Single Fulltime in a 20ft?

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darin38

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2009
Posts
12
I'm going to buy something smaller, about 20ft, and plan to live fulltime in the unit for about a year. Will spend some time in RV resort type parks and some time in parks with little to no amenities. Do you think I'll go nuts in a smaller box like this? Once I go, there is no turning back ;D a year minimum it will be. The trailer has no slides 2700 pounds dry, just me and my Lab. Anyone elese done this? Give me your experiences and thoughts on it.
 
The dog may find 20' a bit small :)  Stay in areas with good weather and use the outdoors as your living room and you should be ok.  Personally, I couldn't live in that small an RV.  You might get claustrophobia on rainy days.  Also, for fulltiming, you may not have enough carrying capacity to tote all the things a fulltimer needs.
 
My Husband and I plus 2 kids ( 10 and 12) 1 dog and 1 lizard and 1 turtle stayed in a 22 ft. for about 4 months. Think god I worked nights and my husband worked days. My kids were also in school . On weekends the park had a lot of activity's going on,so it was a adventure! We were waiting on our house to be finished. And yes at night the dog slept with my son. We will never forget those good times, sometimes I think why not do it again. We saved a lot of money, We paid 400.00 a month and that included all of our utility's. !Good Times :) Now our kids are both in college and I look forword to one day my husband and I could do that again.
 
Are you going to be working while living in the trailer, Darin?  If so, I see no reason why a year would be a problem, but I'd say your thoughts would be toward a larger unit if you plan to continue the FT lifestyle.  I've seen a number of working folks who do just fine in smaller trailers....I'd say go for it ;)
 
Have seen people fulltiming in a truck camper.  My wife's sister and hubby fulltime in a 24 ft TT.  If you are comfortable in your 20 ft. trailer, go for it.  We have friends that can't imagine we are happy in our 36' 5'er with 4 slides until they see the inside.  Most people only use a small fraction of the room in their houses.  You can fulltime in anything you like.  Have fun....John
 
It really depends on your tolerance for small places I spent a summer in my 19ft while working in KC and had no issues with that my dog is a lot smaller (3lb yorkie) but i had my tv and bed so i was ok.
 
I'm in my fourth year of fulltiming in a 21' motor home with my two small dogs.  I also had a flatbed trailer built, on which I carry my car, and I had some large storage bins built on the trailer, so that allows me to carry things I think are important that would never fit in the rig itself.  The trailer, including tongue, is actually longer than the rig, at 24'.  And I use the car, a 4-door sedan, as storage space too, including, for example, my inflatable 4-person boat.

But, to answer your question, it totally depends on you.  Your ability to tolerate confined spaces, your ability to organize things to use space optimally, your priorities for what you think is fun, and so on.
 
Sounds like everyone pretty well summed it up.  I will add in though that you might want to try and find something with at least a small sofa or dinette slide out.  It will not add much to the weight or cost, but will make a tremendous difference in the room you have to move around.  Especially with your dog, it will make a noticeable difference.  I think personally  a 20 footer would be too small, but like they said above, it's how you think you might be able to deal with the confined space.  I think a 24 or 26 footer, again with at least a small slide would really make it a more enjoyable "vacation".
 
The wife and I will be full-timing in a 21' travel trailer starting next year.  We're so excited and looking forward to the day we pull out for good.
 
Ned said:
The dog may find 20' a bit small :)  Stay in areas with good weather and use the outdoors as your living room and you should be ok.  Personally, I couldn't live in that small an RV.  You might get claustrophobia on rainy days.  Also, for fulltiming, you may not have enough carrying capacity to tote all the things a fulltimer needs.

  Ned and everyone else,

  I'm not trying to hijack the OP but I thought this was a good question because I am considering trying the same thing in about a year from now. The only difference is that I plan on having a 28 ft with a slideout. You brought out one interesting point that had me curious though. You stated "Stay in areas with good weather". What are the limits on that? My plan is to be in central Ohio. Is that to cold in the winter? If so, could you be a bit more specific about the weather conditions?
 
Ohio in the winter will be cold.  Areas with good winter weather are mostly along I-10 and south :)
 
Ned,

  Could you be a bit more specific about the issues I would be facing from the cold? It may get down to 0 degrees a few days in Jan. & Feb. but the avg. low during that time period might be 20-25 degrees.
 
You will have days where the temp never exceeds 32, which means everything freezes and stays frozen. The rest of the time it will be cold enough over night to freeze your water lines and you have to protect against that. Your waste tanks and lines may well freeze too. Use of RV antifreeze in the waste water is probably wise.

You may have difficulty finding a campsite that even provides water in the winter. If they are open at all.

Most RVs are difficult to heat in the winter. It is cold underneath the floor and the insulation in the walls and roof aren't that great in most of them. Roof vents, skylights and windows loose a tremendous amount of heat.
 
Gary,

  Thanks for the response. I just read another posting invoilving a similar situation for Ohio. Bummer for me. Oh well, I guess i will just consider 6 months out of the year. Thanks for your and Ned's help.
 
I have fulltimed in a 24' motorhome (about 20' of actual living space) for 7 1/2 years now.  Love it, but I'm quite sedentary. 

--pat
 
I don't full time in an RV, but I live on oil rigs about 320 days a year living out of a what would be equivalant to about a 20' RV.  (A 40' trailer split in two equal havles that I share with another guy.  We each have our own kitchen & bedroom)  You will find out in a hurry how much you can live without.  A bizarre & scary approach, but imagine if your house burned down...what things would you want to get before it burned.  Keep those things with you and that is all you need.  And remember...THAT IS ALL YOU NEED.  Otherwise you will be tripping over yourself.  Good luck and hope you learn a lot through your experience.
 
Pat said:
I have fulltimed in a 24' motorhome (about 20' of actual living space) for 7 1/2 years now.  Love it, but I'm quite sedentary. --pat

I ain't all that sedentary except when I am home on this computer during the night, or when I am work at my night sinecure.

What works well for me when RVing in a small one,  is to spend as much time as possible outside of it.

-Don- SSF, CA​
 
The only thing I can say is I could not survive in a 20' by myself, think I'll keep my 32'.
 
I lived for 5 years in a 20 foot van by myself and it is doable. BUT I would never in a million years think of doing it with a large dog, or even a small dog for that matter. I am currently in a 28 foot class A and I would have reservations about having a large dog with me here. A small dog maybe, but never a large dog.
 
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