New to the group! Going to school in Connecticut... HELP :-)

[BrianGomez1983]

Hi RV Group!

I hope you had a great weekend! I am Brian, and I currently live in Northern NJ, but will be attending graduate school in Connecticut (University of Bridgeport) in... OMG 3 WEEKS! LOL (August 19th, 2024 is my first day).

I am a newbie with RV owning (I’ve rented a few Class C’s in the past, but I am looking to purchase a Class A by the end of the week), and I am struggling a bit with finding parking on/near campus for the RV. I rather invest in an RV rather than waste it on dorms/housing with the school. But lo and behold now comes the issue of where to park the RV, while paying minimal rent as possible (since I will also have some RV loan to pay while in school, as well as my tuition, as well as cost-of-living in general, etc).

I will solely be using the RV to sleep in at night and to study in. But I probably won’t even start parking in Connecticut until the early winter (whenever the weather starts to get bad). Otherwise, I plan on commuting everyday from NJ to CT (which is 2 hours each way). But I want to have the option to crash in the RV if the weather is bad, or if I have exams and need to focus on studying and not commuting, etc.)

Straight to the point: does anyone know of anyone looking to rent their driveway or yard space for me to park on? All I would need is access to electricity (which I’d also be happy to pay). I would fill and dump at appropriate stations. I looked into campsites, and they are more $$$ than the school housing. My biggest concern is also winter. I’d like to have access to electricity so I can plug in a heater to keep the RV pipes from freezing.

Any and all advice would be much appreciated!

I already posted on a several FB Marketplace pages, Craigslist, and posted on the NextDoor App. I was actually directed to try here, RV.net. Others advised to park at Walmart, Cracker Barrel, etc., just to get permission from management. While I love this idea as well, I still need to solve the electricity issue, and worry about being plowed in if it snows.

I hope someone can help!

Thanks all!

Happy RV’ing, Brian

[valhalla360]

While I appreciate your thinking outside the box, I think you will find when all is done and said, it's not cheap and it's not comfortable.

 - I would assume the RV is a total loss when figuring your costs. It's going to get hard use in tough conditions. How much are you dumping into it if you need a loan? Assuming you are buying used, do you have any experience? Most people will miss significant issues, so your odds of getting a problem rig are higher.

 - Electricity isn't going to keep up heating with even a smaller Class A. You will need a functioning propane furnace and even then it's marginal. We were caught in a cold snap in New Mexico once and we were going thru a 30# tank a day and it was only able to keep the RV around 60F. We had a pretty good cold weather setup.

 - Dump stations and outdoor faucets will be in short supply in the winter. Most people don't camp in the winter, so there is no reason to maintain them in the winter. 

 - Storage lots in the midwest run $200-300/month (and you can't stay in the RV). I would expect in a high end area like Connecticut it would be at least as much or more. HOAs (Home Owner Associations) tend to look down on RVs even being present in driveways, let alone someone staying in it long term. How urbanized is the area? I can't see anyone in an urban/suburban area going for this (or being allowed by zoning/HOA rules). If you can get out to more rural areas, you might find a farmer would rent you space behind the barn. 

If you were somewhere down south, where you deal with an occasional 20F night, it's much more doable. If you are dead set on this, I would be looking small & cheap. A small Class C with no slides (under 24ft) will be easier to deal with and take less to heat. If it's only you, the space from slides is not so critical. If you can find a campervan, that can allow you to be a bit more stealthy but does significantly impact comfort (still maybe acceptable for 1 person).  Even a small under 20ft trailer would be easier to manage but again, it comes with limitations. I would limit the search to what you can pay cash for.

[way2roll]

Welcome. I doubt anyone on this forum knows of a driveway or space for rent in that specific area. Cl and FB and next-door apps would probably be a better approach. Have you looked into long term rates at an RV park/campground? You're going to have to find water and a dump station weekly anyway and usually they aren't free.

On edit: Also, since you'll be there in the winter you will go through a lot of propane in order to keep warm and your pipes from freezing (if your RV is even built to handle freezing temps - many aren't for long term). LP isn't cheap and you might be surprised how much you'll go through, unless you are going to winterize and unwinterize every time you leave and come back. 

[BrianGomez1983]

thank you for the response!  Yeah, I've tried CL & FB, they were the ones who actually told me to try here.  Worth trying!  Thank you!