# Pros and Cons of Living in a Travel Trailer Full Time?



## Cygnet

I'm ... planning contingencies. I am working on getting long term disability approved with a private carrier, and then SSI. I'm NOT a lazy moocher, FWIW -- I am in constant, unrelenting, untreatable pain due to multiple degenerative disorders. I won the lottery for bad genes. 

Anyway. Exit strategy if I can't continue to afford my mortgage is to move to my father's place, in rural Arizona. They just offered ... which is amazing and wonderful.

I have a few assets I can (hopefully) sell to pay for a travel trailer to live in. I get along with my father and step mother very well (I love them to death) but I'd rather have my "own" home than tie up their guest bedroom. It makes it awkward for them to have guests if I'm living in there, too, and everybody loves visiting their cabin, LOLOLOL!

I've been looking at trailers in the 25-30 foot range, with slides, and gas heat/stove. (All electric is a bad idea -- this area loses power for days at a time.) 

So. Four season climate. Arizona's Rim country, if you're familiar with it. Water, electric, gas, septic already there. Summer weather tends to alternate between hot (100 degrees plus) and cool and rainy with thunderstorms, sometimes in the same day. Winters can be bitter cold as he's in a particularly chilly microclimate -- below zero at night. It's at 6500 feet, on a ridge, and wind storms are common. 50mph winds are normal and common.

So. What are the pros and cons of living in a trailer? Been there and done that stories?

(A trailer gets around zoning issues. I can live in a trailer on the property, building a site built guest house would be a different issue. My father mentioned building a Tumbleweed house, but I am not sure I could deal with living in something that small.)

This is all down the road, but I'm exploring my options and planning.


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## Cygnet

Oh, what's with the gawdawful upholstery in every single travel trailer I look at? Yikes. What happened to a nice neutral brown????


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## SueMc

My parents did it for six years and loved it. They sold/gave away everything because they always heard other travelers constantly talking about the house back home and wondering if everything was OK. I figured they would do it for a year and be done. They never complained about any part of that time of their lives. There apparently is a whole set of people who live like that because my parents would talk about people they would meet in one part of the Country then run into them again 2000 miles away.
During that time my parents would pick up one grandchild and travel with them for a couple of weeks, drop them off and pick up another one for a couple of weeks. Those trips are some of my kids and nephews best memories. Most of time they (parents) would stay in one place for a couple of months then move on to another.
They really liked ridding themselves of all their "stuff" when they first prepared to hit the road.


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## SFM in KY

I lived in a 28' gooseneck travel trailer for two years in MT before relocating to KY. Had no problems at all. Winters there are extreme, of course, but I solved the problem by stacking baled hay around the trailer, one row, from the ground to the bottom of the windows. It was perfectly comfortable and totally adequate for me and a large house dog.


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## Wolf mom

I live on the Rim (White Mountains) in AZ. 6300 ft. When I first moved onto my land, I lived in an old *park model *travel trailer with two bump-outs. One bedroom, plenty of space & storage. Park models are a more upgraded.

Things I found out:
1. Take off the wheels & put skirting around the base. It will get cold during the winter. 
2. Make sure you keep it licensed through DVM. When the tax man comes around, and he sees it as a "fixture" on the property, your folk's land tax will go up. I've let my license plates lapse, but aren't paying taxes on it & I can renew the license at anytime & the penalty is cheaper. 
3. Some around here build a large room onto the trailer. Done well, it adds a lot of space & looks nice. Dunno if your zoning would allow that. 

Sometimes I wish I still lived in it (lot's of plusses) - I still have it & it's my ace in the hole if something happens.


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## SteveD(TX)

You really need a list of the "cons"?

I'll say this, when my father died, my folks had been living in Kentucky for 11 years. They owned a nice travel trailer and my mom tried living in it after moving it to her sister's place on the lake. She HATED it. After two months she got an apartment.

It's not for everyone but it's something you need to ask yourself and perhaps try it.


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## puddlejumper007

with disabilaties, you may need to think about a wheelchair ramp up to trailer later on.


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## soulsurvivor

Just me myself and speaking from a lifetime of living in just about every type of living facility out there, I'd have no problem with the space IF (big IF here) it had a constant easy to control heat/air unit that suited my personal needs for comfort, provided for an easy to use bathroom facility that had sufficient venting, and also was a safe structure for use during high wind weather events. This would include a building structure that is well sealed against moisture and rodents. Anything else I can easily adapt to using or not. I don't require a full kitchen. I don't require lots of closet/storage space. I don't require a queen sized bed. 

Even the Tumbleweed houses come in different sizes and basic floor plans. I'd never get one with stairs because of mobility problems, but everything else looks great. My young son and I lived in my brothers' travel trailer for 3 months one summer. We were parked next to a lake so it was more of a vacation experience and we loved it.


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## sisterpine

DH and I lived for a year in one on our mountain top in MT. Built a snow roof over it. Hotter than heck in the summer and colder than whatever in the winter. It was a very old one and we heated it with the propane stove top and sometimes a gas light under the table to keep our feet from freezing. I would not do that again. I might do it in AZ though. Space was not really the problem, don't need much space.


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## Cyngbaeld

Can you get a carport built over it? That will make a huge difference in comfort. Make it wide enough for a patio on one side. 
You can recover upholstery to suit yourself. 
An electric heater won't put tons of water into the air like a propane heater. I'd save the propane for power outages and use electric heat otherwise.
Most rvs aren't insulated well. I put aluminum covered bubble insulation on the inside of one we lived in and it made a good difference.
I can handle the small space by myself. Daughter with me is a different story altogether.


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## jwal10

I would look into a MIL space, detached from parents home. All 1 room and full size bath, no real kitchen allowed here but it is easy to add a little kitchenette later if you make a countertop area. Ends up like a real nice hotel room. As good or better than the cooking area in a travel trailer. 2"x6" walls and insulate well. Much more comfortable, easy acces, ground level, full size doors. Easier to do for the disabled....James


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## Lisa in WA

Yes, DH and I did do it, twice. Once we full-timed in a 34 foot motor home and the second time in a 30 foot travel trailer with a 5 year old. It was plenty doable and lots of fun in RV parks in warm places or in summer time, but when we took it up to Flagstaff to our property there, it was less fun. Cold and windy and we felt much more confined. It stayed warm though.


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## ronbre

I suggest that you purchase a travel trailer that is made for the northern part of the us..esp Michigan..if you go north of Mt Pleasant I think it is in Michigan the laws require double or triple pane glass and much better insulation..which will not only keep you warmer in the winter but also much cooler in the summer..

Park it facing a nice view and then use some straw bales or something to provide some extra insulation around any areas that are drafty..like UNDER NEATH..boards can be put over the square bales at about 18" high for a nice bench seat or to let pots of plants on ..etc.. also an awning or one of those cheap gazeobs that have a nice shade top would work well on the south side to keep some of the summer sun out and give a nice place to put a chair and table for outside sitting.

or park under the shade of a tree !!!


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## wormlady

This website has tons of info about cheap rvliving.

My folks lived in their rv 4-6 months each year for many years. I would love to sell everything and do this, especially since our kids are scattered about the country, but DH won't go for it.

Yet.


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## Cannon_Farms

Have you ever seen the inside of a converted bus? I would love to have one and would prefer it to a travel trailer. I would say outside of higher maintenance if a mobile home wasn't an option then I would go for it.


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## Cannon_Farms

here is what I want


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## fordy

................I've full timed in a 5th. wheel for the last 6 years ! Rent is 1/3 what you'd pay for a small apartment so it is well worth it in my opinion ! IF you take the wheels off it will eventually be taxed just like a mobile home . In Tx the tax nazis can't come onto your property to do an inspection but they do use satallite photography . 
.................Starting sometime around 2002-2005 the mfgers started using the cheapest products they could find to mfg. the midrange of travel trailers , this included frames with less steel so there are numerous cases of bent frames and axles out of alignment . 
..................The older models mfged by companies like Teton , Nuwa\Hitchhiker , Travel Supreme , etc . built very HI Quality trailers that should be considered full timer units . They are VERY heavy , very sturdy and well built units . My 33 foot 1999 model , 5'ver made by Travel Supreme weighed 13,320 pounds , naked , when I put it on the scales here in Tx to get it registered . ALL THE PLUMBING , is completely protected from the weather by an enclosed flat sheath that prevents freezing and entry by rodents . Given your location , you should only consider trailers with totally enclosed plumbing for the obvious reasons . Travel Supreme , Holiday-Rambler , etal. built Travel trailers that are full timer units and meant to be 'Lived In' per your stated intentions . You can redecorate the inside of a trailer with new Drapes , minny blinds , carpet , etc. just like a small home . 
.................Don't go trailer shopping until you can find someone who is knowledgeable to inspect , evaluate , and Bargain for a trailer too fulfill your needs . DO YOUR HOMEWORK , before you spend your $$$$ , and reap the rewards of spending wisely just as you would when buying a piece of land ! , fordy


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## Miss Kay

First, let me say I am sorry for your disability. My DH is disabled and I know what a journey that has been for him (well, both of us) so I feel for you. I have no advice about the trailer but you might want to visit and test the area first. My husband hurts so much more the higher he goes in elevation so we now live on the coast. You would be surprised at how much difference climate and elevation makes on degenerative diseases. Hope you find what works for you.


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## countryfied2011

Dad and Mom have a 5th wheel and use to travel in theirs and live a month or two in it...they loved it. DH and I take it camping twice a year and after a week and half....i am ready to be at the house. I love it the first week...but then i start getting claustrophobic. I like quiet and DH likes noise..lol OTOH if it was something we HAD to do...then I would adjust. 

Sorry to hear about your disability...best wishes~


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## Pearl B

> here is what I want


Glory Be, you just found the trailer I want to live in!!! Right On! That bus rocks!


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## pistolsmom

We have a camper on our property up north and while we have never lived in it we have stayed for extended periods of time. If we didn't have to work for a living we would live in a travel trailer on our property full time! ( In a heartbeat!) We heat with propane and have never had a problem but we also have a small $20 electric heater that heats very well and saves the propane. As long as you can insulate for winter I think it's a wonderful way to go!


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## Trixie

We full timed in a motorhome for 3 years and we have lived in a 30' travel trailer, 1 slide out, for months - up to 10 months one time.

The one thing I didn't realize in the travel trailer was the lack of cabinet top for preparing food. I had enough in the motorhome, but the sink is set in a triangle and leaves about 3 inches of cabinet space next to the stove. 

I think you have some good advice. The only 'con' is space, space, space. You evidently aren't going to be living in a park, so you could have a storage building and keep a lot of things in there you don't use often. It is tempting, for me, to 'pile' things around. I thought I wanted everything right there, but realized I felt a lot more comfortable with it as empty as possible. I keep the stuff I'm not using in the camper on the pick up.

Skirting would be very good. 

Ours has a gas furnace, but we use an electric heater a lot, one of the oil type heaters. I don't like to sleep with a furnace running and you need some heat.

Yes, you can always put new curtains and upholstery. We removed the uncomfortable sofa and put two recliners in place, covered the bench seats, made new curtains, etc.

We thought of taking the bench seats and table out and just using chairs and a drop leaf, but there is so much storage under those bench seats. I use that for extra cookware, etc.


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## Marshloft

Glad someone brought this up. I've been pondering the last month, just this very thing.
Sure would be cheaper than renting and apt,or house by along shot.
I've seen some really nice one starting at around 5, to 6,000. And then ofcourse, the cadilacs going for 20,000 to 30,000.
I was also thinking about getting what they call "ToyHaulers". It seems that would solve my storage problems, especially if I wanted to carry my big ole smoker.
And possiblly my boy's team paraphanalia for going on week-end long baseball tournaments.
Can anyone tell me which might be an easier pull, 5th wheel, gooseneck, or bumperpull?
I have a 1 ton dually with all the above. Knowing which one to look for might narrow down my search.
 GH


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## momtaylor

I am disabled from degenerative disease and a host of other problems. I lived for 5 yrs in my 1981 Cobra Sierra travel trailer with my dh and 2 bigger dogs. No slides but we managed. It was easier for me since it was all on one level. I use a cane most days some days I just don't 'move' at all, lol. Dh had cancer and we built an unattached porch (rv parks say you have to be able to move things) and a friend built us a ramp for dh when he ended in a wc. It latched onto the porch securely but was detachable. I took the banquet out of the kitchen and skipped the idea of a table, (dh ate on a tv tray most times anyway) instead I bought a mini island/mw cart at walmart that had storage underneath and extendable side tables. Where the cabinet ended next to the old banquet I built shelves for storage. Last yr, I had to give up my tt cuz it was finally dying. I have spent this yr livng in a friends 5th wheel. It is nice as it has more room (2 slides, lr and bdr) but although it seems no biggy to others, those 3 little steps to get up to the bedroom are sometimes to hard to tackle. And since the bathroom is there also, life is sometimes 'fun'. 
All of this to say, if you are looking at an rv, look for a tt , not a 5th wheel. IMO the all one level is much easier to negotiate when trying 'walk' and being in pain. 
Good Luck to you.


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## Cheryl in SD

We did it twice. 

First time was a pop up camper in a friend's back yard. It was okay until it got December and below zero! 

Second time was a 24 foot camper in the same friends yard, then we moved it to a campground. That one was great! Just dh & I. It had a small living room with a kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom. It also had lots of storage. We did move out and in with my sil one winter when it got to below zero for a high for 3 weeks in a row. We just couldn't keep it warm enough! But as soon as the weather broke we moved right back in.

Things we learned. Get a storage shed for things you need but won't use every day.

A carport to set it in would be great, in the summer they get HOT and are harder than you think to cool. Also if you needed a wind break in the winter, it would be easy with a carport. Check local ordinances to see what a "shop" or garage with a carport would do to your parent's property taxes. If it wouldn't raise it much (you could pay the difference) this would solve the storage area/carport problem, just fix it so you have a nice view out your front door & there is an overhang for a nice bbq area out under the roof. With the shop, you can put in a wood stove or bigger propane unit & propane will be cheaper too. It will also give you (and your dad) a place to work on stuff.

Use skirting or straw bales, and get rugs for the floor, they really do make a difference in the winter.

Plan to "live" outside when ever possible. In the summers we cooked and ate outside all the time. When we built this house we stayed in a small camper on the weekends. The only thing we did inside was sleep!

My parents are thinking about moving here (in a camper) and we will be doing some of these things for them.

Cheryl

p.s. I forgot to add that one family here only comes out on weekend, but the built a 8 foot high windbreak fence and a deck. They just pull the camper in next to the deck and are all set to go. If stairs will be ann issue, you might check on that!


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## Trixie

I don't do the driving so I don't know about pulling, but I didn't want a fifth wheel, because I wanted the camper for storage.

Also, I, too, don't want the step down in a fifth wheel. A lot of people like them best, though.

Yes, try to have some outside living space. We just use chairs, because we are always 'temporary' - sort off. I put up a card table and would set my roaster or crock pot on it in the summer to keep the RV cooler.

We have given some thought to buying a small piece of land, and living in our RV. We thought we would build a big shed, screen it in, with 'gates' on each end and we could park the RV inside. That would give some cover from rain, a shade, and we could sit outside, and my kitties could have outside space as well. That's just one of our thoughts.

Yeah, we eat on our laps as well, but we needed a table of some kind with seating for the computer and my sewing machine.


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## Cygnet

Sounds like this might be doable, as long as I can get rid of the upholstery ... every one I look at online has a worse print than the last, LOLOLOL.

My father's place can be COLD in winter for brief, intense, periods and that is one of my primary concerns. Sub zero with wind. As long as the power stays on, I understand heat tape works on the plumbing well enough. However, do modern travel trailers have the type of plumbing that withstands freezing, like my current mobile home does? (I can't think what it's called, but it's reinforced plastic tubing that doesn't burst when frozen.)

I'm not too worried about the summer heat. I've been up there during the worst the state can deliver. I slept on the cabin's deck. :happy2:

I'm not sure he'd want me putting in another shed, but I honestly don't need much in the way of "stuff." 

I do restore Barbies, and sell Barbie stuff as a hobby/small business, and I would like to build that into a bigger business (and eventually get off disability), so I do need climate controlled space for that -- which is why I'm looking at a longer home. I need a small workshop that can be closed off from the rest of the home to keep the cat hair away, and that kind of thing, and have a window air conditioner installed if necessary. (Cold isn't a huge issue, but heat is bad.)

I've been looking at trailers with two bedrooms, one typically with a queen size bed and the other with bunks. I could rip the bunks out and make an office/workshop in that space.

It'd be nice if I could replace the queen size bed with a full or twin, and put in floor to ceiling bookshelves for the space saved. (Though the fold-up queen beds also look appealing -- anyone know what they're like to sleep on and how easy they are to lift? I have bad back problems and need a supportive mattress.)

And I want linoleum. (Not pergo or wood -- old fashioned, easy to clean, one big piece with no seams, linoleum.) No carpet. NO CARPET. Two words: Red clay. Two more words: Six cats. My Roomba will really appreciate no carpet, LOL!

(If I were to buy a new trailer rather than used, how customizable are they? I assume "hold the bunk beds" would probably be easy enough for them to accommodate, but what about, "give me a full sized bed and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves." I suppose I could simply say, "No bed, empty room only," vof the master bedroom and then go visit Ikea ...)

I am not _likely _to end up in a wheelchair, fortunately. I have dystonia, Ehlers Danlos, and idiopathic intracranial hypertension, as well as severe arthritis and several herniated disks in my low back, and scoliosis. (Basically, all my lumbar disks have gone, plus some cervical disks.) 

Because of the dystonia, I have difficulty sitting upright for more than about twenty or thirty minutes at a time. I spend a lot of time lying down. I have severe untreatable headaches that put me in bed for days at a time, working out to severe headaches more than half of the days of every month. Any sort of exertion is utterly exhausting, as well.

*I have six cats. I am going to try to talk my father into us making an outdoor garden/run for the cats and just bringing them all inside during bad weather. Otherwise, I'd bring them in one at a time for house time. Fortunately, my cats all get along very nicely, to the point where I often wake up to a six-cat pile in my bed in the morning. I could not imagine getting rid of them.


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## Bob Huntress

How bad off are you physically? When my father started living with us, he didn't want to live in the house, but because he couldn't get in and out of the small doors on RV's and Travel Trailers we didn't think he would have any choice. He ended up with a very small 50' mobile home. It was around 50' x 12' , but the doors were large enough to get through with a wheelchair, which if your condition is degenerative, as mine is, eventually we will be in wheelchairs, you might want to consider a small mobile home. You can build ramps and large enough platforms to manuver in and out of, and arrange it, like he did, so that you only go through the open areas. In my case, I may not be in a chair for 10-20 years, but, because things don't get better, eventually if I live long enough and degenerate to that point, I to will be in a wheelchair. I couldn't imagine getting thru the doors of an RV when that happens, though I could a mobile home door, which is almost as wide as a regular home door. I don't know what zoning issues your dad would face. My dad's mobile home parked right in our back driveway and we live way out in the county, but that don't mean Arizona would be as nice as Tennessee. My area was so nice about zoning that they all pitched in and the local sawmill donated the lumber to build my dad a porch/ramp while I was in Lake Charles. It was very sturdy and wrapped around the trailer and was almost 8 feet wide. The word I got was that whatever permits were generally needed must have been there because the county inspector was one of the guys building it. The money for purchase isn't greater for a short older mobile home than a large RV or such if the county allows it.


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## Common Tator

I was thinking a mobile home would probably be better too.i have degenerative disk disease too. I don't do very well in the cold. You need a home that is insulated.

Check Craigslist near where you want to live, and check often. Also check zoning in the area to see if they have restrictions on the age. Some areas will only allow newer ones. You might be amazed at how cheap they sometimes are, if someone needs to get rid of one in a hurry.


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## soulsurvivor

As I understand it a travel trailer can be licensed and insured as a recreational vehicle while a trailer/mobile home cannot.


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## Common Tator

Some jurisdictions don't require permitting a mobile home if you keep the wheels on it.


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## BarbadosSheep

how would building a shed or garage on your fathers property affect his taxes? Build the garage, get it inspected as a garage, and then move in. you could have a larger, more livable, better insulated space for the same cost as a trailer. Or build a barn, just a pole building, which may not affect taxes at all. once inspection is done, pour a concrete floor and finish the inside. Again....not much cost and a whole lot more livable.


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## Jan in CO

My parents did this for more than 20 years in Arizona. Not as high as your father, more in the Mesa/Parker area so didn't have quite the cold in the winter. There were two of them, and no pets, but my Mom is quite a packrat, so every nook and cranny was filled with her craft materials.

I think the advice to get a unit that is made for colder climates will be insulated better for hot weather too, as well as having the plumbing insulated better. Do have some type of ramp made in case you end up on crutches, with a walker or in a wheel chair. 

My parents ripped out the queen sized bed and put two regular twins in right off the bat. They wanted better mattresses than were available in travel trailers from the manufacturers. If you are sleeping on them every day for years, you don't want a cheapo mattress made for quick camping trips. Might be less expensive to have someone do this for you.

You can do a lot of storage in those plastic totes under the outside of the trailer, maybe on the side that doesn't have the prevailing winds hitting it, and put straw bales all around the rest for insulation. As another poster said, put boards on the straw for plants, if you wish to have them, or for seating. 

You can certainly put one of those temporary, sturdy carports over the top for shade and they make straps to go over the tops of mobile homes or travel trailers to anchor them to the ground with screw in anchors to prevent being blown over. A fence on the wind side can help alot.

Something that is often put out to people living in travel trailers is the belief that you have to use special refrigerators. You do not. My parents had to replace theirs, and it was way more expensive to get one made for trailers. They found, at Circuit City, a smaller fridge that worked just fine and fit the space they had. Also small microwaves will fit in better with the counter space available. I still have Mom's small one.

Something else to consider is if you ever have an event that causes you to lose all your belongings, your insurance may not cover the loss of everything inside unless you tell the provider you are living in it. My parents had a wreck on the way to Arizona once and lost most of what they owned. Because they weren't supposed to be living in it full time, their insurance didn't cover the contents, just in a very minor amount. Be sure you are protected.

My Mom remembers another camper who lived in his trailer half of each year and that man was a double amputee. He pulled himself off his little mobile device made from a board and wheels, up into his trailer and got around just fine. He and his wife owned a cherry orchard in Washington state as she recalls. It's doable. He couldn't have maneuvered around in a fifth wheel, however.

Good luck!


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## vanet

We did it for several years in exactly the place you are planning. You will need to do about ten times what people are saying, and you still wont be very warm in the winter. N. AZ winters are really cold with the winds we get. If you modify it enough, you can make it work. However I think you will be allot more comfortable in a site built, and spend allot less money. In AZ you can build up to 144sq ft without a permit. Put a loft a front porch on that, and it would be very comfortable for one person if done well. That was what we decided anyway.


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## emdeengee

We found that having an outside living room and playroom was very important. This is easily accomplished with screened tents. It makes all the difference if you have an outdoor dining and living area and also a play area that can be used even in drizzly weather.


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## Grandmotherbear

Not addressing the RV issues other than to recommend www.rvtravel.com for its blogs, articles and newsletters.
BUt GFB and I are both damaged in the spinal discs- and we discovered, most serendiptiously- that sleeping under an electric blanket- turned on a HIGH setting- left us much more mobile and less ouchy in the mornings. 
I only got the blanket cos It was on special and I wanted cold fresh air for sleeping and GFB can't tolerate cold. Running it on low doesn't give the comfort results. I mean we sleep comfortaly, but ache in the morning. Keeping it set on high does make all the difference in the world. Of course, our 3 cats also love it.
Good luck.
edited to add- sorry about the typo. Now corrected.


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## Janossy

http://www.rvtravel.com/

Got this one to work after my computer stopped yelling at me about not being able to find the site... LOL

Thank you for posting the site.


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## am1too

Cygnet said:


> I'm ... planning contingencies. I am working on getting long term disability approved with a private carrier, and then SSI. I'm NOT a lazy moocher, FWIW -- I am in constant, unrelenting, untreatable pain due to multiple degenerative disorders. I won the lottery for bad genes.
> 
> Anyway. Exit strategy if I can't continue to afford my mortgage is to move to my father's place, in rural Arizona. They just offered ... which is amazing and wonderful.
> 
> I have a few assets I can (hopefully) sell to pay for a travel trailer to live in. I get along with my father and step mother very well (I love them to death) but I'd rather have my "own" home than tie up their guest bedroom. It makes it awkward for them to have guests if I'm living in there, too, and everybody loves visiting their cabin, LOLOLOL!
> 
> I've been looking at trailers in the 25-30 foot range, with slides, and gas heat/stove. (All electric is a bad idea -- this area loses power for days at a time.)
> 
> So. Four season climate. Arizona's Rim country, if you're familiar with it. Water, electric, gas, septic already there. Summer weather tends to alternate between hot (100 degrees plus) and cool and rainy with thunderstorms, sometimes in the same day. Winters can be bitter cold as he's in a particularly chilly microclimate -- below zero at night. It's at 6500 feet, on a ridge, and wind storms are common. 50mph winds are normal and common.
> 
> So. What are the pros and cons of living in a trailer? Been there and done that stories?
> 
> (A trailer gets around zoning issues. I can live in a trailer on the property, building a site built guest house would be a different issue. My father mentioned building a Tumbleweed house, but I am not sure I could deal with living in something that small.)
> 
> This is all down the road, but I'm exploring my options and planning.


Heating and coolling could be a real expensive proposition. It might keep the junk down tho.


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## Cygnet

am1too said:


> Heating and coolling could be a real expensive proposition. It might keep the junk down tho.


Heating yes, cooling, not so much. Those winds that are miserable in winter are sure nice in summer. It does get 100 plus degrees in summer, but for a shorter period of the day than the low desert, and it doesn't feel as hot. I think it's the altitude.


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