ground view
We do!! You should do it! Of course, we will do our best to answer your questions.
Love that land is super cheap out there and I’ve been looking…. But the lands are soooo dry and flat…
I lived not far from there in sacoro Texas back in late 90s
Love the video. We own 100 acres on the North side of 10 and are looking to pay someone to do some drone footage for us. We plan on building end of this coming summer.
I hope to be heading out early in 2022 and could probably get some footage for ya. Contact me if interested
i have a plae in between siera blanca and fort hancock Tx. will be there in the fall hope to see you around there ok?
Love the music!
I just bought 20 acres just south of Sierra blanca any help with source to get materials to build an Adobe/bamboo home would be amazing!
Do food grow in the soil?
Hi is there more land around there for sale I want to bring my rescue dogs out there and build a safe oasis for them
Check out sunsetranches.com
Did you take the loan offer they gave or just pay it off and get the warranty deed right away?
Speaking for myself, I took their loan offer but paid it off inside of a year
My wife and I were very happy to see your videos. I told my son to take his drone also and I,ll upload a video also.
Do these tracts come with easily identifiable Survey stakes so you can get start with your building plans ?
Just bought 11 acres out in There :)
Hello!! Loved the video and subscribed. I will be moving out to Sunset ranches in March also from North Houston (Willis Texas ) Have you started looking into or receiving water out in that area ?
Do you get a real property title once you are done paying for the property? Also are you able to resale one day if you want to? I will be moving to El Paso soon and looking into buying 20 acres at sunset ranch and don't want to waste money and get ripped off. Thank you on advance.
The info on the paperwork says after payoff, you will get the deed.. I see people posting their property for sale, so I’m sure you can:)
I say go for it!!
I have five acres on Highway 62/180 50 miles out east of El Paso with Highway Frontage 12,000 asking price 400 a month with no interest and I do have the title and deed for it
Looking to buy about 10 acres Fort Hancock, any advice?
I noticed you went through a gate. Is this your gate? Are the roads generally open out there or are there Sunset Ranches gates to go through to get to your property?
Hello. Sunset ranches is all open however, there are sections with gates because they keep cattle out there. Just have to make sure when you go through, it’s all closed up :)
We're headed out to see out land in June so thanks for the tip.
I’m leaning very hard to purchase property out there what’s your opinion and how much does it cost to get water to the property if you don’t mind me asking
How’s life in sierra blanca ？ about to buy land there right now.
I GREW UP THERE
I live in houston and also bought land in sierra blanca ✨😌
Wahoo!! Congratulations:)
Are there any people here in the SUNSET RANCHES area ? I will be moving to UNIT 119 Tract 7 Section 7. if anyone is out there I’d love to pick your brain between now and the first of March
Do you know how the area is if it’s bad with the cartel
Cool video. We have property in Sierra Blanca off of Big tank RD. We love it out there ! Who knows we might be neighbors one day lol
Right! That would be awesome :)
@@citytooffgrid i was wondering about water out there you gonna have a well drilled or truck it in?
@britt linton eventually drill.
How much drilling cost?
plant stuff now! if u can
whats the snake situation like there?
What is the name of the last song on this Video? I just love it.
Looks great! We're looking at land in Hudsoeth or Culberon counties. Maybe 20-40 acres for hunting with an off-grid small hunting cabin. Any advice if we go through with it? Able to obtain water in this particular location?
For hudspeth county, you would need to have a water well or pay a monthly water fee to Haul your own water from town. I know for Sunset Ranches, you can only hunt if on your own property. More info can be found on their website www.Sunsetranches.com
Even drilling can be a gamble. Some of the underground water is toxic and you cannot drink. Before you purchase property check with a driller. he might be able to tell you about the water underground in that area.@@citytooffgrid
I just bought property in Hudspeth County Texas
What Ranch are you in? I just got 22 acres in Blue Quail 1.
Were blue quail 3
@@citytooffgrid Very cool. I got lot unit 424 lot 28. It is off Big Tank Rd and sits between Breeder Pass and Maverick Run. Close to Jones Locker hotel.Hoping to move from NE Ohio in March. I want to come see the property in the next few weeks.
Congratulations!
@citytooffgrid Thank you!! What are you guys doing for water? I plan on a cistern for a while. I want to dig at least 1 pond and maybe 2. When is the rainy season? Are you doing raised bed gardens or using the soil that's there? Sorry for all the questions. Just exited there's someone in the area.
Who are the couple that’s did your driveway? I need mine done there!
This is her Facebook.
facebook.com/kasandra.lee
Awesome video!
What lot do y'all have
We’re unit 634
@@citytooffgrid we got a spot on 607
We just bought a lot in 533
I have on blue quail ranch 2 516 I think
Dreamers. 😅
Im thinking about buying land out there...would love to dm you with questions if you dont mind...
Hey neighbours I am also on highway 1111 and Indian Hot Springs South of I 10 one mile
Hi neighbor! :) thank you for the follow
Sad part no water, Sierra Blanca get water from van horn
You can get water in Sierra Blanca. There is a monthly fee and you haul it yourself, or you can have a well.
We're out there also. Who did you use to clear your driveway?
I have their Facebook profile linked in the description :)
@@citytooffgrid Thank you
Of course! :)
They said they stopped but I have a team out of El Paso that will do 8hours of clearing for 1500
How many acres can they do in 8 hours?
Don't have to answer but is this a property from Drew Rankel?
You're in my neck of the woods
Did Michael clear your property?
I believe that it is his name.
Did you pay him to do that? Just got our 20 acres
@@citytooffgrid He's really good and him & his wife Kysandra are so nice.
So are there lots of jack rabbits there?
We have seen a couple.
😊👍
Cool video need work on your editing. Sound
Thanks for the feedback. I don’t think it sounds too shabby other than a little hiccup in the middle.
Watch for snakes.
Thank you! So far so good 🤞 lol only seen rabbits, tarantulas, birds, turtles and heard coyotes. Oh and cows lol.
You need to stop right now and take a loss. The fact that no one lives out there and that most of the lots been bought and resold many times for 20 years should give you a pretty good indication it’s not going to work. There are 1000’s of off grid properties available that would be so much better to live on than that area. No doubt it’s exciting and fun but the end result is not going to be what you expect.
Thanks for the feedback Mike.
Very true Mike. I'm super happy for her but I wasn't sure if the waste had been remediated yet. I know that Bernie Sanders designated this place as a dumpsite for waste products from the East Coast. If they've cleaned it up I would love love love to do what she is doing! Her dogs look so happy too! It looks awesome and so much space still available.
@@citytooffgrid I believe there is enough people moving out there that can make a change, keep living your dream. Im in Houston area too and land is high AF!! in our surrounding areas, you guys will do fine. its a win situation for you.
Thank you!
Good luck, that is a tough area to make it work. Gonna have to truck in water, if you can find water. Your videos need a lot of improvement. Put some faces in the videos.
Thanks so much for your feedback Mike. Hope you have a happy New Year!
They look like Gopher holes too.