Forum Discussion

gammiof7's avatar
gammiof7
Explorer
Dec 04, 2014

Stationery Living

We are thinking of selling our house and living in a 5th wheel full time. We will not be traveling in it for a couple of years, just living and working. We are thinking of putting it on some land my parents have. We will have to install a septic tank but are thinking we can just use their power and water. Has anybody else done this?
  • I see this all the time in rural areas of Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, usually on a property that already has a permanent residence (old farm house or house trailer). It is often a zoning violation, but in that circumstance one can always claim it is not being lived in full time, and usually the violation goes unnoticed if nobody complains and nobody suspects the RV might be in use for otherwise illegal activity (which is all too often the case in this region).
  • Zoning laws/restrictions are first obstacle.......many paces do not allow living in trailers (RVs). Manufactured homes & mobile homes might be OK but that doesn't necessarily mean RVs are.

    Second.......
    Land prep (septic, power pedestal, water connection) can be expensive up front monies.

    Third.......
    Living in an RV is NOT necessarily cheaper than apt/house living.
    Heating/cooling costs can be more than S&B house.

    Fourth.....
    Have you spent much time in an RV. Small quarters can get to some folks. Sure it might be OK for a week or so BUT 24/7365 is a different story.
    We Full Timed for 7 yrs. and enjoyed it. Would still be on the road if 'life' hadn't thrown a curve BUT we traveled.
    Being 'parked' we knew wasn't going to work for us in the 5vr......alot of the above reasons applied.


    Yes many folks have done it. Research.
    And if possible.........take a long, long trip in an RV first.
  • and the weather forecasts. Your profile doesn't say where you're at but 5ers can be very expensive to heat in extreme cold conditions or cool in extreme heat conditions.
  • Don't do anything till you've checked the local zoning regulations.