Old Mobile home vs building log hogan

gothichomestead · #1 03/10/13, 10:51 PM

My husband and I are hunting for land in New Mexico where we rented for 2 years, and are planning to return and homestead. It is high desert with harsh winters and heavy monsoon rains late summer, but we love it out there (plus we help Navajo and Zuni youth).

Our current delima is most of the land is nearly if not off grid (solar best opttion), and we are on low budget while paying of a hospital bill and for his horse shoeing training. Which would people here think was best: getting a used mobile home placed on the land or building a log hogan kit? I know the used mobile home is alot cheeper...

(PS: I was a member here years ago, prior to marriage.)

kirkk · #2 03/11/13, 07:57 AM

I live in the Arizona high desert, and figured out one important thing. WATER! If you have to buy it, you'll go broke. Rain catchment is the key. If you get a mobile and decide that the roof area isn't big enough to catch all the rain you need, you extend the roof without a lot of trouble, and still have it look normal.
The same thing cannot be said for a hogan.
Secondly, a mobile is an instant home, the hogan has to be built, taking precious time away from developing your homestead.

jwal10 · #3 03/11/13, 10:30 PM

Off grid in a mobile home in harsh conditions does not sound good. How much room do you need? Are you talking a modern 8 sided building? A small hogan would be a nice cozy home and adaptable for off the grid living....James

Yvonne's hubby · #4 03/12/13, 08:50 AM

Lemme see now.... I have to decide if I want to be in a steel tube... in the middle of the desert sun beating down.... or in a bit more natural surrounding that is self cooling in the summer and easy to heat in the winter??? Tough choice but I would have to go with the hogan.... its seemed to be a logical choice for the people who lived there for thousands of years.

gothichomestead · #5 03/15/13, 11:01 AM

Those are some of our thoughts... we are leaning towards moble home, with the possiblitiy of adobing it later... rain water and monsoon rain collection is key, and snow melt collection too. We also are looking in an area know for having good wells.... deep but good. Still thinking through.

Little_Bit_Red · #6 03/15/13, 12:02 PM

love your user name!

grandma12703 · #7 03/15/13, 12:41 PM

I am really afraid of mobile homes mostly because we have always lived in an area considered a tornado area. Build you something small that you can add to easily. It can be pretty cost effective if you work at it.

Hoopjohn · #8 04/01/13, 06:20 AM

I wouldn't encourage anyone to live in a mobile home other than for a very short term temporary period. I've lived in one for a bit, and found the experience less than fulfilling. Yes, they are cheap housing. Which is about the only good thing I can say about it. The list of negatives fills books.

The thought of living off grid in a mobile is nothing less than frightening. You'll need some form of electricity (solar or generator) and some means of procuring water. These costs can and likely will far exceed "normal housing costs".

Personally, I'd rather live in a teepee.

texican · #9 04/03/13, 05:51 PM

The hogan would be free, if you scrounged for free logs in cutovers in the nearest national forest. Can buy a firewood permit too, that'd allow you to take log sized firewood home...

IronSon · #10 04/04/13, 06:26 AM

I don't know how much government you'll have to deal with, but around here if the used mobilehome doesn't meet current building codes they won't let you occupy it. That gives you a huge problem to get rid of.