Finances may necessitate moving in...

[Stella]

We have a dog, a baby (14 months), and some debt. Finances may necessitate us moving into Stella the Airstream once it gets a little warmer, in lieu of an apartment or house for the summer, probably returning to conventional habitation in the fall. We could semi-permanently park in my best friend's rural yard and use her shower, tub, toilet and kitchen.

We have to pretty much stay put this summer; not enough vacation time to travel.

Do you think this will increase my love for the trailer, or make me swear off aluminum completely?

[Kevin245]

As for the turn-on or turn-off? I can't answer this for anyone else, so I'd ask...What does your gut tell you?

Me personally I'd make it a family adventure with campfires, sleeping outside on some clear cool evenings. Maybe even keep a diary or start a blog of the adventure.

My personal thoughts are that a 22' with family will certainly be cozy but not unbearable. Though it would be nice if the plumbing and sewer connections could be hooked up for your stay.

Best of luck,

Kevin

[2airishuman]

having the option to live in the hut is nice, even if very very tight.

given FREE space to park it might save money, but every OTHER financial cost of living item remains...

food, fuel, heating/cooling and so on...

and all those kiddo supplies.

considering WHERE the free parking might be relative to work/stores/town/laundry...

and what extra costs might appear relative to rv living...

it would be WISE to work out budgets for 2-3 living alternatives.

NOT having a regular address can cause issues too,

as can the wear/tear of FULL TIME life in an old stream, ON the stream.

otoh financial crisis can drive one to clarity and setting priorities right....

Originally Posted by Stella

We have a dog, a baby (14 months), and some debt....Do you think this will increase my love for the trailer, or make me swear off aluminum completely?

who knows...

but it SHOULD make you "swear off" dogs, babies and debt...

ok, keep the dog.

best o'luck
2air'

[ScrapIrony-2]

Living where you can best optimize your finances is not, so it seems, a choice...but should be approached as a fact which you can meet...challenges?...yeah...adventure?...what you make of it...learning is best approached with an attitude that this, too, will pass...perhaps...you might just find that you'll like the extra freedom and choices you are presented with...ok, ok, sometimes you'll curse the obvious, but at least you have an aluminum tent, and the support for problems incurred in your venture can(and will) be covered by this forums source, somewhere. I wish you luck, and will be around for any support I can give...mike

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by Stella

We have a dog, a baby (14 months), and some debt. Finances may necessitate us moving into Stella the Airstream once it gets a little warmer, in lieu of an apartment or house for the summer, probably returning to conventional habitation in the fall. We could semi-permanently park in my best friend's rural yard and use her shower, tub, toilet and kitchen.

We have to pretty much stay put this summer; not enough vacation time to travel.

Do you think this will increase my love for the trailer, or make me swear off aluminum completely?

Hi, it seems to me that you have access to all of the house except for a bedroom; Park your trailer on their property and rent a room if available. Otherwise use as much of your trailer as possible. [hook-ups?] Maybe do some house work or yard work to help best friend for use of space. Don't do anything that would cause you to lose best friend. If you can't afford to pay anything, then pay with help around the house. [I probably didn't need to tell you this]

[slowmover]

However you work out details with the friend, trailers of any size need outdoor living area. A screen room under the awning would be great, as would a ground covering that prevents the worst of dirt entering the trailer (wooden pallets with plywood overlay? cinder blocks?). Kitchen prep that can be done outdoors is a huge help to trailer living. Insects and other vermin are problematic. Afternoon shade is also recommended. Some sort of storage that keeps loose items from piling up may also be "friendly" (in other words, whatever makes for order in the eyes of a stranger; keeps a good-looking A/S the focus rather than odds & ends scattered about; even some wooden fence sections arranged in a square with a blue tarp roof under the fence tops). Broom, grass rake, etc.

The appearance of order (lack thereof) was a basis for criticism of the 1930's "Okies". Gypsy, vagrant, hippie: avoidance of looking poor (disorganized, slovenly), dirty (hygiene), unmannerly (loud), is a burden without conveniences. Takes more time, is harder to maintain, but I would argue, is an action (set of) louder than words in maintaining that, "I may be broke, but I ain't poor", (as the former is temporary).

Small ceremonies go a long ways. Get some pictures, too. It'll be a defining memory between old & new. There will never again be such an opportunity to think through what trailering means, and the constant upkeep that'll sharpen perception about how to use it. While a wall tent might actually be better in some regards, it sure is a pain to acquire all the furniture, kitchen equipment and the rest. Practically needs a full-time servant to keep afloat. The trailer makes it practical for we mortals. You won't (I'd guess) be focused on the privations for very long.

[DaveFL]

14 month old child needs floor space, dog can be in a kennel outside of trailer or under.
Unless all of property is rock, grey water could be piped to a dry well. Turn off hw heater unless you can get more than 15 amps.
If you are only going to sleep in trailer you won't get the true feeling of trailers advantage over a tent. Without full bathroom, kitchen and entertainment use the trailer will be like a spare room separated from the house.

[CaddyGrn]

Great advice so far.... years ago hubby and I found ourselves living in a trailer (a 1953 trailer with one bedroom) we had a one year old at the time. And 2 finicky cats. We made the bedroom the "baby's room" and we slept on a hide a bed in the living room. Having an outdoor area makes a lot of sense. We were in a little trailer park and hubby had a little metal shed where he could have a few of his tools, and a tiny workbench, we had an awning so we could enjoy the out of doors, and had some protection from the rain going in and out. It was crowded, but it was one of the best times in reality! It took all of an hour to clean the whole "house"... we downsized on so much even laundry and everything else seemed to be a piece of cake. We seemed to have more family time than when we were in a regular home.

I agree, make it an adventure and go for the best of what it has to offer! If your friends have an area where you can stay at one end of their property rather than stuck right next to their house, you will find that will be less of a strain on your friendship. No matter how good the friendship is, sometimes living in close contact can bring unexpected difficulties. Be sure you keep good communication with your friends at all times so if you unexpectedly break some unwritten rule of theirs they won't silently grumble at you.

Have fun, go camping! Pull out the trailer for a weekend now and then, if even for some place down the road 5 miles! You won't regret it.

[Stefrobrts]

Originally Posted by CaddyGrn

It was crowded, but it was one of the best times in reality! It took all of an hour to clean the whole "house"... we downsized on so much even laundry and everything else seemed to be a piece of cake. We seemed to have more family time than when we were in a regular home.

Dang, Claudia, I'm ready to do that right now!

[Lily&Me]

I agree with everything said above. Look at it as an adventure, apply yourselves HARD to getting a more permanent living situation and tough it out. You will also discover the most efficient ways to do everything in your AS, which will make it easier once you are able to vacation again.

With a free place to park, it could be much, much, worse.

Keep your chin up and good luck to you.

Maggie

[VIKING]

Keep in mind that there are a lot of people full-timing in RVs and TTs, and you are just joining them. Although it's a new adventure for you, there are a lot of resources for you to gather support from. Take a look at the threads under full-timing and you will find a plethora of great ideas for making this work out to your benefit.

Best to you,
Rich the Viking

[danalee]

You will become a master at organization. Extending your living space outside will also help. There have been many good suggestions here. Good luck and I hope it works out grat for you!

[Stella]

Thanks, everyone! I love the outdoor room area; got a great awning a couple summers ago and haven't camped enough in non-windy locales to enjoy it. We do have a scrap piece of carpet or two that we could layer up to make a nice floor area, once the snow melts and "mud season" abates. Couple chairs, outdoor side table, dog, kid, sweetie, sunset, frosty beverage... sounds pretty good!

[mouth012006]

We have previously lived in a camper it was a SOB...pre airstream for us....this was after hurricane Katrina & Rita took our home. There were 4 us of living in a camper for 6 mths....and it really is not all that bad.....the bathroom/hot water heater was the biggest challenge I think....we used alot of plastic storage containers....and also used our outside living area....we had a small chest type freezer to help store our food and also we bought some of the plain....outdoor cement patio bricks to help with the mud issue....we hung up our camper lights on the canopy and it looked like we were just on a permant camping trip.

[dieterdog]

have fun,,, hope your finances improve,,, might be a sweet adventure,,, happy trails,,, donna

[ScrapIrony-2]

Hey Stella,
Mud season=pallets...and, you can carpet them...once dried, ya gotta pull them puppies loose, but exercise is exercise...a bit of gravel(we got ours a 5 gal bucket at a time from the river bank) will fill in those pesky 'gullets' in no time...I'd be glad to tell you about CHEAP living in SW Arizona(with dump/water station available) if you are willing to relocate from Sept 15 to Apr 15...about $0.85 /day, plus food, propane, gas...PM me, or just continue on this channel...mike

[MrBeast]

I am going to throw in my .02 starting back in 2007 I wound up moving into my camper because of financial reasons, I had just lost my job a friend let me park it at their home. Initially I was using thier spare bathroom, and was doing all my cooking in the trailer because I did not have a sewer hookup, there was a fairly steep slope leading away from where the trailer was parked and I let my grey water run down it.

Even though I was hardly ever there, I know the lack of privacy really put a strain on my friends, after a year I wound up moving the trailer to a better spot and hooking up the sewer so I did not have to use their bathroom any more, and I no longer had a need to go in their house.

I didn't move out of that trailer until march of this year and here are some of the things I learned along the way.

1. Spray foam is your best friend! If you are full timing it in your trailer you need to plug or patch any hole in it that you can find regardless of how small. It stops air flow and it keeps the rodents and insects out.

2. Keep your kitchen clean! I would use paper plates and cups instead of having dishes to leave in the sink, if I used a knife or any other utensils I would clean them right away. There is nothing more disgusting than finding a mouse in your sink having a nice little feast off the knife you just made dinner with. Not leaving food out prevents this.

3. Store food in plastic containers: There is nothing more frustrating than being broke and going in to pull a box of cereal out of the cupboard to find out that over night a mouse burrowed a hole through the back of the box and not only did it spill everywhere when you picked it up, but you just threw away 4 bucks and a few days worth of breakfast.

4. Store dirty clothes in plastic containers, mice will eat holes right in them.

5. Build bucket traps and place them near your trailer as a diversion to mice. A bucket trap is built by taking a 5 gallon bucket and running a rod through it from side to side about 5" from the top, then you put 2 pop cans with the ends cut off over the rod to make them able to free spin. Then drill another 1" hole just above the rod so mice can get in, fill the bucket 1/2 full of water, then hang a cup of peanut butter off to the side of the bucket on the same level as the rod. Mice will enter the bucket, attempt to reach the peanut butter and will fall off of the cans into the water and drown.

I used these style traps because we were having such a problem being next to some farm land, every time they would mow the field we would be hit by a swarm of mice and rats. I was always setting traps, but the problem with a spring trap is that you have to set them after every use, the bucket trap is good for 50-100 mice.

6. I had my 100 lb German Shepherd in the trailer with me up until some one killed him in November of 08, I raised another Shepherd living in the trailer, it want an issue at all once I took pound posts and built a fence around the trailer so I could just let him outside without having to worry about where he was going.

7. don't waste any time, hook up your sewer line, it gets really old in a hurry having to get dressed if you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, this will be greatly compounded if you have kids. You can get the materials for a 100' run of pipe for less than 200.00. and that is if you run 4" just make sure it has a 1" in 10' downward slope.\

8. Build a small shed and put a household water heater in it and bypass the rv unit in your trailer, having a 40 or 50 gallon hot water heater will make life one heck of a lot more livable. There is nothing worse than coming home from a long hard day getting in the shower and running out of hot water when you are tired and dirty.

I would pitch it to your friend like you are setting up a rv camping spot on their property that they can use long after you are gone if anyone comes to visit, and having it will be something that adds value to their property, because if they ever sell thier home it is something that will help attract some one who owns a rv or travel trailer because the hookups and plugins for it are already there so they wont have to worry about dumping their tanks before or after they come home.

Consider this, you can hire a dump truck for about 85.00 an hour, and a dump box full of 1 1/2" road mix will go for between 30 and 100.00 depending on where you are. most dump trucks will haul between 13 and 15 cubic yards, that is enough to gravel an area roughly 20x40 feet 4-6" deep.

Also, look at getting a bigger propane tank, you will be glad you did, especially if you run a household gas fired water heater. Nothing sucks more than running out of propane half way through dinner.

I hope this helps you figure things out, also I will mention I didnt do this in an airstream, I wish I could have, I was living in an el cheapo POS that was 25' long with a terrible floor plan layout.

If you have any questions feel free to shoot them at me.

[DaveFL]

Originally Posted by MrBeast

.

7. don't waste any time, hook up your sewer line,
8. Build a small shed and put a household water heater in it

30 and 100.00 depending on where you are. most dump trucks will haul between 13 and 15 cubic yards, that is enough to gravel an area roughly 20x40 feet 4-6" deep.

I would pitch it to your friend like you are setting up a rv camping spot on their property that they can use long after you are gone

If you have any questions feel free to shoot them at me.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Was it hard getting permits for all the property improvements? Or were you without zoning laws?

[MrBeast]

Originally Posted by DaveFL

----------------------------------------------------------------

Was it hard getting permits for all the property improvements? Or were you without zoning laws?

I believe it was under the "its behind a privacy fence, what they cant see wont hurt them" zoning rule.