Potential newbie

Hello everyone!

I am looking at an R-pod as an affordable way to move out of my parents' house and live in a desirable urban location on a low income.

I make <$30k a year in the service industry, so buying a house is out of the question for me. Renting an apartment is also out, as even studio apartments or one-bedrooms would eat up more than half my monthly income. I could afford to rent a room in a shared house, but I have had bad experiences living with strangers in the past, and I don't have friends to split housing costs with. So, acceptable options for housing that I can afford are limited.

I grew up in a rural area, and my whole life I have wanted a change of scenery. I would love to live in a popular urban area, like San Francisco, Austin, Denver, or Seattle. Since I can't afford to rent or buy traditional housing, I have to be creative and think outside the box of four walls on a foundation. That's where travel trailers come in.

Tiny houses on wheels, cargo vans converted into campervans, RVs and travel trailers are all becoming more popular as people try to live better lives on increasingly smaller budgets. Ideally, I will find someone on Craigslist or by posting flyers who will let me park a small trailer in their backyard and hook up electrical, water, and sewer. I'll pay below market rate rent and also half of any utilities I use. Because I plan to stay in one place, rather than spending extra money on a tow vehicle that will mostly be my daily driver, I'll have a cheap subcompact city car and rent a truck when I have to move.

In terms of size and layout, I really like the R-pod 171. I would make a lot of modifications, but I could live comfortably in that small of a space. I work full-time and like to spend a lot of time outdoors, so I would only ever really be there to shower, eat, and sleep.

I'm still doing a lot of reading about "alternative" housing/living and comparing options before I take the plunge, and this forum has been a great source of information, so thank you to everyone who has posted here sharing their experiences!

I second David's thoughts. I'm not sure that a travel trailer is in your best interest. It is designed to go down the road and "be light". I think the most any of us use them is perhaps on an extended trip of a month or two. Typically we go 4 days to a week, although we do look forward to some longer trips real soon now.

I think if you look into one of the tiny homes, and find a place to put it you might be happier with the result.

Over a year ago I spent 90 days in mine after I had moved out of my apartment and right before retiring. I spent it in a low cost park and it saved me huge bucks over an apartment. I did not have any major failures or maintenance issues. I used the shower/latrine and laundry facilities at the park. I have a 178, and an improved mattress. Here are issues I had, that were not necessarily problems, just little things.

Heating and AC no problem. Water and sewer no problem. Limited cold food storage, lot of boxed things and microwaveables. I did a lot of grilling. Clothes - although I have mods to add hanging clothes and foldables I used a clothes rack in my truck and rotated in and out daily work wear (I wore business attire to work). The park had a 90 limit - so if I had stayed more than 90 days, I would have had to change spaces and the count would start again. Part of my stay was in cold weather, part was in the end of tornado season. Be cognizant of weather. I made it 90 days and could have done more, I jut didn't have to. What made it easier, was one person. There were multiple guys living in 25 footers at same park on work details. I agree the Pod is probably not the best choice for daily living, but it absolutely can be done. On my part for at least 90 days. Good luck and Happy Trails.

Originally posted by Leo B Welcome! We stayed in our for just over a month every year on our southern trips. I think it could be done, if you were handy with repairs. There have been some active members who were full-timing in rpods while traveling all over the country. Its what you make of it. I would suggest something a little bigger with a full bath and a bigger refrigerator though.

I wonder what happened to the full timers.  I recall a couple with kids trying it.  In my house that would have ended in divorce.