Good day everyone! I just signed onto this site to educate myself and look into options. I live in Texas but work 6 days in a row here in San Jose California and I fly back to Texas for the remainder of my eight days off. My current rent is $1500/month renting a room and I figure it would be worthwhile to invest that $1500/month on a RV, trailer, camper, or any mobile vehicle I could use as a temporary housing while I work my 6 days here in California. Thus I am seeking advice and recommendations as to what is available out there. I would need a unit that has a kitchen, bathroom, shower, heating and cooling, fridge, power source, etc. I currently drive a 2020 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road 4x4 that I do take on overlanding trips and I use a ground tent so I am not new to off the grid lifestyle. Lets hear it guys! Thanks in advance!

You have 2 issue trying to live "off grid". Power and water (fresh, grey and black).Forget generating enough power from solar to live a comfortable life style. You don't have enough space for the solar panels even if you could afford them and the batteries. Running a generator is just not cost effective.

Nowhere to live off grid unless you have a friend with room and hookups in SJ area. Check monthly prices and $800 would not surprise me, power might be extra. There some trailer parks near the SJ fairground, you might get lucky.

I can't say where to park it but check out pplmotorhomes.com if shopping for used. They have 3 Texas locations, Houston being the largest

$1500 a month now. Then compare to purchase cost, site rental, insurance , etc and make a decision. Remember you will be paying someone to park it for the eight days when you go back to Texas if that is still in the plan. A quick check on RV Parky shows most campgrounds as being around $50 a night. If you can find one that seems ok. 12 nights = $600 per monthYou may find one that will store the trailer the other nights, may be $15 a night. 16 nights = $240 per monththis leaves 2-3 nights per month of about $35 a night average cost depending on where the month falls in the weekly cycle. You have about $600 a month left to work with before,,,,Now figure purchase price, taxes, tags, insurance, etc. And go look at some of these campgrounds/trailer parks that are $50 a night, and make your own determination on whether they are places you want to live. Happy motorin

A few thoughts/questions. What type of RV do you want? There are all kinds from pop ups to large diesel pushers. No one can tell you what kind of RV you want. Just start shopping around. How much do you want to spend? Where will you put it? Will you have full hookups (water, electric, sewer)? Where will you title it? You could run into snags with residency since you're in CA almost 50% of the time. Will you drive it back and forth or keep it in CA full time? I think you will find that by the time you buy an RV, find a place to put it, pay for hookups (you'll need them), you'll probably spend more than the $1500 you are spending now. There's also the fact that RV's are a depreciating asset and require continual maintenance. Not to turn you off on the idea, but there are a lot of factors.

New Member, need your advice! | Good Sam Community

Grit_dog
Navigator
Jul 07, 2022
tommyznr wrote:

Hard to know what the OP had in mind as he has not come back to clarify.

Yet, appears to have 2 logins or handles here, or the poster Brdnst is just poaching the OP's thread.

Either way, living in a camper for the hot months in SJ, seems not fun.

Having been on the road, during the week, for many job assignments over the last 25 years, I've never been able to make the "live in a RV during the week" thing appear to be the most economical option. (Considering a decent RV and a place with hookups)
tommyznr
Explorer
Jul 07, 2022
valhalla360 wrote:
tommyznr wrote:
Wait a minute. This is not as crazy as these folks are making it out to be.

Expanding on what Wanderingaimlessly said.

A quick google search shows a county park near San Jose for $44 a night including electric and water. If you can plan ahead and get reservations for your stays that is doable. Depending on how you handle travel days that is around $600 per month. There is another RV park that I did not look at for times when reservations are a challenge. It is all in the planning ahead.

Another quick google search shows average rent for outside RV storage in the San Jose area for a 25' RV is $300 per month.

That leaves $600 per month for your loan payment to break even.

Certainly there are many considerations beyond these set costs. Granted I did a quick search, a detailed investigation might reveal other challenges but strictly by the quick numbers I could make it work for me.

Assuming 25 work days per month, that's $1100 plus your $300 storage plus fuel to drag the trailer back and forth....If he can find an apartment for $1500/month, probably cheaper and certainly a lot easier and more comfortable. Of course, this assumes, they always have a site for him. If the park is full one week, he may be SOL.

I am not sure how you get 25 work days a month??? OP says work 6 of every 14 days.

It sounds like the OP knows his schedule well in advance and could make reservations that match his schedule. I am not suggesting that it would be easy, you would have to be on top of it well in advance to make it work and have a backup plan if you fail to secure a spot.

Fuel would be an insignificant adder, OP is not driving hundreds of miles to do this.

My quick analysis is how I would do it. But if I did it, it would be because I enjoy camping enough to not care if I just break even or even spend a touch more than the alternative. OP's mileage may vary on this point.

Besides that, the OP disappeared and I am just spit balling a day dream.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jul 07, 2022
Tom, Misread your post...
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Jul 07, 2022
Using an average of 4.3 weeks/month that's 13 days a month for a monthly cost savings.

So while storage could be a option it doesn't seem paractical to me. He could not depend on getting the same CG every time and could easily wind up elsewhere at even higher cost. Plus he would need time to move the RV before and after each flight which could mean additional time for overall travel, etc. Plus there are checkin/out times and that could result in extra days.

I just don't see storage as being practical.
liamricci
Explorer
Aug 05, 2022
As i can see here, still lot's of details should be considered before making the final decision. I decided to purchase a new rv last year and the final call is not done yet. At the moment i am in touch with the fleetwood rv customer service by link , checking last couple of options and hopefully by the end of this years we will have our new vehicle.
NamMedevac_70
Explorer II
Aug 06, 2022
WOW you have a real challenge for this to work financially for you in the highly overpriced silicone valley or SF bay area. I spend a lot of time over there on fishing trips and stay at military bases in their nice budget quarters.
bucky
Explorer II
Aug 06, 2022
I don't see where the OP has been ridiculed. He or she asked a question and got several responses with many good points made. He or she is under no obligation to respond but I'd bet he or she is reading every word of it.
NamMedevac_70
Explorer II
Aug 06, 2022
bucky wrote:
I don't see where the OP has been ridiculed. He or she asked a question and got several responses with many good points made. He or she is under no obligation to respond but I'd bet he or she is reading every word of it.

Very well said bucky:)
Alan_Hepburn
Explorer
Aug 07, 2022
tommyznr wrote:

Another quick google search shows average rent for outside RV storage in the San Jose area for a 25' RV is $300 per month.

What google doesn't show is that pretty much all storage facilities are at 100% capacity, with a waiting list. We had our RV in a storage facility about 5 miles from our house for the past 30+ years - last year they doubled the rent so we started looking to relocate. The ONLY place we found was about 15 miles away and we grabbed it - within a couple of months he was full, with a waiting list. Even facilities farther away, in Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and Hollister are full.
time2roll
Nomad
Aug 07, 2022
How about just moving to CA? Yes housing is expensive. So is commuting by air and maintaining a second home.

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