NEW to fulltiming - Advice/Opinions/HELP! (long)

[CMM187]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this site...actually, I'm new to the whole RV thing. Opinions and ideas needed!

My boyfriend and I just bought a 2004 Heritage Franklin. Its 42 ft long and has 3 slides. We recently found out that we need to move within the next few months...Tossed around the option to continue renting, did the whole "Let's buy a house!" thing, looked at a few houses up for auction, talked to a family member about remodeling their basement into an apartment, and even considered buying a mobile home and getting set up on my family's farm... All of these sound like decent options, but after looking into each one, their downfalls outweighed the good things about them...at this point in our life, anyway...

So, here we are now... We made the decision to buy the 5th wheel and live in it full time for a year(s).. IN OHIO.. After the winter we just had, I'm surprised I'm not the one telling me I'm crazy :S Either way, I need opinions, ideas, advice..anything you all can tell me!

LOCATION: My family has a 90 acre farm in Ohio. We are allowed to put it on my parents or grandparents land. Looked around yesterday at possible places on each property. It needs a 220 hookup, which my grandparents have in their garage. They also have a water hookup coming up from the basement. Option 1: put it on the side or behind the house to be close to the hookups. Option 2: Put it down by the barn (about 100 ft from house) and run the hookups to us.. My parents house does not have a 220 hookup, but their house is newer and capable of having more things running off of the electric at once. They also have water hookups inside the basement and garage. Option 3: put it at the side of their house, use the water hookup from the basement and have a 220 hookup installed. Option 4: put it beside the barn (on an actual driveway) and run water to us..and have the 220 installed. Which one of these sounds like the best, safest, or smartest plan?

WEATHER: Because we live in Ohio, the summer will be fine.. (I've shown horses forever and have lived out of horse trailers on and off for years), but the winters will be a whole new ball game! What all needs to go into this to make sure we're warm and the pipes wont freeze? Ive looked up a lot of stuff, and everyone seems to have a different way with a different combination to keep things running in the winter. What are the safest and best options? Are there ways to do it and not have it cost as much as the 5th wheel, itself, did? What exactly is a heated RV basement, and can one be added if it does not have one? Heated hoses: do they really work? Or is heated tape the way to go? Propane heating at a lower temp will be used to, hopefully, help with the freezing..but we're not wanting to heat with propane. Space heaters? Solar panels? Install a wood stove? Other options? ...Water: opinions on using the water holding tank or having the water line hooked up at all times? ...Grey & Black Water - There is no place to run a line for a run off, but we have a few dumping stations fairly close by. What is our best option here? If at all possible, I'd like to avoid having to thaw yesterdays digested lunch with a hairdryer.:h ...Skirting: we plan to add a skirt around the bottom - best insulated option? The original plan was to put it inside the barn for the winter, but the measurement info we received was a little off. Needless to say, the barn doors arent tall enough to get this bad boy inside there. Do we NEED to build some kind of full enclosure, or will we survive outside? Does anything need to be done to the slides in the winter?

Also, any information on average cost (monthly) during warm and cold weather would be greatly appreciated! I know the initial winterizing project could get pricey, but not factoring that in... Aprroximately, what are we looking at? Hoping the average cost monthly should be considerably less than $800-$1000?

Any tips, tricks, DIY projects, etc are welcomed for anything and everything... We have until November/December before the winter will hit, but would love to have a plan and get a set up going now.

Sorry this was so long...but thank you for reading!

[Dog_Folks]

As I replied on the other forum you posted on:

In case you missed it.

Tips?

It will be very difficult to meet your needs with an RV. Especially with the cold winters you face. Most Rv's are two or three season campers, and those seasons are NOT winter.

Look at units called "Park Models." (like a mini Mobile Home or Large RV if you prefer)

They are much better equipped for stationary living and cold winters.

What money you may save over conventional housing by purchasing an RV will quickly be spent in winter trying to stay warm, and keep the water flowing.

[Wally_Walleye]

be sure to keep your water hose protected from freezing. Using an outdoor faucet from a house will more than likely freeze during the winter. You need to get a frost free connection. They also sell pipe heaters that wrap around outdoor pipe, plug into electric to keep exposed pipes from freezing. Think about getting an addtional 100 lb propane tank to hook up so you are not constantly running to fill your tanks. Additional window treatments such as quilted fabrics will cut down on heat loss from the windows. Can use foil window covers. Also check your slide where it comes against the wall and floor, lots of cold air can come in there. Some additional weather protection around the cracks can save heat loss. Fulltiming is great Good luck. Keep asking questions and search the forum for many more suggestions.

[Allworth]

I'm not clear on why you think you need a 220Volt power supply. Unless there is something very unusual about that particular trailer, RV hookups are 110Volt 50 Amp, 4-wire, 2-Phase (split) or 30Amp 3-wire, single phase. The plug looks like a 220, but DO NOT plug it into something like a dryer outlet. You will promptly "cook" at least the power distribution panel in the trailer and, possibly, all of your appliances.

[the_bear_II]

Congratulations on your decision and good luck with this new phase in life.

If it were me I would choose the Grandparents because they could probably use the help around the place. I would park next to the barn for privacy & run all of the utilities underground to the spot.

The 5th wheel will survive out in the elements and you'll be comfortable inside but may use a lot of electricity &/or Propane for heating. Most RVers with permanent spots will install a metal or wood cover over their RV. The metal covers are inexpensive and easy to put up. Skirting is a good idea to help cut heating costs. Something like this would be great ---
http://www.absoluterv.com/rv-covers-and-shade-shelters/

Black and grey water- If you can.. best would be to install a sewer connection by your trailer and run pipe to the sewer/septic tank. If you can't do the actual sewer setup the next best solution is to purchase a macerator pump which will chew up any solids as it pumps waste through a hose to a sewer or septic tank connection. You'll need to find a spot on the property where you can run the hose and connect to the sewer or dump into a toilet (not preferred but will work). Also be aware the pumps have limitation on distance for pumping based upon size of hose.