Forum Discussion

Explorer

Nov 06, 2016

Future Full-Timer!

So, for the past couple years, I've always wanted to live in a trailer. I've never been one for houses or large open spaces. For an example, I watched my grandparents house for a few months while they did some huge trip. Other than the bathroom, I only used one room in the entire house. While I have my own room there, I slept on the floor in the living room. Simple because I didn't care to use more than I needed.

My parents owned a 27' Jayco trailer that ended up being totaled out because of their lack of experience with it and not properly resealing it like you are apparently supposed to. This coupled with a leaking AC caused massive roof damage that would have cost around $6K to replace. Given they rarely used it, we had the insurance total it and take it away for $1K less than paid for. Lesson learned? It was bought second hand and we DID NOT know what we were supposed to look for.

Yes, I'm telling my life story! Don't know if it's to justify my wants, or to justify this massive change to myself. Currently, I do live with my parents. It is incredibly expensive to live in California in our specific location. I'd be lucky to find a place around $1K/month that doesn't have frequent crime committed in the area. As well as the fact that I work 40+ hours a week and go to school. I rarely am home. I live out of one drawer, and my life lives on a laptop and a smart phone. (This is important because internet is a 100% requirement)

So, now that I've gotten my swiss cheese story out of the way. Hello! I'm Ricky/Rick. First post on these forums, I am hoping that I am posting in the proper place, and that it isn't something that already exists. I did some quick skimming but didn't see a "Hey moron, don't post a new thread, just read this indepth guide already put together for you."

I don't want something super small, while I know I have said that I don't need much, I don't want to skimp and go so small that I don't like it or something like that. I have set my eyes on a Jayco 29' trailer. I have checked every RV in the list of googling "Top 10 travel trailers" and Jayco was the ONLY place that seemed to provide better information and images on their site. Compared to the others that half-A'd it and would rather you go to a dealer. I'd prefer to get everything done online first where I have control, and then start going into dealers. That and the fact that the general layout was basically the same.

Okay!! Now, I will respond to anything else asked of me if it is asked of me.

Here are the questions!
1. Is Jayco a good brand for long term living?
Ex; are the repairs/upkeep generally reasonable.

2. I have the following listed for expenses, am I missing anything?; Monthly Finance for RV, Insurance, Phone, Internet, RV Park, Laundry.

3. I want a cat, I'm more of a dog person, but I do want company not in the form of a human because people annoy me. I'm not home enough to provide proper attention to a dog, but since cats are self sufficient, it's preferred. (Park I will stay at is dog friendly, dependent on the breed. Good or bad idea?

4. Is it a good idea to become a Good Sam member? The park I'm staying at offers a discount if using it, but not for long term stays. Just their weekly/daily visits with 10% off. If they had it for their monthly payments, Good Sam would be an obvious yes as it would take 10% off $700, so it'd pay for itself in one month.

5. My insurance would be through Progressive. Yay or Nay? Is there a better provider? I want it as cheap as possible without saying no to the stuff that I really need.

6. I do not want a fifth wheel or anything where I lose my bed. I also have dirt bikes and would like to go to trails and such. Which is why I don't want a Class A/C either. I have looked at Toy Haulers but did not like ANY of the setups offered. Does this require specialized towing packages? Or can I just slap it on a ball with sway bars and go?

7. As I typed this, I came across another trailer I would be okay with. However, it's 34'.

Here are the specs of the 34' trailer...
Unloaded Vehicle Weight - 8600
Dry Hitch Weight - 1275
GVWR - 10950
CCC - 2350

Here are the specs of the 29' trailer...
UVW - 6700
DHW - 770
GVWR - 9500
CCC - 2800

Would a Dodge RAM 1500 be able to tow either of these trailers without breaking much of a sweat? I know there are many types of engines that come in these, but let's assume it's the cheap base models. I do not want diesel. (I know this is normally in the 2500+ series) As I do intend to drive it often and I do have a mechanic background. Unless I was towing it all the time and not in a constant turn off/turn on state, I would cause more harm than good if I owned a diesel. (Cause you know, diesels love heat and would be happy running 24/7, but get sad when you turn them on, drive away almost immediately and then shut them off a few minutes later.)
Let's keep it in the somewhat newer range. It needs to be reliable, it wouldn't be used to tow often. Just for going to places for service. Which would happen every year or something of that tune. Unless someone says it needs to go less than that, or more than that. Once it gets parked, it's not moving much.

Yes, my questions keep going into side comments. Hopefully I'm providing a good read for you. There will be no TL;DR at the bottom of this.

8. Do I want to get this with all the insulation options? Or would I be okay frequently operating my heater & A/C while on a full hookup setup. (30AMP, they do have 50AMP options but I don't see either of my choices being 50 AMPs, unless I added a second A/C which I find stupid.) The option is for an insulated underbelly and roof.

9. What proper cleaning tips should I be taking with my new trailer? Every few weeks go out with a dry cloth on a pole and wipe it down? I don't see my park being okay with me hosing it down and washing it all the time.

10. Would it be more feasible to use my stove in my kitchen? Or to get a small tabletop stove and cook outside? Don't know what the usage for propane would be inside as compared to a camping grill.

11. Should I upgrade the water heater? It's a 6-gallon gas/electric DSI water heater. People say it's better to upgrade to a 10Gal, which is more of a DIY task. I'm not much for long showers, but let's say, would 6Gal be good to handle a 15 minute shower? (I normally take 5-10 minute showers, so doubling to be sure.)

12. Is all the electric lift junk really needed? I don't mind manual stabilizers/tongue. I feel electric would be nice to have if I moved constantly, is it something I could live without and not really care?

I might be asking really opinionated questions, and I apologize about that. I'm trying to get every little tiny detail in my head before I commit to something so expensive and find out down the road that something won't work and I get screwed. So I will focus on the tiniest of details with a fine tooth comb if need be.

Also, while typing this I have found things that I might not have that I thought I had, but it's already typed out, maybe my mistakes aren't really mistakes!

This might pertain more to Jayco:
1. What is the: Sani-Con® Turbo Waste Management System
2. What is the: 5-Way and 8-Way Power Remote?
3. Is this important to change: Fiberglass Sidewalls w/Frameless Windows
4. What is the: Cargo Accessory Receiver

These are the links to the two trailers:
http://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2017-jay-flight/34rsbs/
http://www.jayco.com/products/travel-trailers/2017-jay-flight/29rks/

Again, I apologize if most of this seems stupid or if a simple google search would answer most my posts. I always feel it better to post my (in my head) unique situations and have tailored responses to them.

19 Replies

Allworth
Explorer II
Nov 07, 2016
Many have found that long term living in an RV ends up costing almost exactly the same as living in an apartment for any general area of the country. If rents are high; RV spaces are high. Other costs are about the same.

RVs are NOT cheap to maintain, to heat, or to cool.

Is food included in your budget? Most people need some.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Nov 07, 2016
I think the very first thing you need to think about is where are you going to park your RV? California RV parks can be expensive and you'll need to find a place within a reasonable distance to your work. Find that place and then start your RV search. Also, don't go into debt to do this. Buy what you can afford.

Also, would you be willing to find a job is a more reasonable place to live?
Corky12
Explorer
Nov 06, 2016
Your budget appears to be missing food, clothing and personal care items; licensing for the RV and vehicle; propane for heating and cooking appliances.
Janss
Explorer II
Nov 06, 2016
Rick...I enjoyed reading your post and all the replies.

You might like to read the blog of "Tioga George". Just google him and you'll find his blog. Lots of people on this forum are familiar with his blog. He's a retired man who spent many years traveling the west and Mexico in his Tioga Class C motorhome. More recently he had to give that up and he moved into an apartment. And just a couple months ago, he decided to give up apartment living and bought a new trailer to live in at an RV park. He had a company move the trailer to his campsite. He's done several of his own modifications to the trailer to suit his lifestyle. I think the September blog posts would be a good place to start reading.

Good luck with everything. I hope it all works out well for you.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Nov 06, 2016
OK. So you have enough money to pay for the trailer outright. You want a small space (but that will store your dirtbikes and car). You want as little social interaction as possible. You don't want to go into the "red zone" money-wise. You want to be able to modify things inside. You want security for your things.

RV Parks are not known for solitude. Because all the RVs are small, many if not most folks will be outside (which is very close to your RV walls) much of the time. So, you may find you have to leave your home just to get that mental distance you need from other people.

You can only modify so much inside an RV - 200 square feet doesn't provide a lot of options to install a theater speaker system and a nice flat screen TV. Often there is one place the TV can go and it's not convenient for spending days on end watching or playing video games. Not a lot of floor space to set up the computer and media server. You'll end up having to do double duty with space. Remember, you have a lot more versatility with an empty box (residential room) of 200 sq ft, than you do with a 200 sq ft space pre-filled with built in furniture, cupboards, utilities, etc. - so the fact that you can happily fit all your stuff into one room at your parents' house doesn't equate to being able to fit it all into an RV (trust me, I tried years ago and it did NOT work well - just trying to get a pair of pants out for work became a chore of moving things around).

In addition, the trailer will depreciate. So whatever you put into it will be gone. And the more you strip the inside to fit things, the less you'll get for it when you're ready to move on.

Have you looked at mobile homes? If you're willing to expand your potential home area, you might find one that you can buy for little down. If it's got more room than you need, then just close the doors to the rooms you don't use (but you'll have them in case of a layoff, etc.). When you want something better, you won't have lost money in the purchase - mobile homes don't go up in price as quickly and traditional stick & bricks, but they don't depreciate like an RV.

Have you looked in Petaluma, Cotati, Rohnert Park? When I got my first place, I ended up in an old (1900) Victorian 2-story with basement converted into 3 apartments. It wasn't the nicest place in the world, but I had a lot more freedom in that place than anywhere else - I wired speakers throughout the apartment, I painted walls whatever color I wanted, I had whatever pets I wanted, I installed cupboards on the walls, I tore out carpeting, etc. As long as I paid my rent, the landlord pretty much let me do anything. Look hard enough and you can find these places.
Rickehshay
Explorer
Nov 06, 2016
toedtoes wrote:
Rickehshay wrote:
2oldman wrote:
Fulltiming means being retired and travelling about. If that's not you, what are you doing for income?

Sorry, Full-Time to me was living in it year round.

I have a full-time job at a warehouse making $18/hr, as well as a few computer repair jobs that pay around $45/hour, but this is mainly on weekends for 4-5 hours.

I have looked at apartments, they just feel too big to me.

I think the idea of fulltiming in an RV because an apartment is "too big" is not really thinking ahead. What happens in a year or two if/when you have a girlfriend - how is she going to like that dinky RV?

How will you entertain when there's no space for a couple friends to hang out?

School isn't going to last forever (well, it can, but then you've got a whole other problem to worry about). What happens when you suddenly aren't gone all day and want to be able to enjoy being at home? You're now stuck in a 200 sq ft space.

What if you get laid off and need to cut expenses - can't get a roommate in that RV and reduce your $1000 payment and $300 space rent in half - you can get a roommate and cut your apartment rent in half.

You're looking at putting an awful lot of money into an RV that, in reality, will only make sense for a couple years at most. After that, your life will change (school ends, girlfriend, etc.) and those apartments that seem "too big" now will be extremely desirable. But you'll be stuck making payments on an RV you don't want anymore and can't get a buyer quick enough for.

Why not look into renting a studio apartment or a room in a house, etc.? There are lots of older properties in Sonoma County that could work - places with a small cottage that gets rented out, or an inlaw suite, or an old house converted into apartments. Heck, you could probably even find someone renting out an RV for living. If you do one of these, you can walk away far easier when you want something different for your life.

Going to approach your response in order. You bring up extremely valid points, which to a normal person might make sense.

I had a girlfriend, was with her for close to 3 years, we lived together for two of them. Wasn't really my thing, I could be considered a control freak for how I live. Would never go down that road of living with someone again.

I have no one I would even bother to entertain. Ever. I'm very anti-social in the real world. Unless you are into cars, computers, and could talk about it 24/7 and literally nothing else. We best be on normal speaking terms and hanging out at random places.

School better not last forever. Once it's over, I plan on finding better jobs. Taking on multiple clients for computer repair. Right now I have 3, I have turned a few down simply for not feeling comfortable with their setups and being able to keep them operating at a business level. (Something school is helping me fix.)

If you knew me, you could leave me alone for a week and come back and I will be in the same exact spot. Not to mention I do have some dirtbikes and don't mind leaving my tiny space if need be. However; TV, Bed, Bathroom, Wifi. Keeps me happy and satisfied with life. (Pathetic apparently).

Looked into renting rooms. The protection granted to me in California is dismal for renting private rooms. I'd be in a constant state of worry that someone was going through my stuff while I wasn't there. Not an option to bring it with me to work either. Things that would be in the same price range as a monthly payment and rent of this spot I'm looking at, are scooped up so fast I'd have to setup a script to auto reply to anything in the parameters. (Sucks living next to two colleges).

I also like to modify things. Can't rent a room and make it your own MOST of the time. No running speakers, no mounting a decent TV or running a media server.

However, I have not looked into people renting RVs... Don't even know where I would look for that. How it works, what sort of protection I get, what the requirements of it are. (RVs aren't technically homes, so don't know if the usual lease that protects renters/landlords can legally be applied.) It's out of my scope of knowledge at the time of typing this.

I don't plan on getting this in the next week or two. I plan on doing several months of planning, most likely waiting for school to end and see what other clients I can get. I've never been in a position of real risk. Primarily because I like to plan the **** out of it. I honestly could outright buy the trailer I want. However, it would put me into the red zone and I would be screwed if I was laid off and would not be able to afford rent of the space.

I will be planning more, just felt like posting here to get other peoples views of things. Everything helps in my choice. Thank you for the response. It did bring light on things I wasn't seeing.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Nov 06, 2016
SoundGuy wrote:
This argument makes too much sense ... what were you thinking?! :W

Darn, I did it again. What is WRONG with me?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!
SoundGuy
Explorer
Nov 06, 2016
toedtoes wrote:
I think the idea of fulltiming in an RV because an apartment is "too big" is not really thinking ahead. What happens in a year or two if/when you have a girlfriend - how is she going to like that dinky RV?

How will you entertain when there's no space for a couple friends to hang out?

School isn't going to last forever (well, it can, but then you've got a whole other problem to worry about). What happens when you suddenly aren't gone all day and want to be able to enjoy being at home? You're now stuck in a 200 sq ft space.

What if you get laid off and need to cut expenses - can't get a roommate in that RV and reduce your $1000 payment and $300 space rent in half - you can get a roommate and cut your apartment rent in half.

You're looking at putting an awful lot of money into an RV that, in reality, will only make sense for a couple years at most. After that, your life will change (school ends, girlfriend, etc.) and those apartments that seem "too big" now will be extremely desirable. But you'll be stuck making payments on an RV you don't want anymore and can't get a buyer quick enough for.

Why not look into renting a studio apartment or a room in a house, etc.? There are lots of older properties in Sonoma County that could work - places with a small cottage that gets rented out, or an inlaw suite, or an old house converted into apartments. Heck, you could probably even find someone renting out an RV for living. If you do one of these, you can walk away far easier when you want something different for your life.

This argument makes too much sense ... what were you thinking?! :W
toedtoes
Explorer III
Nov 06, 2016
Rickehshay wrote:
2oldman wrote:
Fulltiming means being retired and travelling about. If that's not you, what are you doing for income?

Sorry, Full-Time to me was living in it year round.

I have a full-time job at a warehouse making $18/hr, as well as a few computer repair jobs that pay around $45/hour, but this is mainly on weekends for 4-5 hours.

I have looked at apartments, they just feel too big to me.

I think the idea of fulltiming in an RV because an apartment is "too big" is not really thinking ahead. What happens in a year or two if/when you have a girlfriend - how is she going to like that dinky RV?

How will you entertain when there's no space for a couple friends to hang out?

School isn't going to last forever (well, it can, but then you've got a whole other problem to worry about). What happens when you suddenly aren't gone all day and want to be able to enjoy being at home? You're now stuck in a 200 sq ft space.

What if you get laid off and need to cut expenses - can't get a roommate in that RV and reduce your $1000 payment and $300 space rent in half - you can get a roommate and cut your apartment rent in half.

You're looking at putting an awful lot of money into an RV that, in reality, will only make sense for a couple years at most. After that, your life will change (school ends, girlfriend, etc.) and those apartments that seem "too big" now will be extremely desirable. But you'll be stuck making payments on an RV you don't want anymore and can't get a buyer quick enough for.

Why not look into renting a studio apartment or a room in a house, etc.? There are lots of older properties in Sonoma County that could work - places with a small cottage that gets rented out, or an inlaw suite, or an old house converted into apartments. Heck, you could probably even find someone renting out an RV for living. If you do one of these, you can walk away far easier when you want something different for your life.
Rickehshay
Explorer
Nov 06, 2016
SoundGuy wrote:
coolmom42 wrote:
Remember this is a 15 yr + commitment. If you can't afford to take care of an old sick cat, don't get a young healthy one. And even young healthy cats can develop issues requiring meds, surgery, vet visits. Don't get one if you are gone all the time.

Isn't this the truth! Our 8 yr old dog was diagnosed last Jan with diabetes mellitus and let me tell you it's really expensive, not just for the usual annual vet visits but the cost of insulin, syringes, prescription dog food ... as in thousands a year. :E As with kids you have to plan for the long term, not just now, so if you can't afford it don't even think about it.

Yeah, I've seen some crazy things. One of my computer repair jobs is for a Veterinary clinic. All the cats love me because I spend most of time waiting on updates and file backups that they get pets like crazy.