Has Anyone Ever Done This?

[my3boys]

When we find our land, we are toying with the idea of living on it in a temporary housing set up, like in a RV or trailer while the house is being built. The idea is to avoid paying rent while waiting and paying the building costs. We've even thought of buying a travel trailer, which we have thought about anyway, and living in it while the house is being built, then having the trailer for vacations. That way we haven't wasted more money on rent.

Is this crazy? Has anyone here ever done something like this? Would you be willing to post your experiences? What would you do or not do again?

I would love to hear any of your recommendations and words of wisdom!

[Timberline]

That's exactly what we did. It was just dh and I and two dogs. We lived in a 16' camper October through half of March while building (this was in 1991-1992). We barely had the house insulated and no finish work done when we moved in at 1 in the morning March 15. My old dog was having a stomach problem and asked to go out that night. I let him out, he went under the camper and got sprayed by a skunk. We HAD to move out.

It was a great experience that I will always treasure (even the skunk part) and saved us a lot of money.

Check your codes, though. You can still do that where I live, but you have to have a special permits for the camper and it can only be for a certain amount of time.

[Timberline]

I wanted add, dh hooked a bigger propane tank (100#, I think) to the camper, since it was winter and we went through a lot of propane (it was cheaper then!). We showered and did laundry at a nearby relative's home. Oh, how you appreciate the space when you finally move in!

We now have a 30' travel trailer with a slide out. I wish we had had this trailer then. That 16 footer was pretty tight. But, we were young and newlywed, so we didn't mind it too much at the time. That camper never was the same after the skunk incident...

[Harry Chickpea]

We did it. Paid $6K for a 32' TT, and lived in it about seven months. It allowed us to scope out the land before determining where to put our home. I had planned to sell the trailer the following spring, but that got delayed. Guess I really need to sell it this spring, since we need the money.

Emptying the holding tank gets old, but if you have a septic system put in, you can use that.

[jwal10]

We just lived in the old grainery inside the old barn on the property while we built the little cabin, then tore it down to use the beadboard for wainscote in the cabin and all the trim and soffit material. We used an outhouse, boiled water for laundry. It was a fun spring and summer....James

[soulsurvivor]

We haven't yet lived in it, but we bought one of the FEMA travel trailers a few months ago. We have home remodeling going on again this spring along with painters. I can't tolerate chemical/paint smells, so we're going to live in the trailer that's parked in our driveway while all that is going on. We used to live in a 12x50 mobile home, so this shouldn't be too different. It's a 32 ft made by Gulfstream. It's a 2006 model and never been used and we paid $4999 for it, tax and license included. We live near the outer boundaries of the New Madrid earthquake fault zone. We figure this trailer could provide emergency housing following an earthquake disaster if needed. The furnace, cookstove, and hot water heater use propane. It also has a breaker box and 2 110 outlets. There's also a fuelcell battery that we're not yet clear about. We're trying to print out an online manual, but the link keeps breaking. It has holding tanks but also can be connected to our septic system. We can also plug it into our outdoor electric box. DH really hasn't had much spare time to get it all going yet, but after the weather warms up everything will go faster.
Right now might be a good time to buy one of these trailers. I think they're well worth the money, especially if you find an unused one to buy. A lot of people here where we live are buying them for use as hunting cabins.

[PrettyPaisley]

We're looking into yurts for just this. And when the house is finished I'll claim the yurt as my "mom cave"!

[fishhead]

I know a couple of people who built their garage first and put up interior walls to live in while building their home. Remove the interior walls and you've got a garage.

[rambler]

If I may infere there are 5 of you, it's going to be a rather crowded year. You'll sure get to know each other's pressure points a lot better.

Check the codes were you are moving to, if such is allowed. Most places hzve at least a time limit on doing such.

If it fits your future plans, some will put up a 2-stall garage as a first building and will camp out in that. Again, can be hard to build a garage first, or to try to live in it, based on code/ electrical/ septic hookups and so forth, and probably wastes a bit of money by overbuilding the garage first; but another option.

--->Paul

[fireweed farm]

I did the same. I would suggest:
-getting a small woodstove as the cheap dry heat would be hugely beneficial. Rv's are damp in wet weather and winter.
-use a sawdust toilet(3 gal pail with seat for lid). RV holding tanks don't work well stationary without churning. After a few months with a pooh-stick I got a bucket and never looked back. Or an outhouse, but outhouses aren't always allowed but a sawdust toilet is safe and nobody knows.

[rickfrosty]

Originally Posted by my3boys

When we find our land, we are toying with the idea of living on it in a temporary housing set up, like in a RV or trailer while the house is being built. The idea is to avoid paying rent while waiting and paying the building costs. We've even thought of buying a travel trailer, which we have thought about anyway, and living in it while the house is being built, then having the trailer for vacations. That way we haven't wasted more money on rent.

Is this crazy? Has anyone here ever done something like this? Would you be willing to post your experiences? What would you do or not do again?

I would love to hear any of your recommendations and words of wisdom!

Here at least used Travel Trailers are plenty & cheap, folks are selling everything they don't actually need.
These are set up to run off 12 v., & or propane, as well as 110 AC power.
If you have a septic plan done, so you know where your tank will go (if you go that way), I have seen an outhouse built on top of tank access hole ?
Sell later when done using OR make a doublewide garage w/TT in north side & have south half for sunny (windows on south) living space where you could also have a woodstove ?? Take all the time you want to finish house.
Have nice big garage/workshop later.
I wouldn't actually ask the code enforcement officer about this, hopefully NNN (no nosy neighbors), it is just a garage where we happen to store our trailer. Are we living in it ? Absolutely NOT !!
But in some areas, (here), you actually can stay w/no problem from town for 90 days (then move trailer & move back again ?).

[airotciv]

We did it in a 14' trailer with 2 kids and 2 that I was babysitting at the time. We were remodeling a home. Kids thought we were camping. This was during the months of June-September, barbaque and a Colman stove came in handy.

Edit: Cost of the trailer, $800.00, and we still have it. Always good to have when we our out of power for days, at least I can cook something.

Edit: And 2 Great Danes.

[TRAILRIDER]

Dh and I lived in a 31 ft travel trailer for 17 years. We didn't have any children, but we did share the space with up to 4 dogs, a few cats, several pet birds and the occaisional turtle, lizard, frog or fish aquarium! (Oh and at one time a couple of chinchillas, rabbits and guinea pigs.) Anyway, if you are on the same track, everyone gets along great, it's completely do-able. Good luck in your adventure!

[halfpint]

We did it in a 29' travel trailer. We had one 3yo child, and I was pregnant with another. We already had the travel trailer though, so didn't have to fork out that extra money. We also still maintained the home we were renting, as rent was cheap, but it was easier to stay on the property and build, so I went to the house about one or two days a week to do laundry and such. We also didn't have any of the property theft that other homes built out away from other homes were having.

Dawn

[ronron]

I would suggest a large extended area outside the living space ... Like maybe a teepee for the bathroom you can suspend a solar shower in the top this would have just a gravel floor... And directly outside the camper door a temporary structure I would look into building a large room out of actual strawbales just wrapped in plastic if you feel the need depending on the time of year, covered with a large tarp and enclosed for working on projects or just stretching out kind of like a livingroom... especially if you have kids a place for toys.... what I am thinking is just using the trailer for cooking and sleeping. This is how I have always thought I would do this sometimes you need to spread out.

[farmgal]

we are doing it right now. Paid 1500$ for 24 foot camper. Its parked inside of a barn on the land. I would recommend building a barn to put it in. Our propane tanks last 6 days at 9.50 each. They wouldnt last a day if we were in that snow and wind. The barn would give the kids a place to get out of the camper to play yet out of the wind and snow. We have electricity and we dug out a septic hole and waterline temporary for the camper. We have heat tape on the water lines where they come out of the ground. So far no problems! Everything is perfect. We have hi speed internet too that we get for free from a neighbors...lol Thanks neighbor...lol

The town building guy said they didnt care how long we lived like this. as long as they saw progress. Perfectly legal. Yet they had regulations. Trailer must be under 26 foot or it would need an inspection and it must be self contained. ie have holding tanks. those fema park models would have been more of a hassle (you would need the septic and well in etc) and harder to heat.

We will be building in spring. Thank the LORD! It is ok here but we did a lot of preparing to make it warm and comfortable. This camper has an open floor plan. I would not spend more than 2000$ on a camper. The resale of a camper is difficult so you will be wasting money. I would recommend building a barn to put it in and it will give you all much more room. Have yer well dug (they are cheap) I paid 1500$ We have a frost free hydrant in our barn. we dug a water line from it to the camper. And in the end you will have your water and extra space. And nothing will go to waste. The barn you will use forever and you will be happy to have a frost free hydrant in your barn. You need a well anyway dont struggle hauling water for all of you. think ahead like we did. Makes life much simpler. we even have the washing machine set up in the barn. With a propane dryer. hooked a 20# tank right to the dryer, with regulator. I get 28 loads form a 9.50 tank. This will save you lots of money going to a laundry mat.

good luck. Pm me if you want more info.

[Our Little Farm]

We lived in a 500 sq ft 'workshop' that we called a cabin for a year. Limited electricity, and sawdust toilet. 5 of us. We started to build our main hse, but circumstances changed and we sold the land and moved. However the 'workshop' worked fine. We built it out of trees we felled, and cut into siding. We also used siding for the interior. It turned out really well. Loved the place, and 5 people can easily live in 500 sq ft for a year.

[Txrider]

Originally Posted by my3boys

When we find our land, we are toying with the idea of living on it in a temporary housing set up, like in a RV or trailer while the house is being built. The idea is to avoid paying rent while waiting and paying the building costs. We've even thought of buying a travel trailer, which we have thought about anyway, and living in it while the house is being built, then having the trailer for vacations. That way we haven't wasted more money on rent.

Is this crazy? Has anyone here ever done something like this? Would you be willing to post your experiences? What would you do or not do again?

I would love to hear any of your recommendations and words of wisdom!

I know a couple of folks who bought a used mobile home for almost nothing, lived in it until the house was done, and sold the mobile home for almost nothing..

My parents had been traveling the country in a travel trailer before they built their current house, dad was working jobs 2 weeks at a time all over the country for Raytheon. When mom got tired of traveling they lived in it on site as their house was built.

I'm considering doing the same possibly.

[foxtrapper]

Easily done staying at a nearby campground site. Much more difficult trying to stay on the home construction site. Both from a mechanical perspective (sewage, power, etc), and legal perspective (zoning, codes, etc).

Never done it myself, have various friends who have. Both at campgrounds and on site. All were pleased with the arrangements and outcome. Those that were avid RV campers were the happiest.

[haypoint]

Many years ago we did it. Since we both worked full time and were active outside much of the time, a sleeping and eating place doesn't need to be much. We lived in a 16 foot travel trailer for over a year. Paid $1000, sold for $1000.

We had an outside hand pump. In the summer we had a big tub we'd keep full of water. It would heat up from the sun and was good for bathing. Have had a few baths with water right out of the pump. Shockingly cold! An outhouse can be simple, just some shovel work now and then.

With kids, maybe a $600 house trailer would be better, then just tear it down after you are finished with it.

With fuel prices headed to $5.00 a gallon, I wouldn't buy a camper to live in that I planned to haul around in the future. Just get something cheap that will get you by for awhile.

Remember, some areas have zoning against such setups. Check first, but be sure to press the fact that it is only temporary.