THREE DOGS --> What are my fulltime, Fifth-wheel options and solutions? (help?)

[Mr_Toad]

Hi, RV Forum Folks!

I am totally new and totally ignorant, so please forgive my rather basic questions...



MY SITUATION:  I am single, 55, living in my paid-off home with my live-in elderly mother (92) that I care for part-time.  I work in Dallas TX, and will continue "workin' for the man every night and day".  ('til I die?).  We also have three dogs (85 Husky/ German Shephard mix, 45 pound blue heeler mix, 11 pound shoodle).  My three dogs now have a doggie door to a Cedar-fenced backyard, so they do their business while I work each day, or when I must travel for five days.

MY PLAN:  Unfortunately, my mom must eventually move to a Skilled Nursing Facility.  These are expensive, so I am preparing to sell my paid-off home and buy a new 40 foot Fifth Wheel (about $95k MSRP) ..and thus cash in the house, pay off my debts, and thereby reduce my monthly income requirements.

MY OPTIONS:  Obviously, once I sell the house, I could: (a) rent an apartment (if they allow doggies); (b) rent a house with a backyard; (c) buy a trailer and "fulltime" it; (d) other options.

MY DOG QUESTIONS (considering new 40 foot Fifth Wheels/ about $95k MSRP/ Doggie Door/ 6 Foot Cedar Fence/ etc.): 
  1.  If I rent a space in an RV park (e.g., $300 to $400 a month), will I have no choice but to keep my dogs locked inside the RV all day, and thus have to pay someone to walk my dogs twice a day (while I'm at work or traveling for work).
  2.  Would an RV park EVER be willing to let me park the Fifth Wheel and then build my own 6 foot cedar fence up against the Fifth Wheel, so that I could install a Doggie Door so the dogs out inside the fenced area.
  3.  In Dallas residential areas that are zoned for mobile homes (i.e., NOT an RV park), would I be able to rent a lot, park a fifth wheel, and build my own 6 foot cedar doggie fence up against the fifth wheel trailer?    ..or would no landlord allow me to build such a fence on a rental space?
  4.  Would my only "Fifth Wheel Option" be to actually BUY a lot to park the fifth wheel, and thus build a fence and doggie door, etc?  (This may be more than I wanted to spend.)
  5.  Is a "Mobile Home Park" different from an "RV Park", and thus more amenable to my building a doggie fence?  (I still want a fifth wheel for portability.)

Thank you very much for any advice you may offer,

Robt.

 

[SeilerBird]

  1.  If I rent a space in an RV park (e.g., $300 to $400 a month), will I have no choice but to keep my dogs locked inside the RV all day, and thus have to pay someone to walk my dogs twice a day (while I'm at work or traveling for work).

The first problem will be finding an RV park that will allow you to have three dogs. Most RV parks have a two pet maximum. And the second problem will be finding an RV park that will allow an 85 pound dog. Many RV parks have a 20 pound maximum.

  2.  Would an RV park EVER be willing to let me park the Fifth Wheel and then build my own 6 foot cedar fence up against the Fifth Wheel, so that I could install a Doggie Door so the dogs out inside the fenced area.

I have seen RV parks that would allow the 6 foot fence, but they are few and far between and not usually the type of places I would want to stay. In other words they allow it because they would have a hard time renting to anyone if they didn't.

  3.  In Dallas residential areas that are zoned for mobile homes (i.e., NOT an RV park), would I be able to rent a lot, park a fifth wheel, and build my own 6 foot cedar doggie fence up against the fifth wheel trailer?    ..or would no landlord allow me to build such a fence on a rental space?

You would be running up against too many zoning laws if you tried to live in a 5er on a lot in a town.

  4.  Would my only "Fifth Wheel Option" be to actually BUY a lot to park the fifth wheel, and thus build a fence and doggie door, etc? 

Once again zoning will kill you.

  5.  Is a "Mobile Home Park" different from an "RV Park", and thus more amenable to my building a doggie fence? 

Yes they are different in theory. Mobile Home Parks are a more "permanent".
 

 

[Wendy]

Is keeping the house you're now in not an option? Or selling it and buying a smaller house with a yard? If not, and you want to go the trailer route, then I think a mobile home park would be your best option. Some of them will allow a fence. There's also doggie day care but that can be expensive. Since it sounds like you're staying in the Dallas area, so maybe you can start looking around now to see if there's something that will work for you?

Wendy

 

[Tombstonejim]

If you are really not planning to travel in the RV and need all of that then indeed you should look at Mobile home parks as oposed to RV parks.    Most MH parks will allow fences and other semi permanent fixtures.
Some will even actually sell you a permanent lot.
Rent would probably cheaper also.    They main problem is (at least here) is that MH parks for the most part seem to be on a down hill slide except for the ones that specialise in winter homes for snowbirds.

 

[Mr_Toad]

Thanks, everybody!

I'm grateful to you for your replies.    I don't know anyone who does the whole RV/ Mobile Home thang, so I was happy to find this forum.

A nursing home for my mom will cost about $4000 a month, which is why I've decided to sell my current, paid-off house.  Even if I sell at a loss, I can pay off all my own debts, stop paying $4500 a year in school and property taxes, and still have cash left over to put in the bank.  This will open up enough cash flow to combine with my mom's SS and pension to cover the monthly nursing home.   



Robt.

 

[topdownman]

I would urge you not to buy a new $95k 5th wheel.  Buy a nice used one and save $50k.

 

[mmurr]

This may not be an option for you but there are small towns all over the US that have little or no zoning laws. You can buy lots in these towns for a few hundred dollars. For one to two thousand you can have a lot, utilities and a small concrete patio. Do this in the south and again in the north and you have your summer and winter home. The property is yours and you can fence it, raise chickens or whatever you choose. Taxes on a lot like this are practically nothing and insurance would not be needed.

 

[Ned]

This may not be an option for you but there are small towns all over the US that have little or no zoning laws. You can buy lots in these towns for a few hundred dollars. For one to two thousand you can have a lot, utilities and a small concrete patio. Do this in the south and again in the north and you have your summer and winter home. The property is yours and you can fence it, raise chickens or whatever you choose. Taxes on a lot like this are practically nothing and insurance would not be needed.

There may not be zoning restrictions but there are always codes to be met.  It costs more than 1 or 2 thousand dollars to bring utilities to any location, and still more money to install sewage facilities, whether conventional septic, holding tank, or aerobic.  Insurance is always needed too, especially liability.

 

[Tombstonejim]

Not sure about Texas laws but I had a similar situation with my MIL.    I just could not pay the care home bills.
However Arizona has a system where if you sell off all of the persons assests and then sign their pension and SS over to the state minus about $100 per month for spending money the state will pay 100% of the care home fees.  It was a life saver for me.  I am pretty sure Texas has a similar program.

 

[mmurr]

There may not be zoning restrictions but there are always codes to be met.  It costs more than 1 or 2 thousand dollars to bring utilities to any location, and still more money to install sewage facilities, whether conventional septic, holding tank, or aerobic.  Insurance is always needed too, especially liability.

It is apparent you are completely unfamiliar with all of the small towns in the US and have no qualms about throwing out your personal opinion without any factual basis . Now I'm not claiming every small town in the US is going to be like this.  But there are thousands across this country in sparsely populated areas. Start looking at towns with less than a thousand in population. Many have lots that can be had simply for paying the taxes. Utilities are often already there. You can even find them with houses, not that you could or would necessarily want to live in them.

I scanned through a new e-book titled ?No Building Codes: A Guide to States with No Building Codes?, written by Terry Herb, to see what he has to say. Most states do have mandatory building codes, but there are still 15 states where the existence of codes is a matter of local jurisdiction. Often it is the larger cities that opt for control of building practice, while the the more rural areas are freer. This is true in Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

Some states have just a few counties that have yet to establish code requirements. In Arizona there is only one such county (Greenlee); in California there are three (Mendocino, Humbolt, and Nevada) that have adopted the liberal ?Limited Density Rural Dwellings? program; Colorado has 15 open counties (including Saguache county where I live); Iowa has eight free counties; Mississippi is mostly free, except for coastal areas where wind and flood codes are enforced.

Special cases are Tennessee, which is now in transition from having no codes to having mandatory control, and Texas, which does have state codes, but enforcement seems to be very lax. Of course the situation is always changing, so it behooves anyone planning to move to a code-free region to find out specifically what the situation is there.

The book that provided this information contains a wealth of other related advise and data that is well worth the price of the book, and since it is an e-book it can easily be kept up to date.

Utilities depend on where you are and there are still lots that include utilities.

Insurance depends on what you feel comfortable with. If you have nothing but a flat lot you would be hard pressed to need liability. If you have no assets you would not need liability. If you are going to create kind of an attractive nuisance you better have some liability. You would not need property insurance, your camper and TV would have their own policies.

Next time before you try to discourage and influence others, please do everyone a favor and get your facts straight. There may be someone out there that could benefit from this and realize a dream.

 

[Ned]

It is apparent you are completely unfamiliar with all of the small towns in the US and have no qualms about throwing out your personal opinion without any factual basis .

You know nothing of my familiarity with this process, but we have done exactly what is being discussed (in Texas) and am quite familiar with the requirements and costs.  So, yes, I do have direct knowledge of what it takes to do this.  Please keep your contributions civil as we do not tolerate personal attacks.  I'll forgive your ignorance this one time as you are new here.

 

[Molaker]

Jerking back to the OPs concerns, remember he specifically mentions the Dallas area and that he must "work for the man".  That would seem to dictate he live near Dallas for work.  More isolated areas with less restriction would likely be outside a reasonable travel distance.  So, regardless of possible low/no restricted areas he might live, he is pretty well stuck in the middle of a heavily populated (and restricted) area.

As was mentioned by Tombstonejim, if the OP does not plan to travel and just set up household in a fixed location, the mobile home option might be best.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think he is more apt to encounter a 3-dog friendly location in a mobile home park than in a RV park and I'm pretty sure he can buy a nice mobile home for well under $95K.  With a little bit of looking, a mobile home park could probably be found that would allow fencing for the dogs and then he could even have a "doggie" door for them.  Not many RV parks that I'm aware of will permit fencing.

 

[Wa_mermayd]

MY DOG QUESTIONS (considering new 40 foot Fifth Wheels/ about $95k MSRP/ Doggie Door/ 6 Foot Cedar Fence/ etc.): 
  1.  If I rent a space in an RV park (e.g., $300 to $400 a month), will I have no choice but to keep my dogs locked inside the RV all day, and thus have to pay someone to walk my dogs twice a day (while I'm at work or traveling for work).

Most RV parks that you would actually want to stay at will not allow unsupervised dogs to be left outside.  They require the owner to be home at the very least, and usually outside with their pets.  This is especially true in warmer climates where it becomes a health issue for an animal to be outside in questionable shade for any significant length of time.

  2.  Would an RV park EVER be willing to let me park the Fifth Wheel and then build my own 6 foot cedar fence up against the Fifth Wheel, so that I could install a Doggie Door so the dogs out inside the fenced area.

I don't know of any RV park that would allow the construction of a 6' tall permanent fence around all or part of the RV.  What I have seen and what we have for our pets are collapsable pet runs.  They are made out of plastic or metal frames.  They are segmented so they can be made fairly large.  They will not withstand a determined 85lbs dog.  I have had friends who have used them very successfully with their greyhound rescues to give them a safe place to run.  Most parks are not going to want the issue of standing pet poo in their park as well.  Dogs that can freely fun in and out where stuff is going to sit, is going to be a MAJOR annoyance to your neighbors and will go against park rules of picking up after your pets.  We had a guy here who just opened his door when he got home and let his dogs go potty on the concrete slab outside his door.  Let me just say - YUCK!  It was pretty stinky and required some major clean-up when they left.

  5.  Is a "Mobile Home Park" different from an "RV Park", and thus more amenable to my building a doggie fence?  (I still want a fifth wheel for portability.)

We are fulltimers in a small park in Tucson, AZ.  There are three mobile homes in our 33 space RV park.  There are other Mobile home parks around within a few miles that are more mobile home and less RV's.  They are fairly seedy looking and the few RV's that are there I don't think can move.  Like - ever.

Your dogs are going to be a problem.  Both in care if you have to travel without them for any length of time, and in getting used to the more restricted space of living in an RV.  Our park does allow up to 3 dogs but we do have a restricted breed list.  We have a 55lbs whippet and a puppy that will most likely be around 70lbs.  At one time, we traveled with three dogs.  40lb mutt, 55lb whippet, and a lab mix that was probably around 65lbs.  Since we were driving through most places (not stopping for more than one night), and we ALWAYS had the dogs on lead, we ALWAYS immediately picked up after them, and they weren't/aren't barkers - we didn't tend to get a lot of questions asked.  We were able to get around size and number of dog restrictions.  But again, those were short time stays.  We were just delivering the lab mix to a family member in CA.

Most of the park managers that we have met are normal people.  They want tenants who are not going to prove to be a safety hazard to other park members or who are not going to prove bothersome with loud or poorly trained pets.  Or people for that matter.  Generally if you have well behaved pets you can speak to the park manager and come up with something.  Doggie daycare may be a solution for you.  We have a lady here who puts in crazy long hours.  She takes her dog to the doggie daycare.  She knows he is well cared for, getting exercise, food, water, and attention while she is working.  I believe they also support several days stays.  Another possible option after your find a likely park, get to know your neighbors - there might be someone who is willing to puppy sit. 

Here we know our neighbors and have a fairly tight knit community. Someone is generally willing to help someone else out so there are solutions out there for you.

GOOD LUCK!
Paula

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

What you want is a residential park, e.g. a "mobile home park" that allows RVs or an RV park that caters to permanent residents. They tend to be a bit down-at-the-heels in appearance, though. Most traveling RVers avoid them because the parks tend to be noisy, not well kept, etc., but it would probably allow you to do what you want for your doggie.

 

[lisntodd]

As we are actively seeking a full-time 5th wheel to purchase, I can tell you right now there is no need to spend $90k on a new 5th wheel. We looked at a 2012 Redwood for $75k, 2012 Heartland Cyclone Toy Hauler for $63k, 2012 Montana for $66k & a 2012 Heartland Big Country for $55k.

So there is no reason why you would spend $90k on a 5th wheel. It might be $90k MSRP, but you never pay sticker price

 

[bendts]

And the second problem will be finding an RV park that will allow an 85 pound dog. Many RV parks have a 20 pound maximum.

I have 2 Labs - 85 lb & a 120lb - have not had any issues with there size in 2 years.  While there are parks that only allow lap pets :-X, they usually do state that on the web site usually so are easily avoided.

But that limit also sometimes depends on the Dog breed.  Many post/enforce that to keep out the Pits and Rottweilers and other like breeds.  If you call ahead of time and tell them what you have they may change there mind.

The 3 dogs number will be more of an issue - I did stop at a park that only allowed 1 dog, but they "Allowed" me to stay the 1 night.

YMMV.