small house/rv

I lived in a 36 ft Winnie here in WV for over a year. I did put plastic on the windows and stopped all the air leaks I could find. Coldest it got that winter was 8 below and I was warm and comfy. The most propane I used a month was around 30 gallons. Most of that went to the water heater because of the exhaust on it. The cold wind will blow right into the heating pipe. Now you can put an electric element in them and block off the exhaust. Good luck to those doing this. Sam
PS I just sold this motor home to a couple with 2 small kids that will be living in it this winter.

There are some people here in Fl., who live in some nicer storage sheds. Some are somewhat barn-shaped & have a loft bedroom. [ crawl in, no standing up ]. They just finish the interior, insulate well, add a single small window a/c. The whole thing can be heated with an electric radiant heater. Some have these just sitting on a block foundation, others have used mobile home anchors. Not bad for cheap living. MUCH cheaper than some of those tiny $50,000 mini-homes. Some examples = http://www.dixenterprises.com/
BUT,,, I am sure that in most areas, these would not pass any county codes for living in. Probably not here, either , but they are getting away with it. Plenty of people in the poorer areas of Florida, live in cars, vans, campers, tents, homemade teepees, etc., etc. You wouldn't believe it .

I've lived in RVs on and off for the better part of my youth. No bug problems at all, no mice problems, condensation....etc. Only problem was that we didn't have much space. My dad solved that problem by buying another rv and then building a wooden passageway that connected the two. Keep in mind, that was in East Texas where cold weather isn't a problem usually. We sold it to my brother who then sold it to someone and it's still in use today 25 years later!

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett

I refer to RV's as little metal insanity boxes on wheels. While traveling/work camping for several years we lived in an RV. I won't ever live in another one. There is NO kitchen in those things. No comfortable place to sit...etc.

I ended up going with another option that I LOVE! Check out www.shelter-systems.com I have the 18 ft diameter portable dome. I have lived in it for 8 months at a time. Lots of natural light. Tons of space. I can turn cartwheels in this thing. It may not be for everyone, but it works well for me.

For building a small house I recommend earthbag construction and putting a large screened in porch on the house to maximize your living area.

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I cannot comment on cold weather as my RVing has been either in Texas or AZ. Once in Wichita Falls, we had below zero for about a week and a half. That was fun, the drain froze. I'm sure if you were expecting cold weather, you would prepare for that. It was a first and a last for us.

As for mice, the only time we had mice or ants was when we left our trailer here at our son's place for several months - with no one in it or checking on it. We did catch about 6 mice, no damage -

I do plenty of cooking in the travel trailer, even made jelly and canned fruit in it once. Yes, you do have water for showers - not long, lengthy ones, but you get clean. I hate laundomats, so I actually do a lot of our washing in the travel trailer and dry the clothes on folding racks with a fan blowing on them. If you were on your own land, you could hang them out - RV parks frown on that for the most part.

I'm thinking sewage would be a concern whatever you chose and as someone said, there are portable tanks you can use.

As for wind, I'm thinking if you lived in a place where wind is common, you might tie it down or as we did a mobile home once, planted posts along the side and nailed 2 x 6's across the top. That trailer didn't even 'pop' when bad winds came through.

I'm building a 12x20 as a kennel building. It'll four large windows, solid wood floors and walls, insulation, metal roof, electric, gas, and lights. Have 1700 in it so far, figure 2K by finish. It's not rocket science, and it sure beats paying a 'yuppie premium'. I subscribe to the Little Houses blog on Facebook, and most of these folks have 10x more money than good sense.

You can find free trailer houses, if you look a bit. I'd take a mobile over an rv anyday. BTDT. Quonset and military type tents are ok, as long as you don't mind the cold.

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

I didn't read anyone's replies but thought I'd chime in .

We lived in our 43' travel trailer for just about a year with 5 small children and pets to boot .LOL

We lived in north western North Dakota thru -70 degree winter !!! It CAN be done and it's actually not that hard. Just expensive if you're the one paying for the electricity . LOL

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

I agree with the above poster. Smaller mobile homes are cheap - free to those willing to haul them away. You just have to get an idea of the fix-up costs. Like in all cases, you need to be able to do some work, yourself.
I recently saw a very nice 14 X 24 barn type stoarge building for sale for $3000. It was just a few years old & wired , metal roof , several small windows & a nice door. Someone handy could buy this, insulate & finish it inside, make a loft bedroom area, & have a nice place to live that wouldn't cost a small fortune like some small homes I have seen online.

I would take those small places like Angie's pix and SUPER insulate.
Put the "up front" money into foot thick walls and ceiling etc. and then the pay back is Greatly reduced amounts of fuel to heat the place.
I have read about the folks who have done the SUPER insulation bit and the tiny amount of heat needed to keep the the place cozy warm.........
That comes from my area of Mich. where we get our share of minus 25--30 degree temps........

I would like to chime in...

First is, why would you do it? save money to buy or build? that is why I am living in one. I am able to save way more than if I was renting. I have taxes here, no more mortgage on this 75 acres.

So far it has been down in the single digits for me. My camper is in the barn, out of the wind. Makes a big difference. I ran a water line from my frost free hydrant in the barn to the camper, about 60 foot from hydrant, which is also inside the barn, it is a very big barn. The camper is an old 26 footer, I think 1978 scamper, but in excellent shape, I paid $1500 for it. anyway, we hand dug a line and put the waterline below freeze line. I placed heat tape on the hydrant end and where it hooks into the camper, wrapped it with insulation to be sure we have no water freezing issues. So far its has been great, temps have been single digits and chill temps below that.

I was able to hang Christmas lights and a few decorations. This camper has a very open floor plan and really nice separate bed areas, with real sealy mattresses, they were brand new. My son says they are the most comfortable ever! That makes a big difference. Life is good and will be better soon, when I can buy or build without a mortgage!

So what is your objective?