Travel trailer homesteading

Regular size? Full size is not as wide as queen size, but plenty of room for us, and they make sheets for that size. I just use full size sheets. For our bed inside? Even though it is a queen sized bed, we use king sized sheets (too thick for queen size to fit...). I also have an issue with wrinkles Sheets can be modified, if need be, or you can attach an elastic bands that connect to each edge under every corner of your fitted sheet.

As for that couch conversion? We got big over-stuffed pillows, added nice bedding, and extra fluffy pillows. When we want to use it like a couch, it is like a daybed. We store all the extra pillows above the bed, in the loft area.

Around here, if it we don't like it, modifications are the result to make it work for us Also, if Len hadn't fixed that bed, who wouldn't be going camping?! To me, not much worse than lousy sleep while you are trying to vacation and have fun...

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Christie Acres
www.SequimForLife.com
http://www.irealtyvirtualbrokers.com...lori-christie/
http://luxurywaterviewhomes.com/
SequimLiving@gmail.com

I'm picking up an old camper at the end of the week to stay in while finishing up the cabin. I happen to have a 22 ft school bus with a comfy bed and a sofa. So I will be using the bus as a bedroom and living room and the camper will provide a kitchen, bathroom and dining room. This arrangement allows for some privacy if one person want to get to bed while another is watching TV or any other reason.

The current "mattresses" are foam pieces of questionable age, close to twin size but smaller. The bed frames are too small to fit twin size mattresses into. I want to rip that area out and rebuild it so it has a full sized bed and built in dresser. But that would require moving the sofa and then the dining area.

On a side note, I have noticed that newer sheets have less coverage for the sides of mattresses. I've found a few queen size sheets at the thrift store which do fit our full size mattress better.

ETA, instead of saying regular sized (yes, another name for full, I forgot that) I should have said standard size. Nothing worse IMO than loose sheets on an undersized mattress when you're tired and already cranky.

We are doing this! Sort of...and yes, having a trailer is a big bonus!
We bought a piece of land this spring which had on it, a 33 ft camper trailer, (pretty old but most everything works, with the exception of the furnace) that can be fixed. I certainly don't plan on living in this thing for any length of time but it will come in very handy while we are building our house.
This year (because we have no money for building) the focus is on paying off the little loan to buy the land and start clearing and building a garage. We will continue living in town in a cheap apt until the house is "ready enough" to move into (there are animals involved instead of kids).
We've got a garden started - 'interesting soil', so it's good that we have this time to experiment and we were fortunate enough to have a well on the property so we have water (a true blessing!) So basically we are 'mondo" planning and winding up for the big building push next year. There is a lot to do. I'm looking forward to cooler weather so we can knock down a lot of trees and really get at it!
Anyway that's our story, I don't know if I helped any but congratulations! and I hope everything works out for you. PS I have seen people live in a trailer all winter long while building, and they banked it up with strawbales to keep it warm. Just a thought.

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Formerly BrahmaMama
"Firelight will not let you read fine stories, but it's warm, and you won't see the dust on the floor"
Anonymous Irish quote

you mentioned a shed..you might want to consider the addition of a 5 gal pail compost toilet to help to supplement your trailer toilet..

all it is is a 5 gal bucket with a camp toilet seat or any toilet seat on the top..you put in a layer of sawdust (can buy it in bales at Farm and Fleet stores sold as bedding)..every time you use it you toss in a handful of the sawdust..and when it is nearly full..dump..rinse..and start over..

dump into a compost pile area and let it work through at least one summer and then it can be put onto gardens..

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Brenda Groth
http://restfultrailsfoodforestgarden.blogspot.com/

A couple years ago I bought 30 acres across the ridge from me, but adjoining my farm. Had a well-used 16' x 80' single wide on it. Sister and BIL from FL decided to retire up here. They are rehabbing the single wide using about two acres. They have a 5th wheel and rigged up RV plug in below standard power box. Electric Co-op then restrung wire to the regular box. They have some device which takes the waste water from the RV, grinds it up and transfers it into the sewer tank already of the property.

I did it in a camper for 4 or 5 years. I used an older 5th wheel first then a newer bigger one. Some kind of skirting even if it's hay bales is important in the winter. Also something to cover the windows...I used fleece blankets and sticky velcro. I also used an electric heater instead of the propane. You use a lot of propane and it makes a lot of moisture. All that condensation running down the walls causes mold. Not a problem in the older trailer but a huge problem in the newer one. you use more water than you think, I wouldn't want to do it withouth running water and electric. I was able to put a regular mattress on the frame that was there even though it was a little small and that was a help. the gray water I just left open and the black I used the sewer pipe they give and dumped it on the ground when it was raining. I was glad for my A/C in the summer, and I missed being able to dye my hair in the shower. It wasn't too bad, but I don't think I would do it again.

Just dig a hole the size of a 55 gallon oil can,cover it with boards.The RV toilet only takes a qt or so to flush,works great,BTDT,very doable to live in a RV on property.

The shower,save it or run it to your trees.

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Visit Life on the Homestead,a Friendly Forum

Done it before, and I would do it again. If you don't want to have the tanks pumped, just set things up like it's off grid with a composting toilet (or outhouse) and 5-gallon buckets under the sinks with water jugs.

Put up a good underpinning in the winter and seal up your windows good. I know some people that made subfloors out of two inch foam board, but we're in Alaska. Can't imagine you would need that in MO.

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Rachel Haiku Heritage City Farm

It sounds exciting and you've gotten so many great first hand tips. Hope it works out for you. I'd do it. (:

When we lived in an older trailer, I bought the foil/bubble insulation and glued to the walls inside. It made a huge difference. I need a new mattress so I went to a mattress factory nearby and had one made. It was NOT expensive! There are mattress factories all over, most are small.

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I believe in God's willingness to heal.

Cyngbaeld's Keep Heritage Farm, breeding a variety of historical birds and LaMancha goats. (It is pronounced King Bold.)

Wow, you guys are awesome! Thank you for all of the great tips and for sharing your own experiences.

We've been checking out Craigslist for that area and I suppose due to gas prices, there's some pretty good prices on fairly new units. I know if we decide to buy one, we've got a lot of checking to do to be sure it's as mechanically sound as the ad makes it out to be.

After reading all of the comments, I'm ready to pack up and just 'do it'. I know I won't because I'm a responsible adult but I sure am tempted.

I'd suggest you look into a single wide. You can find some for sale at pretty good prices, probably for only a few thousand more than a 5th wheeler. Some of the advantages would be more room, feels more like a house than a trailer, more room cause you're probably going to take longer than you think to get a house built, and if you take care it I'd bet it would retain its value better when you want to sell it in a few years. It could also be tied down to better handle the storms that come through Missouri.

Here i found a nice one free

I would make really sure you understand the co-op. Our co-op does do the electric for free. To a certain extent. 5 poles, but, your house has to be 4000 square feet and the well head has to be in. I had to pay for the poles up front, clear the right of way. Then they refunded the money after the house was built and my well was in. The initial outlay come from my pocket.

My neighbors have been living in a 5th wheel for about 10 years. They have done fine.

I am in Central Missouri near Lake of the Ozarks.

Yep, our electric coop will run a line, for free, if you're building a house (or I would think moving in a mobile home). And I think they have to actually see some footings or the mobile home before they'll believe you are building a house. If you're just using it to power a travel trailer, I think you have to pay for it in my neck of the woods. Better check.

And when you want to dump at the state park, aren't you going to have to haul the 5th wheel down there? If so, that will be a real pain, and you won't be able have any "semi permanent" outside stuff around the trailer (or skirts) .... I think you'd be better off with an outhouse....

I'm going to do it short-term in a pop-up camper I picked up cheap. I'll live in the camper while I build the barn, then move the camper into the barn to keep warmer in the winter. I'll probably use a composting toilet for the duration, since I think it's the 'greener' thing to do, and I don't have a good place to empty my portable chemical toilet.

It's certainly doable; just make sure it is legal. That should be part of your due diligence when looking for land, as well as any other restriction on land use. When searching in rural SC, I was surprised at the rules and regulations we ran in to, even way out in the boonies. One area had a minimum 2500 sq ft house rule! What are two old empty-nester's gonna do in a house that big?

If you get a good enough deal on a camper, you may re-coup much of your money when you go to sell it. People are practically giving them away here in FL, particularly big ones, while small campers seem to hold their value better. I guess nobody can afford to pull the big ones!

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"What one generation tolerates, the next generation embraces." -John Wesley

The smartest decision you have already made is to wait until you have lived on the land awhile before committing to permanent location. I moved my fifth wheel to a new spot after we ended up purchasing the land next to us which already had a garage, a pole barn and an old single wide in place. I couldn't have built the outbuildings for what I paid and would have had neighbors closer than I would like, had I jumped in and built some permanent structures on my first parcel of bare land.
It took years for me to realize that I have made more mistakes by making decisions prematurely than I ever made by making decisions too late.

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"Happiness is a good gun, a good horse and a good wife."
Daniel Boone

Our family of 4 lived in a VW Vanagon for months until we had the metal building delivered. When it was erected (no end walls) we drove the Vanagon inside and thought that was the height of luxery. One end wall was a garage door, so we were still able to keep the Vanagon inside (DH built 2 framed screens that fit in the door opening). Then when the other end wall was done, we set up a dorm and camp kitchen in the art studio there. Finally, the laundry room and a bathroom were completed (and we had a ceremony for the First Flush where we all stood around watching the water go down, LOL!). The house took another year to complete, but we were fine in the "dorm" until then.

"I'll probably use a composting toilet for the duration, since I think it's the 'greener' thing to do, and I don't have a good place to empty my portable chemical toilet." You can put a thrift shop bedside commode over the camper toilet (keep both lids up and align the commode bucket into the toilet bowl having emptied water from toilet first) and then line the bucket with 2 plastic grocery sacks. Cover the bottom with a few inches of cat litter (dispose of with other trash) or saw dust (can be buried on land). After using, add a bit more litter or sawdust and tie the sack closed and replace with another sack and more litter or sawdust. The commode lid can be closed over the bucket when not in used. The toilet lids remain upright.

Qhorseman, houses have to be 4 thousand square feet there???? Seriously? Wow, that would be my house plus 3 more the same size! That's HUGE!