Multiple Questions About Trailer/Cabin Set-Up

calliemoonbeam · #1 10/29/07, 07:59 PM

Hi all. My son and I have been discussing getting a small trailer or possibly even building a small cabin for me on his land, but I have multiple questions about how to get things done and the costs to do so. To set the scene, he and my daughter-in-law have 10 acres with a 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom mobile home that's 10 years old. The electric, well, septic, everything was put in new then (they didn't do it, they just bought this place nine months ago).

1. There are just the two of them there, so I'm sure the septic could handle the extra input from my place, right? Any ballpark figures on how much it would cost to tie into it? Questions to ask, problems to watch out for?

2. What about tying into the electric? Things to plan for, expected problems, estimate of costs? I'd really like to do a solar set-up, in which case I wouldn't have to worry about tying into the electric, but I'm afraid the cost would be prohibitive. Can anyone give me any good advice in this area, from personal experience, sites to read up on, etc?

3. Is there any reason I have to use propane for anything? I prefer gas for cooking, but hate to set up a propane system just for that. I could live with an electric stove if it would be more economical. And it seems like propane prices are going sky-high anyway. Is there something I'm not thinking of?

4. Can I tie into their well somehow, or will I have to have one dug? It's very rocky land, mostly sandstone, so I assume they'd have to go pretty deep for a well. I don't know how deep their current well is. What else should I be looking at and how expensive would it be if we have to dig? Don't know if it matters, but they're half a mile from the shore of a very large man-made lake with a dam on the Arkansas river, and there's a good-sized creek just outside the edge of their property, so there's definitely water in the area.

5. This isn't as important, but I was just curious. I have to have high-speed internet for my work, and it is available there through cable/DSL. My daughter-in-law would love to have internet, so I thought maybe we could do a wireless hookup in her house and she could use it for free. Does anyone know if this is feasible, how far away it can be from the wired setup, etc.?

Any other considerations/problems I haven't thought of? Any input will be greatly appreciated, positive or negative. Thanks!

big rockpile · #2 10/29/07, 08:33 PM

Shouldn't be no problem hooking into the septic.Maybe you could put your own Pole in and Meter for Electric.You could share Well.If you go to dig your own its going to run you $5K+.If you need DSL for work that is probably what you need to set up for.

big rockpile

Travis in Louisiana · #3 10/29/07, 10:59 PM

First of all, how close are you going to build next to your son? You son has a mobile home, so I suspect he has a breaker box on a pole outside the trailer. You could tie into it with a 100 amp breaker to your trailer or cabin, but you cannot be too far away. For each 100 feet you go, your wire size needs to go up one size. The septic should be no problem. Just tie in on their line where it goes between their trailer and the septic tank. I would use as much gas or propane on appliances or heat to keep the electric useage down. Your son's trailer should have a 200 amp main. Tieing into the well should be no problem, just tie in on the line coming from the well to your son's trailer. You did mention a wireless hookup for the internet, so I do guess you will not build too far away. Now the big question, what happens when the son and daughter move and sell the place or they get a divorce? Where does that leave you? Just my thoughts. Later Jerry

#4 10/30/07, 12:46 AM

IMO - Don't move in so close to your son. While it may seem like a great idea now it MAY create irreversable problems. Look for other solutions to your needs.

Just an opinion from someone that has been there .... once, no twice, .... no THREE TIMES!!!!

The Paw · #5 10/30/07, 08:59 AM

1. It should handle the septic, but whether local codes will allow it is another thing. The field may not be sized for the future possibility of a family of 6 living in their trailer, and a family of 4 living in yours. Cost depends on distance and trenching, but should not be too bad.

2. It would probably be fairly easy to run a second meter off his pole, but it would cost. If you set up propane for heat and the stove, you would only need a modest solar arrangement that might be comparable in cost to the new service. If you are going to heat with any electric, forget solar.

3. see #2. You might also be able to get a propane fridge, which would reduce electric demand, but I don't know a lot about these.

4. To tie into their well would be about as easy as tying into septic. The question is whether the well produces enough water to service both.

5. You could sent up a wireless LAN with wireless routers that will easily connect over several hundred feet.

calliemoonbeam · #6 10/30/07, 10:15 AM

Thanks so much everyone!

Rockpile - thanks for your help and the info on the well cost.

Travel - that's one of the things we're trying to figure out, how close it needs to be to make all this work. We don't want to get any closer than necessary, but want to make it as economical as possible also. Even with all the talk of how high propane is, you still think it would be cheaper than electric? See, that's something I need to know, thanks.

Lonelytree - believe me, we've thought about it and thought about it, lol. But it won't be permanent, I'll only be staying there while I save money to buy my own acreage, maybe two years max. Then they will use the place as a guest cabin. They have friends who occasionally like to come from out of state and spend the weekend, and then they could have a little more privacy, or they could possibly rent it out if the need arose. I get along great with my daughter-in-law (amazing huh?) and my son and I are pretty close, but we definitely wouldn't want to live in the same house, that's just asking for trouble. That's why we want to set up the small place, plus the benefit of later use for them.

Paw - your comment about the local septic codes - where would I call to find out about those? I assume it would be okay because their neighbors on the next acreage did the same thing, but of course we would like to be sure. There won't be that many people either, they just found out they may not be able to have children (!) and only wanted one anyway, and my place will just be one bedroom, a very small place. I didn't even know you could get a propane fridge, thanks! Using propane for all that stuff would certainly make the solar easier and more within price range. As to the well, where would I call to get that tested? We are all city folks here, trying to learn to be country folks.

Anyone else? I can use all the help I can get, lol.

Hammer4 · #7 10/30/07, 11:39 AM

Check with the electric company, depending on how far from the road, the cost to place a new pole and meter for your hookup could be cheaper than trying to run a cable from your sons electric box.

A new pole and meter on a piece of property I am leasing was only $200 here from our coop.

The Paw · #8 10/30/07, 11:53 AM

Callie, I can totally relate. I grew up in the city, moved to a very small town and am currently in the process of setting up a yardsite and mobile on an undeveloped acreage. There is a lot of phoning involved...

In terms of septic code, I called the local building inspector who referred me to a septic installer/contractor who told be verbally what the requirement is. I then doublechecked that with the provinical goverment, which is who regulates water issues here.

Regarding the number of people, they code people don't really care about the fertility or future procreation of you or your son

They size things according to the building size, since it is possible that y'all may decide to sell someday, and the buyer may have a truckload of anklebiters. This is intended to protect buyers from "unique" or substandard solutions some folks dream up and may not be possible to see on visual inspection.

Edited to add: Here is a pdf from the State of OK. It is a large document (3 megs) so fair warning. In Appendix H they have a bunch of tables, where you can figure out how big a septic field you need. It is based on # of bedrooms, size of field, soil type and zone/county.

http://www.deq.state.ok.us/rules/641.pdf

In terms of determining the well capacity, post a second thread saying "Question on Well Capacity". There are about a half dozen regulars who really know their stuff and can take you through the steps to figure out how to figure out how much water is in your well at any given time, and how fast it refills. If the second trailer is going to be a guest unit, and you use water-saving appliances, a decent well should manage.

You can also poke around the OK Water Resource Board website at www.owrb.ok.gov

Good luck.

calliemoonbeam · #9 10/30/07, 04:12 PM

Hammer - thanks, but probably not. Their house is right in the middle of their property, so it's quite a way from the road, but I'll check it out just in case!

Paw - that's a lot of great information. I didn't even know where to start. I better get some info from my son before I post the well question though. Thanks so much!