Full disclosure—I come from a pretty government-wary household, so my opinion here may be a little bit biased. I grew up on 36 secluded acres in a small rural town that had around 1,000 residents. In towns like this, most people simply mind their own business. There are no nosy neighbors preoccupied with what you’re doing on your private property, and local zoning is lax, to say the least.
After full-time RVing for a few years now, my partner and I have strongly considered the possibility of purchasing some property to use as a home base. It’d be great to use it as a temporary place to park our truck camper and live in it, while we build something more permanent.
However, doing so isn’t as easy as you’d think—legally. There’s so much red tape surrounding residing in an RV, even if it is on your own property. Personally, I think the restrictions surrounding it are preposterous. At the end of the day, people should be allowed to do what they want on their own land, so long as it’s not damaging the local environment or harming surrounding residents.
Benefits of RV life on your own land
Living in an RV on private land can come with a long list of advantages compared to the traveling or stick-and-brick life. Most RVs have all the amenities you need, so if you’re not dead-set on having a fixed structure, living in one stationarily can make a lot of sense. Some of the benefits include:
- Affordability: Building or purchasing a home can easily add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Depending on where you settle, land can be more financially obtainable. If you’ve already got the RV or travel trailer, you can have your own piece of permanent property to live on for significantly less.
- Flexibility: Residing in your RV on your property allows you to pack up and begin traveling again at any moment. You don’t have to worry about maintaining a hefty mortgage payment on top of your traveling expenses.
- Convenient: If you are interested in building a home, living in your RV is a great accommodation in the meantime. You can be present or involved in the building process without needing to rent an apartment miles away.
- Taxes: Without a structure built on the property, taxes will be significantly lower and only reflect the value of the land.
Bureaucratic red tape: Knowing the local laws
Unfortunately, buying a plot of land and posting up with your RV isn’t as cut and dry as it may seem. In many municipalities, zoning laws strictly forbid it. Why? The government thinks they’re “looking out for you.” Most states don’t recognize RVs as acceptable permanent dwellings, making it quite hard to reside in one if you have no intention to change that. This is especially the case in more populated areas, and particularly, more wealthy areas. In my view, being an “eye-sore” isn’t a reason to forbid someone’s lifestyle.
When looking to legally reside in your RV, your best option is to purchase property on unincorporated land. Zoning laws in undeveloped places often don’t contain verbiage pertaining to RV living, giving people the freedom to do as they wish. However, as the population grows this type of land is becoming increasingly uncommon.
There are loopholes. Some places allow you to reside in an RV if you have a plan to build a home. So long as you have a building permit, you’re free to live in your rig during the process. Other laws may allow it if you have the proper utilities installed. This can be frustrating, especially if you intend on having an off-grid setup.
Reasonable concerns
Even if RV residency was completely allowed and legal, there are still some serious requirements that must be met—particularly concerning waste. Individuals still need a proper way to dispose of their waste but meeting local laws can be difficult.
Many zoning laws require that a septic system or connection to the sewer must be implemented to reside on a property. Some even require that electrical hookups are installed. What happens if you have a composting toilet? What if you make a weekly trip to the dump station? Not everyone needs traditional hookups to live a healthy, environmentally friendly life in their RV. Quite frankly, if you aren’t polluting the earth or air around your property, I don’t see why the government needs to tell you what to do with your poop, or how you should power your home.
Comments encouraged: Should you have the freedom to RV on your own land?
Of course, there are places around the United States where residing in an RV isn’t a problem. But is it fair that people wishing to live the lifestyle must restrict themselves to these vastly remote locations? Personally, I don’t think so. So long as you’re living a safe life, not intruding on others, and respecting the land around you, you should be free to live as you wish on your own private property.
What do you think? I’d love to hear all your opinions in the comments below.
##RVT1082
At the risk of being jumped on, I will say that I agree with part of what Jeff states, and disagree with other parts. I don’t believe that anyone should be forced to have electric hookups to live on their land. If they choose off grid options, the government has no business getting involved. Sewage is an altogether different concern. Improper handling can pollute ground and surface water, creating a health hazard. This is one area I think the government should be involved. Perhaps I am biased from working for one of Florida’s Water Management Districts for 22+ years. The problem is that not everyone is as conscious as Jeff about proper disposal.
And I disagree about “eyesores.” Every neighbor and passerby is affected by the view. If you have a dumpy looking RV on several acres out in the woods, nobody should care. But exposed to the world is a whole different matter. If it doesn’t look dumpy, it wouldn’t bother me, although it apparently bothers the “homeowner association” types.
I agree with you 100%, Carl. Here in Florida we have a delicate ecosystem. Proper waste disposal is imperative.
That’s why I have always avoided HOAs all my life, I equate HOAs as dictatorships without armies. I have always kept my property up to standards as that’s the way I was raised, but I don’t like someone telling me what color to paint my door.
Agree (and unfortunately we live in an HOA community!)
People that live in houses with HOA have the same wants or don’t wants, no abandon cars, junk piles, 2 feet of weeds, houses painted purple and pink. You may live in a community and keep your property in perfect condition but your neighbor running a auto parking lot on his.
I agree, I’m in a RV community ( brand new) and WAS on the HOA Board until 4 days ago…. The President is a dictator, I was looking out for the interest of all 19 owners with keeping things simple and Costs down. He ran the show did everything without consulting owners or other Board members. Left a bad taste in my mouth over HOA’s. The owners now are trying to figure out how we can do this without an HOA. I say it can be down with such a small group.
An HOA for 19 lots? That’s ridiculous.
Carl, 100% yes re: wastewater, however, MANY houses are an eyesore and there is seemingly no oversight of those.
I agree with Carl
We purchased a motorhome, dropped 30 amp electrical service at our home for it, poured a concrete pad, installed a privacy fence – all with city approved permits in a non-HOA community. We left the RV plugged in to keep the A/C on (Florida heat). We received a letter a few months later from the City that there was an ordinance on the books that a living space could not be powered by a flexible power cord, so the RV would need to be shut down or face daily fines after 7 days. That is when we left the house and went full-time. Sold the house. No regrets 3 1/2 years later.
Totally agree with Jeff
It could be a brand new motor home and someone would still call it an eyesore, there is no way to make everyone happy. If you have great batteries and or great solar power problem solved for electric. Even with a macerating waste system, it still must be dumped somewhere, properly. That would be my concern. Otherwise, live and let live!
I agree with Jeff as well as Carl W. The local Governments are way off base with restricting RV living.
One thing you hint at, that I think is part of the government’s concern is that anything on wheels cannot be taxed, so property taxes don’t include the motorhome or trailer “dwelling.” We live on a cement pad for 5-6 months in the summer (in VT) on land we own. (We have an electric hook-up but we go to RV parks every 3 weeks to get water and dump.) Technically, zoning allows for a stay of 3 months at a time however there has been no oversight…yet!
If you want to live without restrictions, move to the streets of LA. For a community to require you to have proper septic system, is not lack of freedom. All you have to do is look at the conditions of street RV living in the west coast, to see people can be destructive to a community.
This is a discussion about living on your own land .
Jeff I must agree. As long as I am not damaging the environment or endangering my neighbors my property and how I choose to live on it is no ones business. I must question the validity of zoning laws and government regulations when they allow people to live on the streets and open spaces with no facilities except the clothes on their backs. They are allowed to use public parks, private lots and public streets as they want. For the government to regulate the private property owner that chooses to live in an RV would be discrimination at the least. Unfortunately the demand for power in this liberal society only includes their vision of how life should be.
“we are from the government and we are here to help”. The most scariest words ever spoken! We are in the same boat in looking for a lot or 1 acre to put a concrete pad for our diesel pusher for approximately 2.5 months a year for the winter in warmer climates. Other than that, we travel full time. None incorporated land is your best bet, but again, you will have neighbors who might complain, no matter how nice you make it! We want to put in a septic tank, electricity and water in the form of a well most likely, so our outlook is to build a home on this property at a later date when we quit the RV life. I feel your pain! Still looking!
We have 36 acres in a very rural area. We visit our property for extended periods of time. No one cares what we do in the area we are in. We are putting a well in this month to move towards a more permanent place for us. After 6 years on the road, we are moving towards an exit plan. We cleared an acre and put in a 500’ driveway last year. No permit was required. A 5 question form for our well. It definitely makes a difference where you choose to purchase.
I agree with Jeff. Mostly. I think if one wants to live in an RV or camper or tent or whatever on their own private property, it’s not anyone’s business and certainly not the government’s. The exceptions lie in the extremes that people go to. No I don’t think there shouldn’t be any oversight or regulations, but they should be fair and reasonable. Getting rid of waste, for example, in an unsafe, destroying the environment kind of way? You should be heavily fined and possibly jailed. Does that mean no citizens should be able to have an alternative? No it does not. But, that’s not how government works. Once the government is called in to “fix” a problem everyone seems to suffer. Living in an RV, temporarily in an HOA type community – nah. That doesn’t really make sense since most people are choosing that lifestyle for reasons I don’t understand. As my parent’s used to say, just ’cause you can, doesn’t mean you should. There seems to be a great lack of common sense these days.
Where I currently live many folks are building so called “Barndominiums”. They build large pole buildings to house the R/V but also use the rest of the building for other designs. Driving by a person wouldn’t know what was inside. Some are nicely landscaped others not. Low maintenance and low construction costs. Higher taxes but a viable alternative.
If everyone were responsible, we wouldn’t need big brother to look out for us, but unfortunately, that is too often not the case. Boondocking areas are under attack because people do not know how to take care of their waste. Laws are created as a preventative measure to warn you what good behavior looks like, and to provide law enforcement a means to take action when you fail to comply. What is done on private property can affect others. Rarely are ecosystems isolated to a specific area.
Having electricity is a benchmark for habitable. If you want to be off-grid, use off-grid sources of electricity like wind or solar.
And yes, we live in a community and are subject to its shared values. You do not and should not have the right to subject others to your eyesore. Eyesores are also the first sign that there are probably more significant health issues ongoing for the individual and the community.
We live in a village that has many RV lots with folks living on them. It is our winter home base. These sort of towns are far and few between.
I do admit that some of our spaces are beautiful and well cared for. Others have fallen into disrepair as the Grandparents pass away and none of their heirs want to deal with the place. Or a storm has passed through and their are no funds for cleaning up the mess.
So along with the freedom to build there is also a freedom to leave a mess. That’s part of the problem. Of course we’ve all seen abandoned property in more regulated place. All of those restrictions don’t fix the problems.
Exactly. I just drove through a town with lots of mobile home and rvs in various complexes, small lots, big lots, etc., most nice but some abandoned. The problem is, they deteriorate and become unsaleable at some point, i.e. when Grandpa passes away. With a conventional home of brick or frame, a flipper can come in and renovate and get the building back in usable condition.
The West is littered with towns and rural landscapes blighted by old RVs and mobile homes, abandoned. They are not fixable, it costs too much to remove them for the heirs who own them. It is a big and growing problem.
I hate that I can’t live in my RV in the township my forebears founded, by zoning. But I realize too many people left a unit to rot, and the township’s way of dealing with it is to prevent them in the first place.
“So along with the freedom to build there is also a freedom to leave a mess. That’s part of the problem. Of course we’ve all seen abandoned property in more regulated place. All of those restrictions don’t fix the problems.”
Best answer yet. (1) Where is this place? Lots of folks looking for a place they can live in their trailers. (2) There are definitely fewer run down/abandoned properties in areas where trailers aren’t allowed. The heirs quickly sell out to builders who tear down the unwanted old to build new. I don’t think there are more than 2 weeks that go by when we see a “pile of lumber, sinks and toilets” where an abandoned or run down house used to be.
Different areas and parcels have different restrictions. Also your neighbors and land developers would be a problem, maybe more so than the government. When we were looking for a lot to build we found some with a ‘no trailer’ restrictions. This was in rural, unincorporated areas. Why? The developer, and neighbors who already built, did not want to spend $$$$$$$ on a house if next door someone set up a $$ trailer, or RV or shed. Behind much of what you run into may be in place to keep up property values.
I agree about the concern for property values. We are looking to move to the area my family lives in in Nevada. In even the nicer towns, there is a clear difference in maintenance and upkeep between the HOAs with rules, and the non-HOA neighborhoods. My husband hates rules and the government’s oversight of people’s lives. I keep telling him that many people in HOAs find them far more intrusive than the government. But he doesn’t want to live next to a run down unkempt property, so he is “choosing the lesser of two evils.”
I don’t think we will be able to find a HOA that will allow me to park my trailer. Any place that allows trailers will probably not meet my husband’s “high standards”.
We may be buying 2 places. lol!
You wrote, “Most states don’t recognize RVs as acceptable permanent dwellings.” But why is that? Because that’s what the RV industry has been telling everyone from day one, promoting the myth that RV are vehicles, not dwellings, and not intended for long-term residency. The RV industry has created this problem for itself, trying to have its cake and eat it, too.
The RV Industry has avoided calling RV’s dwellings for a one very simple reason.
To be considered a dwelling for permanent occupation RV’s would then have to be built to a much higher standard than is currently required. These permanent occupation classified RV’s would have to meet Federal, State and local building standards and rules for permanent housing which at a minimum are FHA standards.
No way in Hell would the RV industry want to have to do that!
Right on!
There’s definitely way too much government overreach today. It all boils down to money, how much taxes can they extract out of you. I agree with any laws or zoning requirements that make environmental sense but beyond that “stay out of the way”. If your place is clean and kept up that’s good enough for me. When I sold my sticks and bricks home in MO a few years ago the house next to me cost me $10K because it was a disaster. I’d rather have had a nice looking RV next door.
Just last month we asked to stay in our trailer on our lot in town to keep people from stealing lumber, etc while building our home. The city said no. You can only stay in your RV 2 weeks a year. You can store your RV on your lot, but no living in it. We have electricity, water and sewer hookups on the property. We applied for a waiver/ variance of the ordinance ro the city council and it failed. So, we live 3 miles away in an RV Park until completed.
Call your trailer a construction trailer. You see them at many construction sites. You are supervising the building of you home out of it by day. At night you plan for the next day. Cant help it if drift off and sleep during the night!
AMEN BROTHER!
Unless you have owned your property for generations or years before your city/county instituted zoning restrictions from which you would be “Grandfathered/Exempt” because you were there first you are pissin in the wind as you have no moral, legal or any other argument concerning the legal restricted Use Of Your Land.
When you purchase any real property you agree to and are bound by the zoning restrictions and restrictive covenants in place for that particular property at the time of your purchase which governs your legal use of your land. You agreed to this restriction when you signed on the dotted line at the time of purchase!
Don’t like the zoning or restrictive covenants in place for the land you want to purchase?
DON’T BUY IT!
Pretty simple!
Well said. Happens everywhere though. While in the Air Force, I was always amazed at the periodic complaints, even protests about our jet noise from nearby neighborhoods. This particular base has been there since the 1940s! Well before any of those homes were built. Hard to believe how clueless people are when they buy property.
I agree regarding people moving near trains, airports and farms wanting everyone else to change for them. (On the other hand, they probably didn’t have sound barrier breaking jets in the 1940’s.)
When a home is often the biggest investment people make, and the appreciation in value is better than the stock market…it is human nature to fight anything that devalues the area. We have a lovely home on small acreage, and my travel trailer is parked out front right next to the end of the private street (that we built). We put trails on the land and allow people to walk their dogs and let their kids play, and in return, they don’t complain lest No Trespassing signs go up. We wave to each other as I sit on my folding chair outside of my camper, and it’s a lovely private place for my guests to stay when I have guests.
I think it helps that ours is the newest and nicest house, in a dense older neighborhood. Of course, people also complain about “McMansions”. Ours is not a McMansion, but people complained anyway when we built it. The only house that could be devalued by the trailer is…ours. We plow or snowblow neighbors driveways for them, help when they need something, bring fresh vegetables from my garden, and have been good neighbors. Something else they don’t want to lose.
Otherwise, I have no doubt there would be complaints.
They didn’t have jets in the 40’s!
Yes, they did Bob. BTW, they also had prop driven airplanes. Airplanes had engines. Engines on prop jobs or jets make noise. My Dad’s P-51 fighter was far from silent. Have you ever been near a B-25 like my Grandfather flew? They weren’t jets either but they are loud. Stack up a flight of 4 of any military aircraft and you’ve got a lot of noise. My comment was actually intended to refer to aircraft noise in general though, and there were plenty of aircraft around the bases before jets. Did you know that by the end of 1945, the US had their first jet fighter, the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star? My Dad flew F-86 Sabre jets in 1949-50 and several other jets as an instructor in the 50s. By the mid 40s, jet aircraft were appearing world-wide. The jet age has been in progress for a long, long time.
Sound barrier breaking jets are not necessary for impressive noise levels from military aircraft. Even flights of propeller driven aircraft from long before the 50’s were loud. Point is, they were there first.
I am facing this issue right now. I and my brothers own property on a small lake in Michigan. This property used to be part of my grandfather’s farm. We have camped on this land since I was a small child and we have a picture pump for a shallow well that we have been using for 50 years.
I now want to put in a pad and septic for my fifth wheel so that I can stay on the property off and on during the summer months. I went to get a permit to install the septic and was told I needed to get documentation from the township saying that it would be all right for me to camp on the property in an unincorporated area. The township tells me that I am not allowed to camp on the property. The only place you are allowed to camp is in a formal campground.
So now I’m in the situation of deciding do I just put in a large storage tank and pay a pump out service or do I put in my own septic system without the help of any professionals since they won’t touch it without the permit.
I hope you’re young 50’s or under, I put a small RV septic system in for my parents who camped in my back yard during the summer and went to south AL for the winter. It consisted of 3 50gal plastic drums connected together as a septic tank to catch the solids and progressively only allow water into the septic field, I sweated profusely for 3 days part time as I was still working full time. When it was finished it worked perfectly, cost was less than than $100 plus the rental of a small back hoe.
Ya gotta know where to go. And it definitely has gotta be outside the city limits. We happen to live in the poorest county in our state, and pretty much anything goes building/property wise.
Rules and regulations are only put in place to protect us from stupidity.
While somewhat true, what is also true is that governments resent independence. I could go on with validated cases of local governments forcing issues just to collect money from the property owner.
The government’s sticking their nose into your land is just their version of an HOA. Ridiculous.
I think full hookups on your land is a good thing. Improved land makes a better sell when you are ready to off-load it. I’m currently on the hunt for a such a spot. In regards to government regulations…they are in place to keep people doing stupid stuff. I live in an HOA, and I’m glad I do. I signed up to live where I live and it keeps houses from becoming ghetto, and maintains property values.
HOA’s and noisy neighbors, a match made in h**l.
An HOA is there for the same reason the government is. To protect the interests of the community as a whole, not just special interests.
You seem to view “the government” as some nefarious entity, rather than a group of elected officials who are your neighbors. It’s those officials, and the other neighbors who vote for the laws and regulations that are proposed, who vote how they think we should all be governed – it’s not just laws and regulations directed at you, specifically.
If you don’t like how they are governing, you should try to convince them to vote for what you believe, or run for office yourself. If a majority of your neighbors don’t vote your way, then you accept it or move to a like-minded community. That is how our democratic republic operates – we collectively set the rules and we collectively follow them.
Very well said. Thank you.
Well said!
We once bought a 1/2 acre lot in southern Michigan in a township. The plan was to visit there once every year with our trailer for a couple months. The long range plan was to build a shed, then a garage and then a house over a few years. The township was ok with us parking our RV there and knew about our plans. We had to apply for a permit for our trailer every 14 days, this continued for a couple months. The 1st thing to do when we purchased the property was to clear the land for a spot for our RV and additional area as needed. I had a large barn style shed dropped off and it installed in the very rear back section of the property. I tried to order trash pickup but the townships trash service was combined with sewer and water service. We did not have a sewer and no water service so we could not get trash service. We did have sewer installed from street to center of property so we could dump. The township kept changing the rules on us so we were forced out and sold the land.
In Arizona there is still land you can buy 36-40 acreas and do what you want on it for $20k-$30k. Keeps in mind there is no electric or water nearby so you would be totally off the grid. The area maybe be high desert and could still get snow, no trees just small shrubs and you can’t grow anything on it except desert plants. Probably be 20-30 miles from the nearest town for supplies.
Almost Heaven!
Yup next stop the moon!
😅😂🤣
Mars!
I was an (appointed but unpaid) commissioner on a small rural village planning commission for 20 years. The commission evaluated zoning issues against the current village ordinance and recommended actions to the elected village council. Land use is a BIG issue everywhere. It is designed to protect the prosperity of a municipality as a whole. And land use recommendations go with the property and not with the person making a request. If the property is sold, the new owners inherit the change. Ordinances generally allow two types of variances – permanent (very hard to get), and limited (time and conditions). In either case, all nearby property owners get to have a say in a public hearing. Changing the ordinance itself is an even bigger deal.
My recommendation is to apply for a limited variance, setting both time limits and explaining how the variance will or won’t affect neighbors – and hopefully show how it may increase the value of their property.
Yes but it’s tragic how we’ve made the simplest things as enjoyable as having hemroids!
Mixed feelings here. I live in the woods with a few acres, no neighbors for a mile. I dislike seeing eyesores, but they are around. There is a law about not living in an RV. It has been fairly lax unless neighbors complain. It got more lax during covid.
Here, there are many streams, and any septic has to be 100 feet from a stream, which is good. It is zoned forest land, so even building a house is not allowed in many cases.
A few years back, hippies bought two acres along a stream, and there wasn’t even 40 feet between the stream and road, so it was probably cheap. It was at the end of road for all to see. They had a lot of riffraff visiting. So, moved in with two very old RVs and commenced to hang ugly tarps in trees. The stream has salmon and trout, and isn’t far from a bigger creek that people live along (both streams). Waste was a problem. It was summer, fire danger is a big deal–they had gas cans and a generator running. They got moved out, a huge relief to all.
It sounds like you have the right approach as far as pollution. If only everyone shared your values. Our Walmart had to cease overnight RV’s since some chose to dump both tanks in the parking lot.
I love the sign in the photo: “HIX”! Cough, cough.
I think each community should be able to zone and enforce their codes on all property.
The “great RV boom” has created a huge problem in many communities. RVs are now parked illegally all over the place and the list of issues that opens up is endless. And the politicians do the “PC” dance all around the issue while the problems grow and fester to the bane of local taxpaying citizens.
Just come to the SF Bay Area, Portland, Los Angeles, etc…and see for yourself.
Codes, rules and zoning is there for a reason. But, like so many other laws- are often unenforced these days. Overall, I think it IS reasonable to allow a landowner to live in an RV on his/her own property as long as the local ordinances and codes are all met.
I agree with you but what you see in SF, LA, and Portland etc. are not people living on their own property but on public spaces. Lack of law enforcement was one of the reasons I moved away from Portland.
Key phrase is “so long as it’s not damaging the local environment or harming surrounding residents.” This might work if we only had 69 Million people in the US and everyone considered every plot of 35 acres equally desirable. Of course, we would need to get rid of all those nasty”public lands” that are in our “National Parks”, and eliminate the gas and oil refineries or steel mills or truck production plants. Would you look forward to a 100 mile commute to your place of work? Some people might have a bit of difficulty raising all the food they need if their 35 acres in West Texas. Not sure what happens to the other 281 Million Americans. But it would be nice as long as we would never need any of those ugly examples of civilization like Hospitals.
I think you should be able to live permanently in your RV on your own property with a few caveats. The RV should be carefully maintained and tastefully skirted. The area around the RV needs to be maintained in an appropriate manner consistent with the other dwellings in the area. That means no storage containers sitting around the RV, and no extra appliances hooked up to the outside of the RV.
I disagree with your recommendations. If you are out in BFE, then skirting should be your decision. Granted skirting does provide a wind break, it still should be a manner of personal choice. Ideally, there would be no other dwellings near me.
You mean don’t make it like West Virginia!!
😅😂🤣
I agree the the author. My husband and i are in a 5th wheel in an unincorporated area have been living here on private property for going on 7years. My husband is a army veteran and is 64 years old and i am 50. He uz disabled and i am not too far from it. We keep our area tidy and also clean the trash people from the city come out here to dump. Code enforcement is making us abandon our home stating we are a public nuisance.. We are now being forced to become homeless. We dont get much money monthly and will not be able to afford to live in the city. We cant understand why are they making us become homeless in a county where we are told homelessness here will be against the law? If there is anyone out there who can help us … I beg you for someway to keep our home out and away from public or give us info on where we can go to live on a monthly income of 2200 and still have money for our other expenses please let me know. Right now we are at a loss for a place to go and a place where our dogs can go too. We have done nothing but try to be goid to people and help those we can and cant just cant afford to live anywhere else. Why does our govt want to take a vet who is not currently honeless and make him homeless… In a place where homelessness is a crime… Help please.
Just read feature abt challenges of rv living on ur property….boy I agree. I live in PA and love the Maryland-Virginia eastern shore..it’s a 200 mile trip. Land is cheap but the hall u go thru to get permission is BS. All around are abandoned old homes decaying . They have several trailer parks l wouldn’t send my worst enemy to. This and the rest of recent rv BS is killing the experience. On the eastern shore there were several camp grounds. ..today only a handful remain in private hands. A bunch have been purchased raised prices at.near motel rates just to tent camp. They booted out all their seasonals….life is becoming too frustrating with all the big money people being greedy and restricting to just the money people.in $100k gas guzzling motor home houses on wheels. I swear 90% of them rarely wander outdoors and stay holed up in A/C….the nature draw is going the way of the dodobird.
😥😣😢
You say you agree with the author that people should be able to do what they want with their property, but then all of the rest of your message is hypocritical complaints about others doing what they want with their property.
The beautiful thing is we have choices. Some of us appreciate having land use standards and zoning requirements, others not so much. The great thing is both can be and are available.
It’s up to the buyer to do the proper research and diligence to ensure the property they are buying is zoned to allow the desired use.
We purchased a plot of land in Arizona to do what the author wants. There is plenty of property there which allows it and plenty that does not. We cleaned up, landscaped a bit and put in a small building and pads. Perfect and we love it.
Of course, because of the lack of restrictions there are some “eyesores” in the area and our neighbor is a bit of a hoarder, but we understood that was a price of the flexibility and freedom to do what we wanted and we are OK with that. The fact that our land might not appreciate and or hold the value as people buy and sell it would in a more strictly zoned area is a decision we made with eyes wide open.
This! (Up Arrow) Hear Hear!
We recently encountered this. In looking for a property to place our RV, we found a nice quarter acre lot near a lake reduced from $5800 to $3500. A steal at the original price. RVs allowed. But then the catch and the reason so many lots were for sale. The township was requiring a sewer hook up to the tune of nearly $9000! Many of the property owners had used their lots for years but this rule was forcing them out. We chose not to buy.
I would think a sewer hookup would be an enhancement of value. It eliminates the cost of maintaining and eventually replacing a septic system. It transfers the operation and maintenance to an outside organization. Don’t tell me your septic system is no cost. We just spent $50K rehabbing 1 of our 17 30 year old systems in our coop.
My septic tank is practically no cost. Been here 20 years and only paid for the occasional “maintenance based” pump out every few years at around $150 a pop. The septic was likely here 20 years before we got here, too. Of course it’s single family, and now that all our kids are grown and out on their own, the load on it is pretty minimal, but I’d always rather have my own septic than be stuck with ever-increasing monthly sewer bills forever. Thankfully, I do live in an area where if by chance the system were to fail, I can legally install a replacement myself as a homeowner, with proper permitting. I checked into that years ago when we had a scare our drain field had failed..(the tank itself is concrete and isn’t going anywhere)…turns out the problem was roots and we were able to take care of that without replacing the drain field.
I had a septic system for 28 years with only monthly addition of a couple of yeast packets flushed down the toilet. If you maintain your septic system on a regular basis it will function by itself flawlessly, also don’t flush non biodegradable items down the toilet. It’s still working today, I sold out in 2008.
Agreed. I did forget to mention that we do flush some yeast or Rid-X/Roebic down the toilet from time to time as well. What really surprised me upon our first pump out after purchasing the place was the pretty darn thick layer of tomato seeds floating on top! Apparently, they are NOT biodegradable!
If I were buying a property to build on, yes, a sewer hook up would have been a plus. But for a camp site to use infrequently, $9000 was too much to be forced to absorb. I sympathize with long term owners who were struck with this cost after years of low cost ownership.
That happened in a town I lived in in Arizona 25 years ago. Folks were forced to abandon their septic systems and hook up to sewer at their expense. What’s more, the hook up fees were based “per lot”. At the time it may have been $6000-$8000 per lot, I don’t remember exactly, but many homes by then were on two or more lots. A coworker of mine had a home on four lots, so they had to come up with 4 times the amount! The city had secured pre-approved loans for people to do this, but property values weren’t particularly high at the time. My co-worker and her family felt they’d never recoup the investment in their lifetimes, as the husband was retired and my co-worker was getting close to retirement, and they wouldn’t be able to sell under the circumstances because nobody wanted to pony up an asking price PLUS the sewer fees, so they ended up walking away from their nearly paid off home and moved back to their home state after 20 years.
It all depends on how you VOTE!
I totally disagree that even if you own the property you can do anything you want. Just go to Alaska rural and find all the junk in the yard where there is no control. I am on the board of An HOA and people can not do what the want with their property and that way it can be controlled and keep up the property values. The problem sounds very red neck and tRumpian.
OH!!!
It’s always the Presidents fault.
Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden.
You pick your poison based upon the way your politics swing.
Wow!
Looks like a “Rainbow Coalition”!
Glad I don’t live near you
Look, I have been to Alaska and did noticed this, but so what. This country was founded upon freedom from an oppressive government. I refuse to live in a HOA community because I refuse to surrender my freedom. People who move to an incorporated area should be aware of the “regulations” that comes with it. I saw a road sign several years ago that read, “unzoned for your freedom”.
@ Roy Davis. No offense but my guess is with your mindset, they don’t want you there either. To each their own.
I’m with you on this. If there’s an HOA, I’m out. And for rural land, no covenants or restrictions. It pays to do one’s research. We bought rural land nearly 20 years ago and initially looked at southeastern Colorado, and at the time, there was a compact with Kansas over water runoff which essentially made it illegal to collect rainwater from your own roof in the area we were looking at. No go for us. We bought elsewhere.
Rural Alaska is a lot like rural Hawaii. Everyone stores all their stuff outside and probably have immaculate interiors. You choose to live in a commune so you need to live with your decisions and not project them onto others. That therapy lesson is free.
I joined our HOA to try to help out my neighbors and many friends. The liberal politics took over and started to require “Architectural review boards by board members who were not Architects. That germinated into fencing control, what kind of garbage cans could be used and when they had to be put out. Environmental studies came next and after many landowners moved away, so did I. Most people were reasonable in what they wanted to build, no matter the liberals had their way and even bragged about it in the HOA bulletins. I have no use for those who think they know better than others what could or should be done on someone else’s property.
“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
hmm, “very redneck and tRumpian”. Quite open minded there, aren’t ya Dean?
BTW, I was with you until your last sentence…
HOA’s are an affront to liberty and a scourge upon the nation. And that’s “Ultra-Maga” to you.
I agree with you. We lived in our class A on my parents’ property for 8, 9 months while our house (about 1/4 of a mile away) was being built. We expected this and had utilities extended to the barn in which we parked. The utilities had been in place for 35 years when my now-deceased little brother lived there in a mobile home ahead of building a house (never happened, he died first). The secptic tank had collapsed and was replaced. Otherwise, no problems. It never occurred to me to ask the county (we live in an unincorporated area) for permission. We still park our RV there and host a Boondockers Welcome site there also. As you say, there are advantages to living beyond corporated limits.
Your comment is well taken, but as you noted, all the plumbing and sewer components are in place – plus it is existing. And to those who are commenting about an eyesore. Would you want a broken down old mobile home, falling apart with no windows and trash being thrown out to be next door to your well manicured $400,000 home you built to retire on? Come on man!
What a laugh, California is THE MOST POPULOUS STATE, yet people only live on 5.6% of the land!
To many NIMBYs ( not in my back yard) regulating and controlling every aspect of one’s life! A self contained RV should be used at the owners discretion and needs.
The hippies are the reason the government has to be involved. These days it’s “the me generation “. No respect for others. Blame everything on someone else, e.g. Trump. I don’t see things changing. I’m glad I’ll be dead when the country implodes, and it will. People are going to get what the asked/voted for. Civility and respect are long gone.
I am responding to your first sentence ONLY. If what you say is true??? then yay for the hippies!!! The rest of what you spewed is politically charged and not worth addressing.
In our county, the hippies make garbage dumps every place they park and/or wrecking yards with hundreds of old junker RVs, old appliances, and whatever.
I think the homeless do this. Not hippies.
They certainly look like hippies, subculture types–I looked up the definition of a hippie. I imagine there are homeless hippies. I mentioned in another post about some buying a piece of property and what they did to it, so I don’t know that they were homeless. Everyone that sells their property to travel could be called homeless.
Yep!
Less government is always better. And personal accountability for poor decisions needs to be implemented. With fewer unintelligent people making decisions and actually thinking of the consequences of their decisions, how can we go wrong.
Choosing where to live has a great deal to do with what governmental oversight you may have. We live in the DFW area and recently moved out of the big cities and into more rural areas. I have found that we can do just about anything we want to do as long as we comply with any of the National building codes, though even then there is no enforcement, just an occasional stop by and a few suggestions. We came from the Grand Prairie area and restrictions were so tight my neighbor built a garage for his Airstream and didn’t get all of the HOA, city and county approvals. Even then one jurisdiction claimed the height needed to match the height of his home, another forbid going any higher than X feet off the ground. As well the city required a certain amount be Masonry construction. It was a nightmare for him. We put up a drive through barn where we moved to and he couldn’t believe there was no County interference. He went back and sold his home and moved out to the country like me.
HOA’s are just another form of the socialists take over of this country!
BTDT. After a hurricane heavily damaged our house, we parked on our front lawn to oversee contractors. As we had a working 30 amp hook up already, it made sense. Went to the county to get the necessary permit. Five different people in the code enforcement division couldn’t agree on whether we could do it or not. Finally the “boss” gave me his card and said if anyone makes a fuss, have them call me.
I live in a small town in a rural county that used to be live-and-let-live. Today there are so many restrictions on where you can put an RV, even on your own property, it is almost impossible. You have to ask the county for a private RV park permit. Then there are hearings, etc. What has happened to our freedoms?
People vote for the current party who only wants to control US/YOU!!
All to get more “free stuff”…sad what people are willing to trade their freedoms for-especially when there is no common sense in what they want(ie nothing is free)
I basically agree with you. If there is an established neighborhood then I understand a concern about an “eyesore”. Having said that, if your location is considerate of surrounding communities, and you take into account certain health standards, then do what you want. We are far too over regulated in my opinion.
I have had my 2021 RV deemed an “eyesore” due to it not been a $500k-million dollar unit, so “eyesore” can be debated.
What happened to your almost new RV that it is deemed an eyesore? It’s hard to imagine so new a coach being labeled as such. And not being a $500k – million dollar coach has absolutely nothing to do with any RV being called an eyesore. Something fishy in your statement here, me thinks. . .
In, my opinion the government has too much power these days. We, as citizens are over regulated and live under too many rules. And while we are at it, the government system is too large with too many fat cat bureaucrats!
I’m from the government and I’m here to help. Sound familiar?
And we pay dearly for the ‘privilege’ of being over reglated as such….not quite the American dream most envision!!!
I have witnessed both the pros and the cons of living in an RV on private property. Before we built the boat/RV barn we lived in our motor home when in the area for fishing, etc. Once the barn was built and a manufactured home installed, the RV rested in the barn until it was time for a trip. One of our neighbors at our home residence has installed an old fifth wheel and two or three wall tents on about an acre of property. At one time (10 to 15 years ago) there was a working well and septic on the property, but both aged into non functional. That neighbor has also failed to sign up for garbage service in their 4 years of residency. Not a pleasant sight when accessing our property. Unfortunately this property affects the whole neighborhood as it is one of the first you see when you access the surrounding properties. Living in an RV on private property is most likely okay if, and only if, you are in complete compliance with local regulations and do not harbor a nuisance.
Completely agree. There should be freedom to do as wished on private property as long as the property values surrounding the place aren’t diminished. Freedom has a price that should not be paid by one’s neighbors. I will add that many town have ‘junk yard’ ordnances that forbid what you experience from a thoughtless neighbor.
With 85 comments, you probably covered my thoughts!
Although many agree with you, there are reason’s for the rules. You didn’t mention how you would handle dumping tanks, which I am sure is a concern for the township / state. How about water or power? One way would be to build a larger storage building with a septic or holding tank, dig a well and power it. Store the camper inside. Another option is to buy a farmstead where you get an old house and outbuildings where there is already power, water and a septic. Many ways to meet the rules. Just be creative. Just saying.
The point of the article is that you shouldn’t have to ” get creative” on your own land.
And neither of your options would be legal in most places so keep trying. The “occupied structure” would still be considered the RV so still illegal. I guess you’re not as creative as you think you are.
You hit the big nail on the head when you mentioned Permanent structure and taxes. the township wants your money. Also the school taxes if there are children involved. There are a couple of full time year round camper parks in my area (South Nj.) but children under 18 are not allowed last time I checked. Tiny homes aren’t allowed either. I think tiny homes and RV’s should be allowed. . . guess I need to get outta the socialist republic of new jerkistan comrade!
That’s what property tax on the land is for. They just want to tax you more for living there. Errrrrrr. Our government no longer works for us. They work for themselves and to keep an eye on you. It’s not like we have a say on how taxes get spent. They want to tax us in everything. Isn’t that why we went to war with England in the first place? But here we are…….
No, we went to war with Great Britain over unequal taxes. There were taxes (8%) on American goods, but no taxes on the same British goods. So we went to war over some people having a favored tax advantage.
That’s half correct. After the Seven Years War (of which the French and Indian War was a major theatre), Great Britain was up to their ears in debt. At the time the war ended (1763), the average Brit was paying 20x the taxes that the average American was. That is not a typo. Since the war primarily benefitted the Americans (by removing the French from a good chunk of North America), the British government (and people) figured it was only fair that the Americans paid a little bit more towards their fair share. And the Americans (led by wealthy landowners) lost their minds. From there it progressed to a battle over self governance and all that. Finally, the whole ‘No Taxation without Representation’ thing was a line of BS. Ben Franklin was sent to negotiate with explicit instructions to NOT accept representation, because if they did, there one colonial vote would have been overwhelmed by the rest of parliament, and the colonists wouldn’t have anything to complain about. Oh, and British tea was way cheaper than smuggled tea.
As for land use, yeah, just find unincorporated rural land that is less regulated. Nobody wants Cousin Eddie rolling up and setting up next to there we’ll kept 4bed 2 bath ranch style.
I live in rural NV, 68 miles from the LV strip, the middle of the desert, and we have rules here that don’t let you do this. It is what I had planned when I bought my land in 2017…build a garage, put water, power, and sewer with an RV pad. Found out those already doing this, and there are a lot, were grandfathered but no new ones. I was planning to build a house in 4 or 5 years. Instead, I went ahead and built the house and glad I did. I wouldn’t be able to afford to do it now. I moved in in Jan 2020 and then covid hit and prices of building supplies skyrocketed.
The problem with a lot of people who say “it’s my property I’ll do what I want” is that they create junk yards, feed lots and other nuisances which spoils it for those that would be respectful neighbors.
Then there are the jurisdictions that want the tax revenue from mcmansions…they don’t make money on land with an RV on it! The rule here is no house under 860sf and they are trying to increase that to 1250.
Are you in Clark County, or in Pahrump over in Nye? I’m curious because I lived in Nevada in the 1980’s (when I first moved to Nevada, there was less than a million people in the whole state) and we’re considering going back, but have to do our research. I still have family in Vegas and outside Reno. It seems all of Clark County is pretty much controlled by metropolitan Vegas, but last I checked, Nye County outside Pahrump was still pretty wide open and unregulated. We’ve considered farther north as well, but northern Nevada can have remarkably bitter winters.
I think half of the laws are in place just because the government wants taxes from a property so if you can’t live in an RV they’re not gonna get taxes so they forces so they can get more taxes I’ve had a lot of the same problems you should be able to live free on your land so many laws need to be changed I also believe that all renters that rent probably from landlords should have a liability insurance to protect those landlords of our assets otherwise there’s not gonna be no more landlords left either I’ve visited 12 tenants and I’ve never run out again all these liberal Democrats have ruined this business 1.9 million landlords and all of us on from one unit to 20 units and someone else got out of business now I’m selling my house and I’m not being a landlord and if I was I wouldn’t even want to liberal or Democrat or even sell the one they’re ruining the society too much control
What???????
Totally agree…. 90% of family and friends I have known most my life have had to flee Seattle. Seattle is dying and the dems just making it worse.
Next time, turn some of your frustration into punctuation.
Dear MAGA, Hooked On Phonics can help.
I completely agree our nation has A growing population of full time Rv,ers. And as we get older and retire we should be allowed to downsize for convenience.
Allowed to downsize. Look at social security check amounts then look at min wages. Many are forced out of the homes they worked for and paid for because taxes getting higher every year.
I know of people with RVs who spend summers up north and winters down south on properties they own. Each place has a well, septic system, concrete pad, electric hookups, gravel driveway, and shed that contains a well water expansion tank, washer and drier. In my book this is the way to live the fall of one’s life. Unfortunately places where this can be done are few and far between. Doing intelligent research is very important, including checking satellite images to see what is in the area.
I’m currently living full time in my travel trailer on a rv resort so not having to deal with some issues yet. My girlfriend and I are planning to move to the country to get away from the “rat race” of the city and suburbs looking for quality of life as best we can achieve it, God leading the way. We do plan to build to code standards in our unconventional home, install septic tank, using solar and wind power if possible. Filter the gray water to reuse for irrigation purposes as well. Have owned homes both in California and Arizona, both had HOA’s which I’ll never get back into. Restrictions you bet just like everywhere else, I knew what I was getting into and as a result will never go back the traditional homes and living in the city or suburbs ever again. The cost isn’t only financial, it’s overall health as well…mind and body! We are doing our research before pulling the trigger on land and also county zoning rules, etc. so there’s no surprises, sure there will be as things change
As a long time member of our local planning board there are a lot of reasons to control RV parking on private land and the vast majority of them are safety related. Mentioned many times are water and sanitary disposal. Electric codes are there for your safety. RV electrical hookups are considered temporary wiring and that means it is intended to be temporary, not permanent. Building codes do not apply to RVs and those codes are there for your safety. Do you know the minimum width of an exit door to be code compliant? I am pretty sure your camper door is not in compliance. Time and time again we have seen egregious failure of folks to comply with building codes suffer life altering and sometimes fatal injuries as a result. Don’t whine, find out what you need to do to comply.
Meh, if people do dumb things and get themselves killed, that’s natural selection at work…less government is better government.
Yeah, but people who do dumb things and get maimed or killed still expect the rest of us to support them or their dependents. Think taxes and insurance rates, etc. So, the rest of us ought to have some say in what they do. On the other hand, I have attended city council meetings and many rules/laws are written by the developers or plumbers, etc, who get themselves elected, and who benefit from those laws. So maybe those who hate governments should give up some of their time to attend or even be on those government bodies.
Just stop with your nonsense. All of those issues could be easily solved. And why is it your business if I want to take a risk?? Are all risky activities banned in your country?? Are kids not allowed to play sports?? Do you have dedicated hand holders waiting at every corner to help your citizens safely cross the street?? No. Because all you really want is our money to spend on your pet projects and to funnel to your buddies. You don’t fool anyone. So I’ll stop ‘whining” when you stop lying…
Amen
What government agency do you work for ?
I’m blessed that I don’t suffer from Superiority Complex 🙂
So once again punish everyone for what stupid or lazy people do!!!
I understand and agree, but: 1) I also understand why they have some of these restrictions. If you don’t have some rules you will end up with a lot of “almost” homeless camps and a bunch of druggies. 2) I looked into setting up our 2021 RV in a couple of counties in north Florida to stay in for a few winter months. Rules say you can not live in an RV on your own property for more than 2-4 weeks/yr depending on the county. You also needed a permit. That seems a little extreme.
I think you are free to live as you wish on your own land, subject to the local laws and ordinances in effect in your area. Local areas are governed by elected civil servants and develop and enforce codes and regulations to support the community at large, though some may find these requirements burdensome. I think there are plenty of places to buy land away from incorporated or otherwise moderately governed municipalities if that’s what you want to do. I grew up in WV and saw a lot of horrors associated with “live as you please” areas, so I’ve learned to take the good with the distasteful. I want to be part of, and support, a civil society so making accommodations for the greater well being of my community is part of the social contract in place to support everyone.
We were permanently set up in a rv park in Rio Grande Valley. I had an awning and fence around patio area. Even though we only were on a rented space we had to pay taxes on the permanent structure on the site. Not much but made no sense at all. we were workamping and did not pay for the site. Had to prove that we sold the structure when we moved back to TN after husbands’ stroke.
My wife and I bought 10 acre’s in northern Wisconsin with a beautiful mix of trees with highlands that step down hill to a beautiful clear creek, new septic and electric we’re put in by previous owners, bought it for $86,000, couldn’t be happier!!!! Came with a 28′ Dutchman camper and we are in process of building something, the zoning is fairly laxed compared to counties that are south of us. Some counties in Wisconsin require you to build a house before you build a garage or pole building, zoning going so far that my friend was visited by the county for having a raised garden bed that was 12″ , not the 10″ maximum height allowed for garden beds!!!! My property taxes are $276 a year and if you want to trespass or steal in our area, you might end up missing permanently, great neighbor’s, deer, bear, turkey and almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I glimpsed a 5 line skink in my garden!! Thought I was tripping!!! A lizard in Wisconsin!!!!
I currently live in a rural area where it is common to live in an rv while building a house. People are spread out and there are few rules unless you choose to live in a gated community. I love it. I’ve lived in restricted gated communities and hated it. I’ve also lived in an urban environment. I get it though. People trade freedoms for property value.
I like the idea of private developments making rules over zoning. I also understand that the more dense the population, the more one’s freedom will encroach on another’s. And if common sense were actually common and mental health was not in crisis, well, life would be less complicated.
The good news is that there is enough diversity in this country to find the balance between personal choices and government restrictions you seek.
Several Facts for all those that either Hate or Like Government in your life:
The largest employer in the United States of America is the Federal Government. Walmart is number 2.
The largest employer in the State of Tennessee where I live is the State of Tennessee.
The largest employer in Davidson County Tennessee (Nashville) where I live is Metropolitan Davidson County government.
What an interesting trend.
Bet it’s the same for the state and county in which you live!
No wonder we have so much government control or intrusion into our personal lives!
All the EMPLOYEES have to have something to do!
Those are such sad statistics!!
I have had gov BS ruin what was a perfect thing I had I Pa. Being a DAV with ptsd. Wanted a life free of public Contact.i had to sell my land. Because of gov hassel.
I can see your point if it is a rural area. But if you buy a lot in a residential area and are living in your RV, wouldn’t that be hurting the people around you by lowering the value of their home?
Few areas that are zoned residential would allow mobile homes or RVs in our neck of the woods.
We have property with a destination trailer. County tax assessor told us as long as we leave the wheels on we will pay same price for our taxes. But if we take wheels off and make trailer stationery taxes go up. It’s 40 ft. We never plan to move it, we left the wheels on, tires covered. Taxes have stayed the same.
We did the same thing
What state and county? Sounds fair. Thank you.
For all complaining about taxes and government, please stop driving on roads, calling police and fire departments, going to hospitals and sending kids to school. If we can do that the government will go away.
We have friends who live in another county, and constantly complain about taxes, especially for their RV. I tell them please come on down to our side of the tracks. Lower taxes. Of course, we have some of the lowest ranking schools in the state, lots of areas without cable or wifi reception, you take your own trash to the dump. The hospital closed years ago, the newspaper went after that. Walmart followed. We do have the dollar stores and grocery store. Rural living at it’s finest. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
Hi, Virginia. Or, like I add to that saying, “You don’t get what you don’t pay for.” Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
My thoughts exactly! I live & grew up in a rural town N. CA that’s seen a lot of growth! “City people” move up here to get out of the city, and to enjoy the natural beauty, only to want the conveniences of the city they left behind. Wish most of them would move back to the city they came from!
You are right.
Government exists to provide services to the public that an individual cannot provide for themselves.
I can’t buy a road to drive on, an Army, a Police force or a Fire Department to protect me.
One thing I can buy is a school to educate me!
Private schools are everywhere and exist due to the POOR job government does at educating children and young adults to live in our modern world.
Isn’t interesting that your local school system is probably the single largest budget item in your city/county governments yearly budget yet their services by most peoples analysis are poor.
REMEMBER that your local school system first and foremost is a BIG BUSINESS WITH A BIG BUDGET THAT EMPLOYS LOT’S OF PEOPLE doing a poor job according to most anyone you talk to.
We could go on and on about the benefits or lack thereof in government now days. It seems to me that all government is about today is EMPLOYING PEOPLE doing a poor job at providing services most citizens do not use and do not want to pay for with their taxes.
I just got my property tax bill, paid it but wanted to comment. A whopping 75% of it went to the school district not roads, police or local government. I believe in education and having common services but I draw the line when they are used as justification to take away property owners rights!
If you purchase the land then you are paying taxes. Why does everyone else like to tell other people what’s good for to hem
Build a barn/workshop with large doors at both ends, lots of window openings, a septic tank and electric pole. Put as many solar panels as you like on the roof. Park your RV inside. It will need less maintenance, stay cooler in summer, and no snow to shovel in the winter!
Exactly, we ran across this when trying to purchase a seasonal spot in Montana/Wyoming, couldn’t park my rv on MY lot unless it was in a huge “barn”, but it could have garage doors all around the exterior to open up. So once all the foods were open, RV in plain view. Then once we left for the winter…. Neighbors would always see the big metal “ barn”. If we’d have just had a concrete pad….. no “barn” to look at 6 months out of the year. We eventually bought a deeded rv lot in a brand new small community (19 lots, 38 total once phase 2 is done) in Ten Sleep, Wyoming, very happy with decision. No “barn” needed !
EXCELLENT idea! Could you call it a house?
You appear to have minimal standards. What are you going to do or who do you call when your area fills up with people with no standards at all.
Also, I question your sincerity in writing this piece. Sounds like “bait” to cause an argument.
Just like brick and stick housing, jurisdictions could apply minimal standerds of course. When those standards are not adhered to, code enforcement would need to take care of it. However, do you know what works better than the code and enforcement system? Community involvement. Communities have more power than most folks know or realize. It’s the communities that will change the path of decline in places all over this country. Leadership is what’s missing. True leadership in communities. All I hear now is a lot of bitching, moaning and complaining. But who’s going to step up and lead? A politician is just a person who will sacrifice your life for his/her country so we know they’re out! They don’t truly lead. Good, solid blue collar patriots had better start stepping up and start putting an end to the ridiculous regulations that have been shoved down our throats. Contact your county commissioners, propose a change to the codes, find a way. No argument, just action.
“Should you have the freedom to RV on your own land?” Yes BUT, there needs to be some oversite / restrictions. Sadly, there are “slob” campers. Imagine garbage dumps, meth labs etc, etc, etc. I do believe most folks are responsible and responsible people will want to have safe well water along with a proper sanitary system. I do know that there are “local officials” who will gladly “exceed” their statutory authority just because they expect to get away with it (possibly profiting from it).
I agree 100%.
This was a rude awakening for me. I purchased 40 acres of land here in San Diego and am unable to live in my RV. I do have plans to build but it may be a while before I’m ready to do so, price of construction being what it is. I completely agree, as long as we aren’t harming the environment, there’s no justifiable reason I shouldn’t be able to live on my own land. So close to freedom, yet so far away lol
I found out how hard it is this year
The laws regarding this are crazy
My fifth wheel is my home why can’t I purchase land to house it on with my own money?
To those who complain about living in an RV. Have you seen the homeless camping along side of the roads in places like Los Angeles?
The money that is thrown at the homeless trying to “fix” it?
In 2005 I bought a buildable lot in a park that went private for RVs and small homes. My lot could set up 2 RVs… but came with a large shop. There is water, trash, had a pool, bath house and laundry supplied by the park. Each lot paid 250 per every 6 months for dues. The kept the roads plowed in the winter and repaired. The park is located on a large lake too. There were rules. If you brought in an RV it had to be 15 years old or newer. But if you bought an RV from within the park… any age. I bought one from within the park… $1000. I bought the 10 by 30 decking… $500. Moving and hookup…$250. My total payment was $297 per month for the lot, 250 every 6 months for dues, my electric and propane. I paid off my lot in 5 years. It was a great way to live for me 😀
Where is this place? What’s the name of the park?
We are fortunate to have bought land 10 yrs ago in middle TN that does not have many restrictions and most people around us keep their places up. But, I would say “some” people are not as conscientious about how they are living. Point being, someone was living in an rv on our land prior to our purchase. They felt running a pipe down the hill (towards the creek) was all they needed to do for their toilet instead of spending $3000 to have a septic put in. That’s one area I draw the line! And it was difficult to enforce because you could not see the rv from the road. Subsequently, it now has septic and a cute little cabin.
It all comes down to money. Local, State, and Federal governments would prefer that we live as materialistic, narcissistic, and weighed down in debt as possible. They profit heavily from that…
I agree
I have until the 1st of the year to move my 5th wheel off the property I’m living on now my friend let me move my camper here. I’ve been running on a generator the parish said I have to be gone by the first of the year cause somebody stole the sewer tank pump an I can not pass the zoning now I don’t have anywhere to go is there something I can do until I can find somewhere to go I’m currently unemployed so I can not just haul my 5th wheel camper to a park not to mention all my belongings out in my shop it isn’t right that they can make you leave the property like they are making me do
I live in northern California 100 miles north of Sacramento and it is against the law here to buy land and live in your rv. Unless you get a permit to camp on your land for 3 months while building your home. If you’re not building a residence they red flag you, fine you and kick you off your land until you pay and fix all their code issues. Including sometimes arrest you. What we do with land we buy should be ours to choose as long as the environment does not change and is clean and safe.
I used to work in Codes Enforcement for County Government. I received the ire of citizens who felt as many have written that it was not the Government’s business on their private property, but what about the rights of others and their property? Does anyone want to spend what a current home costs and live next to a dilapidated RV? Or have the smell of sewage as it runs on to the ground? What about grey water? Does anyone want that flowing in their yard? If 1 RV, why not 2 or more. Who’s going to occupy the RV? I’ve seen them rented to a number of University students, aside from noise, there was trash , lights etc. RVs also can not be subject to minimum housing standards , it’s a vehicle
So the condition of the RV can not be enforced, as long as it’s road worthy. Even in my past position, I didn’t like government intrusion, but I also have insight to the other side.
The reason is because they lose property tax money. An RV is no different than a mobile home that falls apart in time as well.
Actually, it isn’t tax money. We have an RV, and I have lived in a manufactured home. They are totally different. Manufactured homes have real toilets and plumbing designed to be permanently connected to a water and sanitary source. RVs do not.
Zoning regulations are there for a reason. Living in an RV on acreage might not bother anyone, but there must be reasonable restrictions when an RV is “close” to a neighbor who also has rights to enjoy his property. It is a fine line, and different people will have different ideas.
In my area, we have “bowling alley” lots that can be many acres but very narrow. People own lots that are a couple thousand feet front to back but are so narrow they can’t drive a car between houses to get to their backyards. It would be unfair to other homeowners to have an RV next to them.
We all share this planet. If some elitist a-hole doesn’t like the looks of his neighbor’s happy home. He can freaking move. He can buy enough land where he doesn’t have to see his neighbors. If he can’t afford to do that then he really can’t afford it b****
OK, David. So we shouldn’t regulate land use, and the subdivision near me that had one homeowner build a commercial sawmill in his backyard would be OK with you, too? All his neighbors were a-holes for wanting it shut down.
Neighbors have rights, too.
Way to much gov over reach. Need to stop it now. You haven’t seen seen anything of what they will end up doing. The gov is what has pushed people into campers to begin with. Homelessness is skyrocketing. When you pay for your land and have septic and keep it clean. Everyone should mine their own biz.
I tried to do the same thing but local zoning laws prohibited it. Was going to put in a septic tank and well but they said no. If I moved it on the property and was caught I faced major fines and possibly jail time. I love Lexington SC but their laws about something’s suck.
Are you in city limits? Because I also live in Lexington, SC and there are plenty of RVs on land around me.
I don’t live in a city, but we can’t live in an RV here either. Manufactured homes are allowed, because they are designed to be permanently installed, but not RVs.
The Government has definitely received more power over the people then it was ever intended. They are supposed to work for us not control us like they do.
I feel if i own the land i should be able to do what ever i want on it.
Now where I live is the largest county in Texas, but there are more animals than people. They still make things hard. Now ive lived here 24 years, but i needed a house before i could get power, and had to have power before i could get propane.
BUT the only thing i need a permit for is the septic system.
Actually, it is the government’s business in anyplace that has zoning regulations. The same laws and ordinances that keep people from having a sawmill, a slaughterhouse or heavy industry making toxic chemicals from being allowed to move next to their houses can prohibit living in an RV on land not zoned for it. There are reasons for those rules, and they are designed to protect people from having something noxious move next to them.
In my home area we are allowed to store our RVs on the same property as our primary residence as long as we can meet setbacks that don’t encroach on our neighbors or block visibility from driveways to safely enter a road, but we can’t live in them. Unlike manufactured homes, RVs are not designed to be permanently connected to water/sewer or a septic tank, so part of that is concern for sanitation. It’s OK to have temporary guests sleep in them for a few days.
Really rural areas might be OK.
Yes….and I bristle at the IMHO word ” overreach ” but the opposite, never mentioned is Govt. UNDERREACH…where with no oversight, on a valley side in a rainstorm you would have sewage flows from top to bottom regularly….fun??
Lol your definitely a Karen, that is our of touch. If it’s my land I should have the freedom to do as I wish as long I’m not harming nobody, this is America, not Russia
Without the governmental controls, disaster is inevitable. For most of us, with the controls, there is also the possibility of governmental over-reach. So, you buy your ticket and hope for the best, I guess. Seattle, Los Angeles, the back streets there are filled with run down campers, tents, etc…small towns aren’t designed to cope with that sort of detrimental impact. Living right and in an otherwise acceptable fashion, we’re caught in=between.
This is my issue. In these cities people live in their campers on the street, but are prohibited from doing the same on a piece of property. Why? Wouldn’t it be safer and more sanitary for all involved if they were on a piece of property somewhere rather than on the street??
I just don’t get it.
I prefer the TX rules, your property, your choice!! The lack of zoning was odd to me when we first moved there(I am a Chicago girl, grew up with tons of regulation & often overreach), however after living there a decade, it’s hard to now live in LosAngeles where the government dictates everything you do!
We just recently had to move our rv off private property as a dwelling because we refused to pay 10,000$ to hook up to city sewage when we were hooked to a septic system but since city sewage was available you had to connect no choice,what bs.this was in rural southwestern Pa 20min outside Pittsburgh.
It’s about tax dollars. Plain and simple. A permanent structure can be taxed, it’s recurring, reliable income for the government. End of story. It’s always about more taxes.
Yet you can buy a Tiny Home probably smaller than alot of R V s so to tax also. Rural small towns that have the new outsiders retiring from other states and getting on councils and such can screw it up for the locals with the same rules they complained about back from whence they came.
I’ll start by saying I’m not the most educated person when it comes to government regulations etc, but when I read this article I was appalled. The fact that I might not be allowed to live in an rv on my own land is absurd. I can’t even believe something like this should be up for discussion. Who are they to say where I wanna lay my head to sleep? I’ll live in an rv on my own land if I bloody well feel like it. If they don’t like it, tough! It’s infuriating and appalling that the government would exercise a form of tyranny like this and not have outrage from people. This makes as much sense to me as someone saying you’re not allowed to walk to a supermarket because you didn’t buy a car to take you there. This whole thing is completely irrational!
These Regs are generally designed to keep some old clunker camper, trailer house, etc from becoming a permanent eyesore. Granted, some are over regulated, but take a look at some of the areas where this stuff has gathered. And one clunker tends to attract others of the same ilk.
so-if you got a nice rig the rules are good. If you got a clunker, the rules are bad.
That is the problem, “RIGHT THERE”, minding someone elses BUSNIESS… Just because you were born with a silver spoon in your month and can afford the 300,000.00 dollar RV, Does not give you the right to berate or look down your nose at anyone. Grow a hedge or put up a fence FOR YOUR PRIVACY.
I couldn’t say it better Sam
In my county in Texas you can’t get power without a septic system in the unincorporated areas.
For my property the septic system runs between 18 and $20,000.
And you can’t live on the property without a septic system. Even if you’re fully self-contained and mobile.
Go figure.
Dear lord, do you live in Montgomery county? Because that is EXACTLY what they did to us. We bought ~12 acres in Cut and Shoot, TX and the county counted the 3 trailers we have as 3 family homes. We dropped a septic system three times larger than the one on our 3.6K sqft house had. THEN we were allowed to have electric hooked up. 😮💨
I agree with your own RV on your own property but, the problem where I live is shortage of cheap housing. People are putting cheap TT’s on their property, behind the house, and renting for $1200 month. Who are renting, migrant and illegal workers. Some homes here have 2 or more TT’s on their property. Where do we draw the line?
But pitching a tent on the sidewalk is. Give me a break.
The government that makes these regulations is not the Federal Government, or the State Government, but the Local Government, as in County and City Government, your neighbors whom you elect. Go talk to them, tell them what you think, but also listen to why the particular zoning laws are in place. You might find that they are common sense regulations put in place because many people don’t have common sense.
We are fortunate to live in a country where WE (YOU) ARE the Government. If you don’t like the way things are, get involved and change it. Laws are an agreed upon set of rules that have been developed over centuries that allow people to coexist civilly (for the most part). Regulations increase proportionately with population density (as they need to).
There will never be 100% agreement on what is and isn’t an infringement on personal liberties, as there are differing views on BOTH sides of the argument. The best you can hope for is to find a place with likeminded people (and laws). Just remember the old saying “If you want to live LIKE an animal, you have to live WITH the animals”.
If you would like an example of “true freedom”?, research The Slab (self billed as the last free place in America). This will give you a glimpse of life without regulations (laws). If YOU want to live like that, I hear they have some openings.
Well guess what people, I’ll say it, and probably get lots and lots of hate for it. I bought 2 10 acre lots, unincorporated area, lots of folks around living in RVs, code enforcement comes around not so often and only when alot of people complain. My land is 1 mile down a dirt Rd from the main hiway and about 6-7 miles from city limits, population less than 1,500 in town. At this time, I’ve made the risky choice to do whatever the heck I want, when I want and roll the dice of taking the consequences if/when I get in trouble for whatever I do. I live in a travel trailer on my fully owned land, I burn all my trash in a very deep hole, in another very deep hole with plywood on top and covered in dirt I have my trailers septic dump hose running to it, and by the way it’s the same as an outhouse except the actual outhouse part is my bathroom. We don’t put paper in the toilet, we burn it. All unburnable stuff like food cans, old lighters, aerosol cans, ect. I take to trash cans/dumpsters. I have 1 neighbor on my road or anywhere near me for at least a mile. The hole I made for my sewage absolutely never, ever sinks even when I unload my entire tank, people have stood on top of it, and asked me where it was. You literally would never have a clue it was there if I didn’t tell you. Lucky even tho I bought my land without ever seeing it or having any idea about the area, I lucked out as far as the location of my property. BUT, having said all that, I do totally understand that for whatever reason there may be for it, most of the time when people live in trailers even on their own property, it’s a shit show with garbage everywhere and just trashy all around. My 1 neighbor I mentioned, has a bunch of kids there and a boyfriend and a ex all living there, she has so many trailers there that even after I’ve been here 2 1/2 years, I have no idea what door to go to if I need to talk to someone and most of them are full of trash. It looks like shit, I haven’t noticed if there’s a smell around her place or not, but it looks like a dump. Most RV homes are about the same I realize. And I can see how other people if forced to live really close to or surrounded by things like that could have issues with it. But my place, I’ve cleared my own driveway by hand even a roundabout end of it by the RV, I’ve brought big rocks from all over the state to line my roundabout and have cleared the yard area and even made a camp style burn pit and bbq/smoker hang out area, and dig those holes, with no big equipment to do it. I have no trash anywhere on my property, no stink, and it looks as nice as any place with a normal house. And with the distance from people I see no reason why anybody should give a damn about anything I’m doing, I haul in my own water, and create my own power with solar or generator, I pay my yearly taxes and everyone can mind there own business as far as I’m concerned. Why should burning some paper and cardboard mostly trash with a little plastic and styrofoam, and having a hole with some poop in it ever be worse to live next to than a factory that just blows all kinds of pollution out their multiple smoke stacks or whatever or dumps barrels of toxic chemicals in rivers and lakes or burying them in the dirt somewhere they think nobody will notice and then they seep into ground water. Have you ever smelled a mushroom factory or even a potato chip factory? They really really smell bad for sometimes miles, or sewage treatment plant? My grandma is across the St from a treatment plant and it stinks bad, not only that but they have an osmosis type setup the water travels thru before it gets to the plant, and they turned part of it into a frickin park you can walk thru and it’s got little waterfalls and some turtles. People walk around that everyday having a good old time enjoying the sewage scenery. And if you want to really know the number one thing that is becoming a bigger and bigger problem all over the world we should be worried about rather than what our neighbors are doing with their property, all the child/sex trafficking going on with all the elite’s and rich people. That’s the number one biggest problem we don’t even get to know much about, because obviously they don’t want us to know. But now alot of the victims who are lucky enough to still be alive are old enough to have escaped and are telling their stories, some unbelievably scary creepy stuff involving some of the most powerful people in the world. And some of us can only worry about where people put garbage and poop. Cause that’s soooo important, but blind eye all that stuff. Wake up people.