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Amberdisney

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Sep 27, 2023
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Question I don’t have a rv yet but planning on getting one and putting it on raw land with out power well and septic. I want to place it there while i build a house. Am I able to have the rv working until I get the utilities hooked up.
 
What you will be doing is called "boondocking", or "dry camping". Yes, you can absolutely do it; thousands of people do it every day. Your issue will be that you will need to take it somewhere every week or two and dump your black and gray tanks - those are the tanks that hold your toilet/septic water and the water from your shower and kitchen. Obviously, you can't just dump all of it on the ground.

You will also need to refill your fresh water tank about as often, so you will need to find someplace (maybe a friend or neighbor) that will allow you to use their hose to fill up, or you will need to bring cans of water back to your trailer and fill the water tank by hand.

You will also need to make sure you have enough battery capacity to see you through a couple of days of using lights and other 12v devices, and a generator to recharge your batteries if you don't have a solar charger or solar panels at all.

Others will chime in with their thoughts.
 
Beyond the legality issue of it, some RV's are more capable of dry camping than others, also some are more 4 season livable than others, though none of them are really designed for 4 season use in northern climates. You list being in Virginia which depending on the part of the state could be very marginal for even a "4 season" coach in the winter.
 
Very likely, it can be done, equally likely, it will not be as simple as you are hoping.
Start with county regulations where you intend to purchase land. Then look into state regulations.
And you will need to also check if any city/municipality might be involved.
That should all be part of your search for a property.
 
Guessing from your question, you probably have no concept of what life is like without unlimited fresh water & electricity and ability to instantly dispose of waste water (sewage). None of those things are magical in an RV and the onboard supplies are extremely limited, even in a very large RV (30-40 feet). If you don't adopt a very conservative lifestyle, you probably won't last more than 1-2 days without running out of one or all of those things. In any case, you will be frequently hauling fresh water to the RV and waste water to a sewer somewhere, and finding some method of charging batteries daily. And still no electric heat or a/c to use.

As a practical matter, you need to get temporary electrical service to the new home site (the builders will need that too), a fresh water source (well, city, or a service that delivers to a large tank onsite), and a septic system. If possible, make those the base of whatever utilities the house will eventually have, but temporary is ok too.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Guessing from your question, you probably have no concept of what life is like without unlimited fresh water & electricity and ability to instantly dispose of waste water (sewage). None of those things are magical in an RV and the onboard supplies are extremely limited, even in a very large RV (30-40 feet). If you don't adopt a very conservative lifestyle, you probably won't last more than 1-2 days without running out of one or all of those things. In any case, you will be frequently hauling fresh water to the RV and waste water to a sewer somewhere, and finding some method of charging batteries daily. And still no electric heat or a/c to use.

As a practical matter, you need to get temporary electrical service to the new home site (the builders will need that too), a fresh water source (well, city, or a service that delivers to a large tank onsite), and a septic system. If possible, make those the base of whatever utilities the house will eventually have, but temporary is ok too.
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I agree with Gary. At the least, I would scramble to get electrical to the site as soon as possible. You can haul water cans in and fill your tank when necessary, and you can hook up the trailer and pull it to a septic dump when necessary every week or two, but you will be powerless without electricity - either a utility line to the property, or a generator.

You could also check into the possibility of having a temporary outhouse delivered to the site and then pumped out when necessary.
 
I have seen people live in tents or teepees while building their house so an RV should be doable but probably not easy by any means. Like others have said you will need fresh water to refill the tanks and a way to get rid of your waste. They make portable tanks for that so you don't have to take the RV to a dumping station. Hopefully the land is somewhere where you can use nature's bathroom quite often. Depending on the laws of the state you live in you might be allowed to dump your grey water on the ground. You would also need a generator to keep batteries charged and if you are going to experience hot temps I would suggest one big enough to run the A/C. I would also recommend a 2-battery system so that you are able to go longer intervals without running generator. Depending on what you get for a RV the outlets will not work unless it is plugged in.
 
Tulecreeper said:
I agree with Gary. At the least, I would scramble to get electrical to the site as soon as possible. You can haul water cans in and fill your tank when necessary, and you can hook up the trailer and pull it to a septic dump when necessary every week or two, but you will be powerless without electricity - either a utility line to the property, or a generator.

You could also check into the possibility of having a temporary outhouse delivered to the site and then pumped out when necessary.
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Some of the people that rent those will pump out black tanks as well.
 
you can hook up the trailer and pull it to a septic dump when necessary every week or two,
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Week or two? More like every couple days unless you forsake showers and dishwashing and rent a port-a-potty for other personal needs.

Yes, it is possible to be extremely frugal with water usage, but most modern families won't consider that to be "living".
 
OP hasn't been back since posting but it's an interesting thread. Two essentials must be completed before any construction takes place. Not sure how long the septic and well will take but those essentials are where I'd start. Electric can be addressed with a small generator. Even a contractor generator, which is cheaper and will supply more power than an inverter generator, can be used if noise is not an issue. Once the two essentials are in place, the rest should be easy.
 
garyb1st said:
OP hasn't been back since posting but it's an interesting thread. Two essentials must be completed before any construction takes place. Not sure how long the septic and well will take but those essentials are where I'd start. Electric can be addressed with a small generator. Even a contractor generator, which is cheaper and will supply more power than an inverter generator, can be used if noise is not an issue. Once the two essentials are in place, the rest should be easy.
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Has it been determined the OP can have and live in an RV on the property?
 
garyb1st said:
OP hasn't been back since posting but it's an interesting thread. Two essentials must be completed before any construction takes place. Not sure how long the septic and well will take but those essentials are where I'd start. Electric can be addressed with a small generator. Even a contractor generator, which is cheaper and will supply more power than an inverter generator, can be used if noise is not an issue. Once the two essentials are in place, the rest should be easy.
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It sounds like they will have the setup for an extended period of time as well so could easily build an insulated box around a contractor generator.
 
garyb1st said:
The place doesn't have power, water or a septic system. It likely isn't in an incorporated area. While possible, it's hard to believe there would be any restrictions on an RV or temporary structure.
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But there are in many places. We shopped for unrestricted property. Unrestricted meaning you can park an RV on it and live in it or even a garden shed. But one needs to first check with the city, county and or state to insure you can do what you want to do. Property that is not unrestricted most likely will time limits on how long you can have your temporary lodging facilities parked.
 
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