Living in an RV Park?

OutdoorPhotographer wrote:
Ask if the site has it's own electric meter.
Ask about length of stay restrictions.

TX is a big place. Panhandle or SE? Different weather patterns. Any shade?

Do you have a tow vehicle or looking for dealer//friend to tow it to the RV park?

Cheaper travel trailers are not meant for full time. The better trailers are four-season rated and heavier with a correspondingly higher price. You want four season to provide some insulation in summer and winter.

They do have long-term options for people looking to basically live there. This is in central Texas, just north of Austin.

I have a 4-banger truck with a tow limit of 3,500 pounds so will likely have to have a friend tow it for me.

Four-season... good to know. I'll look for that as well.

Parks that have a 10 year rule are trying to avoid having old broken down units on the premises. They normally make exceptions based on appearance, but may not be interested in long-term residents. The age of a unit has less to do with how well it holds up than how the owner has cared for it does.

When buying a used unit one of the most important things is checking the ceiling & walls for any evidence of water leaks ...inside cabinets, closets, etc. Water marks, water stains, bubbling wall coverings, soft spots in walls or floor, mold ...all are danger signs. Broken appliances, etc can normally be repaired, but structural problems & water damage can be very difficult or impossible to repair.

Ask if the site has it's own electric meter.
Ask about length of stay restrictions.

TX is a big place. Panhandle or SE? Different weather patterns. Any shade?

Do you have a tow vehicle or looking for dealer//friend to tow it to the RV park?

Cheaper travel trailers are not meant for full time. The better trailers are four-season rated and heavier with a correspondingly higher price. You want four season to provide some insulation in summer and winter.

DownTheAvenue wrote:
The first thing to consider is the weather. Extremes, hot and cold, as well as severe weather can create difficult obstacles. Secondly, it is not cheap living. RVs are not designed for full time living, so utility costs will be greater, and routine tasks such as laundry, using a coin laundromat, becomes expensive and a burden.

You mention that it's not cheap living. other than electricity and space rent, what other costs/expenses do I need to be worried about?

Roughly how much would utilities cost?

This is in Texas, so the weather will basically be hot during the summers and some cold days during the winter.

Thanks for the reply.

The place I'm thinking about staying in is this one:

http://www.sunnyhillrvpark.com/index.html

Definitely not fancy at all - they barely have a website and don't even have email or anything else other than cell phones to contact them.

This particular RV park doesn't say anything about trailer age restrictions but there is one I saw a little farther away that says no older than 10 years. Does that mean that after 10 years trailers start to deteriorate pretty fast?

There's just me, so I don't need a big, fancy trailer. Just something comfortable enough to live in. At the high end, (no fancier) maybe something like this:

https://austin.craigslist.org/rvs/d/2004-sunnybrook-bumper-pull/6288177419.html

I'd love to get something for $5,000 or less (if that's realistic). But basically have no clue as I've never owned a trailer before and am definitely open to any and all pearls of wisdom.

Is there anything I should be looking for when buying a trailer to make sure I don't get taken or buy a lemon?

Important questions that I might need to ask a park owner?

Thanks!

I suspect there are as many OR MORE people living fulltime in "rv parks" than there are traveling. We see permanent and semi-permanent in almost every park we visit. Many are simply living in whatever trailer they found at the time they needed it. In parks that were created with that in mind, many have what is called a "park model" trailer that is more designed to be kept in one place than it is for traveling.

Which trailer would be best depends on many variables .. climate, and what might be required by the RV park would be primary factors.

The first thing to consider is the weather. Extremes, hot and cold, as well as severe weather can create difficult obstacles. Secondly, it is not cheap living. RVs are not designed for full time living, so utility costs will be greater, and routine tasks such as laundry, using a coin laundromat, becomes expensive and a burden.

I'd first check to see if they allow that type of arrangement. Not all do.