hopefully gonna live in RV during college...

[fundiegirl]

now i know why those icons were next to some topic titles....

hey peoples! nice to be here! i'm 19, and, well, can't wait til i can move out of my parents' house! of course i cannot move out before i get a job (working on that) but i just wanted to know what to expect. i figured living full-time in an rv would be cheaper than getting an appartment ($600/mo if i'm lucky)--and i was right! well, could be right.

there is a year-round campsite right near where i live now (it's "on the way" no matter where i go), and there are one or two in the next town, close to some places i frequent. so finding an in-the-way place isnt an issue. neither is finding a dealer; there's at least one within a 20-min drive.

i've been looking up RVs on the i-net last couple days, and am somewhat lost. front/center/rear kitchen, front/rear/walk-thru bathrooms, itsy-bitsy all-in-one-fiberglass-unit bathrooms, non-claustrophobic-friendly bathrooms (can you see a theme here?), queen bed, bunk beds, fold-out beds....just a lot to weed out. i just want a decent bathroom and kitchen (for an RV), but i dont expect a living space separate from the dining space. and i dont care what size bed--long's it's a "real" bed. i also dont need dishwasher, clothes washer/dryer, coffemaker (i'll stick with an electric kettle and maybe a french press)....i dont "need" any slide-outs, tho that would be nice in fact, a handful of extras are things i dont want at all, and most of the rest are things i can happily do without.

now i'm not going to need an RV until after finishing one semester away at college. according to Ambassador Baptist College rules, students under 23 who need to travel to attend HAVE to stay in the dorm for at least the first semester. dont ask me why. i figure i wont be able to afford to buy an RV until then anyway.

so i'd like some advice on narrowing down what i'd be looking for in an RV, like maybe some keywords to keep in mind. also i'd like to know, in general, how much it costs one person to live in one, minus travel expenses.


thanks ladies!

[Bethers]

Welcome!

Not sure what type of rv you'll be wanting, but I'm thinking you aren't going to be moving it, but putting it somewhere to live - similar to a mobile home? If that's the case, you'll probably be looking at trailers or 5th wheels. And what you need is simply what will work for you as living quarters.

Good luck.

[Forestgal]

Greetings! Glad to have you with us!

I have to say that I've never heard of someone wanting to live in an RV while in college. Quite a unique way to go!

It sounds like you want to be able to travel in whatever you want to get. Do you have a tow vehicle, or are you expecting take your home with you? You didn't mention where Ambassador Baptist College is, so that might be a deciding factor right there. If you'll be experiencing severe winters you might want to re-think things. Most RVs need to be specially prepped for extreme weather.

Also, between monthly space rental and a loan payment you might be closer to your $600/mo. figure than you think.

I don't want to burst your bubble, so again let me just say welcome. Keep asking those questions!

Laura

[Acadianmom]

Welcome to the forum. Like Laura said, RV's are not well insulated and can be hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Depending on the area, monthly rates at RV parks are not always that cheap and you might have to pay for your electric. In the winter you have to worry about your pipes and water hose freezing. There are trailers that are called park models that are more suited for long term living like a mobile home but smaller.

It has been close to 45 years since I was in college and I wouldn't trade my days in the dorm. I am still friends with 2 roommates. Back then we didn't have a choice.

Martha

[kdmac]

Hi Fundiegirl!
First, let me congratulate you on choosing a Christian college; you must be pursuing a ministry of some sort, would be fun to know what major you intend.

I looked up the "annual weather stats" for Lattimore NC. It indicates that winters are mild with lowest temp in the mid 40's. Should that be consistaint, as indicated, than ice hard freeazing issue may not plague you.
As someone mentioned the monthly rent at the RV park plus a loan payment for the RV purchase could be near $600 before all the other basic costs, i.e., food, entertainment, girly fru fru stuff. BUT, if you plan to pay cash for a used RV then monthly costs reduce substantially. You can buy used RV's for some pretty low prices...Especially in your part of the country they go for a bit less than west coast.
Most often the RV park charges rent "plus" electricity..but I have found that power ran me $45 in winter conditions in Oregon; I can bet yours in NC are fairly resonable.
The thing to do is know what price you want to pay, go walk through the ones in that range and you will find the floorplan that best suites you. These bathrooms are small, but many are divided with the sink/vanity to one side, toilet shower other, many are similar to that. I hate to say this, especially to a young adult gal just heading off into life..but if you can bring your father with you or uncle, etc. you very well may get a better deal; thems the facts.

With an apartment you just shut the door and your good to go. With an RV you need to keep a routine in mind like, pull your propane tanks and get them filled, empty your black and gray tanks at least every week, maybe week and a half, if living in full time, drain and flush your hot water tank every 6 months (depending on your water quality, more often if it's high mineral), No tampax or pads down the toilet...for #1 put the TP in the wastebasket instead of the tank...less is more.

I am sure you know there are outfits that will haul your RV to wherever you want it set up. I think you will find that a 5th wheel seems to offer more luxury because they are the highest seller. But a Travel trailer may be the cheapest way to go and some of them are very nice.

You may need to buy a "foam mattress" (Walmart is the best place to get one..order online) some of the mattresses the dealers put in there are just plain useless.

If you do decide to do the RV route keep us posted on your progress and we all have an opinion and no one person has it covered. So, bear with us as we opine.

Kathy

[Irmi]

Hi there & welcome!

What you are trying to do is doable if you do your homework and lots of it. Check out the monthly rates for campgrounds in the area and add to that the price of utilities, the cost of groceries on a monthly basis and the payment of the RV you might be buying, unless you'll be paying cash for it. Looking at used units can save you lots of moolah, so that's something to consider. Let us know what you decide on.

[fundiegirl]

thanks for all the replies! ok lets see if i can remember the questions i should answer

Ambassador Baptist College is in lattimore, north carolina, about a 30 min. drive to the south carolina border. (and yes, i'd be training for full-time ministry--to be a missionary, in fact ) right now i live in winchester virginia, which is near the region known as NoVa. our winters regularly bring us snow. i often notice that some RVs in the nearest campground often attach styrofoam pieces to the RV, kinda like skirting, for some insulation. i'll have to recheck the costs of living in the dorm at ABC so i can compare costs.

i just figure, in that scenario, that i'd live here in virginia, then move down to north carolina for the school year, then come back up to virginia in may or june, and continue like that. i wouldnt have to worry about appt rent and moving my stuff. besides, my brother wants my room and then after college i'd settle back down in VA (maybe) for the time being. not being attached to a piece of ground is appealing to me; once i go on deputation--gaining support from churches for the mission field--i'll be traveling ALOT. what would i do with a house/appt when i was away for large blocks of time? what about mortgage? i'm not going to be staying in the states and growing old with my house. i hope to be on deputation shortly after finishing college and on the mission field in my 30's (that's how it normally goes). it just makes sense to me.

i know i'll need to bring along a male family member when i check out RVs at a dealer, i was already planning on it. my brother already knows of my idea, but i havent told daddy yet--i just prefer steven's method of giving advice and caution. i'll tell daddy when i can answer all his questions, rebut any doubts, and am basically ready to go out and buy something right then. i'm not going to check out the dealer until i have a better idea of what i want.

i would like to pay for an RV outright instead of having a loan. that's what i was factoring in when i figured that RV living would be cheaper than an appt.

i've been checking out the internet, dealer's sites, ebay, online classifieds, just to see what's available for my tentative price range (i was thinking 15K?). and i know that when it comes time to make a decision that i'll have to make some compromises. i'll keep ya'll updated on my findings!

[fundiegirl]

okay i think i've exhausted all the campsite choices for my area (winchester/stephens city, va) and have come to three sites: candy hill campg, battle of cedar creek campg, and white oak trading post/campground.

candy hill got by far the best ratings. it has restrooms, laundry, dump station, sewer hookups, campstore, wifi, pets allowed, 50 amp power on some sites, and LP gas and firewood to buy, and a swimming pool. i started an online registration to see what the cost was for 27 days (the longest period one can reserve over the i-net) for a back-in site with water, electric, sewer: (with good sam disc.) $802.50; for a similar site with 50 amp available, again with discount: $856. candy hill offers a work camp program for an individual, the first 24 hours worked in a week pay for that week's rent. any hours over that are paid minimum wage (which here is $7.25).

battle of cedar creek campground had one very poor review out of three, so i'd have to check out the campground if it becomes an option. it has a store, pool, LP gas, firewood, sewer hookups, laundry, cable, pets welcome, dump station, wifi, propane delivery, book and DVD exchange. i figured that the cost for a spot offering water, sewer, and electric to cost $900/mo; one offering water and electric, $750/mo. i dont know about any workamp opportunities.

the white oak campground is just a mile away from where i live now. it doesnt have a website so i couldnt find out the ammenities or rates. i do know, tho, that they support fulltimers because many of the RVs there are set up to stay. and of course there's the camp store.

so those are my options. mind you, i intend to pay for an RV in full, once i'm able.

for groceries, i figure that, if i plan the shopping list, i can get away with budgeting $100/mo. and there are several thrift shops in the area; some offer more household items than others. then there's a discount food store in front royal where i can stock up on some food items and sundries.

[Forestgal]

Okay, call me old, but I have to ask ...

Why don't you want to live in the dorms or at least on campus? As far as I'm concerned, that's as much a part of the college experience as the academics are. There's plenty of time for you to strike out on your own, but isolating yourself in an RV just doesn't feel right to me, especially when you're going to college.

Okay, I've said it.

Now about the financial aspect ...

I don't think you're going to find an RV to be more economical than sharing a dorm room or apartment while you're in college. And $100/mo. isn't much today for food. And if you get a motorhome and gas hits $5/gal. in the next year you're really going to experience some wallet shock.

Now I'm really done. At least for now.

Laura

[fundiegirl]

eh, i dont know. it's just a thought.

[Bethers]

eh, i dont know. it's just a thought.

I didn't live on campus - so I understand the idea of living off campus.

As to checking rates. You need to call the campgrounds to get monthly rates - and to even see if they will do them. Usually they are much better rates. Not always, but usually. And be aware that what people are raiting places for is completely different than what you might be using the place for. Sometimes cg's get rated poorly for having too many long term residents - which is exactly what you want to be. So read ratings but don't think of them as everything. The first cg sounds like a resort type place and may not have long term sites (or if they do, may no have better rates for them). Also, if a place has a seasonal rate (whether for 6 months or year round, those are usually the best rates. You'd pay over $1000 a month on a monthly rate where I'm at now. But the most expensive seasonal rate is under $4000 (and it's for the site annually). So you really need to go to the cg's and look at them and talk about what they can offer.

[fundiegirl]

i'd emailed cedar creek to ask if they had a yearly rate; i got an email back with their monthly rate: $480! i've gotta email candy hill with the same question. and you're right, candy hill is a resort-type cg. cedar creek has its own special ammenities, to, but not on a resort scale.

to address the groceries concern, i had done quite a bit of number crunching. i'd found that if i wrote up a monthly grocery list--as opposed to weekly--and shopped at the discount store first (spending $25) and then visiting one of many other supermarkets each of the next weeks, paying attention to circulars, (and again spending 20 or 25 dollars at each place) i can get away with spending less than $100 each month. and that's without coupons. i can save 20 or 30 $$ just by planning. also i'm keeping in mind the fact that my appetite is going down due to the diet i'm on (whole-foods diet, basically) so i'd be buying less food than i would judging from just a couple weeks ago, and much less expensive junk food. or, for that matter, less expensive gluten free brand-name food.

as for toiletries, hey, my mother's an Avon rep, i can just get my shampoo, shower gels, deodorant, and makeup from her, at her price! heh, she stocks the white oak cg's store with avon deodorants, Skin So Soft brand stuff, and bug spray. i'll never have to pay more than a dollar for deodorant again. i dont wear much makeup anyways aside from lipstick.

and did i mention the large number of thrift stores?

[Travelinana]

I can't begin to give you advice on this but I do congratulate you on your plans for your life. You are certainly doing the math on this and considering I have an 18 year old granddaughter who I will state upfront is a good girl, always made good grades but when it comes to watching her finances she still thinks there's a money tree growing in the backyard..in comparison you are far and away more mature than most your age. Whatever you choose, my prediction is you will handle it just fine. I'm sure your parents are very proud of you. Good luck, and have fun with your quest.

[BirdbyBird]

To be researching this as you are and looking through this forum...you have already demonstrated that you are pretty unique for your age group. I applaud your looking outside the "box" to find an environment that meets your needs.

You already noticed that the hauling back and forth to school and summer employment could get a lot easier. I started thinking and realized when my daughter got out of the dorm as fast as she could..... and then lived at home for one semester just so that she didn't have to go into a dorm at Miami U....dorm life has changed from the days many of us may have experienced it. (And in those days many of us still always dreamed of better options.) The dorms are so wide open now and students have far fewer rules. The range of personal behaviors that a room mate or even a hall mate might deal with is much broader. I suppose it may be a life skill to put up with the noise and "unfortunate" decisions of those around you and for those, dorm life might be okay. But if you value privacy and the ability to study when you need/want and to have more control over your exposure to drugs, booze and irresponsible sexual behavior. Well you did say Christian College but I am betting that the maturity level of all the co-eds are not equal.

I have neighbors that actually bought a house in Columbus, OH, that all three of their son's utilized when they attended Ohio State. They made money by renting out the extra bed rooms each year...... After that last child graduated they sold the property.

[bluepinecones]

Just adding another welcome to the forum. It will be interesting to follow your plans so looking forward to updates as things progress.