RV Full Time, First Time.

Go for it! Read all you can and evaluate what you want. Don't neglect maintainence and stay on top of everything. We have been planning about 10 or so months now and planning on leaving very soon. Good luck!

If you decide to look for a TT, take a look at used Arctic Fox units. They are well made and have good insulation. Get as new as you can. RV roofs need replacement in about 10 years and it is expensive. If you aren't traveling, I would think a studio apartment would be affordable and you would have maximum flexibility. RVing near a metro area is not cheap!

Park Model

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Get a mobile home. They are better insulated and built to remain in one spot. Lot rents will be cheaper, and in California, you will have many, many laws to protect your interests in a mobile home community. That would be a much better plan than buying an RV and using it like a mobile home.

Good idea. ^^^^^^^

To the OP:

We are currently in a mobile home park, 55+ age. They have a number of spots for RVers to rent.

My neighbor to my left is in a class A motor home. The folks across the street are in a park model. A number of the 5th wheel trailers have very nice decks built next to them and make living quite enjoyable during the year. Propane was our biggest bill here, mainly during the freezing temps. After the freeze is over, electric heat is cheaper and no worries about the plumbing.

We also were able to have a large propane tank delivered and can order refills when we need them.

Rent is $495 per month includes water and sewer and garbage. Cable tv or Satellite service is our option.

There is not a laundry room here, but we do have a one unit washer/dryer.

Good luck with your idea.

Get a mobile home. They are better insulated and built to remain in one spot. Lot rents will be cheaper, and in California, you will have many, many laws to protect your interests in a mobile home community. That would be a much better plan than buying an RV and using it like a mobile home.

yet6tey wrote:

I'm looking to get a class C motorhome, and live at a campground or a RV park for a quite a long time. I'm talking years.

Why not look at staying in a park model?

Do you have to stay where you are. There are a lot of cheaper states to live in, other than California.
If you have a lot of trailer parks in the area, check them out, drive in and talk to the folks. If stuff is scattered about, and your a neat freak, it might not be the place for you. Ask if the laundry is maintained or down a lot. See if there is propane service or if you have to take them to be filled. Ask about the Wifi. Usually in parks they just aren't real dependable so you might have to get your own hotspot. Do they have cable or can you use an antenna.
The TT is the answer but don't get a cheap one as it will cost you more money in long run as they are not well insulated and staying warm or cool will be an issue. What ever you get, INSULATE as well as you can. Reflective paper or plastic on the windows, rugs on the floors, anything to keep the heat or cool in. Check out the awning and use it, except in windy or stormy weather
Your going to really downsize but that isn't a bad thing at all.
My friend is in your situation and he makes a game out of saving money. He uses one grocery store and only gets what's on sale. His refrigerator broke so he just got a cheap brown one and its doing him fine. He lives in Portland so he used the antenna to get TV
I am not sure that living in a TT is any cheaper than living in an apartment so do the math before you decide.

Don't forget about the cost of doing laundry if you rig doesn't come with washer/dryer. This has been one of the hidden BIG costs for my family of 4. Easily $20/week, if not more.

It is so nice to see helpful answers to a new poster. To je, that is the rv way...help out where we can.

I agree with all the above posters IMO and from experience, a trailer is the better way to go. Much cheaper maintenance, cheaper insurance. If you have to move it, a recommended transporter or a friend with enough truck to pull it

I recently had to go to a fifth wheel from a Class A and the change in maintenance alone is a big plus.

Good luck, in whatever you choose.

Get a trailer. It costs about $2/mile to have it moved, and sometimes the person you buy it from will move it for you if it's not too far. You can get a pretty nice trailer for 12k.

There are a number of good books on this. One is "Living the Carefree RV Life" by Sunny Skye (no affiliation). I may have the title wrong, just go to Amazon and search on that name. That book helped me a lot in just understanding the basics. There are other good books on there, too. Also lots of blogs on the net. It will take some research, but you can get all your questions answered that way.

I have a friend who manages a campground and owns a big trailer with no way to pull it, so just hires it out when she changes jobs, which is rare. She wanted a big rig so she'd have room for her pets.