Could you live in your RV for a couple of month and not go crazy?

[dave961]

My original thought when reading your post was - as long as the couple can take long periods of togetherness in close quarters, you could do it indefinitely. Even if I was 'almost full time' I think I would always want someplace permanent to store stuff not in the camper (I have a lot of tools) and to recharge/regroup.

[M&K Hoffman]

We built our downsized place on our rural property 11 years ago. When I say we built, that is exactly what I mean, and we are very glad we did it in our early fifties! We had an older 18' travel trailer on-site for sleeping, cooking and that wonderful all in one toilet/shower/sink. Our refriderator was in the woodshed about 75 yards from the travel trailer. And as the "bed" in the TT was a slide out couch that was very uncomfortable, we switched to sleeping on the floor of the new building once it was weathered in. We did this off and on, week-ends and vacations, for about 8 months and look back on that time period very fondly. My point is you can do whatever you put your mind to and things will be just fine. BTW That property is still summer/week-end/vacation home and where we keep our Windjammer. One more year until we are both retired and make it our full time home. Good luck with whatever path you choose and enjoy!

[LKicklight]

DW and I sold our primary home back in Feb. 2014, house was on the market four days before it sold. We closed on the house the 27th of March, by then of course we had cleaned 18 years of stuff out, most into storage and some we either sold or gave away. Soon after we took our new Crusader 270RET on our Bucket List to Alaska. In late September we arrived back to Georgia, been living in our Sunnybrook now for some three months, with our Crusader sits next door to us on our lots here in Talking Rock. This is the life we have chosen, good or bad we make the best of it. Some days its a little rougher than others, but sure takes less time to clean up and of course look at all the money we save.

[Batts-toy]

Another approach is to do a contingency sale, in the sales contract your old house would be available on a certain date to the buyer which can be when your new house is complete, a date when you think it will be complete. If the buyer don't like the idea you could set 30 days after closing or pick a date somewhere in the middle. This is very common practice, buyers often will make an offer contingent upon if and when they sell their current home. Sometimes a little extra compensation gets dragged into the deal such as you paying the buyers rent for 3 months or negotiating a price that makes it worth the buyer's while to wait. I suggest talking this option over with your Realtor.

[Emptypockets]

Go for it!
My wife & I traveled for 11 weeks this summer in "The Little One" that you see in our signature picture. Now we are in AZ for the winter this trip will be for 4 months. We both realize you have to like each other to live in such a small space but after 60 years together I guess you can say we have learned to do just that.

[jonrjen]

Well the wife is grinning like a Cheshire cat, 3 pages of members agreeing with her and a half honorable mention for me........and that is stretching it on my behalf.


I guess I was concerned about the smaller living area, but truth be know we are pretty near each other all the time anyway. And we are looking to downsize, so by doing a few months in the 5th wheel our new smaller house will seem huge.


And yes there is a lot to be said of not going into debt to build the new house with the old house still on the market. Nice thing is that the current house is paid for so when it does sell we can use the income to pay for the new house and put some in our nest egg account.


Who knows maybe we will use all of our Thousand Trails free nights for once in a given year. And while living in the RV, if I don't care for my neighbors I can hook up and move.


I have had a couple of members offer the contingency plan to be written into the contract. But, I feel that most people are like me and want the instant gratification of ownership and possession when I pay for something. Also real estate has become a seasonal sell around here with families wanting to move around the school year time frame. I guess this could be due to the school district being one of the best in the area.
Not to mention, If I get a buyer and a contract is signed, I want to close ASAP, get the money in the bank and move on before the contracted buyer may come across something different.


Guess it's time to head to Lowes or Home Depot and pick up paint and supplies to freshen up the place. I have a feeling I am going to regret going with these 13' high ceilings. I'm not afraid of heights near as much as unintentional landings from heights over a few feet. Not to mention that if I fall off of a ladder and make a mess with spilling paint, I'll have to listen to the wife ask "why didn't you just pay the man" to paint.
They say a man has got to know is own limitations, well I know mine.......I'm just not ready to accept them yet.

[eulouise]

You might want to check with your RV insurance to make sure your RV will be covered if it's your residence. With many policies, it will not be covered. Just something else for you to check into.

[Ham Camper]

I would add one comment, if your contractor tells you your home will be done in 3 months you better have a contract stating that and if not done fines will be assessed. I will bet you that 95% of contractors will tell you 3 months when they know it will take 7-10 months. They will tell you what u want to hear whether they can deliver or not.

[jonrjen]

Our current house took right at two years. Ended up letting the builder go and finished it ourselves. We learned a lot during that time.

[bend302]

We live in our Georgetown 3 to 4 months every winter. And, as I sit here and look around, there are about 100 folks doing the same thing.

It can get a bit close if the weather turns bad but there are always movies and restaurants. The only things we miss are the washer, dryer and dishwasher.

That "downsized" house will look pretty big after a few months in the trailer. I would go the sell first build later route.

When I retired, we sold our 3000 SF house and contracted to build a smaller retirement home. House sold in 10 days and the builder ran into a zoning set-back issue that delayed the new house by a month. Didn't have the motorhome then and ended up renting a furnished apt for 5 months at BIG bucks.

Bill

[ernest917]

I know of many "full-timers" that live all the time in their 5er or their MH and love it...

We plan on becoming "part-timers" in 2015 and live in our MH 4-5 months per year....


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[bclantz]

We bought the cheapest trailer we could find, a tiny 1974 fifth wheel, moved it onto our property, lived in it for 5 months while building our house ourselves. That allowed us to devote more time to building and less to commuting. When the house was done we sold the trailer for what we paid for it. Also consider construction loans can be hard to get. Now we travel 3_4 months at a time in our very roomy Columbus 32rl with no missing the space in our house. Bclantz

[donniedu]

11 and a half months in ours between houses. Personally I would still be full time. The house is for the wife. Loved every minute of it. Wife accepted it until she found the right house. Then she could not wait.

[rracer5]

Your 353LS is one of the nicer (IMHO) models I've seen especially for full timing. Lots of room etc.

Now, that being said; Will you be parking the 5'er on the property where you will be building the new home while it's being built?

How involved will you be in the planning, construction, landscaping etc. of the new home?

Do you both still work?

If the answers are yes then this is the way I see it;

1-Gone to work most of the day
2-Busy on the details of the new home (keeping tabs on the construction crew)
3-Saving $$$ on a rental.
4-If any of the above get to be too much, just hook up and head out to escape
(everythings already loaded and ready to go).

Anyway.....just my 2 cents worth of MHO.

[Malabarbob]

Doing it right now until our cottage is ready. We started off in a 26' Class C and that was tough. Just bought a 29' Class A Mirada and feel we can live in it a long time. Our current plan is 3 months. 1 down and 2 to go. Piece of cake.

[merrykalia]

We spend in excess of 100+ days in our fifth wheel each year. We camphost May, June and August and in the between time (July), we "vacation", usually at the beach.

So, yes, we would do it in a heartbeat and there are 4 of us! DH, myself and two DDs, aged 10 and 7.

We also invite guests to come along with us, especially during July. There can be as many as 8 of us during those times.

It's an adventure and you need to just go with the flow and not stress too much about anything. Building a house can add lots and lots of stress to any marriage, so be prepared to give each other lots of room and personal space, if at all possible.

[gasman94]

Originally Posted by Ham Camper

I would add one comment, if your contractor tells you your home will be done in 3 months you better have a contract stating that and if not done fines will be assessed. I will bet you that 95% of contractors will tell you 3 months when they know it will take 7-10 months. They will tell you what u want to hear whether they can deliver or not.

Agreed. I think that building a house in a 3 month time frame can be a little optimistic...

[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by gasman94

Agreed. I think that building a house in a 3 month time frame can be a little optimistic...

All depends on the builder. I had my very first house (subdivision, bought off builder) in 3 months from down payment to close. But those guys already have everything in place (permits, etc...) before starting. If you're going custom, and especially if you're doing your own subcontracting then I could see it taking longer.




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[Platokidd]

Originally Posted by Kaadk

All depends on the builder. I had my very first house (subdivision, bought off builder) in 3 months from down payment to close. But those guys already have everything in place (permits, etc...) before starting. If you're going custom, and especially if you're doing your own subcontracting then I could see it taking longer.




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I've been doing weekend signage for new home builders for 20 plus years.
3 months for the builders is no problem at all from foundation to finish. Now if it takes months to get to the foundation started I wouldn't know.

Friend of mine built and contracted his own house and it took him 2 years.

[Maron]

I think it depends on how big the RV is. A 20' footer would be tough but our 35 footer is just fine. We lived in it 3 1/2 months last winter...in Arizona. One big advantage was staying in a 55 and older 4 star resort for 2 1/2 months of the time. It had a ton of things to do to keep you active and being outside was a pleasure. When we got back to the midwest we missed it when we had to store it.
Our home near Chicago has not sold even with a 25% reduction in sale price so we are starting to rent it out with a 2 year option to buy contract. Then we will live in our 8329 for a while along with living with our children for short periods of time.
I feel good about it because we won't be in a hurry nor under pressure to make a decision.