Living in a Trailer

[rightlaneonly]

Sadly I just placed me wife in a memory care home and find myself facing life alone. Thinking of selling the house (too many reminders here) and buying a travel trailer to live in. Looking for input from anyone that has done this. Do you stay in campgrounds or mobile home parks? Is either option cost effective. I have family here in California as well as Idaho and want to spend time in both locals.
Please share with me your experiences, both good and bad.
Thank you
Lee

[coolmom42]

mikim wrote:
The very first thing I recommend is that you do not make this decision until 1 year has passed. Give yourself some time.

Absolutely, this.

If you want to get a trailer to travel to visit family, more power to you.

Unless you have a large/high upkeep/high tax/high mortgage payment house, you will not find that living in a RV is a huge savings.

If you want to downsize, look into a condo or small house to use as a home base, and a RV for travel. That's a good first step. Then if you REALLY want to downsize more, it's time to consider full time RV living.

[SDcampowneroper]

Lee,
I feel your pain. DW in a memory health issue, like Alzhiemers? likely the read from your post. Others touch upon the financial issues, I surmise you are financially secure and looking to maximize your time with your lady and family with a mobile lifestyle.
Liquidation of assets is complicated, only you can decide the right way, distribute now while you can, or have your personal rep. do it when you pass away
There is no time like today. DW is in a state where she cannot participate, yet you know her wishes. She has certainly worked with you beforehand.
The family home after the loss of a spouse is often a minutae reminder of that lost partner. Is it tempting to go off to a new adventure and leave that home behind?
Yes for the short term, no in the long term. You may need it for your own health issues someday. I prefer a home base when end of life is possible.

Go out , travel, any way you wish. your lady will be with you.

[TenOC]

JimK-NY wrote:


You have been given advice on proceeding slowly. Maybe but you also are not getting any younger. If you want the mobility and travel allowed with an RV you might want to proceed quickly. Only you know yourself. Don't make a choice that you are likely to regret.

Have an Exit Plan ! ! !

[JimK-NY]

Sorry about your wife's health issues. In any case none of us can tell you what makes sense. I can start by pointing out some serious considerations.

If you decide to sell the house, you will probably be faced with some major issues. It is hard to get rid of a house full of stuff. You can compromise by packing up a little or a lot and sending it to storage. Be aware that storage costs become very significant after months or years. Dealing with that stuff in storage is more difficult than dealing with it now.

You need to consider your hobbies, interests, lifestyle. There are a lot of activities and lifestyle choices that do not fit with RV living.

Are you interested in travel and visiting places such as National Parks or are you just looking for a cheap place to live and will spend most of the time in one or two areas?

To answer one question, you can spend a little or a lot with RV living. Many RV parks and campgrounds with hookups are expensive and getting more expensive by the year. In many areas of the country suitable places for long term camping are in short supply. There are plenty of places to live at very low cost. That would include National Parks, Forests, etc. You will need to move frequently because of limitations of duration of stay. You also need to consider getting a solar system and getting away from the need for hookups.

If you are going to sell the house and do even minimal interState traveling you will need to make logistical arrangements: mail, banking, medical providers, choice of State of residency, etc, etc. Do the research and decision making in advance.

You have been given advice on proceeding slowly. Maybe but you also are not getting any younger. If you want the mobility and travel allowed with an RV you might want to proceed quickly. Only you know yourself. Don't make a choice that you are likely to regret.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

As mentioned, don't do anything right now!!

From your info, living in CA and having an Aliner as your RV, full-timing isn't a good idea.

The rough idea would be summers in Idaho, and winters in California. Are your kids in CA located near where you could stay cheaply in a bigger RV? Are you kids in ID close to good campgrounds?

Are you sure you want to spend that much time focused on your kids/ grands?

Friends you would leave behind? A church or other social group?

Now, just saying, traveling alone, I would recommend a Class C or motorhome with a towed vehicle.

I pull at near 40' TT, for almost 7 years full-time. Parking without the DW would be a nightmare some places. And almost everyone trying to help a person park uses different signals. And they do not know how my rig turns, when to tell me to straighten out. My rig is 17 feet between the rear axle and the carrier for the sewer tote rack end.

What is that going to do to your budget, getting such a rig?

In general the only part of expenses I find cheaper in the TT than our last home is utilities, and taxes. We still eat the same way, we spend a little more on fuel traveling because we go see more stuff than we did in the house. Maintenance costs are close to the same.

We spend less on clothes and 'junk' no place to put it.

And I must do more of the routine maintenance that I did on the house. Well, I have almost 60,000 miles on the 7 year old TT, through 46 states.

[Guy_Roan]

That is a tough decision and my heart goes out to you.
I am 85 and my wife is 83. I am hoping that I go before her since I couldn't imagine being without her, but if the opposite happened I think I would either live in a 25 foot travel trailer or buy a small ranch style home.
As others have said; don't jump to anything too soon, but you could start down sizing little by little.

Guy

[theoldwizard1]

RV are not built like homes. You have to do a lot more maintenance.

[doxiemom11]

Meantime, if you are really leaning that way, you could start downsizing by selling and donating a few things. Just in case you'll have a jump on it already.

[rightlaneonly]

Thank each of you for you input. I know I need to give it time. Each decision from this point on will be difficult but not as difficult as placing her there.
I like the idea of living in a trailer and know I can get by with little. I.m in the same kinda situation as TenOC and thinking along the same lines. Kids get what they want, salvation army the rest.Anyway I thank you all. Won't be doing anything for a couple of months at least but feel I need to move forward.

[Lwiddis]

Most trailers are not built for full time living. It can be done but requires careful maintenance. If you already have a tow vehicle determine the maximum weight the TV will pull and carry. Buy something lighter however. If you don’t have a TV, buy or select the trailer first. Match a TV to the trailer.

[valhalla360]

mikim wrote:
The very first thing I recommend is that you do not make this decision until 1 year has passed. Give yourself some time.

Beat me to it. Don't sell the house until you've had time to let things settle out.

As a single guy, you can get away with a fairly small trailer. Trade in your truck for a 1/2 ton and look at something in the 22-25ft range (check the towing and payload ratings). You should be able to get set up for under $20k with a good reliable rig.

Yes, it's very much doable to stay at various RV parks. Just depends how often you want to move. We are currently in a very nice park on the Texas Gulf Coast for $550/month. On the beach, lots of activities (covid limited this year). While on the move you will pay more but rarely do we pay more than $35/n and usually in the $15-25 range.

While some mobile home parks will allow RVs, they are usually the more run down type that are less desirable.

Move with the seasons staying in comfortable weather.

PS: Sorry for your difficult situation.

[TenOC]

When my wife died, I was face with much the same situation. I was living in Ohio and all my children and other family members were living in Tennessee. I recognize that if I got sick with cancer (like my wife) it would be a major problem for the children. They could not take a leave of absence to take care of me since they all had good jobs, and if I died unexpected, they would have problems disposing of the house and all the stuff I had collected over a number of years.

My solution was to pretend I had died. The important pieces of furniture that I wanted to remain in the family I gave to my children the other items which had no sentimental value I sold or gave to goodwill. I sold the house and started full time in an RV. Since then, I have travel in all the states and from Newfoundland to Alaska it was the best decision I ever made.

I’ve told the children if I get sick at some distance from Tennessee, I will drive the RV to my son’s house and park in the backyard for my last few weeks. If I die unexpectedly simply cremate my body and give the RV to goodwill or the Salvation Army.

[mikim]

The very first thing I recommend is that you do not make this decision until 1 year has passed. Give yourself some time.

[Bumpyroad]

sorry for your situation. I would suggest looking into a park model for full time stationary living.
bumpy