Travel Trailer (Park Model) in Florida - Tie Downs - Help!

[WhatTheHeck]

Sorry if this has been covered before, but I am so frazzled and really need advice/input from you all.

I just bought a Travel Trailer (Park Model) that I am going to use at a RV lot.

Someone informed me to call the county for a tie down permit - I called them and they informed me that if I plan to tie it down it then makes my travel trailer a "permanent" structure and I will have to pay $7,000 to do this. To tie it down, they pull a mobile home residential building permit and the hefty fees goes to schools, police, fire etc.

I told her that this is not a mobile home - the title clearly states that it is a "travel trailer". They said that the closest thing that have for this fee is "mobile home" and it would fall in that category anyway (even though it is NOT a mobile home).

FYI - the RV place doesn't even allow mobile homes or manufactured homes, but they allow park models of course as it is a travel trailer.

I informed them that I would only want to tie it down just in case if a hurricane /strong winds happened to keep it from moving around and it may be moved half the year to somewhere else, depending on where we go. They told me that if it is going to be considered temporary and we don't tie it down, then it won't be considered permanent and we won't have to pay the fee.

This makes no sense to me. The tie downs only go into the dirt and is not permanent like cement. The only purpose is to prevent the thing from flying around in high winds.

When I told them it wasn't a mobile home, they basically said "it's the same thing if you tie it down" because that is the "closest category" that they have. The wheels and axles stay on the park model, unlike a mobile home.

Can anyone shed some light on their experience with this? Someone told me to just tie it down anyway for safety of the vehicle AND for the others in the park next to me. I don't want to do anything that will get me in big trouble just because I want things to be safe.

Any input would greatly help. Thank you.


PS - if you would feel more comfortable answering me privately and not publicly, please feel free to send me a private message instead. Thank you.

[campigloo]

Another thought. Hurricanes are traditionally summer time events. When the air and water cool in the fall and winter canes can't develop. If I understand your concern and schedule correctly, you don't have a problem.

[norsea]

We were in Florida for one winter season in 2008.

Watched park models being installed in one of the parks where we spent many weeks.

An interesting process watching them use a large drill to quite literally screw large metal auger bits into the ground (sand really) that were about 4 feet in length.

They then used metal straps to attach these to the frame of the trailer.

I looked at this and scratched my head. I finally decided that I had to ask, "Riddle me this: What will doing this accomplish?".

They told me that the local code required that all manufactured homes in Florida be securely attached to the ground. "This way", he said, "when you return to your trailer after the hurricane the frame will be sitting here waiting for you because the rest of the trailer will be gone.".

"Ah, ha!", says I. Makes sense to me. 🙂

Regards,

Jim

[WhatTheHeck]

hohenwald48 wrote:
I think a lot of municipalities have a problem with this. Some more than others. A family moves into a RV park, sets up housekeeping, uses the fire, police and public school systems and don't pay any property tax to cover their fair share of those expenses. Governments are doing what they can to recover those costs and I think they should. It's only fair to the other tax payers.

Property taxes to the RV park owner don't cover those costs so they don't get passed on to the resident. RV parks are intended for tourists not full time residents. If you tie it down you are no longer a tourist.

I think some states (WA I believe) even have a limit on the number of nights you can use an RV before it gets reclassified as a full time residence and taxed accordingly.

Good point and I am not disagreeing with this - other than tying it down no longer makes me a tourist. So if I come for a month and tie it down, I am now a full time resident?

I don't plan on being a full timer in a RV park. Maybe winter time. I may want to take it with me to TN part of the year (RV park that I like there). So it may not be in FL the whole time. Over there I would not even worry about tying it down.

My point is that I am not a permanent resident. It is not a mobile home. With the county, no one mentioned size, no one mentioned park model. Only tying it down was asked. Tie it down and it is "permanent".

They also said that if I don't tie it down then it's fine because it will then be considered temporary. OK, I guess I don't tie it down and there is no foul.

My posting was merely to get feedback from people that have run into this themselves and what they did (or didn't do).

I have a hard time thinking that putting these so called "anchors" 3 feet into dirt is really making it "permanent" anyway. It probably won't do much if a hurricane hit - I bet the "tie downs" will rip right out of the dirt and flip the travel trailer over as Old Biscuit said.

[WhatTheHeck]

BubbaChris wrote:
Governments need money to run, and provide services.

You've obviously run across a boundary point that is important to your local government. And they've determined that a park model effectively being treated as a manufactured home is worthy of appropriate fees/taxes.

Sorry you ran into this speed bump in your plans. When you consider the big picture, I hope you make an appropriate choice and are able to enjoy your new home.

Bubba, I appreciate your input, but there may be a misunderstanding.

When I called, I never said park model. I only said travel trailer. They never asked size and I never told them any size.

The words were travel trailer and if you tie it down it is considered permanent.

The same conversation would have happened if I had a 13' Scamp and wanted to tie it down.

[BubbaChris]

Governments need money to run, and provide services.

You've obviously run across a boundary point that is important to your local government. And they've determined that a park model effectively being treated as a manufactured home is worthy of appropriate fees/taxes.

Sorry you ran into this speed bump in your plans. When you consider the big picture, I hope you make an appropriate choice and are able to enjoy your new home.

[TomG2]

A twist on this subject is the way a park in South Texas handles tie downs. They are only required if the trailer is left uninhabited. I guess they don't want trailers rolling around their campground unless there are people inside?

[Mr__Camper]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Forget about 'tying it down'
Travel Trailer/Park model is NOT built like a Mobile Home or Manufactured Home.

Tie Downs in dirt will only give YOU the false sense of safety.

Hurricane will just rip out those tie downs flip that trailer over.

IF hurricane happens you should already be gone to a SAFE place. NOT in that trailer.

Tie downs -----permanent--- are labor intensive, expensive and MUST be done to code

X2
I hate to burst your bubble but if you get hit with a hurricane the only thing left will be the tie-downs. Several years ago we were at a campground in Palm Harbor and Tropical Storm Debbie hit with so much rain we had the TT totaled.

[hohenwald48]

I think a lot of municipalities have a problem with this. Some more than others. A family moves into a RV park, sets up housekeeping, uses the fire, police and public school systems and don't pay any property tax to cover their fair share of those expenses. Governments are doing what they can to recover those costs and I think they should. It's only fair to the other tax payers.

Property taxes to the RV park owner don't cover those costs so they don't get passed on to the resident. RV parks are intended for tourists not full time residents. If you tie it down you are no longer a tourist.

I think some states (WA I believe) even have a limit on the number of nights you can use an RV before it gets reclassified as a full time residence and taxed accordingly.

[kameronth]

Look into your County's zoning/code ordinances. It should explain in detail what they consider a temporary housing unit or RV in the definitions.

I'm a code enforcement officer for my County and park models are defined as a temporary housing unit here. If the unit is parked at a State approved RV park we don't tax the RV owner, it's done through the park. If the unit is parked at a different site with a Conditional Use Permit(CUP) the are charged a $400 yearly bed fee.

Our assessors office will only tax buildings on a permanent foundation.

You should be able to find your County's zoning/code ordinances online or get them from the planning & zoning department. Being familiar with them will be helpful.

[Dog_Folks]

May I suggest that you check with the park you are in.

They should know the local ordinances/requirements

[wanderingbob]

The reasoning for ordinances like this is that when it becomes permanent it becomes real estate and not personal property . The county is trying to make up for the ad-valorum taxes that they loose . To see there reasoning , move it to an extreme case as we had in Volusia county . A park allowed an owner to add onto his travel trailer , a second story , a two car garage and an above ground pool. In Volusia if ya tie it down it is taxable .

[fla-gypsy]

It's not going to survive a serious hurricane regardless of what you do to it short of pulling it out of it's path.

[Ivylog]

Welcome to the forum and to Florida where I only lost 40 years before wising up and moving. A Park Model is not the same as a travel trailer in many ways... no 12V, no holding tanks, and not intended to be pulled around the country. Most Fla counties will consider any trailer/mobile home permanent and subject to their impact fees if you tie it down. Unless you use 6" diameter and 6' long tie downs put in with a machine to turn them, you are wasting your time and money.
While it's good to try and be a good neighbor, are your neighbor's units tied down and if so with what type of tie downs? If they have a U shaped top with a 3/8" bolt through it then they might do something in a hurricane, otherwise they are a joke. Depending on how close you are to the coast, hurricane insurance could be very expensive but it's probably your best option. Even if you could move it before a hurricane, the traffic trying to head north will make it nearly impossible to get out of the way unless you head out 4-5 days before expected land fall.
Actually a MH is the best option as after winter it's time to get out of Fla and head to the mountains.

[Halmfamily]

Most tie downs on mfg, homes go up the outde wall and over holding the structure down along with frame tie downs. If you tie down just your frame that's about all you'll find when you come back, I wouldn't waste my money, as you have insurance to cover this if and if needed just move it farther inland.