No Slide Out Travel Trailer

rjxj wrote:

2012Coleman wrote:

rjxj wrote:

2012Coleman wrote:

rjxj wrote:
2012 Coleman, You made me laugh. I was in the Denver area in November helping my son with a house renovation and knew it would be getting cold. Problem is it went down to -5 one night. I ended up putting house siding fiber board around my tank area and put an electric heater under there. I also had my furnace running all night and another electric heater inside the 5er. During the worst days I was burning 30 pounds of propane a day $26.00. As the weather backed off some, I went to a tank every other day.

I also had all the windows covered with that plastic bubble foil (reflexic???) from HD. It helped A LOT.

Hey - thats fine for a temporary situation. But you have people coming on here asking questions about living in a TT getting advised that it is doable while being totally ignorant of the inherent dangers of doing so. And as you deftly pointed out, the cost of propane per day. Added up, this amounts to rent. I'm not going to be cold, I had it set at 70 degrees. Five electric heaters wouldn't have kept it warm. damn the propane it's time to throw money at the problem. :)

Just trying to point that out

I understand what you mean. These are all just comments, ideas, experiences shared with the people who are learning. Everything is dangerous if done wrong. A person can burn their rig down by simply using an electric heater. I had one go into melt down and never shut off. I got the idea on here to set it on the open oven door now.

There are thousands of people living in all sorts of rigs that were never intended to live in but they are. The more ideas we can share, the more people that explain how they do it, the better for the person asking. This is not one size fits all. YES, the reader should pay attention to your point because they are using as not designed but we are going to keep doing it.

That was a temporary 4 week stay for me and my point is when pointing out how much fuel it used that a person would realize that its probably $600 to $800 a month in fuel.

I'n not sure if your trying to put words in my mouth, but the portion in bold is not part of my original post.

I'm sorry for folks who feel that thay have to resort to these types of living conditions when the money spent on just keeping temps liviable amounst to rent on an apartment or some kid of assistance. This isn't the wild west where you have to resort to living in whatever you can cobble together. You seriously should take stock of your situation if you feel that living with 5 space heaters and taking precautions to set them on the open stove door is living. There are always alternatives.

A common misconception is that living in a TT is cheap living. It isn't and a lot of people on here can attest to that.

NO. I not putting words in your mouth. I went in to edit my post and put it in the wrong spot. I tried working with it again and it went to the no website found page that has been happening. Sorry. All messed up. I wanted to add those words at the bottom. :E

I just got it out and I'm able to go through the pages again. Sorry

I'm not living in my 5er with 5 heaters either. I said I did it during a temporary spell to help my son. My goal is to stay out of the cold but I had to do what I had to do. RV living can be a full time living option for people who may not have the resources that some of us have. It can be their choice even if it does not makes sense to you.

I saw the pic you posted and it appears to be a good example of how inefficient an rv is in the winter and I agreed by explaining what I had encountered for a SHORT time myself . Maybe you posted it because there is a police car there and they are going to haul anyone away that tries to use it other than according to manufacturers recommendations. Don't know, dont care.

As someone above pointed out about apartments, some people including me would probably even pay more at times to be in my own rv rather than hearing someones bed springs in the apartment next to me, above me etc. If it adds up to twice as much per month that's not your or mine to worry about. All we can do is give them as many tips and suggestions as to what to expect and how to do it if they choose to do it anyway. If I run across a tip on here that using a ceramic type heater instead of a filament type heater is safer then I feel it is good. If someone says a safe way to use any electric heater is to put it on a non combustible surface, I think it's an excellent idea. Some choose to never use an electric heater because of safety concerns and that's fine for them. NOW, I hope the heck I put this in the right place. :) Good talking with you.

Our budget is around $20,000. We currently have a Chevy Blazer but my husband is open to getting a new tow vehicle.

A common misconception is that living in a TT is cheap living. It isn't and a lot of people on here can attest to that.

I'd like to here from them because it is,at least here in Idaho.Infact,it is cheaper than owning your own home even without a house payment..

When I add up property taxes/water/sewer/garbage/electricity/propane/insurance and up-keep,living full time in an RV is far cheaper.Living in a stick built home is quite spendy,in my opinion even if it is payed for, based on living my entire life in either an RV of some sort or a mobile home.

If I didn't get firewood every summer for my wood stove,my electric bill(Avista power) would run $300+ a month(New Furnace W/High efficient heat pump) in the winter months and a RV spot with electric included is $400 or cheaper with none of the other expenses..

My son is looking for a place to rent and for something decent it starts right about $600 a month plus utilities.But this is central Idaho 200 miles from the closest freeway and 100 to the nearest Wal-Mart in Washington.:B

I was going with a trailer before 2005 because of affordability. As for no slide outs I have never had an RV with them and have fears of them getting stuck. I fell in love last night with a Coachmen Destination trailer with multiple slides so I have thrown out the no slides.

2012Coleman wrote:

rjxj wrote:

2012Coleman wrote:

rjxj wrote:
2012 Coleman, You made me laugh. I was in the Denver area in November helping my son with a house renovation and knew it would be getting cold. Problem is it went down to -5 one night. I ended up putting house siding fiber board around my tank area and put an electric heater under there. I also had my furnace running all night and another electric heater inside the 5er. During the worst days I was burning 30 pounds of propane a day $26.00. As the weather backed off some, I went to a tank every other day.

I also had all the windows covered with that plastic bubble foil (reflexic???) from HD. It helped A LOT.

Hey - thats fine for a temporary situation. But you have people coming on here asking questions about living in a TT getting advised that it is doable while being totally ignorant of the inherent dangers of doing so. And as you deftly pointed out, the cost of propane per day. Added up, this amounts to rent. I'm not going to be cold, I had it set at 70 degrees. Five electric heaters wouldn't have kept it warm. damn the propane it's time to throw money at the problem. :)

Just trying to point that out

I understand what you mean. These are all just comments, ideas, experiences shared with the people who are learning. Everything is dangerous if done wrong. A person can burn their rig down by simply using an electric heater. I had one go into melt down and never shut off. I got the idea on here to set it on the open oven door now.

There are thousands of people living in all sorts of rigs that were never intended to live in but they are. The more ideas we can share, the more people that explain how they do it, the better for the person asking. This is not one size fits all. YES, the reader should pay attention to your point because they are using as not designed but we are going to keep doing it.

That was a temporary 4 week stay for me and my point is when pointing out how much fuel it used that a person would realize that its probably $600 to $800 a month in fuel.

I'n not sure if your trying to put words in my mouth, but the portion in bold is not part of my original post.

I'm sorry for folks who feel that thay have to resort to these types of living conditions when the money spent on just keeping temps liviable amounst to rent on an apartment or some kid of assistance. This isn't the wild west where you have to resort to living in whatever you can cobble together. You seriously should take stock of your situation if you feel that living with 5 space heaters and taking precautions to set them on the open stove door is living. There are always alternatives.

A common misconception is that living in a TT is cheap living. It isn't and a lot of people on here can attest to that.

NO. I not putting words in your mouth. I went in to edit my post and put it in the wrong spot. I tried working with it again and it went to the no website found page that has been happening. Sorry. All messed up. I wanted to add those words at the bottom. :E

I just got it out and I'm able to go through the pages again. Sorry

rjxj wrote:

2012Coleman wrote:

rjxj wrote:
2012 Coleman, You made me laugh. I was in the Denver area in November helping my son with a house renovation and knew it would be getting cold. Problem is it went down to -5 one night. I ended up putting house siding fiber board around my tank area and put an electric heater under there. I also had my furnace running all night and another electric heater inside the 5er. During the worst days I was burning 30 pounds of propane a day $26.00. As the weather backed off some, I went to a tank every other day.

I also had all the windows covered with that plastic bubble foil (reflexic???) from HD. It helped A LOT.

Hey - thats fine for a temporary situation. But you have people coming on here asking questions about living in a TT getting advised that it is doable while being totally ignorant of the inherent dangers of doing so. And as you deftly pointed out, the cost of propane per day. Added up, this amounts to rent. I'm not going to be cold, I had it set at 70 degrees. Five electric heaters wouldn't have kept it warm. damn the propane it's time to throw money at the problem. :)

Just trying to point that out

I understand what you mean. These are all just comments, ideas, experiences shared with the people who are learning. Everything is dangerous if done wrong. A person can burn their rig down by simply using an electric heater. I had one go into melt down and never shut off. I got the idea on here to set it on the open oven door now.

There are thousands of people living in all sorts of rigs that were never intended to live in but they are. The more ideas we can share, the more people that explain how they do it, the better for the person asking. This is not one size fits all. YES, the reader should pay attention to your point because they are using as not designed but we are going to keep doing it.

That was a temporary 4 week stay for me and my point is when pointing out how much fuel it used that a person would realize that its probably $600 to $800 a month in fuel.

I'n not sure if your trying to put words in my mouth, but the portion in bold is not part of my original post.

I'm sorry for folks who feel that thay have to resort to these types of living conditions when the money spent on just keeping temps liviable amounst to rent on an apartment or some kid of assistance. This isn't the wild west where you have to resort to living in whatever you can cobble together. You seriously should take stock of your situation if you feel that living with 5 space heaters and taking precautions to set them on the open stove door is living. There are always alternatives.

A common misconception is that living in a TT is cheap living. It isn't and a lot of people on here can attest to that.

I live in GA, and baby, it's beyond cold down here! With that being said, If I had to live in a TT in GA, it would definitely be as far south as possible. I'd definitely supplement the propane with an electric ceramic heater that an electric site would pay for. It's what we do when we need heat. We set the ceramic heater on a higher setting than the propane, so that the propane heater only kicks on when the electric heater can't keep up. The camper, water hose, etc. would definitely need modifications to handle the cold.

Here's a floorplan that may work: Jayco Jay Flight 27BH. The bunks could be converted into work/dog space, and the sofa's orientation makes the camper feel a little more spacious, IMO. It's also 1/2 ton towable, with the right tow vehicle/hitch configuration.

2012Coleman wrote:

rjxj wrote:
2012 Coleman, You made me laugh. I was in the Denver area in November helping my son with a house renovation and knew it would be getting cold. Problem is it went down to -5 one night. I ended up putting house siding fiber board around my tank area and put an electric heater under there. I also had my furnace running all night and another electric heater inside the 5er. During the worst days I was burning 30 pounds of propane a day $26.00. As the weather backed off some, I went to a tank every other day.

I also had all the windows covered with that plastic bubble foil (reflexic???) from HD. It helped A LOT.

Hey - thats fine for a temporary situation. But you have people coming on here asking questions about living in a TT getting advised that it is doable while being totally ignorant of the inherent dangers of doing so. And as you deftly pointed out, the cost of propane per day. Added up, this amounts to rent.

Just trying to point that out

I understand what you mean. These are all just comments, ideas, experiences shared with the people who are learning. Everything is dangerous if done wrong. A person can burn their rig down by simply using an electric heater. I had one go into melt down and never shut off. I got the idea on here to set it on the open oven door now.

There are thousands of people living in all sorts of rigs that were never intended to live in but they are. The more ideas we can share, the more people that explain how they do it, the better for the person asking. This is not one size fits all. YES, the reader should pay attention to your point because they are using as not designed but we are going to keep doing it.

That was a temporary 4 week stay for me and my point is when pointing out how much fuel it used that a person would realize that its probably $600 to $800 a month in fuel.

Living in an RV in the winter is perfectly doable in Georgia. We were in a Michigan park thru mid-december and there were probably 2 dozen rigs staying the winter.

Yes, you need to take some precautions to avoid freezing pipes and tanks but very managable.

We've been down to -5 for a few days and the furnace handled it just fine. We did go thru a 30# tank per day (this past december we were getting around 2 weeks out of a tank) but if you are stationary, propane companies will bring out a big tank and set it next to the rig, so you don't have to worry about running out.

I assume you are considering a pre 2005 due to cost, so I assume it's not a hard and fast number.

I would strongly suggest reconsidering the need for a slide. It makes a world of difference in terms of livability.

I would also look into a toy hauler. The garage space is very suitable to installing shelving and work stations.

Added up, this amounts to rent.

Not really..Even in Boise Idaho and there high cost of RV spots,you can get full hookups including electricity for $400 a month on the other hand you cannot rent, all utilities included for that price.

Then for the smart full timer in a RV,there are the mobile home sites at half the price of a RV spot in most places.

Propane cost does not have to be high.The use of electric heaters or Catalytic Heaters fix that and have been proven safe over years and years of use.I would never be without a Catalytic heater in any type of RV.Low propane consumption and no electricity required.

One of the main reasons I preferred to use an RV over rent was the cheap rent(still higher than an RV spot) was apartments with party on 24/7 not so in a RV or hasn't for me.

Full timers are usually older or workers not party hearty young-uns.