cheap land?

desert_sailing · May 2, 2020

For me, the best part about vanlife is living simply and frugally. I would enjoy a bit of travel but I would prefer to NOT pay tons on fuel and maintenance.

I have seen those videos of Bobs referring to the ltva and other long term campgrounds and has me wondering about buying my own little piece of cheap land.

Do many of you live on your OWN land year round in your van/camper?

I have seen a bit of cheap land in southern Oregon.. saw a nice 10 acres... 2k down and 250 a month... or cash out at 15k. Even a seasonal stream.

Do any of you have a scoop on Klamath County or Lake County (christmas valley). Anywhere else with affordable land that isnt entirely scrub brush??

I did a google earth look around the piece I was interested in and see tons of rvs. campers, vans....etc etc.. out in the Sycan area of Oregon. Looks to be my kind of neighborhood!

I called the permits office for Klamath county and was told they have ZERO minimum structure size. They also informed me that the land is soo remote they don't even check for people that are violating the "camping rules"

Unfortunately the 10ac. I was looking at sold the same day I talked to the County

(

Just curious if any of you live simply on your own land... if any of you know of cheap land that others "vanlife" on.

Does anyone want to go in on a large piece of land..have you found a great place but can't afford it singly?

For me ideally I am looking for no less than 5 acres.. 10ish would be fine... water would be great.. trees a huge plus! Zero visible powerlines! No utililites at ALL..outside solar.

Seems I could live much more efficiently on my own piece than driving from here to there risking breakdowns and accidents.

It would be great to have enough room to welcome others to park for a bit as well.

bullfrog · May 2, 2020

There are several threads on the subject. We overcame the problems by renting in remote places or workamping on a regular yearly basis, so 6 months here and 6 months there works out cheaper and better for us with fewer worries. Old campers are cheap and last pretty well if you don't move them so we just have one set up at each place.

desert_sailing · May 2, 2020

bullfrog said:
There are several threads on the subject. We overcame the problems by renting in remote places or workamping on a regular yearly basis, so 6 months here and 6 months there works out cheaper and better for us with fewer worries. Old campers are cheap and last pretty well if you don't move them so we just have one set up at each place.

I guess I will have to modify my search terms..

Thanks!

MrNoodly · May 2, 2020

If land is cheap it's usually because it's undesirable, for one or more of reasons: oppressive weather (hot or cold or wet), lack of water, too far from supplies, too far from services.

Nonetheless, several of my nomad friends have acquired land and are now ex-nomads or only occasional nomads. Thanks to them I have places I can hang out for extended periods, if I wanted/needed to.

desert_sailing · May 2, 2020

MrNoodly said:
If land is cheap it's usually because it's undesirable, for one or more of reasons: oppressive weather (hot or cold or wet), lack of water, too far from supplies, too far from services.

Nonetheless, several of my nomad friends have acquired land and are now ex-nomads or only occasional nomads. Thanks to them I have places I can hang out for extended periods, if I wanted/needed to.

Lack of services such as electrical grid and city water and sewer and distance from shopping is definitely why most land is cheap... I don't call those things undesirable. That is what consumers would call undesirable. As long as electricity is available to heat their ski condo Vail or to cool their cabana in AZ.. weather means very little.

I have found that most "nomads" here aren't doing this for the sheer joy of travel but are rather living this way as an alternative to paying rent (financial). Most aren't even doing this by choice of a frugal life putting lipstick on a pig in many cases...
It seems to be a hop along lifestyle. I don't see any here that are doing "tours".. Here it seems to be more about finding a tolerable place to park with an acceptable level of convenience... stores.. water.

I want the "cheap" living of vanlife. The potential to travel..but I would rather be parked on my own land than a govt agency or a campground. Tho there have been some pretty cheap private campgrounds listed with a bit of community. If was going to be "stuck" somewhere I would prefer to grow some of my own food??...
Long term campground with a garden space?

I think I will have to find some simple living forums and merge the 2 lifestyles.

user 423 · May 2, 2020

For the past two winters I've rented a small guest house from friends near Sierra Vista,AZ. A snowbird from Oct. to May last year, then took off for Alaska and did a lot of other roaming.

I'm wanting to do a lot more travel because just like going to AK, I ask myself, "If not now,when"?

I'm retired and just have SS but I'm able to do most of the work on my van, so spending money on gas,etc. is not a big deal. No $$ spent on tobacco or spirits either.

This year I was ready to hit the road 3/31 but this CV thing came up. I've been perusing the local newspapers and there seems to be small acreages to be had in the SE part of the state (N. of Bisbee and S. of Willcox).

My student loans will be paid off this year and I have good credit, so I will look into maybe buying 5 acres or so.

Off-grid would be doable with low energy demand and solar, no problem. Water and septic can be expensive though.

I would still have plans to hit the road when it starts getting hot. Usually that's in May but this year it started getting hot 2 weeks ago.

Riverman · May 2, 2020

I spend hours a day looking on the net for cheap land with no rv restrictions. It is very rare to find any. I've searched several states and only have found some land that no one would live on.

If any of you find some decent land with no restrictions and owner financing that you don't want, please send me a pm.

Cammalu · May 2, 2020

You might want to take into account that the LTVAs are FUN and very convenient. I’ve made more friends than I can count and keep in touch with many of them. The only way you would be lonely in Quartzsite is if you purposely moved to a spot where there were no close neighbors at all. It’s like a great vacation for me with lots of clubs and activities. You can sit outside in a chair by yourself and join in whenever you like.

Only time I get that here in Kentucky is when travelers and friends pass thru and stay here and we catch up. Since we are stuck for now and don’t know when we can escape again I’m putting in a pool because it’s going to be a long hot summer.

desert_sailing · May 2, 2020

Ya the LTVA would be fun. I do like socializing and meeting diverse folks..

I just started thinking more about long term simple living now that the van is nearly finished.. its about "now what??"..lol.

Maybe an adequate piece of land in Oregon for summers and LTVA in the desert for winter?.... It is starting to get real real...already gave my landlord notice of my final month.. LOL>..

desert_sailing · May 2, 2020

Riverman said:
I spend hours a day looking on the net for cheap land with no rv restrictions. It is very rare to find any. I've searched several states and only have found some land that no one would live on.

If any of you find some decent land with no restrictions and owner financing that you don't want, please send me a pm.

KLamath county oregon seems pretty friendly about it depending. The lady in the permit office was definetly givng me the wink wink when talking about the camping situation. Telling me they have no ability to enforce the rv/camping rules... at least in the areas that I was looking at. The Sycan unit is surrounded by National forests and some large corporate mining lands. Super remote.. nearest town of mention is nearly 2 hours away. She said the police don't even go out there except for extreme situations.

Its a great area.. If you search Sycan Unit you can find some great little places out there.. Get the GPS and check out all the fantastic neighbors living in their buses, RVs and Vans!.. it is awesome and is what made me wonder how many folks do simple van life in those sorts of places. R5 zoning is what I am looking for. They are even accepting of compost toilet!

I have a link here to one of the websites that has some land there for sale.. you can grab the GPS and look around the area.. Its awesome!

http://www.1881.com/kffe.htm

MrNoodly · May 2, 2020

desert_sailing said:
Lack of...city water

Not just city water, but there's often no ground water either. Wells come up dry. Or the water is bad. Water has to be hauled in. Or there's flowing water but you don't have rights to it, or the rights are expensive, or it's only seasonal...

Cammalu · May 2, 2020

I don’t know anything about Oregon but it could still get lonely parked all by yourself. I love the group camp scene myself. That saying I’m in the driveway here in KY. Right down the road about 1/4 mile is a couple in a fifth wheel on their house lot. The house had been torn down. I’ve seen others so there must not be a problem with it here. BUT Kentucky summers get really hot. I have hookups in the driveway that makes it bearable. Taxes are very cheap here also.

desert_sailing · May 2, 2020

MrNoodly said:
Not just city water, but there's often no ground water either. Wells come up dry. Or the water is bad. Water has to be hauled in. Or there's flowing water but you don't have rights to it, or the rights are expensive, or it's only seasonal...

I looked at the well reports from that area.. and it can definitely be far out of my budget to have one dug... around 30k...LOL... no thanks.

I did do the dry cabin thing in Alaska for 5 years... a large percent of folks haul their water up there. I figured that is what I would probably have to do. Or go 1700's and dig my own?..lol

Using water in a remote locale that I would be inclined to buy would be so insignificant I wouldn't be worried in the least. a few gallons a day will never be lost down stream.

God knows where to send the bill if he wants payment.

Outside of hauling water not being able to socialize would be the most difficult part. I want to live simply and frugally NOT become a hermit..lol

I see places like Kentucky with good land prices.. Missouri as well.. and some nice forests. It is all very foreign to me. I have never been east of the Dakotas..and Yall got all kinds of crazy @ss snakes out there.

I don't know if i could handle all the hollerin' across the country side..

bullfrog · May 2, 2020

I've lived in Kentucky and northern Arkansas for 30 years which definitely have four seasons and humid summers. Makes for lots of greenery like poison ivy,oak and sumac along with plenty of mosquitoes, flies and hornets. Thought it was heaven until I came out west.

desert_sailing · May 2, 2020

Are you somewhat stationary out west now Bulfrog? Do you do the LTVA? Do you travel in a "herd" with others?

As I mentioned I am nearly finished with the van and it is almost action time.. I am about to step out. I am one of those people that ties my shoes at the same time everyday.. so this is a big leap of uncertainty for me. It is part of my job to cross the T's and dot the I's and now I dont know wth is a t or an i.lololol

user 423 · May 2, 2020

Ain't nuthin' to it but to do it.

bullfrog · May 2, 2020

I'm really stationary most of the summer. I retired at 53 from work but since then I have done jobs that I enjoy and just happen to get paid for in remote places we love. My wife and I traveled in an old motorhome for a few years and ended up working for the National Park Service in Utah. The motorhome became an apartment parked permanently a few hundred yards from the remote north end of Lake Powell. We first tent camped, then built a camper trailer, then built a truck camper and finally last year bought a larger camper trailer that is stationary a Caballo Loco Ranch in southern Arizona which we use as a base camp in the winter months. We have attended several RTR's but are pretty much hermits and really enjoy our time in the southwest. I turn 69 this year and figure I'll maybe physically have to quit working in 4 more years. We plan to travel again at that time through the mid northwest states slowly during summers and continue to winter in Arizona. There is plenty of support now a days with the caravans, Escapees and other special interest clubs if you like being around people but we started when Escapees was a small group of people and really were inspired by George and Tioga blogs as he was more a hermit type traveling on his own for the most part.

desert_sailing · May 2, 2020

I saw a video on Bobs youtube about that Caballo Loco place. It looked like a nice community and certainly budget friendly. The host seems to be personable and I love how there is a variety of living spaces. Not all 5 star class A's. Looks a bit hot maybe in summer there but I love the heat. Maybe I will see you there this fall/winter..

Ive seen some of the various private campground/club places and they look a lot of fun. A bit more expensive than what I would want to spend usually. But I do like private land more so than public.
Sounds like you have it pretty much sorted out.

I just realized how stupid it was of me to give my notice to landlord... wow.. with the various shutdowns and such..LOLOL>. I didn't even think about it...LOL>. Wa. State is still on lockdown til the end of May. I better call and see if they will let me pull my notice for a bit.

bullfrog · May 2, 2020

Private land is great till it isn't. Things like zoning changes, nearby home owner organizations, tax and insurance, utilities you are responsible for. I get irritated enough dealing with a small generator the few cloudy months of the year. I owned a private camp spot on the Little Sandy River in eastern Kentucky back in the 1990's. We were still working and had sold our house. Keeping the brush down, digging water lines eventually putting in power lines, pouring a pad then every few years having it flood. I sold it for a profit but was really happy just to get rid of it. Where I live in the summer I have paid anywhere from nothing to $350 a month but that is everything including propane. Where I live in the winter is probably about $200 a month as I pay for gasoline and propane as well as yearly rent. The biggest expenses are because of the remoteness that we like so much. A trip to town can be expensive. I have a friend that lives in Benson Arizona cheaper than I can in these places because he pays $450 a month all inclusive including cable TV and internet but only has to travel 8 miles or so to a Walmart and stores. He has access to lots of BLM/Trust lands as well. I guess it proves it costs more to be a hermit! On Lake Powell there are boat slips with $250,000 houseboats that pay $1800 to $2000 a month for a slip. I quite often fish off the docks and when the houseboat owners fish with me find out I get to live there for $350 or less a month they are jealous. My yearly social security is less than their total expenses for one month during the summer. There are lots of opportunities out there. Sitting still is cheaper than traveling for us so we only do it a few months a year.

user 423 · May 2, 2020

^
Does Fedex or UPS ship to where you're at?

Also, is that part of Utah still closed?

cheap land?

Help Support Van Living Forum:

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads

Join the conversation!

Join today and get all the highlights of this community direct to your inbox. It's FREE!