Travel trailer homesteading

....................Alice KNAILED IT ! You cannot live in a trailer , during cold winters when the plumbing is EXposed ! There are several Upper shelf brand names you should purchase from.......Teton , Hitchhiker(Nuwa) , Travel Supreme , Newmar , Mobile Suite(double Tree) , Excel by Peterson, Ind's , Holiday Rambler , etc . All of the above should have completely enclosed and insulated tanks , plumbing and storage ! Do your research , before you spend your $$$$$ ! , fordy

I think it would be hard, after you've got yourself all enclosed for the winter, to have to hitch up and haul to the park to dump your tank every week. I like the composting toilet idea and buckets under the sinks idea.

Two resources that came in handy for me when I embarked on a similar endeavor:

http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Trailer...2512869&sr=8-1
I wouldn't pay $25 for this book because it's pretty short, but if you can find it for less, it really does have some good information.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/green...iler-home.aspx
This article is about building a kind of shed around your trailer to give you more space and give you more protection from the weather. I built one kind of like it very cheaply and it really helped make the trailer more comfortable through the winter.

Okay, I am a worrier. And I have zero experience with travel trailer living. But the First thing I would consider (after checking out the local regulations as previous posters mentioned, and also the availability of reliable broadband for DH's telecommuting) is building a root cellar or some other kind of storm shelter. JMHO

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Cindy in SW PA

It can be done. I started out in a camper trailer. Your biggest concern will be storage space. I agree with the idea of building a barn or shed to park it in. In my case, it was difficult to build storage sheds faster than I could fill them up.

If you were going to keep the camper for traveling afterwards, I'd go with the suggestion to have a metal sided/metal roofed 2 1/2 car garage built. That way you can used the camper for a bedroom and the other for a living room area.

I would also suggest having a toilet outlet/shower stall built in a corner and water lines run to it and the back wall for a water heater and sink.

However, bear in mind there are used mobile homes which might serve you better. Most of the ones I've seen are in pretty bad shape, but some fixing up might make them liveable.

Sorry it took so long to get back to answering some of the questions/concerns. Work has been extra busy.

We checked with both the county and also the electric co-op and we can use a travel trailer/motorhome/fifth wheel/garage to live in. Texas county only has septic inspections & if you have over 10 acres, there's an exception as long as it doesn't affect the ground water.

While talking to the co-op engineer, he was kind of amused that I thought we would need to have a house before they ran power. His first question is how would you run power tools for any length of time without power? I specifically told him we may be staying in a motor home/camper type structure for a couple of years & he said many others in that county do the same thing. He sent me some info and everything he told me, I have in writing. So the co-op is totally on board as is the county.

I already checked with Centurylink and they just started offering DSL service in March/April. So we're good on that front.

We always planned on making/using sawdust toilets as our main toilet and only using the flushing one if someone stopped over. That way, the holding tank shouldn't need to be emptied nearly as often. I hadn't thought about using barrels for the grey water drains but now that's on our list of things to do. We always planned on having a grey water system once we had our cabin built but we had never considered doing it with the trailer/camper.

We have a rented storage unit not too far from the land so that all of our farming items and tools are secure until we get on the farm storage built. One time we moved to a rural area and learned that farm items can disappear rapidly when they're not locked up; we lost $600 worth of fencing to theft just 10 hrs after having it delivered.

We bought this particular piece of land because there were no restrictions and it's in a very lenient county. No HOA, no size/type of home clauses, we own mineral/oil, timber and water rights.

I'm working on making window quilts that I can use now and also once we move.

I'm going to check into that foil insulation that was mentioned. We currently live in a 39 yr old mobile home so in some ways going to a 5th wheel or travel trailer may be a step up.

If I missed any questions, please let me know. I am on my way to work but wanted to stop in & let everyone know how much we appreciate all of the comments.

My friends live and homestead in a travel trailer north of Ft Worth, outside of Denton. Concern for the OP (like stickinthemud) is a storm shelter. The storms exist! ldc

The only down-side to a mobile home is that they can be hard to get rid of when you're done with it.

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

Sounds great to me! I did it for several months in a small camper. The important thing is to get on your land a soon as possible! (And I'm 59 and still homesteading!)

We have been living in a 32' FEMA camper with 3 teenage daughters. We are going into our 10th month and while the girls are getting restless, I LOVE my camper. The housework is so minimal and it's quite cozy. We planned for almost a year and I spent that time planning where everything would go, and how to manage storage. Little things like large lined baskets on top of the fridge (one for breakfast items, one for lunch items) and an over the toilet rack with bins have made a huge difference. The huge advantage to a FEMA model trailer is the fridge is full size and the toilet is a regular porcelain one, instead of a small plastic one. Our biggest help in this, though, has been our 53' shipping container. It has been a lifesaver for storage of belongings as well as tools...and works great for a shelter...it's where we sleep during a storm. The price of each is what sold us on this plan. The camper was $4,000 (they are very abundant here for even less now) and the container was $2000. Anyway, there is more information if you are interested, on our web page, homesteadingstewards.com, and we update on our blog regularly.

As Fordy said get a newer model. We have a Jayco Designer Legacy 38 foot. The ductwork,plumbing,water lines storage underneath are all enclosed in what is called a "heated basement". We bought it new and put it on our property and stayed in it. It has 3 slide outs. I enclosed it with lattice around the bottom and then put bales of straw up against it for the winter. There is the 2 of us and was 2 rottweilers. We would call in a Porta potty co. to have it pumped out. I built a "cookhouse" for my wood cook stove, and built a deck,and a picket fence area for our dogs. My Dh was working 2 full time jobs, so it was all easy enough for me to tend. We would do it again. We sold that land, because after liveing there, we decided we needed to move further out.

oldcountryboy, I have been thinking along the same lines...but my idea was somewhere cooler for summer. This heat this year in oklahoma is going to be the death of me I swear. Montana is looking awfully good about now...but I sure would want to be gone before it snows. What stops me from pursuing this idea of moving 2 times a year...is the idea of having to move the goats. They don't like travel unless it is their idea and in a stock trailer it hardly ever is.

.................Anyone contemplating spending a winter in any kind of FEMA trailer had better get PREpared , because being UNprepared is .....Misery , defined ! They have very little insulation , and a 30mph wind at 30f is colder than a Gold Diggers Arse in the Klondike !
.................Even the mild winters we have here in Tx , will be a challenge during those short periods of EXtra cold temps because the contents of your holding tanks will freeze , your hose that supplies fresh water too your trailer will freeze , also , if left UNinsulated and UNheated . , fordy

I would do it but figure out where you want the septic and power run to as soon as possible. That way you have the flush taken care of and not have to fight that move all the time. Once you get on the land it won't take long to figure out your (spot). The newer 5th wheels are nice and insulated for the cold if you buy ones built for "northern" climates. Still....I would think about building a small building I could use as storage, shop or garage if I wasn't going to use the 5th wheel for traveling. Spend the money on a permanent structure. Just put an extra bath in a corner, add your cabin later. My son lived in a 14'x24' "garage" for 4 years with an outdoor pavilion to cook, hangout and eat in. The bath/utility closet was a leanto 6'x14'. It all cost him $2600.00 4 year ago....James

I have done it twice, one winter in ND, I gave up on Jan 1 temp 20 below, sewer line came disconnected and froze solid inside the heat tape. It gets a might sporty when the temp hits zero.
The other time was Minnesota, except I was inside a big garage. I hauled my water in and out. This was only till my wedding day in mid Dec, then I moved into our home with her.

I used both the camper propane heater and electric space heater. I see you will be in MO. That will be simpler. Window blanket and foil insulation are good ideas. What I did was used clear bubble wrap. It lets the light in, but stops some of the cold. Then covered the windows with window shrink. Also don't forget to cover the roof vents. Camping World has some pre-made foam insert for this that work great.

Somewhere on-line I found a heated garden hose. I didn't use it for those camping adventures, but will no my next cold weather execration.

If you are going to do it more than one year, I would look into using plywood for skirting. Lots of mice in straw. If you go with a ffith-wheel, that is a lot of straw to buy each year to pile up around the bedroom.

I would recommend a high quality name brand travel trailer for this task. The extra quality don't cost a lot more when buying a well used travel trailer, but is well worth it when trying to heat it. Also get one with a "heated basement" or plan on doing this yourself after you by it. A heated basement is simply; the heat ducks run under the floor and there is an insulating blanket under the whole trailer, just like a mobile home.

I was amassed at the amount of time each week it took to keep the camper in working order. One week a water pipe would freeze, the next the sewer line. Stuff like this needs to get fixed the same day, so one can shower and get to work. The weekend i would spend stoping drafts or fixing a furnace that wasn't meant to run 20 hours a day.

Good luck and keep us posted on your adventure.

We actually moved into our FEMA trailer last October. We insulated the storage compartment underneath the bunks and insulated all lines and pipes. We have some a little underground as they run from the larger water heater in the shipping container. We used an oilfilled electric heater and one little ceramic heater when it was especially cold. Granted, our lowest temp was 10 degrees...no sub-zero, but then again, we have absolutely no skirting which would be necessary for colder temps. We didn't cover any windows, but probably will this year (with clear bubble wrap) to keep the heater at a lower setting. Our electric bill was never really high, though. We were very comfortable. We did a lot of research before starting, and Fema campers are made by major manufacturers, they are just contracted by the gov't. Ours is a Gulf Stream Cavalier. We haven't had any problems since we got everything up and running/or repaired.
We do have a septic tank, so we don't have holding tank issues.

I had a friend who lived full time in an old Airstream set up in an unusual way. The trailer was set low with an enclosed porch on one side that had a woodstove. The other 3 sides were bermed up with dirt. When it got cold they simply built a fire on the porch and opened up the door to the camper. The fire warmed both the people and the pipes. As far as I know they never had an issue with frozen lines.