Author Topic: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)  (Read 5693 times)

Kyle B

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This is not my personal badassity, but I thought it was pretty cool. This guy lives in a brand new RV for a mortgage payment of $200 a month. His total expenses are 10k/year....and he seems pretty happy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXSrsX3-oPg






couponvan

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2018, 08:37:16 AM »
At our private lake, they have permanent site yearly camping fees of $610 and the camping runs from 4/1-10/31 when they turn the water off.  You have to own a lot to have access to the permanent campsites.  The lots cost between $1,500 (non buildable)-$50,000 (lake front). Vacant lots have an annual association dues of $336. 

If you had an RV, you could be there from April 1- October 31 (7 months) for $950.  That works out to $135/month. To me that seems pretty cheap considering it includes access to the lake, pool, tennis courts, club house, some summer activities, a shower facility, and electricity.  There's no sewer hookups, but there is a dump area for sewer.

Then you can leave and go somewhere warm for the winter....

 

mm1970

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2018, 02:05:15 PM »
Here in So Cal/ Central Coast (depending on who you ask...)

there's a privately owned public park right up the street from me that has 3-4 "Park hosts" that live in RV's or 5th wheels with hookups.  I think there are 4 there now?  They do the general caretaking of the property.  Live there year round.

the_fixer

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2018, 12:14:10 AM »
Meh

$200 per month is his payment on a 20 year 50k loan according to the video.




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joonifloofeefloo

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #4 on: March 17, 2018, 05:22:03 AM »
Here you can't park one in most places, a cheap, long-term parking site averages $750/MONTH with hookups and a laundry room but that's it, and the wait list is apparently at least a year long (because I'm still waiting). And that's without paying for the RV yet!

I'd love it to cost me $200/mo. Happy for this dude!

dollarchaser

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2018, 09:40:36 AM »
I didn't check the video but have an interest in this system of living.
Someday I expect to slow travel in an rv and work various jobs at tourist locations. Boondocking a part of the year as well.

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2018, 12:01:14 AM »
That's the same in coastal areas of Calif and much higher in summer. There are lots of free boondocking areas and cheap monthly places in the desert areas. Slab City is infamous and many people go there (and would be my version of hell on earth). So cheap/free RV stays are doable. Not sure If want to still be paint $200/month on an RV 20 years later plus registration and insurance but can see it as a cheap way to live and maybe travel if not driving too much. The RV life doesn't interest me but I like to read about it.

Yes, I agree there are some excellent options for people who are allowed to be resident year round of warm, dry, boondockable areas. Not so much for folks in parts of the world that don't offer these :(

couponvan

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2018, 05:52:41 AM »
Here you can't park one in most places, a cheap, long-term parking site averages $750/MONTH with hookups and a laundry room but that's it, and the wait list is apparently at least a year long (because I'm still waiting). And that's without paying for the RV yet!

I'd love it to cost me $200/mo. Happy for this dude!

The $200 is JUST his RV cost per month.  He didn't include site rent in his lifestyle. Although it does say $10K/year.

Roland of Gilead

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2018, 06:50:32 AM »
We bought 28 acres for less than $55k and pay $29 a year in property tax in Eastern Washington

It is timberland and has over $15k of marketable timber, although we have not harvested it.

We camped in our RV on it for free from April to October last year.

If you count the purchase price as just a low risk low return investment that keeps up with inflation (like a 2% CD would), then our monthly
fee was about $29/7 = $4.15 a month

This is of course with a home built RV with 1400 watts of solar on it that we already owned.

couponvan

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2018, 07:14:46 AM »
We bought 28 acres for less than $55k and pay $29 a year in property tax in Eastern Washington

It is timberland and has over $15k of marketable timber, although we have not harvested it.

We camped in our RV on it for free from April to October last year.

If you count the purchase price as just a low risk low return investment that keeps up with inflation (like a 2% CD would), then our monthly
fee was about $29/7 = $4.15 a month

This is of course with a home built RV with 1400 watts of solar on it that we already owned.

That's badass!

joonifloofeefloo

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2018, 08:46:15 AM »
We bought 28 acres for less than $55k and pay $29 a year in property tax in Eastern Washington

It is timberland and has over $15k of marketable timber, although we have not harvested it.

We camped in our RV on it for free from April to October last year.

I spent over a year looking for a spot I was allowed to do that on in my last area. No go. They had bylaws out the wazoo to prevent it, for many, many kilometers in every direction. Drives me nuts. (Though one of Johnny Shotgun's recent posts laid out why they do this. He said municipalities figure each person costs them money, so they try to get us paying for ourselves via high building costs and higher property taxes. Interesting.)

Kyle B

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2018, 08:49:26 AM »
They had bylaws out the wazoo to prevent it, for many, many kilometers in every direction. Drives me nuts. (Though one of Johnny Shotgun's recent posts laid out why they do this. He said municipalities figure each person costs them money, so they try to get us paying for ourselves via high building costs and higher property taxes. Interesting.)
In the U.S., RV parks have formed coalitions to lobby state legislatures to make street parking of RVs illegal -- forcing RVers into their parks, enabling them to jack up nightly prices.

They've had great success getting the laws passed, too.


mm1970

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2018, 10:36:05 AM »
They had bylaws out the wazoo to prevent it, for many, many kilometers in every direction. Drives me nuts. (Though one of Johnny Shotgun's recent posts laid out why they do this. He said municipalities figure each person costs them money, so they try to get us paying for ourselves via high building costs and higher property taxes. Interesting.)
In the U.S., RV parks have formed coalitions to lobby state legislatures to make street parking of RVs illegal -- forcing RVers into their parks, enabling them to jack up nightly prices.

They've had great success getting the laws passed, too.
I don't think it was to force them into paying parks (at least when at the city level) but to force them out of setting up long term homeless RV camps (and the many problems that come with that) in front of housing and businesses.

Yes this.

We don't even have many RV parks in my area.  A couple.

Mostly the people arguing against RV parking on the streets are homeowners.

LessIsLess

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #13 on: March 20, 2018, 02:02:02 PM »
Our personal experience, as well as what I observed constantly everywhere we camped is that RVs break all the time.  Remember, this is your home bouncing down the road.  Plumbing leaks.  Tires need to be replaced.  Both radiators needed to be replaced, which cost $5000.00.  We never had roof leaks but I saw many RVs that did suffer roof leaks.  Awnings break.  We had problems with the door latching mechanism that could not be easily repaired.  Windows and walls leak.  Most of our problems were mechanical, but I saw 5th wheels and travel trailers that had all kinds of problems too.  Air conditioners break.  You name it, it can break and it will break in / on a RV more frequently than in a home, both because the manufacturing quality is lower and because everything in the RV is subject to damage from the vibration of going down the road.  RV Dometic and Norcold refrigerators are infamous for starting on fire.  We had an electric residential refrigerator and only once had a problem with it. 

A good source for information on full time RV living is the Escapee's website and discussion forum.

http://www.rvnetwork.com

RV enthusiasts tend to forget to mention the hassle and cost of RV living.  It's much easier and cheaper to live out of a vehicle and a tent. 


Roland of Gilead

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #14 on: March 20, 2018, 03:48:51 PM »
Our personal experience, as well as what I observed constantly everywhere we camped is that RVs break all the time.  Remember, this is your home bouncing down the road.  Plumbing leaks.  Tires need to be replaced.  Both radiators needed to be replaced, which cost $5000.00.  We never had roof leaks but I saw many RVs that did suffer roof leaks.  Awnings break.  We had problems with the door latching mechanism that could not be easily repaired.  Windows and walls leak.  Most of our problems were mechanical, but I saw 5th wheels and travel trailers that had all kinds of problems too.  Air conditioners break.  You name it, it can break and it will break in / on a RV more frequently than in a home, both because the manufacturing quality is lower and because everything in the RV is subject to damage from the vibration of going down the road.  RV Dometic and Norcold refrigerators are infamous for starting on fire.  We had an electric residential refrigerator and only once had a problem with it. 

A good source for information on full time RV living is the Escapee's website and discussion forum.

http://www.rvnetwork.com

RV enthusiasts tend to forget to mention the hassle and cost of RV living.  It's much easier and cheaper to live out of a vehicle and a tent.

This is true of commodity consumer RVs but homebuilt units like ours are built to a much higher standard.   We used all aluminum sheeting for the outside, bonded with industrial 40 year life adhesive (no rivets to rust or leak).  The roof is a solid sheet of aluminum with zero holes in it which is also covered in 1/8" of truck bed liner over the aluminum.   The walls have 2 inches of polyisocyanurate rigid insulation which is fire resistant (doesn't maintain a flame).   Our RV has been sitting on our property this whole winter with 3 feet of snow on the roof and it is clean and dry as a bone inside.   It is cold inside because we have everything turned off, but there is no moisture (the humidity gauge last time I went said it was 46% RH).

We might try living on it during the winter also, but we would need to get a big propane tank for the 18,000 btu furnace it has.   The cost would go up, probably would use about 1 or 2 gallons of propane a day heating, but still that is only ~$60 to $100 a month.   

It is much more fun though in the spring/summer/fall.

cooking

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Re: $200/month to live in new RV ($10k/year minimalist lifestyle)
« Reply #15 on: September 22, 2020, 05:22:56 PM »
In my town, you're not allowed to live in one parked on your property.  Most towns here prohibit it.

 

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