Anyone ever live in a motorhome or travel trailer temporarily?

[Lorax]

DH might take a job transfer in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. If it goes through, we'll have a little under 2 months to sell our house and move from Maryland to DFW. IF we're even lucky enough to be able to sell our house that quickly, we'll also have to find a new house to buy. DH's company isn't paying for relocation. It's a good enough career move that we are ok with having to shoulder the expense of moving. Neither of us is married to our possessions anyway, so our plan would be to sell/give away most of our household items and start over when we get to Texas.

To complicate the matter, we have 3 large-ish dogs (2 alaskan malamutes and 1 samoyed/eskie mix). I am guessing that it will not be easy to find a house or apartment to rent that will allow our dogs. We'll be looking to buy a house out there, or some land to build on, but we don't want to have to settle for the first thing we see because we are pressed for time.

So we have been thinking about buying a motor home or a travel trailer. We figure we can stay in the trailer on our drive out there (flying the dogs is out of the question) and then stay at an RV campground for a month or two while we look for a house. I've found a few campgrounds in that area that allow monthly rentals. A few of them have doggy parks and one is very close to a doggy daycare type place.

We used to own a 27' sailboat and considered living on it at one point. I know what kind of issues to expect in a marina, but I know nothing about RV campgrounds. We do realize it will be tight living, but only for a short time so I think we can deal with it. Thankfully we have no human kids at home, just the fur babies.

Is this a stupid idea? Are there issues I haven't considered? What kind of things should I know that a newbie wouldn't think to ask? Has anyone ever done this?

[MajorChode]

1. A guy I work with lives in KOA parks

He's going to retire soon so he sold his house and bought an RV. He says in KOA parks. I seem to remember him saying something about they only allow you to stay for so long, so he moves around from one to another as needed. He seems to like it just fine.

If you want any advice as far as which areas to live in, just ask. I live just on the west side of the big airport.

[Lorax]

4. Actually...

DH will be working in Las Collinas. We are looking for something with 10-20 acres because eventually I'd like to raise sheep. Obviously we are going to have to look in the outlying areas. We'd like to keep his commute to an hour or less. I don't know what traffic is like in that area. Are there certain areas where traffic coming in is unbearable and we should stay away from?

For example, if we stayed here, we could look at properties in Virginia, but the traffic around DC would make the commute unbearable even though on the map it looks close. Instead we live north of Baltimore and although it looks farther on the map, traffic isn't bad. I'm wondering if there are similar areas in the DFW complex.

[MajorChode]

6. If you're used to traffic around the DC area, DFW will be nothing

That being said, traffic on the Dallas side is worse than on the Fort Worth side.

You're going to have to go out a ways before you're going to find 10-20 acres for a reasonable price, however your definition of reasonable and mine may not be the same. The DFW area in general is going to be much cheaper than the DC area. The metroplex is growing to the northeast mostly. You might (strong emphasis on might) be able to find something reasonable around the Frisco area, but even around there the growth is exploding and I would expect land prices to be quite high. Much of the growth is suburban, so a lot of people are just sitting on their acreages because they know eventually a developer will want it.

I think your best bet might be north of Roanoke around the Justin area or west of the Texas Motor Speedway. You're probably looking at about a 1 hour commute from there. Highway 114 is not a bad commute at all. They have just expanded it, and it's 3 lanes almost all the way between I-35 and the west side of DFW, then it expands into 5-6 lanes. Naturally it slows down during rush hour, but it generally keeps moving reasonably well and if you commute just out of rush hour (7-9), you can go full highway speed with few problems. Northwest of Keller it gets fairly rural with lots of acreages, but the price is going to be naturally higher than farther out to the north and west. Still it's a nice area and worth it if you can afford it.

Going south, the area around Maypearl might not be bad, but the commute is longer and probably much slower. You may be able to find something as close as between Midlothian and Cedar Hill.

Anything to the southteast of Dallas and you're looking at a commute that runs through the worst part of the traffic.

Most everything around Lake Lewisville is expensive and especially so around Lake Grapevine and it's pretty much solid suburbia between the two.

[Lorax]

12. Thanks!

That's good to know about 114 and I35. I believe his new job site will be right off of 114. One of the reasons his commute isn't too horrible now is because we live just off of I95 north of Baltimore and his current job site is also right off of I95. If we lived much further away from the major highway, it would make his commute worse.

That's exactly the kind of info I needed to even start looking. Now at least I can narrow down our search somewhat. Yes, everything in TX seems so much cheaper than in the Baltimore / DC area. I've seen property listings in a huge range of prices but now that I can narrow it down, I can get a much better idea of what we can afford.

[Syrinx]

2. no, but I've lived in a trailer permanently

:D

(Not really.)

[Lorax]

3. Shhh.

That's not nice! :) I'm being serious.

[Kali]

5. the main issue I see is three big dogs and not much space

is somebody going to be available to exercise them?

The other tip is having a vehicle to pull a trailer, and you do want a trailer they retain value better than the RV and allow you to be free from maintaining two (or more vehicles), however the towing vehicle needs to be able to handle the job. (and may be a job to hire rather than actually buy for)

Personally if I were going to try that I would buy the trailer in Texas.

[handmade34]

7. Sounds like a great adventure

and possibly less than rent and you are right- it's hard to find apts that allow dogs. I travel around the U.S. for my work (I go into all types of neighborhoods- and live in hotels mostly) and often will have to work in an area where people are living in travel trailers/motorhomes. When I was working in the Dallas/Fort Worth area I stayed in Irving and liked the area.

I believe if you see it as an adventure, realize the advantages of managing your time this way, it will be fine. I don't think you will encounter any impossible situations as long as you account for the dogs. Most campgrounds even have WiFi now. Good Luck

[mnhtnbb]

8. I have friends who take their motorhome to Yellowstone every year

and live there for 4-5 months in it while they work park jobs. They're retired the rest of the year.
They don't have 3 big dogs, though, which, I think is your biggest issue. I would seriously take a look
at Craigslist to see if you can find a house to rent--offer to give a pet deposit--which given the housing
market might be easier on everybody concerned rather than trying to get by in an RV for an extended period with the animals.

[undeterred]

9. Maybe you could find temporary foster homes

for the dogs. A rescue group that specializes in those type of dogs, perhaps?

[Lorax]

11. That's a good idea but...

All of our dogs are rescue dogs. We actually got them from a group out here that specializes in northern breed rescues. They are a wonderful group and I agree that people who foster dogs are saints. We even seriously considered fostering until we found out that we might be moving. BUT, they are a pack now and we are their family. I don't know how to explain it, but I really don't want them to feel like they are losing their family. We had a lot of trust issues to work through with them when they first came here. I don't want to see them regress on that. And my samoyed is really my velcro dog. When his foster parents dropped him off, he was dejected for days. He kept running to the window and the back door, looking for them. It broke my heart. Then he hid in the corner of the dining room and he wouldn't come out for anyone. I had to attach his leash to my belt for a couple of days to make him see that I could be trusted. Now, he is really attached to me and if I go away he is at that window looking for me the whole time. I can't drop him off in foster and let him think he's being abandoned again. (This poor boy didn't even have a family until he was 5. He lived tied to a porch at a puppy mill his whole life, never interacted with people, never went on walks, never went to the vet. It's amazing he has the wonderful personality he has considering the terrible start he had.)

(Oh wait, he was 5 when he came to live with us, which means he is 7 now. OMG how time flies!)

[Lorax]

10. I agree, the dogs are the biggest consideration.

Luckily, the two malamutes are old (13 and 12 now) and lazy. One walk a day and they are sleeping the rest of the day. My male malamute has had both knees rebuilt over the past two years, so he's mobile but he doesn't have a lot of stamina. The female malamute is just an old lazy broad, preferring to watch animal planet rather than going outside. I have to push her behind to make her come outside with me. The samoyed is 5 and has a little more energy. He spends his days following me around. That's why I'm making sure the RV campground either has a dog park or there is one nearby so I can take them for some extra running around if they need it. Plus, I'm planning on getting them out for two good walks every day to make up for living in a small space. And luckily, I will probably be around most of the time. I'm thinking that I can drive my husband to work every day and spend the rest of the day house hunting. That will give me time to be in and out of the trailer interacting with the dogs. I might even be able to take one of them out with me when I'm driving around. It won't make any sense for me to look for a job until I know where we are going to live, so at least I have that luxury of extra time.

We really only expect to be in the trailer for two months, tops. The year before DH and I got married, we had a house fire. I had just moved to Maryland 3 weeks before that and I had started my first day of a new job the morning of the fire. We were renting a house on the water and Hurricane Floyd knocked down some trees that ended up falling on the electrical lines going into our house. Luckily I had just bought renters insurance before moving to Maryland. We lost most of what we owned. The insurance company paid for us to live at first in a Residence Inn type place then in a corporate housing rental unit until we found a house. It was about 3 months that we lived in cramped transient type living quarters with very little personal possessions. After that experience, we both realize how little we both need in terms of material possessions to be happy. I think that's why I think we really can do this.

Plus, if we end up buying land and having a house built - we could always move the trailer onto the property for temporary housing as long as there is electricity, water, and sewage facilities on site. Or if we find land that we like but the house is tiny, we could park the trailer near the house and use it for extra storage space until the build out. Yes, we could probably find a place to rent if we really look, and if we pay a pet deposit, but when we are done with the trailer we can sell it and recoup some of our costs. Paying rent means we recoup none of our costs AND I have to be constantly worried about not breaking someone else's stuff. Breaking my own stuff is not as traumatic to me as being responsible for damaging something that belongs to someone else.

I'm glad to hear that there are other people who either have done something similar. I didn't know if this was just some crazy idea that I came up with and maybe I didn't think everything through.

[Red State Rebel]

13. We did after a house fire...

We had 3 golden retrievers and lived in a camper trailer for 6 weeks while repairs were going on in our home. Luckily, we were on a lower driveway at our house and it was on 2 acres so the dogs were still able to run, but at night, it was the 2 of us and 3 big dogs in that little trailer and we did fine. Just a bit of cabin fever by the end and I swore I would never go camping again :)

Good luck!

[Lorax]

14. Normally I hate camping.

My philosophy about camping is that I worked hard my entire life to make sure that I could have a roof over my head. Why would I want to sleep outside when I have a perfectly good bed to sleep in? That's how I've always felt about tent camping. I've never camped in a trailer or a cabin for that matter. But I sure as heck don't want to sleep on the ground in a tent for fun.

That being said, we are both very goal oriented and I truly believe I can live in just about any situation if it allows me to reach that goal.

[mnhtnbb]

15. One last thought. I would check out the resale market for the RV/trailer home

prior to purchase since you are thinking of selling it once you are finished with it. There may not be much market for used motor homes.

[MrsBrady]

16. native to DFW, just sent you a PM....

rent houses and apartments might not be as hard as you think for dogs...

usually require a pet deposit.....homes can be had for not much more than apartments sometimes.

I would look for a rent house in Irving. Plenty of rent houses, I'm assuming and with decent sized yards.

PM me if you want more help. I grew up in DFW.

[mnhtnbb]

17. I just was looking through DFW Craigslist--lots of houses with fenced yards

accepting dogs. I don't know about neighborhoods, but my guess is you could easily find something
you like.

[Lorax]

18. I got a suggestion I look at park model trailers.

I talked to my father, who owns a Class A motorhome (duh, I forgot about asking him when I posted my original message). He suggested we consider buying a park model trailer that is parked at an RV resort. Then we can either sell it when we buy property, or have it moved to our land to live in while we build a house.

And I have been looking at the listings for rental houses around Irving. Most of the listings I've seen on Craig's list are for apartments in complexes. Although many of them say they allow dogs, I'd be willing to bet they won't allow three 70lb dogs. So I'll keep looking but if we go into a rental home, I think our best bet will be with a private homeowner as opposed to an apartment or townhouse in a complex.

So many decisions and so much to consider in not very much time! It's enough to make a person crazy!