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

I had a 40' 5th wheel that was set up like that.

If I have to stay in a trailer for many days at a time, claustrophobia sets in after a couple of days of bumping into the ceiling, bruising elbows in the shower, etc.

That trailer had one big bedroom, one big bathroom, washer/dryer, huge livingroom, and tall ceilings.

It's the only way to roll if you are in it for more than a weekend.

Check with local rv parks.
They usually charge by the size (length), and the power requirement.
Ask about long term rental.

Huh???? I'll be showering sometime this morning...what do I need to plan?

They rent those little cabins at campgrounds like KoA. If you're married, watch the look on her face when you show it to her. If you're not, strike up a conversation with your kinda gal and watch for any change in expression when she finds out you live at the KoA.

There are people who are alright with that sort of lifestyle. I'm just saying you'd need to be that sort of person for it to be bearable for more than maybe a month.

We "lived" in a 12 foot cabover pickup camper for 3 months while our house was being rebuilt after tornado damage, and survived quite nicely. Mainly just used it for sleeping, though.

Have a 28' travel trailer with one slide out on our woods property right now for weekending. If I were single, and had a well and septic system, I could live in it full time, I think. I do have a cabin with a little more floor space than the camper very close that serves as an office and "living room", plus has an extra "room" enclosing a hot tub.

We looked at a property last year that had a 35' fifth wheel camper on it. Really nice set up, on a thick slab with 2 septic tanks, and well. The camper had a washer/dryer and an electric fireplace in it - VERY nice and comfortable. The sellers "lived" in it 4 months of the year, and I could have done full time in that one. Of course, they also had a 1500 square foot metal building close by for storage.

Mike

I don't understand why you are considering just fifth wheel trailers. If you are not traveling in it a lot, a bumper pull travel trailer is a better deal.

Unlike buying a lot of things on the used market, a travel trailer's problems, if any, are readily apparent. Get plenty of slide-outs........ they change the game immensely.

Slide-outs are an unnecessary complication that you don't need and won't find on many older RV's.

If you buy a used RV just make sure that the previous owner wasn't a welder or pipeliner. Those guys are ape schitt crazy and there is notelling how they may have abused the RV or how the might have southern engineered it.

Horseschidt!! I have a 28' with no slides that I lived in part time for five years. Then I bought a 34' with one large slide to replace it at the fishing camp and I'm refurbishing the smaller one for traveling. If the 28' had a slideout it would have been a lot more comfortable for extended living.

Please explain the "complication" downside to having slideouts on a trailer.

Slideouts are great, especially if you are living in them. I have awnings over mine and they are diffently worth the additional cost, to help keep the hot sun off. One big problem with mine is when the weather gets cold. The floors in the slideouts really get cold. I have rugs that I cover sheets of insulation in the slides, but there have been a few times, I just couldn't get warm and had to close the slides. In my 5th wheel, you can acess the bed and bathroom with the slides closed.

If you find the right property, I'd say go for it. Put in a gravel pad to park the trailer on, heck a small privacy fence wouldn't be a bad idea. The caveats would be make sure the property is large enough so that you can get the trailer well out of the way of where the house will be as you need room for the excavator to work, material lay down and moving materials around the site. I'd say at least 50' away from the house. And hopefully the construction crew is decent and doesn't consider walking off with some of your stuff. We had a few things we'd stored in our yard when our house was being built that went missing.

The one thing that would give me pause is if the area is subject to cold winters. Trailers cost a fortune to heat as they are lightly insulated, and the pipes are subject to freezing. You could afro-engineer some additional insulation.

Not sure what your trailer parks are like, but there is no way I'd want the people inhabiting our parks as neighbors.

Such an angry and unhappy person!

Even a total newbie can easily see a slide-out's drawbacks.

My most recent experience with one was that the RV could not be moved due to the electric-powered slide-out being stuck "out".

[quote=palMy most recent experience with one was that the RV could not be moved due to the electric-powered slide-out being stuck "out". [/quote]

Most RVs have an emergency provision for that. On mine, you can use a cordless drill to run the slides in and out in the case of power failure. You could even do it with a rachet, but bent over in an odd position, I would go buy a drill and or generator first.

Because I don't know what I'm talking about and used the term 5th wheel as a general name for trailers/RVs etc.

LMAO! Refreshing.

Touche' Rob!!

Having had both, I much prefer the 5th wheel for just about every reason you can think of. But if you don't have a vehicle that can pull a 5th wheel, a bumper pull works too. The lower ceiling does get claustrophobic though.

If you had ever lived in one, you'd have known how to close it up. It may be a semi PITA, but generally only requires a 12 volt jumper to the electric motor (cheap Interior switches)...even replacing the motors ain't hard. I have two sliders on the motorhome and they are worth far more than any perceived inconvenience they may pose. Mine are well insulated and the seals are in good shape...it's as warm with them extended as it is with them closed. I'm quite content living in it. I pay no rent, no utilities in exchange for just living here and keeping an eye on the place when I'm here. My only two problems so far were the propane fridge which is good for camping & OK for extended living, but not nearly as nice as a 110v home unit...So I bought a 110 that would fit...instead of taking the propane unit out & fitting the 110 in, I moved the dining area around and put the new fridge (15 cu. ft.) up against the wall...next to the small chest freezer I bought. Propane unit is now used as an extra pantry unless the other fridge fails. My other problem/bitch was that the propane heater used copious amounts of propane...so I bought an old, small "parlor" type wood stove...one of the hardest things I've ever done was to cut the hole in the roof of a perfectly good motorhome....it turned out to be a godsend as far as comfort/cost goes...Last winter, my entire propane bill was under $20, my only bills now are internet/phone/satellite tv and runs about $200 a month. I could save more cash if I wanted to switch up my phone plan/internet and go with a "tethered" smartphone, but I'm happy with what I have, which is a Verizon "jetpack" mobile hotspot and their "home" cell phone system...I'm in the motorhome right now, but I could unplug everything in about two minutes, fit it into a laptop carry bag and have phone/internet service anywhere I chose to go.

Hello Allen

Why is giving up all of your pickup truck bed space a good thing? What are the advantages of a 5th wheel over a similarly sized bumper pull?

Having spent 1/2 my 72 years living on boats, and part of the rest in travel trailers, I have learned that a man doesn't need much to be content.

Most 5th wheel hitches pop right out when you are done pulling. Mine is a pain because I have a B&W Sliding hitch, that is wonderful for pulling, parking and maneuvering in tight spaces, but heavy to lift out. Fits right in my turn over ball hitch, so nothing in the bed when you get it out. If I need to take an ATV, I hook a small trailer behind the 5th wheel. My next 5th wheel, I'm thinking about getting a toy hauler. That way I will have extra beds and a nice spot for my reloading equipment and more room to haul my barbecue pit and ATV if I take it.

Really it's just a matter of how you are using it, and what your doing. The last job, I didn't move the trailer for two years. The job before that, I moved it once to get away from some drunk pipeliners.