Might as well buy a house!

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Yep the lines between the different mobile living situations are becoming blurry as there is more demand for a socially acceptable legal way to shelter and traditional housing becomes out of range for many more upper income people. There are many expensive RVs out there that used to cost more than a traditional house. For the other extreme check out an “Incredibox” or “Boxable”.
 
There have been trailer parks for a very long time. Those crossed the boundary lines of not enough funds for a sticks and bricks home ownership. Things have now shifted more towards RV parks.
 
maki2 said:
There have been trailer parks for a very long time. Those crossed the boundary lines of not enough funds for a sticks and bricks home ownership. Things have now shifted more towards RV parks. But tiny homes are also making a significant inroad into yet another version of homebownership instead of the older styles of mobile homes which were never really mobile other than moving them from a factory or dealership into a mobile home park or a privately owned lot.
Click to expand...
 
Live as ya want, buy what you want, how ya wanna roll and just live! But if ya want it, buy it :) if it don't suit ya, cool, one ain't gonna put down big bucks for it :) but in the end, our consumerism gives us so many options of who ya are and what ya wanna do it is crazy for sure!
Big extremes on this Earth as we see everyday.
 
Damn the whole wall is a slide out, which has another slide in it. Slide out inception!

Way too big for my taste, although so is an average 5th wheel.
 
Wow, saw a semi tractor with an ambulance box attached to an already good size sleeper... pulling the biggest fifth wheel trailer I’ve ever seen loaded with solar panels... I’m guessing they are comfortable... but probably wheels are turning to acquire above trailer in his current trailers length... some people can not have enough. Haha!
But hey, we all have our limits in wants, needs and resources.
 
Just before COVID hit, I was talking to a couple who were living and traveling in a really nice-looking trailer with pull-outs. They were parked on my neighbor's property, visiting.

I mentioned that I had heard from several sources that pull-outs always seem to leak. Talk about pushing someone's buttons! Jeeeeez!

Tom said that, as far as he was concerned, most of them are absolute garbage with pretty faces. This was their third rig, and it wasn't leaking... yet. He said if anyone was planning on buying one, they should find one that was freshly wrecked, and take a really good look at how they're built. They said they're absolute GARBAGE (spoken with capitals, italics, bold letters, and lots of exclamation marks). He was so angry that he could hardly speak without spitting.

They were in the process of looking for a rig that they could build out themselves, without OSB and particle board, that didn't have gaps in the insulation, etc.
 
^^^ Let’s face the he fact that most areas of this country especially urban areas where most the population dwells have access to and use public utilities. Learning to do without for many is beyond comprehension. One of the large problems with urban homelessness is human waste is left or deposited on the streets instead of being properly disposed of. One of the problems with mobile living is you have to manage your waste and create your own utilities. Whether you are rich or poor it is difficult for many to accept the responsibility of being your own utility provider when you are coming from living with public utilities, oh yeah there is that living in smaller space thing as well. Welcome to “living simply”! Lol!!! Remember all that is free isn’t cheap!
 
Like Dolly Parton said : "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!"
These big RVs with the slide-outs, remind me of double wides with fancy kitchens.
Still a trailer, with all the challenges an off-grid dwelling has.
 
Sofisintown said:
Like Dolly Parton said : "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap!"
These big RVs with the slide-outs, remind me of double wides with fancy kitchens.
Still a trailer, with all the challenges an off-grid dwelling has.
Click to expand...
A doublewide with a big kitchen is still cheaper than one of those big diesel pushers.
 
Cajunwolf said:
A doublewide with a big kitchen is still cheaper than one of those big diesel pushers.
Click to expand...
You can get a nice mobile in the RGV, south Texas, in an over 55 park for $60,000 to $90,000 and you own your own lot. Low HOA fees $200-$500p/y and low taxes, $500-$1,000p/y (for Texas). But it is isolated, and fairly hot for 1/2 the year, but a large area with lots of hospitals, Walmarts, and HEB's. Been looking myself. Looked at AZ but all the parks are on leased land. No thanks...
 
^^^There aren’t any lifelong guarantees with private property either. Zoning laws apply most everywhere especially when utilities appear and townships are formed. Don’t even get me started with Home Owners Associations just goggle search a few cases. Even property deeds can have use clauses. Most private lots that are zoned for camping with utilities are almost as expensive as lots with older mobile homes. In southern Arizona lots with utilities you can legally camp on are running well over $60,000 and older mobile homes on/with a private lot $100,000 and up to almost $250,000. There are rental private RV lots with utilities for around $500 a month. Being able to stay in a National Park with full hookups, use BLM land and rent in areas we want stay longer in has been great as in much cheaper and easier than owning private property. Being able to move anywhere any time is what makes this possible and cheap. Having your own housing also helps. Not having to deal with the issues of being a property owner is a big plus to me. Considering my age and life expectancy it would be cheaper to continue doing what we are doing until we are unable then renting the few years we have left. The only way buying property makes sense for us is if we plan to leave wealth to our children by possibly giving them a place to land or sell when they inherit it.
 
Last edited:
beavergod1 said:
You can get a nice mobile in the RGV, south Texas, in an over 55 park for $60,000 to $90,000 and you own your own lot. Low HOA fees $200-$500p/y and low taxes, $500-$1,000p/y (for Texas). But it is isolated, and fairly hot for 1/2 the year, but a large area with lots of hospitals, Walmarts, and HEB's. Been looking myself. Looked at AZ but all the parks are on leased land. No thanks...
Click to expand...
I'd be interested in something like that. Do you have any park names or links you're willing to share?
 
BLM land is free...

Just saw a new 4wheel drive Mercedes Sprinter van in Quartzsite being staged for the RV show. It was unlocked. I figured new price on it was somewhere north of $100k. My wife scanned the QR code on it and sticker price was $172,000. We peaked inside and I didn't see how they were charging so much.
 
^^^Makes an overpriced used truck and trailer at maybe 1/10th the price look pretty good!!! Lol!!! My 1978 J10 truck cost $1,500 over 15 years ago and a 1991 twenty foot camper trailer in 2010 was $2,800. Sold the trailer in 2015 for $2,900 after doing $400 of up grades. Still own the truck and after 15 years of towing, hauling a homemade camper and 4 wheeling dirt roads and trails it has cost me about $15,000 total in maintenance and repairs. To replace it with a newer truck that gets much better fuel economy would be a minimum of almost 3 times that not to mention increased taxes and insurance. If I travel less than 10,000 miles a year it would take several years to come out ahead buying a new truck. I guess I’ll continue to throw a few thousand dollars every few years into the old truck till I can no longer drive. If you see an old white haired guy driving old truck with the window rolled down, smiling, wave! Lol!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

debit.servus
Transportdwelling: Cheap RV Living Redefined
Replies
0
Views
1K
debit.servus
debit.servus
M
Older Engel portable fridges in USA are Norcoldsd
Replies
4
Views
2K
maki2
M
debit.servus
Planning to upsize to 24-30' conventional travel trailer - Insights Needed
2
Replies
27
Views
8K
debit.servus
debit.servus
T
Write up of my experience in Algodones.
Replies
11
Views
4K
rvwandering
rvwandering
N
Someone tried to break into my van while I was sleeping. Lets talk security
2 3
Replies
41
Views
21K
danman81
D

Latest posts

Top