Forum Discussion

mattbatson's avatar
mattbatson
Explorer
Jul 24, 2016

buying older TT...as tiny home

Ok,
So my plan is to buy a TT (5th wheel or bumper pull) that I will basically park full time on my mothers property and live in as my residence.
I will T off her well water, run electric from her service panel, and dig my own little homemade septic system. And will essentially live for free.
We are both in the house flipping business together and her and her husband are in 70's and not getting any younger.
I have a 8x20 shed to store much of my stuff in...along with her basement if needed.

Anyways, I had thought about building a tiny home, but decided the advantage of a TT were that it is ready to go (essentially), probably cheaper (I'm looking at 6-9K dollar TT's), and if in a few years I decided to do something else I could probably sell the TT for near what I paid for it.

I plan to have it delivered to the property, and do not plan on having a tow vehicle any time soon...if ever. I do have experience towing, and may pick up a truck someday...but right now it isn't in the plans.

We live in western NC, so winters are short-ish and mild-ish and summers the same.
Plan to put up a metal RV port to keep sun and rain off the TT

It will sit on a very large concrete pad that is already there.

I'm looking at 5th wheels in the 1998 to 2001 model year range and bumper pulls in the 2002 to 2007 model year range...all in my price range of about 7-9K.

slide outs are definitely a requirement...and 28 ft or longer for sure.

I've done a bit of reading on here as I research my options
But my question is...what do you guys think about my plan and what would your concerns be with regards to looking at older models and maybe any specifics on what models/options/years you guys would look out for and what kinds of issues/problems you would be concerned about....that sort of thing

thanks for reading and any feedback will be appreciated
  • mattbatson's avatar
    mattbatson
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2016
    Terryallan wrote:
    Define Western NC. Your idea of mild winters, and my idea of mild winters are two different things. Western NC is the NC mountains, and it gets, and stays durn cold in the NC High Country. Waterfalls freeze, the lakes freeze over, and many places like Boone get a whole lot of snow, and it stays a long time. I have been there many times, and the temp is in the minus. Shoot. I just live in the foothills, and the low teens is NOT unusual, nor is single digits.

    IF you are in a trailer in the High Country in the winter. You will use a bunch of propane, and better have heated hoses running to your RV, and heated underbelly.

    However. Summer in the High Country is great. AC not needed.


    Boone is cold, no question.

    milder here around canton...near Asheville.

    but yes, teens will happen and even single digits a handful of days in the winter.

    I plan to have the trailer winter proofed. There is a sticky on this forum about all that and I've been reading.

    plan to use small electric heaters just like what I use to heat my current home of 1700 sq ft. My home has no insulation in the walls, as it was built in 20's.

    so I think I have an idea on what the cost will be and how cold it will be. In the winter I wear sweat's inside the house, and I tend to run warm anyways.

    I will be using heat tape on lots of stuff I'm sure
  • mattbatson's avatar
    mattbatson
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2016
    coolmom42 wrote:
    I think you should consider a composting toilet to deal with your black waste. Tee into the home's existing system for your gray water. This will avoid a lot of pluggage problems.

    One consideration is the electric panel. You will need at least a 30 amp/120 V connection, and if your trailer needs 2 AC units to cool it, you will need a 50 amp/120 V supply. So somewhere in the electric panel there needs to be enough available circuits to supply the current. Definitely get a licensed electrician to hook this up and be very clear on the power supply and the type of outlet you need.


    I will consider a composting toilet for sure.

    she has a 200 amp panel will plenty of room to spare...the big thing is it is about 150 ft from where the hookup's will be
  • filthy_beast's avatar
    filthy_beast
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2016
    I guess the "living free" is questionable. It is going to cost someone for the electric, water and sewage that you use.
  • Guy_Roan's avatar
    Guy_Roan
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2016
    mattbatson wrote:
    SoundGuy wrote:
    mattbatson wrote:
    So my plan is to buy a TT (5th wheel or bumper pull) that I will basically park full time on my mothers property and live in as my residence.
    I will T off her well water, run electric from her service panel, and dig my own little homemade septic system. And will essentially live for free.
    We are both in the house flipping business together and her and her husband are in 70's and not getting any younger.
    I have a 8x20 shed to store much of my stuff in...along with her basement if needed.

    thanks for reading and any feedback will be appreciated


    Seems obvious to me your first concern should be whether this plan to park a trailer on your mother's property and live in it full time as you would a house is even legal. Should we presume you've already done this considering you're in the house flipping business? Not much point in proceeding any further with the idea if you're in contravention of any local regulations or bylaws. ;)


    To answer the questions about code ...

    There is very little code here in the backwoods of western NC...loose zoning laws and so on.
    I come from Florida and am constantly amazed at what I see here.

    We have looked at homes to flip and found no record of septic systems and asked neighbors and been informed most of the homes along that stretch just dump into the river !

    and sure enough would go look down the bank of the river and see the pipe sticking out.
    Absolutely crazy stuff.

    my mom is a real estate broker and we are fully aware of what is allowed and what is not...and careful to no get her or her license into trouble.


    You are completely wrong.
    I have a summer cottage in western NC and they have very strict regulations on the building code and septic systems.

    Also "straight piping" into a river is illegal.
    If I saw any one who was doing it, I would immediately go to the county health inspector.
    My grandchildren swim in those rivers !

    Guy
  • NanciL's avatar
    NanciL
    Explorer II
    Jul 25, 2016
    mattbatson wrote:
    SoundGuy wrote:
    mattbatson wrote:
    So my plan is to buy a TT (5th wheel or bumper pull) that I will basically park full time on my mothers property and live in as my residence.
    I will T off her well water, run electric from her service panel, and dig my own little homemade septic system. And will essentially live for free.
    We are both in the house flipping business together and her and her husband are in 70's and not getting any younger.
    I have a 8x20 shed to store much of my stuff in...along with her basement if needed.

    thanks for reading and any feedback will be appreciated


    Seems obvious to me your first concern should be whether this plan to park a trailer on your mother's property and live in it full time as you would a house is even legal. Should we presume you've already done this considering you're in the house flipping business? Not much point in proceeding any further with the idea if you're in contravention of any local regulations or bylaws. ;)


    To answer the questions about code ...

    There is very little code here in the backwoods of western NC...loose zoning laws and so on.
    I come from Florida and am constantly amazed at what I see here.

    We have looked at homes to flip and found no record of septic systems and asked neighbors and been informed most of the homes along that stretch just dump into the river !

    and sure enough would go look down the bank of the river and see the pipe sticking out.
    Absolutely crazy stuff.

    my mom is a real estate broker and we are fully aware of what is allowed and what is not...and careful to no get her or her license into trouble.


    I am not sure what county you are in, but I am in western NC and you are wrong.
    They are very strict on codes.
    It is just people violating them and not getting caught.

    Last month they had the electric company shut off the electric meter on a young couple down the road from us, because they were living in a brand new shed that they had inspected as a "storage shed"

    My advice to you, is don't put things in print here that might come back to haunt you.

    If you don't believe me go check with your county building inspector and your county health inspector.

    Jack L
  • NanciL's avatar
    NanciL
    Explorer II
    Jul 25, 2016
    mattbatson wrote:
    SoundGuy wrote:
    mattbatson wrote:
    So my plan is to buy a TT (5th wheel or bumper pull) that I will basically park full time on my mothers property and live in as my residence.
    I will T off her well water, run electric from her service panel, and dig my own little homemade septic system. And will essentially live for free.
    We are both in the house flipping business together and her and her husband are in 70's and not getting any younger.
    I have a 8x20 shed to store much of my stuff in...along with her basement if needed.

    thanks for reading and any feedback will be appreciated


    Seems obvious to me your first concern should be whether this plan to park a trailer on your mother's property and live in it full time as you would a house is even legal. Should we presume you've already done this considering you're in the house flipping business? Not much point in proceeding any further with the idea if you're in contravention of any local regulations or bylaws. ;)


    To answer the questions about code ...

    There is very little code here in the backwoods of western NC...loose zoning laws and so on.
    I come from Florida and am constantly amazed at what I see here.

    We have looked at homes to flip and found no record of septic systems and asked neighbors and been informed most of the homes along that stretch just dump into the river !

    and sure enough would go look down the bank of the river and see the pipe sticking out.
    Absolutely crazy stuff.

    my mom is a real estate broker and we are fully aware of what is allowed and what is not...and careful to no get her or her license into trouble.


    I am not sure what county you are in, but I am in western NC and you are wrong.
    They are very strict on codes.
    It is just people violating them and not getting caught.

    Last month they had the electric company shut off the electric meter on a young couple down the road from us, because they were living in a brand new shed that they had inspected as a "storage shed"

    My advice to you, is don't put things in print here that might come back to haunt you.

    If you don't believe me go check with your county building inspector and your county health inspector.

    Jack L
  • Terryallan's avatar
    Terryallan
    Explorer II
    Jul 25, 2016
    Define Western NC. Your idea of mild winters, and my idea of mild winters are two different things. Western NC is the NC mountains, and it gets, and stays durn cold in the NC High Country. Waterfalls freeze, the lakes freeze over, and many places like Boone get a whole lot of snow, and it stays a long time. I have been there many times, and the temp is in the minus. Shoot. I just live in the foothills, and the low teens is NOT unusual, nor is single digits.

    IF you are in a trailer in the High Country in the winter. You will use a bunch of propane, and better have heated hoses running to your RV, and heated underbelly.

    However. Summer in the High Country is great. AC not needed.
  • Fizz's avatar
    Fizz
    Explorer
    Jul 24, 2016
    My TT has been parked at my cottage for the past five years.
    I use it as a guest house.
    By law I can do this if it's still on wheels, has current plates and is in no way connected to any service in a permanent manner.
  • coolmom42's avatar
    coolmom42
    Explorer II
    Jul 24, 2016
    I think you should consider a composting toilet to deal with your black waste. Tee into the home's existing system for your gray water. This will avoid a lot of pluggage problems.

    One consideration is the electric panel. You will need at least a 30 amp/120 V connection, and if your trailer needs 2 AC units to cool it, you will need a 50 amp/120 V supply. So somewhere in the electric panel there needs to be enough available circuits to supply the current. Definitely get a licensed electrician to hook this up and be very clear on the power supply and the type of outlet you need.
  • Tiger8r's avatar
    Tiger8r
    Explorer
    Jul 24, 2016
    Jmho, why not put in a 500 gal concrete tank and two 50 gal plastic tanks. Run a trunk line 20 or 30 feet to a y and ten feet to each of the plastic barrels, perforate them. This will last a lot longer and you could have the concrete tank pumped out. We have a sys similar to this it has never been a problem and has only been pumped out once in 30 years. Granted it was mostly used as a vacation type cabin.

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