Cheap living in RV parks

[Ballenxj]

Sorry but Vagari posted those links, i just quoted when I commented on them.

OOPS, My mistake then.
Thank you Vagari.

 

[BamaDuke]

Hi Offroad,

I'm a little confused about your comment:
When I factor in an RV cost over five years my budget is too high compared to just renting an apartment.

If I knew I would be in the same place for 5 years, I would definitely choose the apartment. I cannot imagine any scenario where an RV would be cheaper, all in all done. Now, if I only "suspected" I would be in the same place for 5 years, it becomes more doable.

I've been in a 25 ft Class C in a park for 3 years. I "suspected" two to four years at the time I made the decision to purchase the RV. But I had also dreamt of retirement to a motorhome, and look at this as a trial run. The Class C was 10k, and if I sell it for 5k I would have lived pretty cheap for 3 years. I'm 10 to 15 years from retirement, and have a daughter in college, so I still work at my high paying engineer job. But I have learned much in the last 3 years. Wouldn't trade it for half the tea in China..

Bama

 

[akrvbob]

I'm not sure how you are arriving at those figures. It seems to me that space rent in most places would be less than half of renting an apartment: $300 for space rent versus $600 for an apartment. The numbers will vary by area but I think the ratio would generally be consistent

Utilities should be about the same so how are you arriving at living in the RV costing more?
Bob

 

[BamaDuke]

Hola Bob,

I'm guessing your post is to me...

I am including the cost of the RV in my analysis. When considering an apartment vs. an RV, I assumed that the person making the consideration does not own an RV, otherwise the calculus would be much different. If a person has an RV, why would they be considering an apartment? Sorry if I was even more confused than I thought

When I relocated, I sold everything (house, furniture, etc.) at the old place, and moved with very little. I spent 6 months looking at options: house rental, house purchase, apartments, RVs, roommates, long term hotels, sugar momma... Eventually I decided to do the trial run for retirement, full-timing in an RV. Lots of research later, decided on small Class C. For my purposes, working full time at a high paying job, and needing to minimize my commute, I needed a fairly late model, very clean RV to stay at a close-in RV park. This would cost anywhere from $10k to $25k. Monthly payments and insurance would run $400 to $600.

By using the $400 to $600 above, adding in lot rent, plus utilities, I believe an apartment would be cheaper, especially after allowing for depreciation over 5 years. If the RV was purchased for cash, the monthly payment would be gone, but you'd still have depreciation. (I won't get into the time-cost of money, it gives me a headache )

All this being said, I bought the RV and moved into a park. But I didn't "know" 5 years. That may have made a difference. And I'm still pondering the sugar momma.... LOL

Bama

 

[Lucky mike]

I get 12 to 14 ........97 Safari Trek Class A /Chevy 460 with a banks system.....of course I keep my foot out of it

 

[Lucky mike]

I know most parks are 300 plus a month.....most rv's are self contained.....from personal experiences I have found that by boondocking or asphalt camping you can cut that by 2/3 the cost without even trying no matter where you are.....(I do have solar and a generator)

I stay out of commercial parks and only go in one once every 2 weeks if I need to dump & water up and then its only for 1 day. it gives me a chance to use the laundry there if I need it and a little socializing.

I set aside 100 a month for this purpose and if it is not used it becomes savings in my campground funds and dumping funds...

I have found farms and roadside property that have given me several weeks of dry camp just for the asking.....I have a piece of ground in several areas that I rent for a hundred bucks a month anytime I pull in....all I did was ask.....normally I clean the area up for them and thats all it took.

Walmart , Home Depot and the likes when I use them I go in at sundown out at sunrise.....never been asked to leave or why Im there.
simple budget for me

monthly
300 fuel
100 phone & internet
100 camp & dump
300 food & fun
150. maint & repair savings
I always have money left over from this budget.....I just put it away in the envelope it was earmarked for for shorter times.

in the beginning I was always in the RV parks.....it becomes expensive in a hurry and its just money to park...you get nothing more than parking really. and using your head about it there is plenty of free parking everywhere!

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Buddy, I wish you could lay hands on this carb 454, 3 spd. We're lucky to get 8mpg on a good day. These monsters certainly weren't known for their MPGs :s

On the subject of cheap parking...
As some might recall, we had a camp host deal that petered out early in the season. We found parking in town at one of the flea markets with full hook-ups for $200 W/ELECTRIC. Don't mind the market scene, we're off to the side, and many venders have been packing it in...lots space around us. Couldn't resist the comfort of hook-ups for the price.

We're going from Quartzsite to Tucson next month so I can take care of some VA medical and other stuff. (Tucson was my home base for years).
Anyhoo...found a place on Craigs in Tucson at a home for $250 w/electric...its on a slab under an RV shelter top with sewer & water.

Can't park in lots in Tucson overnight...laws. There's some boondocking on the edge of town, but having to drive in frequently sorta blows the economy part of camping. We'll be right by the bus and can bike to shopping....see some friends and hang out for a month.

When you need hook-ups they can sometimes be found with a little research....sometimes.

 

[MindyLee]

This program might interest some of you, but it is not a long-term stay type thing. Still, for those who like to move around more often, it could be a good option, maybe in addition to RV parks and other places to camp.

http://harvesthosts.com/

 

[WheelEstate USA]

Someone mentioned something about this recently on here.
Thanks for the link to more info.

 

[Ballenxj]

MindyLee, Thanks for posting that link.

 

[wdkoen91]

Hello all, Im new here to this forum and this lifestyle.

I need to move to the Fort Worth, TX area and would like to purchase a 27' RV to live in. Ive done some research on places to store it and came up with Several RV parks that charge per month $375-400 for all electric and water, hookups, trash etc...month to month.

I was wondering if anyone knew of cheaper?
I have the numbers of several RV parks without websites that i need to call on Monday. I find no trouble finding a nice RV its the rest thats an issue.

I also have some savings i could buy a lot. If anyone knows where i could purchase a 1/4-1/2 acre lot somewhere around Fort Worth I would be in debt to you.

 

[offroad]

Also search for MOBILE HOME villages. They some times have extra lots where you can stay. Won't hurt to ask.

 

[decodancer]

I work and camp at a KOA here in the Poconos of PA. Very wooded and great mountain views. Rent for employees is 37.50 a week and your first $50 for electric is free. This place has anything you could ever need and pays $8 an hour to start. Great for somebody who wants a job and a cheap place to live. There is one family with four kids but mostly singles and couples in their 50s. We have lots of winter campers as well. $350 a month plus electric and you can work at the ski resort next door. Summer employees still get the $37.50 rate but full price for electric. There is no way you could rent an apartment in this area for twice that. One hour to NYC, less to Philly and yes we do have people who commute.

 

[offroad]

Deco dancer - how many work hours do you need to do to be an employee?

 

[compassrose]

A word of warning! For anyone who may come to Roswell, NM. Chaves County has jacked up the "bed" taxes quite a bit recently (4/2014). They say it is to help pay for the convention center activites but no one is really buying that excuse. For example: current weekly rate is $170 before taxes. After taxes the price jumps to over $200. Monthly renters like us are not affected as we are considered "residents". It's scary to think that staying in a similar site for two weeks would cost slightly more than what we pay for for a month ($425). I'm sure that Chaves County is not the only place that is doing this. It's the same old assumption that doing or buying certain things means you should be fleeced because you have "money". So when looking at nightly and weekly rates, you may want to find out the total costs including taxes. I think we may be seeing more of this as cities, counties and states try to boost their funds. After all the economy is doing so great. Wish my economy was.

 

[decodancer]

Offroad, It really depends on your job and the time of year. I'm the rec director but too early in the season for that so I'm painting everything from bathroom wall murals to playground equipment. I clean bathrooms, plant flowers, wherever I'm needed basically. I've had weeks where I only worked 10 hours, usually it's about 30. Holiday weekends, everybody works. I know some of the retirees request that they only work 20 hours or so. Basically you need to work five hours to cover your rent. If you stay through the winter, you may be asked to clean a cabin or shovel walkways but unless you save through the summer, you'll need to find work to cover propane costs.

 

[RV-Kitty]

We found a place called Ben's Hitching Post in Silver Springs FL for $230 a month and an even nicer place down the road from there for $285 a month. This was is for 3 month period. If you stay fulltime at Ben's it's only $150 a month. About 25% of the RVs there have people living in them fulltime. We'll probably be going back there this coming winter.

I had to re-register because the site wouldn't take my password.

 

[Jim_Rockford]

Thanks I was checking out the silver springs ocala area for my trip to FLA to relocate.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Right now, we are in Rangely, CO, at the Rangely RV Park at 315 E. Main St for $450 for the month. It is higher than some of the parks mentioned, but it is smack in the middle of town. The post office, 3 restaurants, 2 hairdressers, Internet cafe, library, and hardware store are all within walking or biking distance. Laundry is across the street. A small grocer is a mile or two away on the west side of town. The Walmart is 45 miles away - not a problem because we tow a small car. I think I am going to love this place. Once Wolf dispatched the big black widow spider that was living in the water hookup cover, things could not be nicer. He says she was there as a reminder to be careful where we put our body parts.

 

[light trip]

Reading these post, I got a bit courteous how hard would be to find a reasonable RV Park using just the Internet. Okay, it easy to run a search, but there's so much more then just finding a RV Park, or a cheap RV Park. Location, how far to WalMart, Post Office, are the roads paved, is it an area you feel safe and so on.

What I did was use google maps (like anyone has done many times) for a particular area. Looking in southern AZ, you can do this in any area you plan to be to in, I typed in "RV Park." So that brings up RV Parks in the area you selected, or more accurately that zoomed in on. From there I was able to check neighborhood using "street view," even move up and down the street to look around where you might be living. Along with street view google maps had links to most of the RV Parks. The websites, many times, not always, would show the rates. But if they had cable TV and free WiFi. Finally once you have a RV Park picked out, you use google maps to see how close you to things like shopping or the post office and check reviews.

I know I'm not breaking any new ground here, but I haven't seen anyone talking just how much can be done just using the Internet. In the old days we would just have to drive around, or check the phone book when you got to the town you wanted to stop.

The attached screen capture, this time from my iPad shows one RV Park I found for $130 a month for primitive and $220 a month for a spot with electric. Although I don't think it's for me, I often thought a inexpensive, primitive RV space could solve a lot of problems for someone boondocking on BLM land. For $130 a month you have a permanent address, something even Bob Wells has run into with rangers. You also have a home base, a place to get mail and deliveries.

Lately, for myself, using all these methods, I think even a place that is $300 or $350 a month that includes things like electric, cable and WiFi, closer to a WalMart would be more my speed. And I've found those too.