Are we insane?

[miles999]

Hi, everyone! Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this post and we hope to gather some good feedback with your responses. We have about 60 days in which to finalize our decision making process.

We live near Gilroy, California, relocated here in early 2017 from the Sacramento area; the job opp we moved down to the area is not working out as the company is going bankrupt. We are not waiting on the filing and have decided to relocate back to the Sacramento area, she is returning to the government sector and I the same; house goes on the market in mid/late February. So, theoretically the cash flow will be reliable again and if we decide on the house the Sacramento housing market has not gotten red hot, yet.

BUT…..there is a caveat to our plan. My wife is finishing her Nurse Practitioner program; grad date December 2019. California is near the bottom in regards to being NP friendly and we have found pretty much the Inter Mountain West to be NP friendly with the exception of Cali. Upon graduation we will be leaving Cali relocating to one of those states.

So our scenario has us determining if: we should purchase a home knowing it will be back on the market in two to three years, rent a house, or go ahead now and jump into full time RV’ing. We have some camping experience both in tent and fifth wheel with family so it is not a completely foreign world to us.

Key information: Just the two of us, two small dogs and a cat. Not quite to the 55 and older discount club. We will have to purchase truck and fifth wheel (largely financed, some down payment money) as the current truck (2004) won’t pull anything over ~24 footer. Thinking TH as we have two Hogs we love to ride. We are quite familiar with the Sac area as we owned a home near there and commuted for five years prior to moving south last year. Reliable internet connection is a must as part of her schooling is online (this could be a biggie).

Budget for housing: Purchasing and/or renting will put us in the $2500-3000/month plus utilities arena; renting is very challenging as we have two small dogs and a cat. A good reference for us is five years of data living in the area until 2017: avg. /mthly housing expense to include utilities, not internet, typically $3000 with a $2274 mortgage (includes Taxes/Insurance).

We think buying a house would carry the largest risk of all in that we might need to “bring our checkbook” to the closing when we sell due to the short time we have owned it. The Sac market should be good in 2020, but …… Renting is extremely unattractive for two reasons: difficulty of finding a house that allows that many pets and completely throwing away our money for someone else’s equity.

The full time aspect for us is intriguing in that we can “scout” the potential states, essentially those west of the Plains states and not have to make arrangements for a pet sitter, pet friendly hotels, stay an extra day, etc. Our eventual plan in 2020 will be to purchase land where we are going and build a house; having a fifth wheel would make it very convenient to live in while we build; taking into account climate and time of year.

Being stationed in Tokyo while AD we lived in an apartment not a whole lot bigger than some of the TH models we have visited, so downsizing has already been done once.

In our case I am not shy about saying “we don’t know what we don’t know”. Specifically, we are asking: Is our reasoning sound; are we out of our minds? Are we examining the right costs, can a full time setup be had with the payments, site rent, utilities and be at or below the housing average as mentioned above? How receptive are parks to long term tenants, I have found researching there are some that won’t allow a stay of more than 28 days. Those of you familiar with the parks in the Sacramento area, how hard is it to consistently find a spot; she being retired AD we have access to the Fam Camps at Beale and Travis AFB. We do have a few more questions, but I believe we have taken up way too much space in this post. Thanks.

[troubledwaters]

There is no difference between renting and full timing in an RV. They are both an equity losing position. Buying a house is generally considered a safer investment, but being short term, it may or may not be. And certainly maintenance, care, upkeep and unexpected expenses are a factor.

If it was me, I'd rather rent. It's much more comfortable and a lot less likely to leave you stranded (no heat, no water, no whatever,...big expense to fix). Save the RV for when you get to the better destination down the road. Just My Opinion.

[valhalla360]

free radical wrote:

miles999 wrote:


We think buying a house would carry the largest risk of all in that we might need to “bring our checkbook” to the closing when we sell due to the short time we have owned it. The Sac market should be good in 2020, but …… Renting is extremely unattractive for two reasons: difficulty of finding a house that allows that many pets and completely throwing away our money for someone else’s equity.

I think buying a house may be the best option,,house value goes up..
RVs on the other hand keep losing value and you still need to pay rent wherever you park..unless you want to boondock or WMart..

Once you factor in taxes, maintenance, remodeling etc..., houses typically lose money. Particularly if you may only be there for a few years before selling and taking the realestate commission hit. Maybe not as fast but not a lot of quarter million dollar 5th wheels out there.

I would also be hesitant on the toy hauler. We have friends with a new 38' toy hauler and it has a living space the size of our old 28' 5th wheel. They don't have nearly as much space as our new 34' 5th wheel. If you aren't going to be on the move a lot, probably not worth the lost space, just get a small trailer for the cycles.

If you can find a long term site, you could save a lot by skipping the truck.

What are the specs on your current truck? You can usually pull a lot more travel trailer with a 1/2 ton than you can 5th wheel.

[jjjandrbaker]

No you are not insane. You are really weighing your options. Best if luck.

[coolmom42]

You will have to decide on the finances, but you might consider a trailer rather than a 5th wheel. You could probably manage with a less expensive truck.

[miles999]

toedtoes wrote:
As you don't have kids at this point, your options for places in Sacramento to buy a home are wide open.

There are a lot of older smaller homes out there with small price tags. And even if the market goes down, they are unlikely to put you under. The areas where these homes are located are not any worse than where the rv parks are located.

If you total the payments for the truck and trailer and the cost for the park, you could get a small home for around the same.

Sacramento gets very hot in the summer so that AC will run almost constantly in an RV.

True, with no kids we have more options available than most. We are concerned with the lack of quality housing when you begin limiting your budget to less than $350,000 and the ones we have viewed in that range need updating meaning more money. Very familiar with the heat as we lived in the Central Valley from 2012 through 2016, summers can be brutal. In regards to payments for us we will simply have to decide the lesser of the evils presented with all costing us....and determine which contains acceptable risk.

[miles999]

DrewE wrote:
It sounds like you'll be spending the majority of time in one place, or moving around areas where you'll have not a lot of time to use your toys.

Thanks DrewE, you make a valid point that we had not yet thought through, hence the reason for our post. We are now thinking we should not limit ourselves to only one segment of the market.

[toedtoes]

As you don't have kids at this point, your options for places in Sacramento to buy a home are wide open. There are a lot of older smaller homes out there with small price tags. And even if the market goes down, they are unlikely to put you under. The areas where these homes are located are not any worse than where the rv parks are located.

If you total the payments for the truck and trailer and the cost for the park, you could get a small home for around the same.

Sacramento gets very hot in the summer so that AC will run almost constantly in an RV.

[Mandalay_Parr]

Many Private RV parks offer long term.

[free_radical]

miles999 wrote:


We think buying a house would carry the largest risk of all in that we might need to “bring our checkbook” to the closing when we sell due to the short time we have owned it. The Sac market should be good in 2020, but …… Renting is extremely unattractive for two reasons: difficulty of finding a house that allows that many pets and completely throwing away our money for someone else’s equity.

I think buying a house may be the best option,,house value goes up..
RVs on the other hand keep losing value and you still need to pay rent wherever you park..unless you want to boondock or WMart..

[Ivylog]

You can double tow in CA BUT only a total length of 65'...somewhat negating getting a normal 5er and cycle trailer instead of a TH. Yes going nomadic has many advantages in your situation but you will be buying two depreciating items where buying a house you might break even.

[jmtandem]

You might look at the California Delta as there are many RV parks and some allow full time living. Cost for a space would be less than a house; however, you will need to factor in the new truck and fifth wheel toy hauler. As this could be a good learning experience on what you eventually would want in a full time RV, purchasing 'pre owned' might save some serious money. Commute to Sacramento is about a half hour to forty five minutes depending on your destination. No way would I purchase a home for only two years especially if the housing market cools off, again. Also, don't forget you will likely need an endorsement on your driver's license if you intend to tow a heavy fifth wheel. Lots to think about.

[Merrykalia]

My niece has lived with us on/off her entire life and we have been big into Rv'ing since she was a baby. She is now a Sgt. in the Marine Corp and has gotten married while she was in the GA area. Her spouse is employed in GA, but she got stationed for the next 2 years in NC. She purchased a 33' TT for her and her 2 dogs and has been set-up on base at their campground for the last 4 months. It has a bath house, laundry, etc. for $500/month, which includes lot rent, electric, water, sewer and WIFI. The going rate on a 1-bedroom apartment was in the $1200-1400 range, so her thinking was that she would get 2 years worth of camper payments, pretty much paid for with her housing allowance.

Her only problem has been the last few days since it's been COLD, COLD, COLD there. It's supposed to warm up this coming week.

So, my point in all of this....it is a good idea in some cases. It sounds like you are doing all the pre-planning and checking off the pros and cons.

IF you can find someplace to park it that is reasonable, this might be a good idea for your situation.

[DrewE]

It sounds like you've given this more thought than many people who ask these sorts of questions, and have some at least semi-realistic thoughts on the expenses involved. It seems to me like it could work out okay. Real estate in California, at least near the cities, is crazy. You may have to get a used, relatively late model trailer and/or truck rather than a brand new one. Particularly for an RV, that can be an advantage as someone else will have taken care of getting fixed anything wrong from the factory.

I would think hard before getting a toy hauler for this plan, though. With a toy hauler, you're giving up half of your living room and dining room and kitchen space for a garage. It sounds like you'll be spending the majority of time in one place, or moving around areas where you'll have not a lot of time to use your toys. I would think that a "normal" trailer and maybe a small enclosed cargo trailer or shed to use for a garage would be much more comfortable. The drawback, of course, is that you can't take the motorcycles with you on a camping trip, at least not easily. (Many states do allow recreational double towing, so in those you could in theory tow a motorcycle trailer behind a fifth wheel if everything is properly equipped, but California is not one of those states. As I recall it basically works out that the East and West coast states do not permit recreational double towing and the interior ones mostly do.)

[rexlion]

I think you have a very good idea, *if* you can first locate a place to park it for full time use. Hopefully some CA folks will have ideas about where to look. I see at least 3 mobile home parks around Sacramento; definitely talk to them. Looks like you may be paying around $500/month in one of them.

I'd say differently if you were trying to do this in an area with extreme temps, but CA climate being what it is, you should be comfortable without hearing a constant roar from a fan (furnace or AC).

Good luck!

( edit: ) I may have been mistaken about the temperatures in Sacramento...

[Lwiddis]

And your questions are...as related to RVing?