Does anyone full-time RV?

[mattferg84]

Does anyone here full-time rv? My wife and I tried to sell our home here in Colorado last year but with rates we never found a buyer. This year we are giving it another shot and hoping to find a buyer. We bought the home in 2014 so we will be able to make some good money on the house. We are tired of living in a neighborhood with an HOA and not really sure if we want to live in Colorado anymore. I'd like to possibly buy some property back in Missouri where we are from so we can split our time between here and there. My sister has 10 acres here on the front range where we will be able to park the trailer.

So my question, has anyone else gone the full-time rv route and what are some must haves or what mistakes have you made? We will have water, septic and power on the property. I'm just a little concerned about water during the winter months.

 

[wesfromky]

If you are going to be semi-permanent, you need to check the local zoning laws and code for things like sewer and electric. A number of people live full time in an RV through the winter, just a matter of having the right setup.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I was gonna say you gotta live somewhere but if you have access to a property as noted that helps there.

Main issue with a lot of campers is they aren't truly designed for 4 season full timing, especially more affordable ones (BS hyper inflated R values they publish for instance). The nice ones that are might eat up a large chunk of that equity and unlike a home an camper is a massively depreciating asset (a 10yr old camper is worth a fraction of what you paid for it). Having the flexibility to travel around makes that compromise reasonable in some situations but the dynamic looks far less appealing to full time in a stationary spot.

If running on propane you'll rip through alot of it when its cold out. You have power you say, assuming you have an adequately sized feed line (50amps?) you can run electric heat which avoids massive propane consumption but you'll run up a power bill. Folks that full time in a stationary manner will pack hay bails or such around the perimeter to seal it up and some will run a space heater in the area under the trailer (more power consumption) to keep the water lines warmed that aren't wisely if 4 season camping was in mind.

That's talking about how to keep it heated and unfrozen, the other think lots of trailers aren't well designed around is condensation from living in them non-stop so you may have to run a dehumidified alot in one.

 

[Weldor]

Can't camp on your own property in most of AZ. Zoning allows for 6 months if you are building. Don't know about other states though, worth checking out.

 

[fulltiltaudio]

My wife and I did it for a year or so. I live in Eastern OR and the winters don't usually get too crazy other than a few weeks that occasionally get to single digits. Those weeks were rough, but not terrible. there is a "winter RV' group on facebook with a lot of good info that would be worth checking out. I think the hardest part for us was having 3 dogs and a kid under 1 year old. the dog park was clear across where we were staying and made it pretty difficult for my wife to take care of that. I loved being able to just put a few things away and be ready to head to the mtns and never forget things since it was all right there with us all the time. I do think we almost went too big on the trailer for the lifestyle we wanted, but if it is going to be fairly stationary and you always know where you will be parking, its not that big of deal. if we would have been able to buy property to park on so the dog issue was avoided and able to put a small shed since we have a lot of hobbies that require a lot of stuff (hunting, dirt bikes etc) It is possible we may still be living in a trailer. I will say, make sure your relationship with your spouse is good. My wife and I have a very good relationship and never really had issues, but when you get in a small space, I could easily see how some people just can't work together. You have no way out, or no where to go. Currently in a house that is 1100 sq feet and don't know how we did it in a 45' RV as our house is too small now. Part of me really wants to go back to that lifestyle in our smaller current trailer as I like the simplicity, but with 2 kids and 2 dogs now, I don't think that will be happening unless I could find a job to work remotely, I think I would do it, and just find somewhere that we could use as a "home base" and my wife would homeschool the kids. When we tried doing more traveling there were some nights that were frustrating not being able to find a place to park to stay. But if you have set locations and can live pretty minimally, go for it! invest in a good skirting on your trailer and find more tips for the winter!

 

[mattferg84]

If you are going to be semi-permanent, you need to check the local zoning laws and code for things like sewer and electric. A number of people live full time in an RV through the winter, just a matter of having the right setup.

My sister just put a home on the property so that was set up during the build

 

[mattferg84]

My wife and I did it for a year or so. I live in Eastern OR and the winters don't usually get too crazy other than a few weeks that occasionally get to single digits. Those weeks were rough, but not terrible. there is a "winter RV' group on facebook with a lot of good info that would be worth checking out. I think the hardest part for us was having 3 dogs and a kid under 1 year old. the dog park was clear across where we were staying and made it pretty difficult for my wife to take care of that. I loved being able to just put a few things away and be ready to head to the mtns and never forget things since it was all right there with us all the time. I do think we almost went too big on the trailer for the lifestyle we wanted, but if it is going to be fairly stationary and you always know where you will be parking, its not that big of deal. if we would have been able to buy property to park on so the dog issue was avoided and able to put a small shed since we have a lot of hobbies that require a lot of stuff (hunting, dirt bikes etc) It is possible we may still be living in a trailer. I will say, make sure your relationship with your spouse is good. My wife and I have a very good relationship and never really had issues, but when you get in a small space, I could easily see how some people just can't work together. You have no way out, or no where to go. Currently in a house that is 1100 sq feet and don't know how we did it in a 45' RV as our house is too small now. Part of me really wants to go back to that lifestyle in our smaller current trailer as I like the simplicity, but with 2 kids and 2 dogs now, I don't think that will be happening unless I could find a job to work remotely, I think I would do it, and just find somewhere that we could use as a "home base" and my wife would homeschool the kids. When we tried doing more traveling there were some nights that were frustrating not being able to find a place to park to stay. But if you have set locations and can live pretty minimally, go for it! invest in a good skirting on your trailer and find more tips for the winter!

I will check out that winter RV group on Facebook. My sister is also building a large shop on the property that we can stay in if we get any large snows or if the temps drop. It's just my wife and the 2 (older) dogs but I definitely hear what you are saying about being confined to small spaces.

 

[wesfromky]

My sister just put a home on the property so that was set up during the build

Right, but many places do not allow RVs except for a short period while building and you would need permanent 30/40amp service that would need to meet code.

 

[Silveroddo]

We haven't full timed but we RV quite a bit. There are a ton of FB groups out there and youtube videos till it doesn't end. I'd research the heck out of it and go into it eyes wide open.
Rv's aren't houses and full time use voids warrantees in some cases.
Have you owned any Rv's? If you haven't, don't be the guy that buys a $100k toy hauler as your first rig and expect to sell it for $98k a year later when you figure out its not for you.
A "4 season" rv is a relative thing. I had friends who full timed while working in Industrial construction. They had a mid 2000's Montana fifth wheel at the time, if a job came along in the winter in the Dakotas or areas with real winters they would park the camper and rent a house.
If you're dealing with 20-30 degree weather an RV can be tenable, colder than that and most go through propane like crazy. You can do it, but there comes a point where its not practical.
We used to take a 5th wheel to a local ice fishing festival in February and it was easy to go through a 20b cylinder a day when it was zero out.
If I was going to go that route, Big, High end for the time, 4 season fifth wheels can be had between $10-20k.
You have to match them with the right truck to pull them, but I've owned 2 Montanas, and while they are getting some age on them, I probably wouldn't hesitate to buy a clean one for that purpose.
One thing about rv's/campers is the more willing and able you are to do things yourself, the less frustrating the experience. It doesn't matter what you buy, new or 20 years old, there will always be maintenance and things to fix. If you can do most of it yourself its manageable, if you need to call someone it will get expensive and frustrating.

 

[mattferg84]

Right, but many places do not allow RVs except for a short period while building and you would need permanent 30/40amp service that would need to meet code.

We would be out traveling quite a bit. Most weekends, a month during elk season and most of November. My brother in law is an inspector with our local power company so it would be up to code.

 

[wesfromky]

We would be out traveling quite a bit. Most weekends, a month during elk season and most of November. My brother in law is an inspector with our local power company so it would be up to code.

Sounds like you have it worked out - I have just read of a number of people wanting to live in an RV on land they own, but run into zoning or code issues that prevented it.

 

[mattferg84]

We haven't full timed but we RV quite a bit. There are a ton of FB groups out there and youtube videos till it doesn't end. I'd research the heck out of it and go into it eyes wide open.
Rv's aren't houses and full time use voids warrantees in some cases.
Have you owned any Rv's? If you haven't, don't be the guy that buys a $100k toy hauler as your first rig and expect to sell it for $98k a year later when you figure out its not for you.
A "4 season" rv is a relative thing. I had friends who full timed while working in Industrial construction. They had a mid 2000's Montana fifth wheel at the time, if a job came along in the winter in the Dakotas or areas with real winters they would park the camper and rent a house.
If you're dealing with 20-30 degree weather an RV can be tenable, colder than that and most go through propane like crazy. You can do it, but there comes a point where its not practical.
We used to take a 5th wheel to a local ice fishing festival in February and it was easy to go through a 20b cylinder a day when it was zero out.
If I was going to go that route, Big, High end for the time, 4 season fifth wheels can be had between $10-20k.
You have to match them with the right truck to pull them, but I've owned 2 Montanas, and while they are getting some age on them, I probably wouldn't hesitate to buy a clean one for that purpose.
One thing about rv's/campers is the more willing and able you are to do things yourself, the less frustrating the experience. It doesn't matter what you buy, new or 20 years old, there will always be maintenance and things to fix. If you can do most of it yourself its manageable, if you need to call someone it will get expensive and frustrating.

This will be our 3rd trailer so I agree that things need to be fixed on an rv constantly.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Right, but many places do not allow RVs except for a short period while building and you would need permanent 30/40amp service that would need to meet code.

Comically I live in a suburb on <10000sqft lots and I'm pretty sure the one house down the street has not one but two RV's/trailers that folks are living in. They've always had a 5th wheel tucked in the back which I didn't think much about but there is now a carport errected that's blocking it in and also a class C RV parked next to the driveway that some folks are definately living in which got me thinking, there has to be someone living in the 5th wheel too or else why wouldn't the folks in the class C RV use the 5th wheel (which is now blocked in by the car port). Sorta makes more sense why there are like 6 working vehicles at that house.

 

[fulltiltaudio]

I would say the biggest "mistake" we made was in the trailer we bought. thinking "oh we sold the house so lets buy an expensive trailer and keep it a while. (I have had multiple RVs/trailers in my life so I wasnt new to them by any means) but I agree with Silveroddo, find something in the 10-20 range. I am an electrician and put 600 watts of solar, huge battery bank, inverter and the whole 9 yards. Didn't lose a ton of money when I sold the trailer, but if we did it over again we would have went with a different cheaper trailer! especially if you do find out it's not quite for you. It definitely seems like your situation would work out just fine if you have a large shop to park in in the winter.

 

[mattferg84]

That's a great point and something me and my wife spoke about. We are going to buy a cheaper trailer but I will be able to get a nicer truck . I have a lawn/landscape company so will need it for work

 

[Silveroddo]

One piece of unsolicited conjecture I'll throw out there is that from a financial standpoint if you have a good 30 year mortgage rate right now and equity in your house I would carefully consider the moves you make with that asset. I can't find the video right now, but there was a clip circulating laying out peoples buying power at the moment if they sold a house with a good rate and purchased something else at todays rate, using the equity from the previous sale. Monthly payments doubled even with significant equity.
We're in some weird financial times at the moment, I know a couple that sold 2 years ago and used it as an opportunity to travel, they did it for a year and returned to the area and are stuck renting because of the current housing market.
I'm not a real-estate investor, the thought of renting houses gives me a headache, but in the current market it might be worth maintaining the asset as an equity place holder, the market might go up or down, but it keeps you in the game if you decide to get back into a house in the future. The other option is find something you want in a different market where you're buying power is stronger, bare land is something I would be careful of though because replacing what you have from scratch will quickly diminish anything you make from a sale. Case in point the house we're currently in has everything I'd ever want, but I'd prefer it to be near our family farm. Its more than doubled in value from when we purchased, but for me to sell and replicate what I have over there would cost me another 2-300K easily.
Just some food for thought.

 

[MallardSX2]

Does anyone here full-time rv? My wife and I tried to sell our home here in Colorado last year but with rates we never found a buyer. This year we are giving it another shot and hoping to find a buyer. We bought the home in 2014 so we will be able to make some good money on the house. We are tired of living in a neighborhood with an HOA and not really sure if we want to live in Colorado anymore. I'd like to possibly buy some property back in Missouri where we are from so we can split our time between here and there. My sister has 10 acres here on the front range where we will be able to park the trailer.

So my question, has anyone else gone the full-time rv route and what are some must haves or what mistakes have you made? We will have water, septic and power on the property. I'm just a little concerned about water during the winter months.

I lived in a big camper for 2 years while my house was being build.

NEVER AGAIN.

Travelling a few months out of the year might be fun, but I wouldn't do it full time.

 

[mattferg84]

One piece of unsolicited conjecture I'll throw out there is that from a financial standpoint if you have a good 30 year mortgage rate right now and equity in your house I would carefully consider the moves you make with that asset. I can't find the video right now, but there was a clip circulating laying out peoples buying power at the moment if they sold a house with a good rate and purchased something else at todays rate, using the equity from the previous sale. Monthly payments doubled even with significant equity.
We're in some weird financial times at the moment, I know a couple that sold 2 years ago and used it as an opportunity to travel, they did it for a year and returned to the area and are stuck renting because of the current housing market.
I'm not a real-estate investor, the thought of renting houses gives me a headache, but in the current market it might be worth maintaining the asset as an equity place holder, the market might go up or down, but it keeps you in the game if you decide to get back into a house in the future. The other option is find something you want in a different market where you're buying power is stronger, bare land is something I would be careful of though because replacing what you have from scratch will quickly diminish anything you make from a sale. Case in point the house we're currently in has everything I'd ever want, but I'd prefer it to be near our family farm. Its more than doubled in value from when we purchased, but for me to sell and replicate what I have over there would cost me another 2-300K easily.
Just some food for thought.

Thanks for the info. We plan on buying land back in Missouri where we are both from. Keeping the house is a no go since they are putting a homeless and illegal housing in our neighborhood. Our house prices are going to plummet once that happens. At this point were pretty done with Colorado and what it has become. But we want the ability to be able to stay for another year or two until we find the right piece of property and not be tied down to having a house to worry about.

 

[Phaseolus]

You can always head to Baja if the cold gets to you. We’ve driven down in our slide in camper and love Baja, Mexico.