Full timing in an urban environment?

TygerCub · 10-31-2009, 05:27 AM

For folks who currently full-time in their bus:
Does anyone work and/or live in an urban area? If so, where do you park your bus? Is the fee for renting the spot expensive? If you park in a friend's and/or relative's property, how are you affected by zoning laws?

While I have a couple of parking places in mind once I'm on the bus full time, all of them are in outlying areas that will require quite the commute in to work every day. Only one of them, a little mom & pop campground, is inexpensive enough to really be affordable in the long term, but the commute to work will be an hour each way

. Not too bad gas-wise for the motorcycle, just a huge waste of my personal time.

I could park closer in the local city campsites, but would end up paying as much per month for a spot as I pay now for my mortgage!

Since I'll have a couple of years yet in this area working to build up a "nest egg", it would be stupid to spend the same amount in rent as I now pay in mortgage.

Any advice from folks already doing this would be greatly appreciated!

SeanF · 10-31-2009, 01:24 PM

Zoning laws can vary, and aren't always predictable. I've parked a few miles outside of a semi-major metro area (Tucson, AZ) on a friend's property w/o hassles. Others I know tried to park in the county, 10 miles from a small-ish town (Flagstaff, AZ) and were kicked out because of CCRs for the development (and it wasn't a cookie-cutter McMansion-fest). So zoning and CCRs are the variables, and unpredictable.

I've seen ads on Craigslist for parking on private property. Also put the word out to friends, co-workers. Maybe someone with the space wouldn't mind a couple extra Benjamins every month.

Redbear · 10-31-2009, 03:48 PM

TC,
I used to live in the mountains an hour from work. The drive in and out was very cleansing, giving me enough time to clear my mind. I didn't walk in the door at night still fussing about something that happened at work. In the morning, I would have a couple of cups of coffee from a jug stored in my home-made console on the way in. (OK, that part is hard on a bike.) If the campground is nice, and makes you feel like you are on vacation every night, there are worse things than 10 or 12 hours of touring per week.

I guess it really depends on if you are moving along the whole time, or stopping every 100 yards for lights or traffic jams. I had 1 E-Z Pass lane, 1 toll booth, 3 stop signs, 4 right turns on red, and less than a dozen other traffic lights the whole way. If I had to wait at 30-40 lights, it would have been different.

Abbott · 10-31-2009, 03:49 PM

Click here

GoneCamping · 10-31-2009, 08:31 PM

When I was living in my Travel Trailer in the city of Portsmouth Va I was in a friends backyard for 1.5 years, it worked out really well, but I had to use a toter to take my gray & black water to the front yard where they had a clean-out for me to dump. A cop finally spotted me back there and sent the zoning codes enforcement people around to boot me outta there. From there I went to a campground in the city of Chesapeake Va a bit further out of the city. The campground cost me $387 per month for 30amp water & electric site, plus $4 for the Honey Wagon service, which I only needed once per week.

I also stayed there for a while when I moved aboard the bus, but they would not let me work on the bus while it was at the campground. So I wound up moving to a Mobile Home Park (most of them in this city allow RV's in the MH Parks). The Mobile Home Park charged me $490 per month for a 50amp electric, water & sewer hook-up, and I also had phone and cable tv service if I was willing to pay for it.

I was trying to move my bus to the MH Park I'm living at now, but he didn't have an open site, but he sold me a Mobile Home that cost less than my bus did, so all is good. He charges $210 per month and includes water & sewer, my electric is running me around $70 per month.

TygerCub · 11-04-2009, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoneCamping

When I was living in my Travel Trailer in the city of Portsmouth Va I was in a friends backyard for 1.5 years, it worked out really well, but I had to use a toter to take my gray & black water to the front yard where they had a clean-out for me to dump. A cop finally spotted me back there and sent the zoning codes enforcement people around to boot me outta there. From there I went to a campground in the city of Chesapeake Va a bit further out of the city. The campground cost me $387 per month for 30amp water & electric site, plus $4 for the Honey Wagon service, which I only needed once per week.

I also stayed there for a while when I moved aboard the bus, but they would not let me work on the bus while it was at the campground. So I wound up moving to a Mobile Home Park (most of them in this city allow RV's in the MH Parks). The Mobile Home Park charged me $490 per month for a 50amp electric, water & sewer hook-up, and I also had phone and cable tv service if I was willing to pay for it.

I was trying to move my bus to the MH Park I'm living at now, but he didn't have an open site, but he sold me a Mobile Home that cost less than my bus did, so all is good. He charges $210 per month and includes water & sewer, my electric is running me around $70 per month.

Awesome info! Thanks so much for the tips. I feel a LOT better about things now.

I really didn't want to stay in this area, but because NO ONE is looking at the house, I need to go ahead and get a realtor. Unfortunately, that will take 6% away from the sale price, and I was counting on all of the income from the house to pay off debt, build the bus, and buy enough land to build a campground. Looks like the campground idea will have to wait now, though. Gonna have to stay at work long enough to make up the difference. Which campgrounds were you using?

Thanks so much!

GoneCamping · 11-04-2009, 09:35 PM

I only used one campground, Chesapeake campground. One thing you should do is drive around inside some of the mobile home parks in your area and see if they have RV's in them... These are usually much cheaper than a campground...

madpsalmer · 11-21-2009, 10:22 PM

Wife and I are house sitting. I noble cause but if I remember right others have talked about contacting folks about "watching", baby sitting, their homes while away. If your in an area with a lot of "Snow birds" ( Folks who pack-up and move for a season of the year) like we are it is a great possibility. Granted you must be trustworthy, and not as scary looking as me but you get the point. They were very happy to let us park our bus and get a free guard. Anyway just my 2 cents

TygerCub · 11-22-2009, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madpsalmer

Wife and I are house sitting.

That is also a great idea. I did that for years for my grandparents before they decided to move to Florida full time. It worked out great.

But, my biggest problem with this area is zoning restrictions that don't let "oversized" vehicles park in neighborhoods. Otherwise, I'd just park at my mother's house. Zoning regulations are the bane of RV life!!!

TygerCub · 11-22-2009, 04:37 PM

OOOoooo! That just might work!

madpsalmer · 11-22-2009, 08:40 PM

Check this out Guy's I think you could appreciate it. On topic and genius. Tyger tell me where this terrible city is so I can avoid it all together please. LOL

http://www.mrsharkey.com/busbarn/greg/greg.htm

rwdefeli · 11-23-2009, 07:02 AM

I am sucessfully full timing in a urban environment in the portland area with my bus. There are several ways to do it. I have my bus in a RV storage area durring the daytime. I drive my truck and do my daily routine. When Im ready to settle down for the night I go to the RV storage area and do "work" on my bus (aka relax) and before closing time I drive it out to the side street and park the truck in the storage area. In the morning I drive the bus back inside the storage area and drive my truck out.

The key is to not let anyone know what you are doing. If people know then the word gets out and eventually you will have the fuzz knock on you window and ask you to move.

Also try 24 hour store parking lots. We have WINCO here in oregon thats open 24 hours. Walmart is another place that likes RVers. 24 hour fitness is a great place if you have a membership. (I do thats how I get all my water needs and showers). Truck stops are good. secluded side streets are another. Before I had my bus I was living out of my truck with my girlfriend. We have a frontier with a canopy shell. Talk about small!!!!! The bus is like a mansion compaired to it.

All in all it can be done. You just have to be smart about it.

Abbott · 11-27-2009, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smitty

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwdefeli

The key is to not let anyone know what you are doing. If people know then the word gets out and eventually you will have the fuzz knock on you window and ask you to move.

Don't worry.....your secret will be safe....on the internet

Smitty

Hehe. Good one, smarta$$!

Abbott · 11-28-2009, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwdefeli

I am sucessfully full timing in a urban environment in the portland area with my bus. There are several ways to do it. I have my bus in a RV storage area durring the daytime. I drive my truck and do my daily routine. When Im ready to settle down for the night I go to the RV storage area and do "work" on my bus (aka relax) and before closing time I drive it out to the side street and park the truck in the storage area. In the morning I drive the bus back inside the storage area and drive my truck out.

The key is to not let anyone know what you are doing. If people know then the word gets out and eventually you will have the fuzz knock on you window and ask you to move.

Also try 24 hour store parking lots. We have WINCO here in oregon thats open 24 hours. Walmart is another place that likes RVers. 24 hour fitness is a great place if you have a membership. (I do thats how I get all my water needs and showers). Truck stops are good. secluded side streets are another. Before I had my bus I was living out of my truck with my girlfriend. We have a frontier with a canopy shell. Talk about small!!!!! The bus is like a mansion compaired to it.

All in all it can be done. You just have to be smart about it.

Sorry for the fun at your expense

Your post was well thought out and full of good ideas. Welcome aboard!

rwdefeli · 11-29-2009, 02:11 AM

Dont worry about it. Stealth living can be pretty tough. I get enough slack from my friends about it that it doesnt even bother me anymore. LOL!

Abbott · 11-29-2009, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwdefeli

Dont worry about it. Stealth living can be pretty tough. I get enough slack from my friends about it that it doesnt even bother me anymore. LOL!

Yeah, I bet it can. Have any stories/experiences to share? How long have you been stealth camping? What kind of bus are you building and are you building it with plans to live in it full time?

turtle · 01-18-2010, 05:08 PM

I'm in Seattle, and as far as parking on the street, a commercial or oversized vehicle (anything wider than 80") is able to be ticketed nightly in residential zones. I think they can ticket you between midnight and some time before 6am (I forget when). Since you can't park overnight in residential zones, you can park in manufacturing or industrial zones anytime as long as it's not marked otherwise. It's free, you just have to move your vehicle every 3 days to avoid towing. This is how it is in Seattle if you find where those zones are. Perhaps, it's like that in other places. Who out there knows or zoning laws in other cities?

turtle

lornaschinske · 01-18-2010, 09:08 PM

We aren't in our bus. We full-time in a vintage Class C (for now). We are staying in a mobile home park that has monthly RV sites along with older travel trailers, motor homes and mobile homes. The folks who live here are either retired or working. Even with having to pay for our own cable/internet, it's still quite a bit cheaper than the place we were staying in in Fulton. And we were allowed to work (circular saw, drilling, painting) on the hot dog cart on our site. The last place wouldn't even let us keep the cart on our site. I'm not sure how many places in Corpus Christi will take a skoolie (we're pretty sure this one will take us when we bring the BlueBird down here). I'm pretty sure that we could not have gotten a school bus into any of the campgrounds in the Rockport/Fulton TX area. Rockport/Fulton is a "winter Texan" destination area. We were also up against age restrictions... David just barely qualifies for the 55+ limit but our 23 yo daughter who is with us, caused problems at a few places. But I do believe it is possible. I had never really considered a mobile home park. Mostly because David always wants a bathhouse. After parking in a NM campground with a closed bathhouse for 3 months, he finally got used to using our tiny bathroom. This has opened up a lot of potential places to stay (it also means he wants a decent bathroom with a separate shower in the bus). You may want to try every mobile home park in your area. Just because it's got some older, shabby trailers in it, doesn't mean it's bad. Mobile homes run down fast.

You may also like: