I'm in a bit of an odd situation. My Fianc? and I plan to live in a travel trailer and park it in my parents' backyard and hook it up to their electricity, water and septic (we have already been given permission to do this, in fact it was my dad's idea). This will be the first trailer we have ever had and we are planning to buy a new trailer as opposed to a used one. But we have no clue what to look for when buying a trailer other than checking for signs of leaks (suggestions on good places to spot leaks would be great too).
Recommendations for trailers (travel trailers ONLY. No 5th wheels) would be awesome as well. I really would like a bunkhouse type trailer (25-35ft in length) with a slide or 2 to provide more space.
I have a few that I found online that are within my price range. Comments concerning quality would be appreciated!
one is a 2018 COLEMAN COLEMAN LANTERN 263BH.
One is a 2016 STARCRAFT AR-ONE 30BHU
One is a 2015 KEYSTONE HIDEOUT 27DBS
One is a 2018 JAYCO JAY FLIGHT SLX 267BHS
One is a 2018 COLEMAN COLEMAN LANTERN 296RK
And finally, a 2018 JAYCO JAY FLIGHT SLX 287BHS
The trailer is going to be parked and lived in full time for at least a year so wear and tear will mostly be a problem INSIDE the trailer. So what appliances/furniture will typically wear out First? And what is the best method for maintaining the roof and preventing leaks? Would protecting the tires from Sun damage also be a good idea?
Also, the trailer will be a fair distance (possibly more than 100ft) away from the septic tank (which is accessible above-ground and has a plastic lid that is easily opened and could likely be drilled through). Is there any way of possibly DIYing a PVC pipeline from the black water and grey water tank to the septic tank? I know we would not be able to use the pipeline in the winter because it will freeze but for the rest of the year it would be nice not to have to deal with hoses (and I'm also not sure if a long enough hose exists).
The electricity and water have already been figured out and we know how we are going to make that happen. And we are going to pour concrete for the stabilizers to rest on so that the trailer doesn't sink into the soil when it rains. It is just the septic/Black water disposal that we are worried about.
EDIT:
I guess I should have elaborated more. We wouldn't truly be living there full time. We are welcome in the house to take showers, cook and do laundry as well as sleep inside when weather conditions are too harsh to stay in a trailer. I still have my room in the house where we would be able to keep some of our belongings if need-be. I also have quite a few laundry hampers with wheels that are tall and thin and would fit easily up against a wall. It would be easy to roll those out to the house when we need to do our laundry. Basically we would be sleeping in the trailer more than anything else.
I have just spent about an hour and a half reading through city ordinance zoning laws. And YES it IS legal for me to do this here.
No more than 2 people can live in the unit ✔
Residents must be related to the property owners by blood or marriage ✔
Must be using the same electrical, sewage, and water supply as the main residence ✔
Owner of the property shall live on the premises and maintain that that address as their primary place of residence ✔
No new driveway access should be created but a current driveway can be modified ✔
Should meet all the city setback requirements and should never be parked in front of the residence or in a street or area where view of the street would be obscured ✔
Must be no more than 25% of the total square footage of the primary residence ✔
Even if it weren't legal here, the likelihood of neighbors reporting us is very very unlikely. And the trailer will not ever be visible from the road (even so, the speed limit on my road is 50 miles per hour and the likelihood of someone driving by and seeing the RV parked in the yard and then reporting it- is basically slim to none) as there are quite a lot of pine trees and large maple trees blocking the view to the back yard (but there is enough room on one part of the property to maneuver a trailer into the back yard).
My dad said the electrical will definitely be at least 50amp. There will probably even be multiple 50amp circuits.
I think we might just go with the pump someone suggested a few posts above for pumping the black water to the septic tank.
Recommendations for trailers (travel trailers ONLY. No 5th wheels) would be awesome as well. I really would like a bunkhouse type trailer (25-35ft in length) with a slide or 2 to provide more space.
I have a few that I found online that are within my price range. Comments concerning quality would be appreciated!
one is a 2018 COLEMAN COLEMAN LANTERN 263BH.
One is a 2016 STARCRAFT AR-ONE 30BHU
One is a 2015 KEYSTONE HIDEOUT 27DBS
One is a 2018 JAYCO JAY FLIGHT SLX 267BHS
One is a 2018 COLEMAN COLEMAN LANTERN 296RK
And finally, a 2018 JAYCO JAY FLIGHT SLX 287BHS
The trailer is going to be parked and lived in full time for at least a year so wear and tear will mostly be a problem INSIDE the trailer. So what appliances/furniture will typically wear out First? And what is the best method for maintaining the roof and preventing leaks? Would protecting the tires from Sun damage also be a good idea?
Also, the trailer will be a fair distance (possibly more than 100ft) away from the septic tank (which is accessible above-ground and has a plastic lid that is easily opened and could likely be drilled through). Is there any way of possibly DIYing a PVC pipeline from the black water and grey water tank to the septic tank? I know we would not be able to use the pipeline in the winter because it will freeze but for the rest of the year it would be nice not to have to deal with hoses (and I'm also not sure if a long enough hose exists).
The electricity and water have already been figured out and we know how we are going to make that happen. And we are going to pour concrete for the stabilizers to rest on so that the trailer doesn't sink into the soil when it rains. It is just the septic/Black water disposal that we are worried about.
EDIT:
I guess I should have elaborated more. We wouldn't truly be living there full time. We are welcome in the house to take showers, cook and do laundry as well as sleep inside when weather conditions are too harsh to stay in a trailer. I still have my room in the house where we would be able to keep some of our belongings if need-be. I also have quite a few laundry hampers with wheels that are tall and thin and would fit easily up against a wall. It would be easy to roll those out to the house when we need to do our laundry. Basically we would be sleeping in the trailer more than anything else.
I have just spent about an hour and a half reading through city ordinance zoning laws. And YES it IS legal for me to do this here.
No more than 2 people can live in the unit ✔
Residents must be related to the property owners by blood or marriage ✔
Must be using the same electrical, sewage, and water supply as the main residence ✔
Owner of the property shall live on the premises and maintain that that address as their primary place of residence ✔
No new driveway access should be created but a current driveway can be modified ✔
Should meet all the city setback requirements and should never be parked in front of the residence or in a street or area where view of the street would be obscured ✔
Must be no more than 25% of the total square footage of the primary residence ✔
Even if it weren't legal here, the likelihood of neighbors reporting us is very very unlikely. And the trailer will not ever be visible from the road (even so, the speed limit on my road is 50 miles per hour and the likelihood of someone driving by and seeing the RV parked in the yard and then reporting it- is basically slim to none) as there are quite a lot of pine trees and large maple trees blocking the view to the back yard (but there is enough room on one part of the property to maneuver a trailer into the back yard).
My dad said the electrical will definitely be at least 50amp. There will probably even be multiple 50amp circuits.
I think we might just go with the pump someone suggested a few posts above for pumping the black water to the septic tank.