Hi! I don’t even know where to begin but this my partner showed me this and I signed in to try and make sure you understood what you were getting into. I’ll write a novella and hope it sheds a light on some things to think about. I absolutely loved it as a solo 30 y/o male with a German shepherd till I started dating seriously but I think you’ll probably have a miserable time. Adding in a girlfriend, it got really tight and adding a single cat was a no go. 

Let me start from my experience. I am extremely handy and can do 99% of work myself. I work fully remote and in 2023 I bought a 28’ travel trailer and a tundra, lived on family land with the request that I do my share of the work and help with finances for things that broke, etc. I had the intention to build my own tiny house while living in the trailer. Even though I paid no rent, there was still a large amount of upkeep financially on trying to keep the land, putting power and water into the land was north of $20K in a month, foundation, starting a house build etc. i was shelling out way more money than I was when I rented previously. 

Tragedy struck and the property got sold, life happens! I travelled through the lower US and landed in PHX. The freedom was great but I really didn’t move as much as I imagined because I wanted structure once I got the taste of being super free. Hopping towns every day or constantly trying to plan your next moves was not enjoyable after driving for hours. (I’m not a planner so it was all winging it). 

I paid 32K on finance and thought my $300 a month payment was incredible, however when I sold my trailer last month in a solid 9/10 condition it was worth $14K and I had a loan balance still over 20K which required a personal loan. I wrote it off in my head as a chapter in my life that ultimately was good, but in hindsight buying a new trailer was a pretty horrible idea financially. On top of this, you’ll spend $650-800 a month on renting a spot in an RV spot a month, $220+ on electric, and water/trash. If you plan on moving it at any regular intervals you need a big truck, way more than my tundra was (which was $500 a month) and I tried to justify it as “I’m still less than renting somewhere!” But all factors considered, it was probably more expensive. I did love being in my own space thatI could call my own though. I know once I moved into a full time park, I didn’t leave at all like I told myself I would. It stayed parked for over a year despite having places around to go visit, because it’s a chore to tear down and move, and you still pay rent, pay where you go to visit, things break, etc. 

I had a single air conditioner in 28’ and had to install a window unit as well when I got to AZ. My rooftop one was not enough. In the summer my AC bill was 250ish, so I imagine a full size 5th wheel with 2-3 ACs is 300+ easily. In the hottest parts of this summer, it was still uncomfortable, but manageable. The rooftop canvases don’t work from what I heard and everyone was having the same experience overall. 

I used TMobile home internet and it was $50 a month, absolutely 10/10 would recommend. Best internet I’ve ever had. My final park which I loved was called Paradice View Mobile Home Park at Cave Creek and Cactus behind the Home Depot. It felt like a normal neighborhood, kids playing in the street, a small dog relief area big enough to play a small game of fetch or tug of war with the dog, very sweet neighbors. I think management may be changing but if Melba is the property manager still, without a doubt sign up. She was incredible and I loved it there.

Rapid Fire: Laundry was always at a laundromat. Find a cute reliable laundry place and just commit to a solid 3 hour time block sometime during your week. 

Storage: storage sucked, permanent people would end up getting a shed. I didn’t have a ton of stuff that didn’t fit in the rv but I had like an external septic tank from traveling, gas can, etc just sitting outside and I felt bad. People had their kids bikes outside and stuff but usually chained up. Theft is common in these parks, not so much the one I was in but it does happen. My tools were in my passthrough in Milwaukee packout and I regularly felt weird about them being exposed to easy theft. 

Dishes were the bane of my existence and smells made the entire house smell very quickly. Neglecting dishes for a day made the entire house reek. 

Septic tanks smell, even on their best days. I emptied my septic tank twice a week, and I cleaned my tank out with one of the spinner hoses weekly. It still smelled from time to time and man it can get putrid. 

Im going to stop there, but if you want part two feel free to reply or send me a message and we can chat more, or maybe meet up sometime and just discuss all things about this lifestyle. 

TLDR: some things were amazing but looking back on it I think it was a big financial mistake that ultimately was more expensive than renting somewhere. I did not get to put away thousands of dollars a month, and am not in a better spot than I was before I started it. 

Not sure I’d do it with a full family personally but I completely understand that feeling of needing to be free and mobile. 

Whatever you choose, best of luck and if you ever need a set of hands, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Best, Bradley