Has anyone lived on land in a motor home or travel trailer etc?

I do it over half the time. I have a 30' Travel Trailer set on my Ranch in a secluded area that no utilities are available. The Wife and I stay there from this time of year to after Thanksgiving. We have a House in Town that we spend the Winter months in. We have Solar and Wind Power, and with Propane we could spend the entire Winter there without a problem. It can be done.

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When I was first married, we lived in a travel trailer. Stayed there for nearly two years. We had electricity, but the camperr just used 12v, so just kept a battery charger going. . Hand water pump outside. Didn't use the trailers toilet, made a temporary outhouse.
We were a 1/4 mile from the road. In the winter we would park the truck at the road and carry groceries and propane back to the trailer.
We both had full time off farm jobs and grew a 3 acre vegetable garden, rabbits and chickens.
I started 100 tomato plants in the trailer.
In the winter, I put hay bales around the trailer, so the wind wouldn't blow under. The furnace kept us somewhat warm. Up near the ceiling it was hot and on the floor the snow wouldn't melt off my boots, next to the door.

It has to be a place to sleep and prepare food. I doubt it would work for people that spend a lot of time inside.

Four years ago, I started a job in a resort area. I couldn't find cheap housing. So I lived in a pickup truck camper. I parked it in a campground, slid it off my truck, cranked it down low and supported it on concrete blocks. I stayed there from early May until well into October. I was able to use the Campground's toilet and showers. The Campground closed and I had to leave. By this time the tourist season was over and I was able to rent an apartment very cheap.

I know that Andrew over on Barker Hill has done that for several years. Personally, travel trailers are a bit cramped for me, and not really suited for permanent living unless you have the proper hookups, and even then, unless you have something like a huge modern 5th wheel, the amenities and room are not exactly comfortable. Of course, some people won't mind.

If it were me, I'd rather put a used single wide mobile home on a property, since they are more suited for permanent living. You can find those pretty cheap, and maintaining them and fixing them up is fairly easy. When your house is built, simply sell it and move it out, or make it into a second living quarters for guests or in-laws.

My husband , 5 children and I lived in our 5th wheel since March of '09. We just recently bought a place but hubby still lives in the trailer 5 days a week while working .

We made it in -75 weather . If we can do it anyone can do it !

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-Amy
~Helpmeet to my best friend~
~Keeper at home with 6 little blessings~

Our Township made the rules. It's possible that they will let you stay in a trailer/mobile while building- you must have a Building permit. We used a porta-potty-septic cleaner to pump out our blackwater tank.The bottem was all sealed in and insulated with wood lattuce covering. Built a 2 teared deck arround,so we couldn't move it easly to empty the black water. We had a big water tank (the kind that go in the back of a PU truck. The used the fresh water siphon to pump the water in. Generator for AC. and charging. Made an inclosure for the gen. to quiet the noise.Had a propane co. come in and put in a 300 pig tank.

I love RVs/travel trailers. The only problem is the lack of heat on cold nights.

Deb, lots of real good suggestions here so far.
And lets remember that there are people that follow every single rule and regulation to the letter... even the insane and no good cause rules...
And then there are the people with common sense and a willingness to "Be flexible".
Read between the lines on that.

Last year here in S.Oregon there was an older couple living in a smaller travel trailer on their own property, and they had been for quite some time.
They were neat and clean, and kept a low profile, and pretty much acted like you would expect to stay off the radar.
So far so good.

Well, one day a more than just nosey neighbor decided, for whatever reason, to turn them in and wreck their lives the best he could, and it did.

This couple was retired and on a fixed income and apparently just keeping to themselves and living life peaceful on their own, the best they could with what very little money they had.

Of course this made the local paper, and the point I wanted to make here to you is this.

They (the reporter doing a follow up story) asked the couple why the neighbor got mad and turned them in as it was pretty clear that although they were not in county compliance, they were surely not harming anyone of anything.

They said they had no, as in zero idea what even triggered the tattletale neighbor. Said they hardly even saw or spoke, but were always polite and friendly when they did.

No comment of course from the tattletale.

Now glean from this what you will, but here is what I see.

You can never tell what or when a casual observer, or more likely a neighbor might decide to become an unpaid informant for the state/county.

Soooo.... whenever possible, just like with the always popular SSS technique: Out of sight, is out of mind.
Didn't that Sun Tzu fellow say something about that a few years back?

Was it the Scotts, or the Irish who have this great little saying...?
"Good fences, make for good neighbors"
I have always thought there was much good wisdom in that simple saying.

If you decide to go forward with this idea, might I suggest that you be extra careful to be sight-unseen, and let no-one-at-all see, hear, touch, taste, or smell anything that you do.

Now of course be courteous and polite to your neighbors.
If you see them while driving in or out wave and or say hello.
Even stop and lightly chat them up once in a blue moon about the weather or something of little or no real value.... But don't ever become too friendly, and for heavens sake never invite them over.
Friendly, courteous, but slightly aloof is what you are aiming for here.

Of course family and good friends do not fall into the same catagory, just be sure to let them know what the overall plan is, and to zip it.

And, and....if possible, have a "Plan-B" that you could implement in short order should the neighbors as Nazi's come a poking around stiring up the pot.

Loose lips sink more than just ships, they can and do ruin lives.

Plan well ahead and try to think like "The Enemy" and avoid all the obvious pit falls that you can.

Did I mention that it is always best that you keep your business to yourselves, and not out in the open for one and all to see and observe, and tell others about and did I mention loose lips... oh-yes I did.
But it is so important that I mentioned it again.

Have fun, be safe, be invisible if you can.

It really bothers me that (if I wanted to) I couldn't
decide I wanted to live in a tent on my own property.

If I kept a locked gate on my property how would anyone know
how I was living. Could I just refuse to allow county inspectors
on the property??

It is amazing the settlers were allowed to come ashore without
permits.

Mountainview42 is absolutely correct! It is "illegal" to live without running water or electric - in other words, to camp out on your own land in this great free country. However, if you do not apply for any permits or otherwise invite inspectors or bureaucrats to your property, who is to know?

In my case, I had hunters and atvers making use of my land. When I objected (to their faces) they retaliated by complaining about me to the health department and building and zoning. I was swarmed by investigators from different departments who fortunately for me didn't compare notes and weren't enforcing the same laws or regulations. Hooray for bureaucratic miasma!

I pointed out the complainers would never have known I was camping out if they had not been trespassing, and that their basis of complaint was malice. The bureaucrats sent me some scare letters but, like another poster here, I just moved my trailer. Also I had several trailers. In my county one can camp out for 6 months, so it was easy to play musical chairs and the bureaucrats had lots worse complaints to worry about, so they left me alone until the next complaint!

This is something for you to keep in mind, a kind of occupational hazard of travel trailer homesteading!

I've lived in my 18 ft camper trailer for the past two summers without electricity or running water. The first summer I was working on the road crew an hour from the house and gas was $5.15 a gallon so I bought the trailer and it paid for itself in two monthes. Up here it is light 24/7 in the summer. But I still got a battery op lantern for the twighlight past of the night. I filled up 5 gallon water jugs for drinking cleaning water. My stove heater and fridge ran on propane. I used a bucket for pee with that blue RV stuff in it to keep out the smell and used a double grocery bag in the toilet to poop and just threw it in the work dupster on the way to work. The biggest problem that I had was that the fridge would freeze every thing. Once a week I would drive all the way home to take shower and the rest of the time I would sponge bath it. twice I bought showers at neighboring lodges. last summer i cooked at a lodge 1 1/2 hours from the house and they let me keep my trailer on the river behind for free. I could have moved it closer and had electrical hookup but would have had to pay $300 a month for it . And as I said everything but water and lights ran on propane anyway. But at least they let me do laundry and take showers for free. plus the fishing was great. Salmon all summer. The biggest thing was storage but if you are on your own property you can throw up a shed or lean to no problem. At times it got a little old but at the same time it was saving me mad cash so I didn't really care. We are currently building a house and this spring we will stop renting and move into our camper , hopefully one last time so that we can save just that extra little bit of money to finish the house this summer. Well we better because if we give this place up and they rent it there will be no other place to rent within 60 miles. So once more back to the camper. Did I mention that it has the most comfortable bed. Well all is not lost.

Several areas of the country have quick erect garages of varying sizes. If you already have the slab down they can be put up in 1-2 days. Finished on the outside, roughed in on the inside. Since it is a permanent building a power company should be willing to bring electric to it.

Say you were to have a plumber rough plum in lines and drains for a small bathroom in a corner and small kitchen elsewhere before the concrete is poured. Leave on the garage door(s), but put up a temporary/false wall inside of them. On the outside it would look like a garage, inside like a small, one-master room, house.

Sawdust toilet and a washtub and garden sprinkler can for a shower. Plastic container sink. Small propane stove.

Plumbing in floor would be for future options.

Water is where you find it. I get my water direct from a spring. Friend has a well, but they don't like taste of water. About every two weeks he comes by and fills up several 5-gallon containers. Hose runs to a standard household filter, then outgoing line into his container. Spring put out many times the clear water I could possibly use.

Depending on location consider 2" x 6" wall studs. You can go with 2" x 6" or erect with stardard 2" x 4" and scab on a piece of 2" x 2". Lets you up the R-value of insulation. Several options for heating. In summer put fans in the windows.

In the local area used semi-trailer box can be had for $1,000-$1,500 delivered. Don't know about the price of shipping containers.

Thanks guys. Very good points Mountainview and definitely ones we live by!

DH is thinking that if we build an outbuilding/barn/garage with a slab where we could either pull the MH in or maybe an overhang to park it under next to the building, and then like you said, have them hook up electrical, septic, and water (we definitely want utilities!) to that we could live there 8 months a year while saving and building a cabin that would eventually be our residence. Around most places here they've told me the smallest residence one can legally build is 800 sf so that would be perfect (and pretty inexpensive!).

I really like this idea and if we parked the RV inside the outbuilding it would be unseen until in a few years we could build our small home. Does anyone know what outbuildings like that cost? It would have to be high enough to accommodate the RV and large enough for us to fit the RV and have the other half to spread out in. I do know a slab around here would be anywhere around 5-8K but what do you think on the building if we hired it out?

For something to pull the RV into maybe consider one of those metal hoop buildings. Then whatever modifications done inside it wouldn't "really" need to be inspected or permitted. Not sure of the costs for the bigger buildings of that type.
And when you get your house done it can become the rv's garage and storage shed

my daughter (she was 3rd grade) and I lived the winter in a bus in north arkansas in the middle of forest nowhere. we had only a small wood stove. no other amenities. yes it was small, and insulation was the main problem, but we live, did fine, and are better for the experience.

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www.angorafiber.com
Licensed ARBA Registrar

I would suggest that you put the rv next to the shop building under an over hang, or even away from the shop a bit under one of the metal rv ports, some of which are considered 'portable' and not taxed as structures in some areas.

Living in an RV that is inside a metal building has a couple of issues. One of which it is usually dark and dank in there with few or no windows, no natural light getting to the rv and a crappy view out the windows of the rv. This might not sound like a big deal and people sometimes counter with, 'well we won't be spending much time in the RV'. Maybe, maybe not, but living in a dank metal building gets old real fast. The second issue is if there is no separation wall between the shop space and the RV then you get into a whole bunch of smells and environmental things that end up permeating the RV and surrounding space. Sawdust, weld smoke, grinding dust, gas, oil, paint over-spray, various solvents etc. So now you are essentially living in a dark, dank, smelly, sometimes smokey environment. Believe me, there is nothing quite like going to bed at night and needing to keep all the windows closed because the building smells like weld smoke or kerosene.

Better to put the RV next to the shop under an overhang, or better yet away from the shop under an RV port such that the roof is covered but the sides and ends are open for light and view. This method also provides a bit of physiological benefit as it gives you a place to, 'go home to' at the end of the day without having to actually leave the property. Going from working inside the shop directly to the inside of the RV at the end of the day never really feels like going home or stopping the work. These projects can be very stressful on a marriage and it's important to have some physical separation (even if it is only 50 feet) between the 'job' (house or shop) and 'home' (RV). Further, there will be times during the project where you and your spouse cannot stand to be around each other and having a place to go cool off can be a benefit.

And whatever your time-line is for the completion of the house, double it now, same with the budget. You may very well be living in the RV longer then you expect so it is in your best interest to set up so it's somewhat enjoyable to live in.

Best of luck!

Well I've never done it but we're getting ready. Buying a school bus and converting it to an RV, something like this gent did http://www.vonslatt.com/bus-main.shtml

We'll use it to camp out on land we buy eventually but no way in HECK would I winter in one. The mold issues are Huge imo so we'll be going to NM and AZ for the winters until the house is built.

I lived in a shed for several months of an Alberta summer and winter: YES insualtion is a problem! And we had no utilities. It worked, it was the only option at the time, but I'm glad it's over.

I'll agree with Wayne02's assessment of where to park the trailer only if the place you live doesn't have anything that resembles what I would call winter (snow, wind, temps of -15C or lower).

IF you have sunshine and no winds, living in a motorhome outside is not really so bad (we have one now, have used it for accommodations when visiting family etc, and it's small but workable).

HOWEVER as soon as the wind picks up or the temp drops, you'd want it to be indoors or you'll be paying to heat the world, dealing with frozen pipes, and rocking all night in the wind.

Maybe park outside in summer and move inside in winter? Construction generally covers more than one season .. well, here, anyhow.

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Apple Jack Creek
near Edmonton Alberta
author of Just Keep Knitting: a journey of healing through forgiveness, faith, and fibre and The Rookie's Field Guide to Supported Spinning

That's exactly what we're considering doing Seeria, moving it South for the winter, most likely AZ or CA or somewhere, then coming back in the spring until the cabin is finished.

Very good points Wayne, thanks. I do definitely like sun shining in the window in the morning LOL! Also have allergies so moving it outside would be a better idea.

I remember my Grandparents living in a travel trailer back in the 50's and 60's. This was their fulltime home and I don't remember any problems. I loved spending the night there. Of course this was a big step up from the two room shacks they used to live in. I am trying to buy that old trailer from some of my cousins now. It is still a solid old Airstream.

Not all states are really strict about keeping people from camping on their own land, but I know that in Oregon, they will catch illegal buildings going up by air surveillance and come make you tear them down, even if nobody has said a word. Some years back, there were several cases reported of illegal houses being found and the owners forced to tear them down, or the state tore them down.

Kathleen

ETA: I've been told that in Texas, as long as you are outside the towns, nobody much cares what you build or whether you camp on your land.