I can't divulge the source of this comment of mine, because it was a private conversation. But it is copied and pasted from elsewhere.

Feel free to add to it - feel free to add humor to it.


But here it is:


There are several kinds of trailers (since you opened that door)

1) RV's - This is a class of vehicle that pretends to have "SPACE AGE" appliances of all kind, but is really an opportunity for "TIN FOIL HAT" (A)holes to sell you contraptions that no one else in the world would put up with. Including a washer and drier that cost $900 each and can only manage to do one party shirt at a time in, after about a two hour wait

*Provided they are made out of RAYON - and these units are imported from Italy at great expense.
*CHINA doesn't make these appliances, they are not THAT stupid
* So far...

2) HOUSE Trailers. A BIG RIG brings them, and once they are put on your lot, the axles deteriorate until you ain't got no choice but to stay rooted there. The appliances are all normal house-type ones, and do not run off of exotic sources like LPG. Nothing in the place runs off of 12 volts DC. The plumbing and all other connections are the same as a house, the roof and walls are metal and will last forever - if you find a rust spot spray paint will fix it (rustoleum is preferred)

*CAVEAT: ANY aluminum or metal trailer under a tree or grove of trees will have leaf acid eat the top of it to pieces. Next thing you know it leaks everywhere...

*You can try plastic coating it - but UV rays tear plastic to hell and gone, including fiberglass especially. Funny about paint, it works.

The downside is that the insulation is not as good as a wooden or brick house. Another upside however is that if it goes to crap it is generally less expensive to replace. I wish mine was one of those.

3) Thirdly are all of those things with wheels that you want to haul all sorts of (S) with - and they come in more varieties than there is space here to list.


Two things to consider about any kind of shelter, heat rises, and water seeks out the lowest point to rot out.

Any leak in the roof becomes MAJOR (Murphies Law of RV's) because water finds screwy ways and routes to locate the most vulnerable place and resides there until it does serious harm. Such damage will be where you least expect it, and where the materials are the most susceptible to destruction

*I worked on those goddamned things, I SAW it!

If the roof is not well insulated, your heat goes away in the winter, and the sun ruins your attempts to cool it in the summer. This is the RV law of THERMODYNAMICS (you can quote me)




"The problem with housing of any kind is that it inevitably results in the spectre of upkeep, which is why renting is so attractive"

 

But I have worked on them - and the tech they use is far to the left of what is current.

Hells bells - a better shore cable or a better generator would be a mile ahead of what the standard designs are

What I honestly think is that the appliances are grounded in 1960's technology

RV's are long overdue for upgraded tech - they just are.


And the basis of that is power generation and solar.

"..but they aren't the cheaper RV's"

Yeah, that's the problem.



POINT: You don't live in them until you GET THERE

And most people only use them at camps, not the wilderness. There should be two kinds:
SURVIVAL RV's (Requires nothing)
CAMPSITE RV's (with full plug-ins) Furnished with 120VAC ordinary things


~The second kind being less expensive



I don't think you are screwing with me deliberately, I think you just do that - pick ideas to pieces. So I ain't takin' no offence


Pshaw....
~Wolfie

 

I like your idea about the completely self contained camper. One that requires no outside hookup of any type. Though I've been camping a few times, I don't understand the fascination people have with camping, especially the way people do it today. Places I would like to go camping, very few of the campers made would survive the trip. They're all way too big, no frame to speak of, and the first hollar or creek you'd cross would tear out the axles, dump tank access, etc. As one guy said to me a few years ago, "Camping is moving from your house to a trailer park. Why would I want to do that?" And I pretty much agree in some respects. It's NOT about getting back to nature, though you may when you go fishing or hunting. I guess it's mostly just having your hotel in tow as opposed to staying at the motel 6. And for some people it's a status symbol. A chance to show off in front of your other camper buddies. Truth is, many of them make fun of the guy or couple with the small camper/RV towing a smart car. The guys with the big 5th wheels love to poke fun at those folks! And every 3 or 4 years they have to replace the "luxury home" because the sliders aren't working any more, or the frames are bending.

The past 2 years, I have been camping twice where it was really fun. I went with 3 buddies of mine, in tents, plenty of beer, fishing poles, on a river, and no power anything! I hope to take my family to that same place for a weekend this summer and do the same thing. Show them what real camping is about.

 

As a family, we used to tent camp at least 4 times / year. Great memories, from scary storms to the kids playing with a baby doe on the beach...it ate a hot dog with us later that evening ... to cold nights, to super scary storms, to raccoons stealing our potato chips. We were fortunate to introduce camping to a number of our daughter's friends along the way. As long as there were "facilities" in the park...everyone was happy.

I had everything packed up in large poly boxes with wheels and I would replenish commodity items at the end of every trip. Aside from food and beverage, I could have the truck packed in thirty minutes and be happily on the road.

I wouldn't think of doing it over again...with a trailer.

 

I don't 'camp' in my trailer - it's my home...

I can't get by any cheaper for rent - the spot I'm renting is about half or more-than-half the rent of a rundown studio apartment in this area...

My power bills have ranged from between $19 to ~$30...

The only thing I use propane for is the water heater - and, it's cheap...

I've learned to live with no heat as these 2-inch thick walls don't retain heat for squat... I'll kick on one of my little space heaters to take the chill off but I don't keep it running...

It's an old trailer (1983) and it has its issues, but it could be worse...

 

Living and playing are not on the same level. Surviving in the best way that accommodates your needs is, quite frankly, admirable.

 

Must be nice to have that kind of money...

 

You've, obviously, never tried renting on the Pacific coast...

I know what those rentals go for around here and it ain't nowhere near what a hotel room goes for...

Whatever rattles your gourd, I suppose...

 

It is. But, more than that it takes planning and saving for that kind of trip. We are going to Orange Beach, AL in June for a big family vacation (for 8). We had to book a condo on the beach over a year in advance. Had to put a third $$$ down that far out but, we have been saving for this trip for a couple of years.

 

Who would want a trailer you have to drag behind you and maneuver into tight places?
I get everything I need from my cab-over camper on my F-250, and can still tow a boat with ease..............I have never understood the big, luxury RV thing.
We tried a class-C motorhome for a few years, but the size and maint. put us right back into a cab-over truck camper.

 

A lot of trailers around are using LP appliances, the appliances in most trailers are also a little smaller than most standard house appliances. The plumbing is also a lot different than standard house plumbing, I know firsthand from working on them (once the plumbing starts giving you problems it's easier and cheaper in the long run to tear it out and replumb it...