My Travel Trailer Homestead

[CrazyCrow]

Why would anyone want to leave town, and move out to the backwoods into an old travel trailer? Well that part is simple, freedom and privacy. You simply can not do what you want while living in town, to many rules, housing codes and regulations to contend with. To many noisy people watching your every move, to much going on around you for true piece of mind.

Why a travel trailer? Well for one thing you can find a good used one for $2,000 or less, depending on where you look. Before purchasing your trailer be sure to check that it has a working propane refrigerator, sink, propane cookstove, shower, toilet with a leak free holding tank, usable water storage tank and hot water heater, and be sure all of the lights work, check the 12-volt lighting system. Everything in the trailer must work or it is not worth buying!

Travel trailers are easy to transport to your retreat site and easy to set up once you get there. They were made for the back country and with a little work give you every modern comfort of home... Having a ready to go travel trailer setting out in the backyard, and an acre of paid for land out past the power lines is an excellent survival strategy against becoming homeless after the crash. If your house is in a good location and paid off, you will most likely be better off to simply stay where you are, if not this could be your best solution.


For the travel trailer retreat you will need a power generator for various tasks requiring a large power output, such as running power tools, or fixing a cup of coffee in the microwave. I us mine to charge my rv batteries while I watch tv or do work around the place requiring use of the generator, this way I get two things done at once, saving both time and fuel. Only operate your generator outdoors in a well-ventilated, dry area, away from any air intakes to your trailer. Build a small shed with doors that open in the front and back to keep the generator dry and well ventilated. I set mine up on concrete blocks to keep it off the ground. Don't run the generator if there is any danger of attracting unwanted attention to your location.

I use a Honda EX1000, this generator will produce 1000 watts of power, more then adequate for my needs . I can run the generator for about five hours on a gallon of fuel, and with a weight of only 57lbs., I can move it as needed. Solar panels are nice to have and make no noise, and are much cheaper to run after you get everything set up then the generator, but don't produce very well during cloud covered days, or in areas without an ample amount of sunlight. I plan to use both solar power and the generator.

[oldnndway]

That's a good idea crazy crow
The right truck and a nice trailer and fellow would be set ... at least as far as housing goes

I've always wanted a good one but for the last dozen years or so all the hunting leases I've been on had camphouses of one sort or another so I haven't had the "need" for one yet

I figure if things get that bad I'll head for the lease and hide out there in the boonies

[Txanne]

And i will add one more thing to your list of [[must work]]

That the roof doesnt leak!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have lived in 2 of them---a leaking roof in these small spaces is a very uncomfortable and inconvient situation.

If their not parked [[ level]] all the time or when you buy them and then move them if the have sat unlevel]]they can develope cracks and whala----miserable conditions excisit.

Just wanted to add that.


But an excellent way to have some convience--and comfort.


Txanne

[Wolfer]

Something else not mentioned... They are ideal while saving for the Purchase of your homestead..... just make sure they are big enough. 2 teenagers 1 preteen and 2 adults in a 24 fter :o is extreme but it paid for warm and next spring will be setting On the property while the house is bein built. ;D

[Txanne]

Yikes teenagers in a 24 fter!!!!!!!!!

But there are many cubby holes for storage---except if your a pack rat.

Be surpised how pared down your life will get!! ;D

I am just now learning to walk vertical and horizonal! ;D

The 12 volt system is amazing--how it works. And I had a genie also.
The average running hours for mine were 6 hours--but just charging batteries every few days--didnt have to refill gas tank all that often--BUT I did change the oil in the genie every 6 hours run time.

txanne


txanne

[DM]

When i moved to Alaska in the early 70's i was married, and we were living in an 8' camper on the back of our pu...

Then we both got jobs and needed something bigger, so i bought a travel trailor and we lived in that... Later we bought some property that had an old house on it and we moved into the house...

That winter, just before Christmas the house burned to the ground, so we moved back into the travel trailor! That wouldn't have been so bad, EXCEPT it had been -35F for weeks, and it was one cold sumbitch in that trailor, no matter how much you ran the heater!

Everything from 2' on down stayed frozen, so anything you didn't want to freeze had to stay above that point... I don't remember either of us complaining about it though...

Heck, living in a travel trailor in a warmer climate would be a pik-nik as far as i'm concerned!!

DM

[Txanne]

Dm--now thats cold---I found bales of hay around the bottom helped to insulate alot--stopped that dad-burn wind.


But --35 would be very hard to deal with--lots of socks on them feet.

One other point----for the butane fridge to work--the camper must be kept level.

Dont why--its just one of those aggravating things.

Sometimes you have todo what you have todo---and these little guys will keep you dry and safe from the elements.

Good luck with your place.


annie

[Backwoods_Bob]

My wife and I lived in a travel trailer for a year and a half while building our straw bale cottage.

It was a 16' or 18 footer, I don't remember which.
We survived a winter with 15 feet of snow and subzero temperatures.
It was quite cozy really. *;D

What made all the difference in the world was the wood stove we installed in the trailer.

I set up our trailer camp like this -

First step was to chainsaw out the uselessly to-small Hobbit bathroom and shower. Then I chainsawed out a hanging closet, and so cleared out the back of the trailer.
I built a comfy double bed out of plywood and 2x4s in that space, with shelves above, a night stand and space past the end of the bed to hang clothes.

Under the bed was storage space. The bulk of our clothes went there in bankers boxes.

The middle of the trailer originally had a big couch that folded out into a bed, and the galley.
The couch was dismantled. I left 1/2 of the frame in place and covered it with patio blocks.
This is where the woodstove would sit.

The wall of the trailer behind it got a double layer of the 8"x16"x2" patio blocks.
The stove pipe was routed at a 90 degree angle and went out the window. - I removed the glass from the window, and replaced it with plywood covered with bathroom tiles.
A metal heat shield was screwed to the ceiling above the stove.

It was a good 'ol M1941 wood stove, and worked very well - http://www.med-dept.com/images/tentage/stove.jpg

Now the sink in the galley was to small to do anything with, so I ripped it out and covered the hole with plywood. This gave useful counter space in the tiny galley. The propane oven and refrigerator worked quite well.
We did our washing up outdoors.

The remainder of the trailer was taken up by a standard table with two bench seats.

Outside, I built a big shed roof over everything out of poles I cut from the forest.
This roof kept the rain at bay and the heavy snow loads off the trailer roof. It kept the sun off in the summer, and I think is needed for any long term trailer camp.

The roof extended quite a bit beyond the trailer, and we built counters around two sides of the trailer for outdoor storage and workspace. I built a bench and a rack for fire wood under it's cover, and behind the trailer we installed a full size sink, which simply drained into a hole dug under the trailer. in the corner behind the trailer we built an outdoor shower stall of OSB sheets and a pallet with close spaced slats for a floor.

Inside the shower stall we hung one of these -
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/313E6JKAHJL._AA280_.jpg *
Water was heated on the woodstove in the winter, or on the propane stove in the summer.

Two golf cart batteries came with the camper. I added two 50 watt solar panels on the roof, and we were set for what little power we needed.

We mostly used two kerosene lamps for light.

The trailer had a hot water heater, but we never used it. * *
The trailer also had a propane furnace.
This furnace did not need electricity to run!!

This is a very important point. Newer units may have a fan or a thermostat that needs power 24/7 to operate.
Try to avoid these.

The wood stove heated the camper during the day, and would burn out at night. When we started waking up to frozen water on the counter in the morning I'd light the propane furnace just before we'd turn in, and leave it on the lowest setting.
This way nothing froze, and we'd burn little propane.

Ah, of course we dug an outhouse up the hill a ways.

water came from a shallow dug well 20 feet away from the trailer, and had a little hand pump on it.

Behind the trailer we set up a little metal storage shed.

A hammock between two trees completed our tiny homestead.
All things considered it was as comfortable a home as you could ask for, and certainly was low cost.

One thing to consider - Our county does not tax a travel trailer as a dwelling! It certainly does not increase the value of the property.
Thus, our yearly taxes were only 30 bucks for our 20 acres and home!! ;D

The travel trailer homestead let us save lots of money- It cost very little to put together, and we paid no-one rent. Our land payment was only 150 a month.
Thus, we were able to pay off the land quickly and pay for the materials for our cottage as we went along.

If we lived in a warmer climate, we'd probably still be living in that trailer.
Why not?

If anyone wishes to get back to the land and away from the hassles of city life, this is a way to do it today!

I read to many posts about folk who only need "ten more years to pay this that and the other thing off first"

Well, if getting back to the land is your dream, make the move now, while your still young, and this can be the way.

This is an excellent book full of practical ideas on the subject. - *

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AXG15QVML._AA240_.jpg
*

* *

[rideaway]

One thing to check into, if you have neighbors close by. Here in our county (possibly the whole state), it is not legal to live on your property in an RV-you must get something called a conditional use permit through the local planning department to live in while you are building your home...it can mean a fine if someone turns you in, plus being made to move. Not fair, I feel, because it is private property, but that is something to check into.

[Kyhome]

I would be in my little Nomad by Skyline full time if wife would go a long with it. it is small only one bedroom but hey its paid for and we could really save a bundle of money selling the house. But is a nice get away as it is. Rick