LanghamP

This is an idea I've been kicking around for some years now, and finally finances and job might make it doable, but there seems to be just a pile of problems with owning a home with wheels on it.

My idea is to stash of a couple of electrics under the motorhome, and make jumps across the US, staying in certain areas for a fairly long time. It seems quite sketchy to tow my subcompact behind a motorhome; it seems like that's just asking for trouble.

Why class A? That seems livable in for a year (or two). The idea of blackwater <shudder> and a 50 gallon water tank seems extremely limiting.

I pay $1300 per month for rent in a somewhat crappy one bedroom apartment. It just seems to me a more enjoyable course to just take $18000 I'd spend per year in rent, and assume it's gone money, and lose that in depcreciation and upkeep in a motorhome, and in return actually see the United States for once in my life.

350htrr

Go for it, E-Bikes can easily be used as a vehicle yet still be used as a bicycle if/when you want as long as you get one that has PAS...

indyfabz

Thing is....without a smaller vehicle you will be shut out of some places you might like to spend time in. For example, I don't believe you could drive a Class A into Glacier N.P. You certainly couldn't take it up to Logan Pass. Anything taller than 13' 1" is not allowed through the tunnel in Zion. Forget the Moki Dugway Highway. Just three I can think of off the top of my head.

Having done a lot of bicycle touring out west, I routinely see people towing small and even mid-sized vehicles behind their motor homes. I have even seem scooters mounted to the back along with a vehicle in tow. The vehicles are used for everything from day (and multi-day) trips from "base camp" to grocery shopping.

Walter S

Not exactly "shut out". Less convenient and in *some cases* significantly so. You can still find a place to park and use your mobile home as a hub for day trips or longer by bike. Not having a car comes at a cost but also has benefits.

350htrr

Exactly... and... everywhere I go camping, it would seem to be more and more, starting to "cater" to bigger motorhomes and 5th wheel pull throughs... NOT really a "problem" unless you want to start to stay in the "wilderness" with no services, all the time... IMO

Mobile 155

prathmann

But he'll have a 'smaller vehicle', i.e. a bike. Two of those spots are really best seen by bike since that allows you to stop anywhere along the way to enjoy the views instead of only at designated parking areas. The third (Zion tunnel) unfortunately doesn't allow cyclists but it's generally not hard to check with some of the line of people waiting to drive through to find someone who will let you throw your bike in the back of a pickup/etc. and give you a ride.

FromBeyond

I have a 24' travel trailer, I love camping and wish I was in a spot to live in it full time!
If I were going to get a motorhome, it would have to be Class A with a couple slideouts. My neighbors are snowbirds, they winter in AZ in a super nice motorhome and they love it.
I've towed my trailer all over the US and haven't run into anywhere that I couldn't go with a trailer. I don't think access would be a limiting factor in deciding to live in a motorhome.

Jim from Boston

Car free with a class A motorhome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LanghamP

This is an idea I've been kicking around for some years now, and finally finances and job might make it doable, but there seems to be just a pile of problems with owning a home with wheels on it.

My idea is to stash of a couple of electrics under the motorhome, and make jumps across the US, staying in certain areas for a fairly long time. It seems quite sketchy to tow my subcompact behind a motorhome; it seems like that's just asking for trouble.

Why class A? That seems livable in for a year (or two). The idea of blackwater <shudder> and a 50 gallon water tank seems extremely limiting…and in return actually see the United States for once in my life.

Back in 2014, I posted to this thread on the Fifty-Plus Forum, “Do you have a lifestyle fantasy?”

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

…We toured also during those decades, including an eight-week cross country cycling honeymoon from Los Angeles to Washington DC. I'm doubtful she would want to go back to touring, but might want to participate as follows. When I win the big lottery, I want to buy a luxury RV as my sag wagon and cycle the perimeter of the country, so I’ll need a driver.

I have daydreamed about it to the extent of defining the perimeter as riding within 50 miles of the border all around the country. The only other definition I know of is in the motorcycle community, where I have read the definition as traveling from the cornermost towns in the country. This would obviously be a shorter route since it would bypass the additional contours of Michigan, upstate New York, and Texas.

I'd like to try for a continuous ride: starting in Boston around September and down the east Coast to Florida in December; across the South though to March or April, the West Coast to June/July (though North to South is apparently the preferred direction), then across the North in the heat of the summer (or start in Boston in around June or July for the counterclockwise route).

In the course of my fantasizing, I have discovered The Perimeter Bicycling Association of America Inc. which maintains perimeter cycling records for various political and geographic entities. For the USA, the record is 12,092 miles in 180 days held by Richard J. DeBernardis (date not specified).

TheLibrarian

Now you've got me looking at motor homes. Maybe more room than a boat. Maybe, maybe not comparable upkeep and hook up costs but I'm more familiar with the highways and byways than sea life. What are these piles of problems? I'll need to work on my engine and vehicle repair skills. Need fuel to go anywhere and figure out how to make money on the road. Vending at festivals and fairs or something... more realistic than writer or some vague work on internet. Now I have to add up costs of ownership and gauge the life span of rvs and whats high miles. Nicer than tent and bike touring though. Not as awesome as a boat but I imagine cheaper though you can get serviceable sailboats for 10K. I see a 1986 RV class c for 4K which a medium-small sail boat would be between 5-10k at that age and less reliant on the engine though need plenty of and constant work which an 86 motor home would too. At 10 yrs old 25k for something liveabord is likely comparable too though upkeep is likely higher on a boat. Have to be a last resort another life plan though, baby momma is too fancy.

LanghamP

Well, I rent. That money is gone. With a house you might get some, most, or more of that money back when you sell (but then you have to find another place).

In an odd way, if you have a motorhome you perhaps shuffle the cost of land and road off yourself as you are basically using the transport infrastructure as your home. I think.

1. These things fall apart the moment you buy them. I guess that's not much different from owning a house.
2. They are small, although that's not too bad since my apartment is about the same size.
3. They are dangerous. You're on the road. However, I plan to drive and park for a long time.
4. Fuel is wasteful. To take that fuel and dump it into the atmosphere seems...evil.
5. Showing, bathing, and crapping. Honestly, to me, this is the biggest barrier. I'd want to get a motorhome that could at least have permanent water and blackwater hookups.

cooker

If by this you mean you work remotely, will you always have the connectivity you need, wherever you go?

Beasty_Artemis

You have basically described my lifestyle. I live in a Rv park within sight of the ocean. And we both have bikes as our primary mode of transportation since the town is pretty darn small! My BF has an ebike.

I-Like-To-Bike

Do you own the RV; is it still mobile?

Is the lifestyle of long term RV park living much different than that found in the typical trailer park?

350htrr

[QUOTE=I-Like-To-Bike;20434255]Do you own the RV; is it still mobile?

Is the lifestyle of long term RV park living much different than that found in the typical trailer park?[/QUOTE]

Why, Yes, it is "different"... one morning, you wake up, and decide to move to the next state and voila, there you are after a day of driving... Not even close to living "in a trailer park"

EDIT; and... There, is the "real" problem with society, and their acceptance into a certain "Level' of their system... Some of the levels that people "choose to live In that society" is not conductive with the "average" thus is deemed a fail, in social standing by the majority of said average people... It does NOT really mean a fail at all...ALL it really means that it's " a "different ways" of looking at life, and what a successful life IS, or can be...

TheLibrarian

From a quick look some say the depreciation of the RV is comparable to rent but that must depend on the cost of the rv if I plan on spending 25k and keeping ot for 5 years but maintenance, fuel etc. About the cost of rent in an expensive new england area but that includes food entertainment and the ability to travel about minus the ability to hold a steady job but still need significant income.

elfmachine

Camper are great but I would stick to B class motorhome since you don't special driving licensce since A motorhomes weight over 3500 kilos.

trek2

I don't think you need a special drivers license in the US for a class A. But as someone who has had various RVs over the course of 40 years, I would caution anyone to do a good bit of research before embarking on the full-time course, especially about the plusses and minuses of work camping. As far as access to places, motorhomes larger than 30' tend to become problematic in national parks and national forest campgrounds. I would personally avoid a 30 year old RV; most of those have structural leaks as well as more obvious issues. Remember, it's as if your house/apartment is undergoing a minor earthquake as you travel down the road, so seams and joints get stretched.

That said, we RV several months a year, and use our bikes instead of a tow car.

There's tons on the internet about living in an RV.

JoeyBike

Places to park a large motor-home can range in price from $0 to $100 per night in the USA. I would begin by looking into this very carefully. It likely will be your largest expense. Fuel is the next issue. 5 mpg? Even 10 mpg? And like any home you own, things will wear out and break costing you even more money and/or time. There are two ways to look at this financially:

1. How bad do I want to travel and live "on the road"? If it's your life's dream then the cost/savings is irrelevant, assuming you can afford to do it at all.

2. Do I want to OWN EVERY PROBLEM? My wife and I own a small house. That thing has STOLEN so much of my life it's ridiculous. I was much happier renting an efficiency apartment. Everything was included in my rent except utilities. Broken appliances, air conditioners, water leaks, electrical issues, paint, carpet, landscaping, and i even had access to a swimming pool that I never used. ALL COVERED! If I woke up to a dead refrigerator I would just call the management and like magic a new one would be there when I got home from work. Storm prep, not my problem. Storm damage, not my problem. Insurance, not my problem.

"A man builds a fine house and now he has a master and a task for life. He must watch it, show it, and keep it in repair the rest of his days." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

^^Same goes for owning cars and motor homes and houses. So if you LOVE the idea of gypsy living, DO IT. If you LOVE the idea of being a home "owner" (the house actually owns you), then DO IT! If you are doing it to "save" money I would not recommend it. You had better LOVE it, or you will hate it.

My two cents. Results may vary.

Jonny49

https://www.cheaprvliving.com/https://www.cheaprvliving.com/

Sir Lunch-a-lot

Something you might want to research is tiny houses - whether you go that route or adapt some of the ideas to RV living. One idea you might be particularly interested in is a composting toilet which allows you to avoid blackwater (you can go as cheap as a bucket and sawdust to ones that apply some electricity to speed up the process and vent to the outside). There are loads of videos on youtube about tiny houses (in which composting toilets of various sorts are frequently featured).

I-Like-To-Bike

Why are tiny houses, traveling/living in RV's, skimping on housing or complaining about the cost/responsibilities of home ownership, and other non-bicycling topics related to beliefs in ascetic virtue Living Car Free issues?

tandempower

It would be great to build a small cottage completely car free by carrying all the materials a little at a time from a local building supply store to a parcel of land.

I think you could carry light building materials like metal roofing and/or vinyl siding on a trailer, although you would need a long one. Lumber is a bit heavier, but if you build it out of 2x4s, it is doable, I think. The real challenge comes from things like permitting, codes, impact fees, etc. Of course the reason people build tiny houses on trailers is so that they can be classified as an RV, but then there are rules in some places against living in RVs year round.

If you think about it, these rules are anti-LCF, because building a tiny house on a trailer implies you have a truck to pull the trailer. For someone who wants to ride into an area on a bike and set up a residence, building a small shed-like cottage is the logical thing to do if you're going to be living there long enough to get tired of sleeping in a tent.

Walter S

Good question. I own five homes and rent out three of them for some nice income. Cars or the lack thereof are not steering my judgement on home ownership. I don't find that being car free should in itself guide you away from home ownership. It certainly hasn't me. It's a big part of my plan for financial independence.

350htrr

Financial independence… You do know, that the more money you have, the more money you need... or so I heard... I really have no money but I still feel I am doing great financially as I just do not NEED much to live…