so many questions!

[castle]

Okay, so just a little background- right now I live in West Texas and the oil field is BOOMING so rent is extremely high. I've always wanted to live in a van/ RV so this is the perfect time to do it. I can sub-lease my apartment after I've come up with enough money for a down payment. <br /><br />I am going to the local college here and would like to transfer to either Austin, Houston, or San Marcos. My dilemma is in choosing a van or a travel trailer/ motorhome, so I'll just list some of the pros/ cons I've come up with for each. <br /><br />Van Pros<br />-Cheaper start up<br />-no cost to park (stealth)<br />-fantastic mobility<br />-just plain cheap all around<br /><br />Van Cons<br />-VERY limited space<br />-AIR CONDITIONING? Texas is HOT. (This is the biggest con for me...a deal breaker) You cant leave it running all of the time...<br />-I would (probably) have to do my own conversion and I am not very handy at all<br /><br /><br />Travel Trailer pros<br />-waaaay more space<br />-parks offer electric hookups so I'll live very comfortably<br />-parks also offer a community of other people who live like I do<br />-every&nbsp; city that I would like to transfer to has an RV park that is within a reasonable distance<br />-I even have some land here in WTX that I could park on (even though there are no hook ups and I have no real knowledge of camping in an RV or even how they work) <br /><br />Travel Trailer CONS<br />-more expensive startup<br />-I would have to borrow a truck to move it (Step Dad has one and my parents are very supportive so its not really an issue) <br />-more expensive monthly (around 400 for a spot- which is half of what I py for just my rent btw-) <br /><br /><br />any other students living in vans/ RVs? I suppose another pro in getting a van would be that I could travel during the summer and after school- Im going for theatre so it would be the perfect way to go to any audition anywhere. <br /><br />Thoughts/comments/advice/motivation/are much appreciated! No matter what I choose I hope to see yall on the road soon. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

 

[Guest]

welcome castle! don't know where your at but my long time friend just moved down to west texas with her family. 2 of her grown sons were already there. they have awesome jobs and their boss is renting a house to them cheap.<br /><br />yes it is booming down there. the wages are quite high. drawback is rentals are very high and hard to find. don't know if it would work, but maybe you'd consider renting your land out? it seems many are doing that. ??<br /><br />theres a ton of info on here and great helpful folks. if you have a decent sized van that is in good repair, that seems to be the ticket if your not sure of cash flow? you could do like blkjack did and put window a/c in van window, if you would have access to shore power (electric hook up).<br /><br />most of the whole country was HOT this year, geesh. i'm up in MI and i've never seen it this hot before. don't know if i could have made it without some a/c. that seems to be the rock of contention for me, can live without all else..except a/c and internet LOL..<br />best of luck to you, keep us posted and welcome!

 

[Seraphim]

Consider a truck camper - more room than a van but not stealthy. Ours stays on the truck, generally, parked in our driveway.<br /><br />AC? Not really, I think, unless you have 110 to plug into. Maybe someone else knows a way.<br /><br />I know we had at least one student living in an RV here, but I cant remember her name. It's doable.<br /><br />Welcome to the group.

 

[Guest]

the thing with truck camper is that if the truck needs repair, the whole unit typically has to go to shop, so theres your home. i have seen TC up on lift in shop LOL, it can be done. but your left homeless while its being worked on.

 

[castle]

I'm not much for the truck camper...if I'm going to live in a small space then I would much rather stay in something stealthy- seeing as how the point is to be able to park for free....and I've checked out gennys and all that for power and it seems pretty effective for running a/c...<br /><br />And I don't have any land to rent out...<br /><br />What do you do for power when you aren't home? Like is it feasible to have an ice box/ fridge in a van or would you just have a cooler?

 

[sl1966]

Solar for power &amp; RV fridges can run off of propane.<br /><br />

 

[castle]

I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to run a fridge off of solar through out the day and then a genny for a/c for when I'm inside, then? I'll save enough for a genny to start with and then work my way up to solar....