Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Living in a 5th Wheel

I just sold my house and am looking to park my butt in an apartment for a couple years while I look for the right piece of land and build a house. In my area, the rental market is ridiculously tight. Yeah, I can find a dump or live in the "hood" or pay a price gouge rent, but finding a decent, clean and affordable place has been elusive.

Just thinking out of the box, what if I just bought a 5th wheel and found a park to rent a space in for 2-3 years? I have never lived in a trailer or a park or I have no clue how they work or whether this is a stupid idea. Anyone have experience with this?

The other thing I was thinking is that when I do find the right parcel, it's going to take some time to do the permitting and development so maybe I can just move the trailer to my own land while I do all that?

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Rob

Have friends who did it while doing disaster clean up and I suspect a lot of the oil field guys do it when that was booming.

Definitely can be done and I suspect a lot of it depends on your personality. Can you live with yourself in small quarters?

As to land etc - that's probably up to wherever you buy and the local rules.

I do have a plan that in 5 years, I'll own land up in musky country here in Wisco with the idea of fishing out of it via trailer like you speak.

To be comfortable for that period you'll need an RV hookup: AC power, water and sewer. Plus phone and internet.

Loads of experience here, not a 5th wheel, but C class RV's and now a 29' travel Trailer. I'm in one 8 months a year. Also 29' trailer for a year in Juneau.

Benefits are "usually" low cost of living, space rent, electricity, and propane. Small space so heat and light are reasonable. If you're living in it and something breaks, pain in the arse if you have to break down the set up and drive it into town/shop. And if you need parts, RV is just like Marine, it's gonna cost more.

BIG drawback, no space if you're like me. Counter space for cooking is limited, at least in the one's I've had. Limited storage space for hunting, shooting, camping, fishing gear.

If you get a new 5th wheel, they can be set up a lot nicer than. Neighbor lady just baought a really nice spendy one, sliders all over, electric fireplace, big screen, etc.

I'm getting ready for a road trip in a few minutes. PM me if you'd like more info. I'll get back on the computer later this weekend.

Geno

I lived 2 years without a phone. No land line, no cell.

Was glorious.

Some of those 5th wheels are very comfortable. I'd have absolutely no problem living in one for a period of time if I knew something better was coming down the line.

Wife and I did it for 3 years. It was not a problem at all, but we had a pretty nice trailer, and that was moving from a 4,000 sf home.
A lot of places really mark up your power. Check that, and we burned about 15 gal. of propane a week in the winter. If you are going to winter, make sure that they will do a tank drop. (at least 100 gal).

Lot of folks did around here after the big fire 3 years ago.

If you're like me, you could live in one 'till the end of time.

I've spent a little bit of time living on the road. The biggest obstacle is finding a place to shower. Heat and air conditioning can be whipped easy enough, but takin' a shower needs some planning.

You can park it at a truckstop for nothing or a little more, but most of 'em will hit ya 10 bucks for a shower.

I can hang my hat just about anywhere.

If you can, try to swing your dream property sooner.

Life is short.

I wish the right piece of land made itself available soon. The drawback to doing either the apartment or a trailer is dumping money into it while I wait for the right opportunity. I am probably leaning more towards a cheap apartment because I can just walk away from it when it's time. Just trying to think out of the box and figure out my options though.

Ive been doing it for 4 years now while working. Fixing to do for a couple more years close to the Pitsburgh, PA airport when that job starts. Usually it's just me and I love to read, so I get along OK, in my 5th wheel. Gets a little cramped when the wife stays a week or two with my two cocker spaniel puppy girls. On an RV, something is always broke, cause they weren't made to live in, but you will learn quickly and be able to fix most things yourself with a little help from the RV internet websites and a pocket full of money.

Be sure to get one built for the climate you will be living in. Holding tank heaters if needed, two air conditioners if it's warm. A park model is great if you don't plan to use it for camping, lot better built.

Wife and I lived in a 35 footer while our home was being remodeled. We both worked so were not in it all day. Her 4 cats shared the space with us. Tight but we managed. With pop outs it would be more comfortable no doubt. Remember all that stuff that eats space guns,ammo and hunting gear will be hard pressed to store if your sharing the space with another person. Good luck.

Dont forget storage bill for your stuff.

fair amount of people doing it, need slideouts for the extra space, our third one is the first with slideouts, I found them a real nice addition.
Go to rvnet or irv2 lots of feedback from the people doing it, a lot of full timers on the sites.

If you will be living in moderate temp's., then you can do pretty well with most any decent 5th. wheel. If extreme temp's. will be encountered( -20/-30 winter lows and/or summer highs 100+), then a higher end "TRUE" 4 season unit would make life much more pleasant. My wife and I spent two Wyo. winters and one summer(we saw the temp.'s I mentioned)in a true 4 season (although older) unit, while our home was being built. We stayed comfortable, never froze a water line. However did experience a little frost build-up at some of the slide gasket sealing areas, and frost in the bedroom closet wall(in front nose of unit). The closet issue was easily resolved - keep the door open!! Water line to unit was heat traced and insulated. For the second winter we sealed-off the open area beneath the camper, which seemed to help a little with propane consumption. This was only a 34 ft. rig, we and two lap dogs did OK. We didn't have washer/dryer, so the trips to town "sucked". The newer/larger units offer much more creature comforts than did our old 1990 Teton. We purchased our present Teton from some people who full-timed for 8 years. Washer/dryer, satellite tv, much improved windows, better slide-out sealing, larger refrigerator, most even have dish washers(a waste of cabinet space) ect. All of this makes living a lot more pleasant. Good Luck, many folks live in RV's Full Time for many years. But, I believe that they're kinda special people. We had all of our personal belongings in a storage unit only 15 miles away, which I presume will be your situation. Good Luck! memtb

I live in a 17 footer 6-8 months of the year when I'm working. that is too smal if I don't get home at least every other weekend. First thing I look for when moving to a new campground is a laundromat and grocery store. I don't watch tv so no problem with a dish. Some places I've been don't have cell phone service. Whatever Rv you get make sure it is adequate for the climate. storage can be a problem. Definitely get slide outs if your ling in on full time. I have kept my reloading equipment in the camper,the same gear I use when loading at the range which doe not take much room. Campground rent will vary depending on location, Here in the Dakotas usually 400-500 a month. It was a lot higher in the Bakken when things were booming. With the bust on now you might find some good prices on RV's.

Well, I just learned about a lot of problems I didn't know existed about living in them; but the first question that has always jumped to my mind when I've considered the possibility is... security when you're not there?

I guess, phrased better would be, what are the odds of having it broken into while you're gone for the day? Obviously it all depends on where you're parked, but I'm thinking with a growing heroin epidemic, I'd be a little concerned about leaving a couple firearms in there while I was gone working, sight seeing, shopping, etc.

We had a 35-footer with three slide-outs and lived in it comfortably for about 4 months while we were finishing up our house. No complaints. We had a couple of things that you may or may not have in a "park": a 500-gallon propane tank and a land line for phone and fax. With a cell phone and high-speed internet, you might not miss the latter, but it filling propane bottles in the winter gets to be a chore.

My wife and L have a 40' fifth wheel and love it,.....but think about something a little different. A Destination Trailer.

http://www.keystonerv.com/destination-trailers

A buddy has one on his hunting lease and it is nice. Full size kitchen, big bedroom, big living room.