Living full time in an RV park?

[PusifGomes]

I'm seeing, on the lower end, RV parks costing between $300-$500/month, utilities included. Am I understanding that right?

I'm seeing large "campers" brand new for $20-$30k, I'm guessing much cheaper used. How quick do these depreciate?

My current utility bills alone are usually over $300/month in my home.

Would there be other "retirees" living in RV parks as well? Maybe giving it an additional social benefit.

If you have experience living in an RV park, bonus if doing so with young kids, I would love to hear some more info!

Thanks!

 

[SuzanneH]

If you rent in an RV park, be aware that almost all monthly rentals ALSO bill for your electricity use.  In the park we are in (Arizona) someone tried to summer over in the park in their fifth wheel, and ended up with a $500 bill for electricity in the month.  The casita nearby had a $200 bill for electricity.

Daily and weekly rentals usually include electricity, but are exponentially more expensive.

You are wise to do your due diligence before making the leap to full time RV living if you are financially strapped.

 

[SeilerBird]

I have been living in an RV park for the last seven years. Four years is a class A and the last three in a much larger fifth wheel. My current rent is $425 per month and about $75 a month for electricity. This includes trash, yard maintenance, water, sewage a park wifi. I am in a really beautiful spot and plan on never moving again. Great neighbors and it is real quite here.

 

[Back2PA]

I'm seeing, on the lower end, RV parks costing between $300-$500/month, utilities included. Am I understanding that right?

As others have pointed out, utilities are not included in monthly or seasonal rates. The cost of utilities will vary wildly depending upon time of year and location. RVs are notoriously inefficient with regard to heating and cooling, so do not do well in very cold and very hot climates. I lived monthly for a season in Arizona in one of the lesser expensive parks out there. If I recall my rent was in the $400 range, electricity cost a little over $200/mo

I'm seeing large "campers" brand new for $20-$30k, I'm guessing much cheaper used. How quick do these depreciate?

A brand new camper is a truly horrible 'investment' - count on 25+% depreciation the first year. By the 4th year depreciation may have reached 40-50%, at which point it starts to level off. Buying new, especially for someone watching their pennies, would a terrible mistake.

Would there be other "retirees" living in RV parks as well? Maybe giving it an additional social benefit.

If you have experience living in an RV park, bonus if doing so with young kids, I would love to hear some more info!

Yes, if a park rents monthly or seasonally there would likely be other fulltimers living in the park. Some parks are 55 and older which would preclude young kids

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

$300-$500 per month is a fairly typical range but may or may not include electric at that price (most do not).  In some areas prices run as high as $800, but those are typically popular resort areas or metropolitan areas.

A new towable RV can run anywhere from $15k to $100k and a motorized (motorhome) from $75l to as high as $2M.  RVs depreciate rapidly, so used prices are substantially lower.

Some parks do not accept year around residents.

 

[RVoorhis318]

Are you in florida?

 

[donn]

If your planning to stay in one place never moving buy a park model or a mfg home

 

[salty14]

I've been parked in my current park for two years now, and am planning to stay for several more as I'm still working full-time and have family here.  I prefer my travel trailer to a Park Model or Manufactured Home because it gives me the option to move fairly easily if things change.  My monthly rent is $385 plus electric and propane.  Garbage, water, and sewer are included along with limited cable tv.
If you know for certain (95% anyway) that you won't be moving, it is certainly worth exploring the possibility of a mfr home.  They are typically larger, fully plumbed (no dumping the holding tanks, or worrying about water and sewer hoses), and many are in nice communities.  You would be paying a monthly fee for the site as well as the cost of the home itself.  Utilities would likely be less as the home would be better insulated.
Consider all your options and do your research.

 

[RVRAC]

You can find places for $400-$500/month but usually does not include electricity or propane. Some places are worth it, others are not.  Yes, most places have people all year round.

 

[Wi1dBill]

I have often wonder if this wouldn't be cheaper than the standard S & B. If you can down size, A nice Park model in Az(for example) between 25 to 50K.  same thing up north. Annual rent in AZ is about $3600.00 at a campground up north for about $1400.) (Current Real estate taxes are $3500). Having invested !00K to 120K (current S&B worth 250K. I could easily downsize...not sure the wife could. (She like her nest)....This way we could put 100 to 120k or more to travel or whatever.
Just a Thought....


Wi1dBi11

 

[grashley]

You are correct on the price for entry level new campers.  Note these are intended for a few weekends and maybe a week or two of use PER YEAR!  They are poor quality finishes (carpet, cabinets, fabrics, furniture) and you will wear one in out in a very few years.  They are also poorly insulated.  They depreciate very fast, especially if used full time.

If you choose to go this way, I strongly suggest a used, better quality unit for $20k - $30k.  It will be better built and better insulated and will serve your needs much longer than a new entry level camper.

 

[SeilerBird]

My nephew's son and daughter moved into the same RV park that I am in. They bought a very nice used park model for $8000. Rent is $425 per month plus electricity.

 

[Isaac-1]

As I see it, a lot comes down to where you live, the $300-$400 per month without electricity is typical of RV parks in the region where I live (western Louisiana), though many of the people living in RV's here are either contract workers or are seasonal snow birds.  By comparison typical non-subsidized apartments start around $550 per month.  Having said that, in this area it is not the cheapest option, in the long term, this still belongs to owning a traditional sticks and bricks house.  Cheap reasonably nice houses are still out there where I live, one of my wife's single co-workers after many years of renting bought such a house 4 or 5 years ago for under $40,000 just a few blocks from where I live.  It is a smaller older house (probably built in the 1920's, though very well maintained), I would guess around 1,100 sq feet, but with a solidly built newer out building that is another 300  sq ft.  Location is less than ideal, being directly behind a newer (1970's) small commercial building, and only a block away from the railroad tracks, on the traditionally "wrong side of the tracks".  Though this is a smaller house, it is important to note that even a large 5th wheel is going to be under 350 sq feet, and likely build no where as well.