Living 24/7/365 in our TT

[misteramx]

It is just me and my fiance,(and the two dogs) we're both looking at retiring in 5-9 years. To save money, and stack that money away (about $1000+ a month) we are thinking of putting our 27' Cobra Sandpiper into an RV park and living there.

Here in our valley, we have gotten down to -1 degrees. Little snow, lots of ice, and yes, -1 is cold. So I'm wondering what I would need to do to set this up long term in a park. Or even, on a chunk of land in the county. Insulated skirting? Heat ducted to under floor area? Heat tape on the water supply line and sewer drain line?

Ideally, we will buy an 1-5 acres, make this plot our home base complete with power, water supply, pole building, and septic. When we finally retire, we will use this as home base, get a bigger TT or 5r, and go see the world.

Ideas are always welcome!

[westend]

If you decide to over-winter in the 5th, skirting would be a must have. You could place a couple of heat lamps or small electric heaters underneath to maintain a decent floor temperature. Any pipe, drain, or tank outside of the heated and skirted underbelly needs to be heated with cables or pads to function. I know one member on here that popped the cap off his drain and used handwarmers in the pipe to facilitate dumping.

I would suggest a different course of action, though, considering your overall plan. Instead of paying for campground fees, I'd put the money into paying off that land you're looking for. Of course, I don't know your exact financial situation but it may be a better overall situation to buy the land, improve it, and then park your 5th. You could start small with just the basic utilities. If it was me, I'd definitely look into building a large garage. The garage would be heated and serve as living quarters, also. Maybe that's just the Contractor in me wanting to build something but I think it has some merit.

Good luck with whatever you do, I enjoy reading about folks who think outside of the conventional box.

[JIMNLIN]

We lived in a 27' 5th wheel trailer one winter here in NE OK with temps down to zero however as most plain states the issue is the wind when its cold.
The 5er had a 13' superslide. I bought mobile home skirting and skirted it all around except for the above bedroom.
I also made inside storm windows from 1/8" Lexan from Lowes. It came in 4' x 8' sheets. I added 3/8" thick foam for a gasket.

My water inlet was on 10' long so a garden hose wrapped in insulation and a heat tape with a thermostat worked fine.

My 3" sewer drain was 22' long and a good slope for fast drain into my house septic system but liquids didn't set so it wasn't wrapped with anything.

The biggest issue we has was condensation on interior walls and windows and mostly inside the closets. We tried the usual crack a window and or a vent. All that did was make the heater run 24/7 and a cold wet drafty camper. Our fix was two dehumidifiers from Lowes.

Read all you can on condensation causes in a RV. Its a big issue in a std trailer with just R7 floor/walls and roof with a aluminum frame and foam insulation.

[bobsbbq]

I would say definitely go for it if you can make the winter modifications. I can't help there as I stay mostly in the south. However I looking at this information in case we decide to do in travels during the winter to colder climates.

We are doing very similar as I became disabled and lost my job. We have the wife's income all done through the internet and my disability when it kicks in hopefully very soon. We had a rough time including bankruptcy and the last thing I wanted to do was throw away 1300+/mo for and apartment or renting a house. So we used some of our last funds to get a used trailer and even though we have had to fix a few things it was worth it. We have a place to park it in Houston with electric, water and sewer free of charge (Thanks to parents) and we are going to travel around to different CG's and RV parks for at least a few years to save money.

We still have some of the same expenses whether we have a house or not like food, medical, and insurances. We will have a certain amount of up keep on the trailer but we try to due some of the repairs our self.

All in all we like it and are looking to the savings. I wish you well in your journey.

[Dick_B]

Get the December 2011 issue of Trailer Life, where on page 56 is an article on how a couple lived in a 5er thru a Colorado winter. Theirs was a Kit Sportsmaster 5er but they had to do a lot of modifications to make it winter proof. You can also find it online if you do a Google search for `our winter rv adventure, trailer life'. Also search this Forum for `winter living'.

[69_Avion]

Ivylog wrote:
Buy the property, build a INSULATED pole barn so your heating costs do not negate any savings.

That is a great idea. The OP may as well start putting money into his future and live on the property now. No sense in giving the money to someone else.

[calamus]

Ivylog wrote:
Buy the property, build a INSULATED pole barn so your heating costs do not negate any savings.

This is what we did when we bought our farm house we had to put a new basement under it so lived in the garage through winter with a wood stove for heat it worked out well. We have property on a lake we plan to retire on hoping to put a building up with full services for the camper and a extra bathroom and kitchen then later a bd room for the kids to come stay. plus it keeps you rv out of the elements and it will last longer less up keep.

[weathershak]

abc40kids wrote:

APT wrote:
Never RV to save money. It rarely works out that way. I do not think your situation is any different.

I have NO plans to do this but if I parked my 5er at a campground or rented land from a friend I would save lots of $$$ not having a mortgage / all that goes with the up-keep. I say do your homework and go for it if things work out.

X2 You can save alot if you have your RV planted in one place so there are no travel expenses. I am winter RVing for $600.00 per month, including insurance and utilities. A big difference from the $1300.00 per month S&B.

[Ivylog]

Buy the property, build a INSULATED pole barn so your heating costs do not negate any savings.

[abc40kids]

APT wrote:
Never RV to save money. It rarely works out that way. I do not think your situation is any different.

I have NO plans to do this but if I parked my 5er at a campground or rented land from a friend I would save lots of $$$ not having a mortgage / all that goes with the up-keep. I say do your homework and go for it if things work out.

[APT]

Never RV to save money. It rarely works out that way. I do not think your situation is any different.

[WoodGlue]

You're going to have to look into ways and means to exhaust your system so as to avoid condensation. Water inside a trailer is one of your biggest enemies! My Lance has a Fantastic Fan (exhaust fan) mounted over the bed area and a MaXX Air Flow on the roof so snow and bugs won't get in. You would also need to look into a heavy duty dehumidifier if I were you.

WoodGlue

[Old-Biscuit]

It's not necessarily cheaper to live FT in an RV just different

You have site fee
Maybe electric
Propane
Food
Medical
Insurance
etc. etc.

Cold weather living takes different approach vs a S&B house
Lots of 'things'........good place to cover the 'things' is here on this forum.
Winter RV Camping