A New Travel Trailer As My Home

deafdrummer

deafdrummer

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I put this here, as I think most people are likely to come here to look for this.

I have resolution on my apartment situation, which means that I won't be moving out of my new apartment until end-of-September. I have a few months to look at options, pay off more things, save money, and get things in order prior to buying a travel trailer, which will become my home.

I have to decide how big, or how small I want to go and what features I want in my new home.

Ideas and suggestions sure would be appreciated.
 
You also need to consider where you will be able to legally park the travel trailer during the day and at night.
 
Pop-outs, storage space (does every nook and cranny have an access so it can be used for storage), a fridge that runs on both electric and battery (or propane), a bathroom with an enclosed shower and comfortable toilet, a rubber roof (so much quieter although can be difficult to clean), some space near the entrance that is suitable for shoes and jackets, a walk around bed, good ventilation around the kitchen area (ie: range hood or fanned roof vent) ... those are ones that come to mind off the top of my head. As for size, it depends on whether you tend to park it most often or pull it.
 
LoveBlue said:
You also need to consider where you will be able to legally park the travel trailer during the day and at night.
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Remember; LIVE in it. That means it has to be in an RV park of some sort.

Journey, you have most of those things in many travel trailers. One thing I have considered is buying used, and rebuilding the inside to create more room and change the look to make it like the interior of a wood cabin. Because of the weight factor, I'm considering something like pine or white cedar wood.
 
No. What you have to decide is how much money you want to spend on it. From there... you start choosing it down to fit what you're looking for. You can buy one for under a grand or you can buy one for $300,000+. What's your budget. Also factor in your rebuilding skill level into the costs if you go that way.
 
We have owned many trailers and they do not all come with all of those things, you have to do some careful shopping. For instance, many come with a shower that is not self-contained and just part of the bathroom as a whole, some have walk around beds but others have them butted against a wall and, depending on age, make/model some have fiberglass or tin roofing.

I'm sure you will lots of fun looking for exactly what you want.
 
deafdrummer said:
Remember; LIVE in it. That means it has to be in an RV park of some sort.
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Yes, I know. Just throwing that out there because some people may not think about the legality of where they can park/live in a motor home/trailer.
 
deafdrummer said:
Remember; LIVE in it. That means it has to be in an RV park of some sort.

Journey, you have most of those things in many travel trailers. One thing I have considered is buying used, and rebuilding the inside to create more room and change the look to make it like the interior of a wood cabin. Because of the weight factor, I'm considering something like pine or white cedar wood.
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You can buy land a little ways out from the city. A little 1/4 acre square to call your own for as little as 4-5k. Livingston comes to mind? Unless you meant out of state.
 
forget what you want. Its about what you can pull or are you getting a RV. Most vehicles that has a tow capabilities is in the 3000lb or 7000lb or up category. I wouldnt look at 3000lb campers - they are mostly small, and needs to be setup with a popup. what a pain. most campers in the 7k max weight range is probably the minimum what you want to look into that can be pulled by most SUV's unless you have a bigger truck. If you already have a big truck that can go over 7k weight- then look into a 5th wheel. Most 5th wheels have a really nice bedroom area.
Do you have a class A license? If not, any bumper pull/5th wheel with combined weight of camper and tow vehicle CANNOT exceed 26,000 lbs. If You get a mobile home RV, depending on your drivers license what state its from, you can legally drive anything over 26k as long its a recreational use for most states.

I am not sure if you really want to spend the money on living in a camper unless you can find places to park it cheap or free. Rv park can be cheaper then motels but adding it up can cost more then a cheap apartment. Propane to run fridge is going to be your second biggest expense and most small camper only have 1 or 2 20lb tanks and they go in a week or so. You probably will only get 5-15 mpg towing it- with gas approaching 4 bucks a gallon maybe more, you gonna be spending hundreds of dollars for fuel to get from point a to point b.

I have a 22ft camper and I know what it costs. I am not exactly sure of your entire intent to live in a camper and for how long? I am not trying to dissuade you - but hope to let you know what you are in for. People have lived in campers for various reasons but if you are just fed up with apartments, why not buy a house?
 
For a single person, guess an RV is a good choice, however, I could not live in one for very long...I need elbow room and love to redecorate every year.....Perhaps a home-bodied person would not be happy in one either but a person who likes to travel and is away from home a lot...sounds like a good idea. I've never owned an RV, but have seen them and the insides of them...some were really nice, and expensive too.
 
ask nicely to a hollywood star for a donation of a trailer home...they have big flash silver bullet types (the kind I Want!)...hell im deadly serious when i finish study im selling my house, and go travelling, then once back id buy cheap land, 4 garages kits, and build a home around that...

also another thing you have to consider, a truck or a good car to tow it... thats NOT to be over looked, dont go cheap...or it WILL be a trap you cant get out of... OR
Buy one of those traveller's vans -that would the safest way...they tend to have a bunk bed up top usually above the driver's cab.
 
Andy Garcia is an RV fanatic. or similar.
 
radioman said:
forget what you want. Its about what you can pull or are you getting a RV. Most vehicles that has a tow capabilities is in the 3000lb or 7000lb or up category. I wouldnt look at 3000lb campers - they are mostly small, and needs to be setup with a popup. what a pain. most campers in the 7k max weight range is probably the minimum what you want to look into that can be pulled by most SUV's unless you have a bigger truck. If you already have a big truck that can go over 7k weight- then look into a 5th wheel. Most 5th wheels have a really nice bedroom area.
Do you have a class A license? If not, any bumper pull/5th wheel with combined weight of camper and tow vehicle CANNOT exceed 26,000 lbs. If You get a mobile home RV, depending on your drivers license what state its from, you can legally drive anything over 26k as long its a recreational use for most states.

I am not sure if you really want to spend the money on living in a camper unless you can find places to park it cheap or free. Rv park can be cheaper then motels but adding it up can cost more then a cheap apartment. Propane to run fridge is going to be your second biggest expense and most small camper only have 1 or 2 20lb tanks and they go in a week or so. You probably will only get 5-15 mpg towing it- with gas approaching 4 bucks a gallon maybe more, you gonna be spending hundreds of dollars for fuel to get from point a to point b.

I have a 22ft camper and I know what it costs. I am not exactly sure of your entire intent to live in a camper and for how long? I am not trying to dissuade you - but hope to let you know what you are in for. People have lived in campers for various reasons but if you are just fed up with apartments, why not buy a house?
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I'm not getting an RV, but a travel trailer. I do not want to be tied down to one area by a house, and besides, the house wouldn't be paid off in 150 years even if I lived that long (please read this as sarcasm). I lived in a travel trailer for close to 4 years and lost it in the dot-com bust.

I did find out earlier today that I can rent a pickup to pull 5,500 lbs or go for a moving truck to pull even more weight while hauling my storage stuff to the new location. My intent is to make my travel trailer my home for the long haul and have a base for my storage things.

Livingston is way the hell out there. Several hours to get there from Houston. I might go there if I were to live THERE and find a job in the immediate area, but NOT to commute to and from Houston. No way. The budget depends on what I can find. I will be buying used, so I'm guessing 15-20k. I found listings at one dealer ranging from 11k to 15.5K at their web site today, just to get an idea of what's out there.

Remember, I went to the RV show two weeks ago - http://www.alldeaf.com/travel-leisure/109814-rv-show-weekend-houston.html
 
ok -- renting a vehicle is going to give you problems. it wont have a electric brake controller built in, at least in any rental I know of here. Since you are from texas from your sig, from my trailer chart shows you can tow up to 4500lbs legally without brakes. Lucky you since its so flat there and most trucks are already big there. Here in NYS its a max of 3klbs so anything with a dual axle is gonna be a 7k rating.

Since you did the camper live in thing before, then looking for a single axle bumper pull is your best bet for your needs regardless of design inside. This way you can pull it with any rental "legally" .
 
radioman said:
ok -- renting a vehicle is going to give you problems. it wont have a electric brake controller built in, at least in any rental I know of here. Since you are from texas from your sig, from my trailer chart shows you can tow up to 4500lbs legally without brakes. Lucky you since its so flat there and most trucks are already big there. Here in NYS its a max of 3klbs so anything with a dual axle is gonna be a 7k rating.

Since you did the camper live in thing before, then looking for a single axle bumper pull is your best bet for your needs regardless of design inside. This way you can pull it with any rental "legally" .
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Longhorn Rentals will rent you the truck you need.

Welcome to Longhorn Rentals and Sales
 
interesting -- that's good to know nitrohonda If I am ever in texas ..:ty:
 
deafdrummer said:
I'm not getting an RV, but a travel trailer. I do not want to be tied down to one area by a house, and besides, the house wouldn't be paid off in 150 years even if I lived that long (please read this as sarcasm). I lived in a travel trailer for close to 4 years and lost it in the dot-com bust.

I did find out earlier today that I can rent a pickup to pull 5,500 lbs or go for a moving truck to pull even more weight while hauling my storage stuff to the new location. My intent is to make my travel trailer my home for the long haul and have a base for my storage things.

Livingston is way the hell out there. Several hours to get there from Houston. I might go there if I were to live THERE and find a job in the immediate area, but NOT to commute to and from Houston. No way. The budget depends on what I can find. I will be buying used, so I'm guessing 15-20k. I found listings at one dealer ranging from 11k to 15.5K at their web site today, just to get an idea of what's out there.

Remember, I went to the RV show two weeks ago - http://www.alldeaf.com/travel-leisure/109814-rv-show-weekend-houston.html
Click to expand...

Since you have already experienced living in a travel trailer, it seems like you already know the pros and cons of living in one.

I love my travel trailer but I cant imagine living in it but it is a very basic one. It has no expandable areas. If I were going to live in one, I would definitely get one much bigger than the one I have now.
 
radioman said:
ok -- renting a vehicle is going to give you problems. it wont have a electric brake controller built in, at least in any rental I know of here. Since you are from texas from your sig, from my trailer chart shows you can tow up to 4500lbs legally without brakes. Lucky you since its so flat there and most trucks are already big there. Here in NYS its a max of 3klbs so anything with a dual axle is gonna be a 7k rating.
Click to expand...

Well, a U-Haul pickup has a four-flat socket for running signal and brake lights. You would need a seven prong for trailer brakes on top of that. The U-Haul 10' and 14' have them, and these can pull a LOT bigger trailer. If anything, it would make sense to move EVERYTHING in one shot with the exception of the vehicle(s) you own. Just drive back down, drop it off, and go to your new home in your vehicle.
 
true about 7 pole .. I have them on my vehicles along with brake controllers capable to handle 2 to 4 axles brakes. . however haul normally dont have 7 prong on their trucks because they dont want anyone towing other people stuff. Just their own trailers so you can rent them. They use surge brakes on their trailers hence reason they don't use 7 pole prong outlets.

Maybe you could move to mexico and just live on the beach in your trailer if you are so intent on living in a travel trailer.
 
Been thinking of going this path in future. I have experience with RV, please remember RV is just a generic word for any vehicles that has to do with recreational, even trailer, motor home, ATV, boat, yacht, etc all are called RV. If you go to Craigslist and click RV, you will see all kinds of recreational vehicles in that category. a lot people get confused with this term "RV".

I don't see why not and I think 27 footer is right size in general, and hopefully I would eventually buy nice 27 footer.

Yes, there is 4, 5, 7 prongs plug to connect trailer to vehicle, I have em all factory installed on my truck. All I do is just hook up and drive away in less than 10 minutes.
 
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