Park & Live FT in 1 area for 2-3 yrs. Need RV buying advice

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SwanQueen

Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2018
Posts
5
Hello everyone
Every February & March my husband worries about layoffs for 23 yrs & has always made it through.  This yr is the first year he didn?t worry & last week, he was notified that 25% of 31 ppl in his dept. will be later off.  He?s had chest pain and anxiety for over 2 weeks and will not know if he is one until the first week of March

Ok, so, we are tired of living in fear of him losing his job & not having enough $$$ to make the mortgage payments (although we have some savings).  We want to find a RV with a bunkhouse (we need room for 2 harps $ 3 guitars & a few dogs), sell our house and live in it for 2-3 yrs on his fathers 48 acres & live debt free

The RV?s I really loved have really bad reviews when it comes to quality ...Heritage Glen,  Coachman and Artic Wolf.  And once the RV is on the land, we can?t bring it to a dealership bc that?s our home. We love the Grand Designs, Big Horn & Montana but they are  out of our price range.  We do not want to spend anymore than 30-35K or 43K new.  Any suggestions
 
Welcome to The RV Forum!  The first question is what part of the country are you in, more specifically what's your winter and summer weather like?

RVs, even the ones that claim to be four season models, have much less insulation and thermal mass than a stick built house, so they don't do well in temperature extremes.  If your temperatures dip much below freezing in the winter, or get very hot in the summer, you'll be hard pressed to remain comfortable in an RV. 

Staying in comfortable temperatures is one reason snowbird RVers tend to move southward in the fall, then northward in the spring.

If the temperatures work, I suggest looking at gently used trailers instead of new ones.  New RVs take a large depreciation hit in their first year, then ramp down in value more gradually after that.  If you're planning to sell in 2-3 years, let someone else take that first year hit.
 
I think you need to realistically look at the cost of living in an RV, as well as cost of upkeep, and depreciation over that 2-3 years.  I suspect you will find it is cheaper to stay in the stick and bricks house.
 
I've had open heart surgery. If he's having chest pain get him to the doctor....especially now while he has insurance.

I got laid off after 25 years so I know your situation. I knew it was coming two years prior to the actual layoff so I had prepared for it and started my own business once they laid me off. Getting laid off when you are older is tough but it is survivable.

Where are you located and what are the zoning laws in the area? 

Will you have access to a sewer line or septic tank? What power is available? 

If you are going to be stationary build one of those small sheds for a couple thousand dollars near your RV and store the excess stuff in the shed.

Depending on where you live heating and cooling are going to be your biggest expense. I'd recommend an RV with two air conditioners and covered slideouts along with double pane windows.

Pick one with the layout you like the best.  All brands are good and all are bad. The fact that you aren't towing it around at all helps.

I happen to like Artic Fox products by Northwood. 



If you have problems and can't go to an RV service place keep in mind there are mobile RV techs that will come to you.



 
I agree with Isaac, I don't recommend an RV for someone in your position. RVs are not cheap to live in. They are built out of very lightweight material and as the above posters mentioned, they don't do well in summer and winter. In any state where it will snow in the winter your heating bills will be outrageous. In the summer your cooling bills will also be outrageous if you live in a very warm climate. You can't just dump an RV on a piece of land and start living in it. Besides zoning laws you need to bring all your utilities in. That would be a water supply, an electrical supply, a sewer hookup and some type of Internet access. As far as repair work goes you don't always have to take it into the dealer. There are mobile mechanics that come to you. They are pricey but so is a shop after the warranty is gone.
 
We live in SC and would be on his fathers water and electric.  Checked into getting a septic tank as well.  There are a few ppl we had seen over the years living in an RV while their house was being built, so we thought it would be a good idea & we really want out of our house

Thank you all for your input. Have done over 38 hours of online research in the last week. My father in law who is 77 would love us to be close to him to help out with things and his land is so beautiful
 
Rather than a septic tank, you could get a macerator and up to 100 feet of hose provided that would get you to his sewer connection. You also should consider getting a large (100 gal or more) propane tank.

I second the used used recommendation (two or three years), particularly if its a stationary set up. Most of the initial problems will have been fixed.

Finally, a fifth wheel is more likely to be suited for full time.

Good luck,

Ernie
 
Sorry, forgot to mention, his heart is fine....went to MD.  Stress & internal anxiety.  As a nurse, I know that stress can lead to many heart related issues.  Our intention is to ease the stress by moving into one & not having a mortgage hanging over our head (for the record, we do not live above our means) but he would not feel the pressure to I HAVE TO KEEP MY JOB...WHAT HAPPENS IF I LOOSE IT, OUR SAVINGS WILL ONLY LAST 11 MONTHS..... And he loves to work on cars & he would purchase a shop to house our car & use for storage.  So, no mortgage, RVs seemed like a great solution, since we talked about going to a 599 tiny house 3 years ago when he was worried again. 

Living in SC, the weather in the upstate can be unpredictable, but we would make sure we get an all weather/season package or have one put in.

Can anyone recommend Brands.... I heard that the Artic Wolf was one that was for all season, but when we went to 2 different RV shows....their models actually had the paneling coming off the wall..AT THE SHOW & the bathroom liner was peeling off the wall, but we LOVED the floorplan. 



 
Arch Hoagland said:
I've had open heart surgery. If he's having chest pain get him to the doctor....especially now while he has insurance.

I got laid off after 25 years so I know your situation. I knew it was coming two years prior to the actual layoff so I had prepared for it and started my own business once they laid me off. Getting laid off when you are older is tough but it is survivable.

Where are you located and what are the zoning laws in the area? 

Will you have access to a sewer line or septic tank? What power is available? 

If you are going to be stationary build one of those small sheds for a couple thousand dollars near your RV and store the excess stuff in the shed.

Depending on where you live heating and cooling are going to be your biggest expense. I'd recommend an RV with two air conditioners and covered slideouts along with double pane windows.

Pick one with the layout you like the best.  All brands are good and all are bad. The fact that you aren't towing it around at all helps.

I happen to like Artic Fox products by Northwood.  SO YOU ARE HAPPY WITH YOURS?



If you have problems and can't go to an RV service place keep in mind there are mobile RV techs that will come to you.
 
First if you plan on parking it for years.. I'd suggest a trailer over a motor home but it appears you are already looking at trailers.. (I did park my motor home for 3 years but that's because it needed a new motor, so while it was parked it was a "motorless" home)  Motors need to be run from time to time.. More than 7 or 98 months without running is not good 1-2 months for generators.

Next:

I can not talk about the quality of any given make or model but I can comment on people.. I've dealt with people for many many years as I was a police dispatcher.. I can tell you lots of folks called my office when they had a complaint.. dang few called to say "Well Done".  and though when it comes to product quality the ratios are different, still.. The most "Vocal" group are the dissatisfied customers. Happy Campers tend not to post all that muich... In fact one campground keeps sending me requests to review the parks.. I ask them not to because the review never changes.. nor does the park.

At least they apologized for not being able to stop the survey requests.

Last page  What happens if you need to fix something part 1 and 2

First: There are mobile RV techinicians, some of them are Warranty Certified, they can fix most of what goes wrong ON SITE

And if you MUST take it to a dealer... you can hire a tow truck to move it.. You may need a hotel for a day or 3 but not much can go wrong with a trailer that can not be fixed in a day.. though some dealers will procrastinate.
 
SwanQueen said:
Can anyone recommend Brands.... I heard that the Artic Wolf was one that was for all season, but when we went to 2 different RV shows....their models actually had the paneling coming off the wall..AT THE SHOW & the bathroom liner was peeling off the wall, but we LOVED the floorplan.

Arctic FOX is made by a smallish company in La Grande, OR called Northwood Industries.  They, and the Arctic Fox brand have been around for 25 years and they have a reputation for making well constructed RVs.

http://northwoodmfg.com

Arctic WOLF is a fairly recent brand put out by Forest River, a major manufacturer of mass produced RVs in Elkhart, Indiana.

http://www.forestriverinc.com/fifth-wheels/arctic-wolf
 
SwanQueen said:
We live in SC and would be on his fathers water and electric.  Checked into getting a septic tank as well.  There are a few ppl we had seen over the years living in an RV while their house was being built, so we thought it would be a good idea & we really want out of our house

Thank you all for your input. Have done over 38 hours of online research in the last week. My father in law who is 77 would love us to be close to him to help out with things and his land is so beautiful
You are fortunate to live in a mild climate so an RV might work for you. However I really feel an RV is not the right fit for you. I think you would be much better off buying and relocating a mobile home. A mobile home is what you really want since you have no desire to move it or go camping with it. If you go to the expense of providing utilities then with a mobile home it would be a much more permanent residence. Heating and cooling would be much cheaper, maintenance would be cheaper and it would be about four times as large on the interior. An RV with two adults and two dogs gets real small real quick. Here is an example of a mobile home in SC like I am talking about:

https://charleston.craigslist.org/reo/d/mobile-home-in-creekside-mhm/6498735269.html 
 
Gator is right, Park Models are an option. The reason I suggested a mobile home is because there are so many dirt cheap ones here in the south. Not a lot of Park Models and tiny houses by comparison.
 
SeilerBird said:
I think you would be much better off buying and relocating a mobile home. A mobile home is what you really want since you have no desire to move it or go camping with it. 

I was thinking the same thing. Any idea what it costs to relocate one a modest distance?
 
Sun2Retire said:
I was thinking the same thing. Any idea what it costs to relocate one a modest distance?
I have no idea but if they buy an RV like a 5er or a TT they will have to pay someone to move it anyway. I doubt it would be prohibitively expensive. And considering how much more room and features they would have I think it would be a wise investment.
 
My Northwood trailer was a Nash 22h, however two friends had Artic Fox trailers and really liked them. Northwood gets very good reviews from most of the people on these forums.

I have no knowledge about the Artic Wolf unit.

If he likes to work on cars this may be the perfect time for him to start his own business. Getting laid off has created a lot of entrepreneurs. 

I like the Mobile home idea.
 
Sun2Retire said:
I was thinking the same thing. Any idea what it costs to relocate one a modest distance?

I don't know how much it costs now, but 25 years ago I knew someone that had one moved about 70 miles, the transport cost was around $500, that did not include disconnecting and reconnecting utilities, or the central air conditioner.
 
I also was going to mention either a mobile home or a park model.  They are much better suited to the permanent type of living you're talking about.  They're probably better insulated and definitely more roomy.  In any case you will need water, sewer, electric and communications.  With RVs you'll need to worry about waste tanks but neither mobile homes nor park models have tanks because they stay in one place and need a sewer drain instead.

ArdraF
 
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