Pack Like a Hobo! [ 1930s Minimalist Travel Tips! ]

Hoboes had to pack carefully. It was important for lightweight travel and so minimalist packing was the order of the day. They were often poor so they had to travel on a tight budget and their gear was military surplus or Boy Scout items as well as what they could scavenge or buy.

[WayPointSurvival]

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[dinebonte]

My grandparents hired a hobo every fall for harvest in North Dakota! They spoke highly of this Hobo who came every year for seven years!

[stevenhatfield]

My uncle did time as a hobo after he got back from WWII. He was a mechanic and traveled from coast to coast. He became a wonderful role model for me and he became a great husband and father. His tales of traveling the rails never cease to amaze me. 😃👍

[IIVVBlues]

Our house backed on to tracks of a freight yard in the early 50s and hobos still occasionally stopped by our back door looking for chores that could earn them a meal. The ones I remember were fairly young. The one thing you didn't mention were the "bulls" or railroad security who tried to keep the box cars clear of trespassers. The original hobos in the thirties used the trains to ride from town to town looking for work. After WW 2 the hobos died out, because there actually was plenty of work and cops were not very sympathetic to unemployed vagrants.
In the sixties a new kind of "hobo" appeared. With a duffle bag and guitar, I lived on the road for two years, hitch-hiking from coast to coast. Adults branded us "hippies". There were dozens of us on the highways and it was a golden time that I'm glad to have experienced. Hitching a ride was fairly easy in those times, so we seldom used trains.
In larger communities the YMCA was about $3.00 a night for a bed, so whenever I landed a job that's where I stayed. I usually worked long enough to get a paycheck and then moved on. Sometimes I could earn enough by just playing my guitar on the street. Eventually I settled down and went to college, earning a BA. I was 25 before I married and started having kids. A family will tend to domesticate a person.
I've been married 49 years and now retired in southern Arizona. Living on road is one of the fondest memories of my youth, but sleeping in a highway underpass in the rain is not something I would want to experience at my age. It was a different world then.

[mikebland]

I remember, at age 14 I had a friend who was 16. As King of the Road was playing on the radio in his trailer, I asked him what he was going to do after High School? He said; I'm going to be a Hobo. I've never quit thinking about him.

[gudgo]

Most people think a Hobo was a homeless bum, but I believe they were actually survivalists, especially during the Depression. I appreciate you bringing the true hobo to the forefront and showing what it took to survive on the road during hard times. I wish someone would make a movie about the life and times of hobos. You would be perfect for one of the roles by far! Thanks for sharing the knowledge you have obtained about the hobo lifestyle. Look forward to more of your videos.

[ronhardcrackers]

I would highly recommend carrying a large tin cup or an Army canteen cup that the canteen would slip into for making and drinking coffee or at least a peach can modified with a wire bail. One of the handiest thing I carried in my knapsack was a simple pillowcase. It has little weight and helps keep clean shirts and socks clean, you can use the case and clothing as a pillow and feels much nicer on a wind or sunburned face while sleeping. You can use it as a poke for carrying anything you pick up along to tote back to camp. You can also use it as a towel if you bathe in a pond or creek. I got that hint from the diary written by a Federal Civil War solider. I found he was correct from my experience during very long fast marching on week long, hardcore campaign marches years ago.

[jneadventures]

My Grandpa was a hobo after WWII. I always loved to hear his stories. I’ve worked on the railroad for 32 years. Use to see hobos quite a bit in the mid to late 90’s not so much now. I always tried to help them out with crewpacks(a little pack that had toilet paper, some hand cleaners, paper towels, and a bandaid) some bottles of water and maybe some info on what train was going where. Most of them were cool but some were a holes!

[theSpiritScribe]

Finally someone explained the word to me [German], thank you! We still have Hobos, they're young, travelling craftspeople who just finished their professional training as carpenters and such. To send them on 3 years of "Walz", as it's often referred to, ensured new blood in far away villages - and skilled workers of course. So the concept still very much exists and I think today you could call them work&travel folks! Anyway, thanks a ton, your videos rock!

[matthewbrown]

We called them Swagmen or Swaggies here in Australia. Their canvas bedroll was called a Swag - length of canvas, blanket or 2, soft items, length of rope to carry - the song Waltzing Matilda tells the story of a Swaggie carrying his Matilda (the swag) as he walks from town to town.

[gregjohnson]

As always, great video James.
The saying “Jack of all trades, master of none”, has a very important ending that is for some reason always left out. Maybe because truth hurts?
“A jack of all trades is a master of none but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
Keep up the good message James. Godspeed.

[Stefandanielsson]

Interesting video 👍😊 I am from Sweden, my great grandfather was forced to leave home when he was 14 because his parents could not afford to feed him and other things. He went on the roads and lived like a hobo. In Sweden they are called ”Luffare”. He worked mainly as a lumberjack in different places. I could listen to his storys for hours and hours.
Thank you for a great channel 👍😊💯

[swnyto]

The way things are looking now, hobos may be making a comeback.

[Georgecobb-sv]

James, your videos of "Life on the Tracks" (aka Hobo Life) refresh memories of my early childhood. As a youngster during & after WWII, our family often lived close to railroad tracks & for several years near a big railroad switching yard. As part of a Hobo's Tool Kit, I do not recall your mention of FRICTION TAPE. That was the black, sticky, cloth-backed tape used for repairs before the days of plastic electrical tape & Duct Tape. That would be a useful addition to anyone's kit in those days. You always do a SUPER job in your presentations, allowing us to step right into whatever period of history you are portraying. As an 82 year old youngster who still considers himself an "Old Schooler, " I see the Hobo Pack as more than a survival kit, Bug-Out-Bag; the Hobo Pack is really more of a "Mobile Daily Living Kit." Thanks, and may God bless you!

[alanrice]

I remember my grandmother telling me bout feeding Hobo’s off her back porch, excellent video, thanks James

[rocistone]

Nice! Puts me in mind of something I saw a ways back. It was an article on hobo signs and symbols. These would be left in innocuous spots to tell others what they might expect in the town or village just up ahead, Friendly folks who gave handouts, and jobs and the other end of things mean dogs, railway yard men, and tough cops. There was an alphabet too, as I recall. These might make a good video too.

[gregtheredneck]

I'd think a hair comb would be another item that you might find in a hobo's pack. Another great look back into our history. Thanks for sharing.

[lonesomeknoteye]

I have been minamilizing my life for the last 5yrs. Traveled and worked out of a subaru and then a truck. Lived on a boat for a while. I Have been trying the hobo life this summer in Washington. I have learned alot from you videos dude, thanks for the knowledge my friend ✌💚

[AbAb-thqe]

The cooking pot with rice and beans in paper bags is a good shout that I wouldn't have thought of for a pack. Thanks 🙂

[jaac]

Awesome video!!! I've worked for a class 1 railroad for nearly 30 years and was never introduced to this historical knowledge. What a shame! I HAVE, however, bumped into a modern day hobo on rare occasion, always at night and it was clear that I scared them as much as they scared me. They were always polite and simply asked if I knew which way that train would go. Unfortunately, I was never much help in that regard - but I also never turned them in.