New member with a question about long-term parking on private land

[HamSkoolie]

Originally Posted by BriteLeaf

If there’s no HOA pricks or no laws against parking your RV/Motorhome on private land, and as long as it is LEGALLY REGISTERED, then private land is just that.

PRIVATE LAND.

Even with an HOA.... HOA's are CIVIL AGREEMENTS between owners and quite often they have no viable means of enforcement. For instance, in my state, an HOA is required to file any and all changes to their documents, including rules (no political signs, no skateboards, no pickups, whatever) with the state (though the county clerk) or they are unenforceable.
And if there is no active HOA, or they haven't had their required meetings, etc. they have zero ability to enforce anything.
I was elected HOA chairman of a 14 unit condo association. My first step was to toss ALL their "rules" because nothing had been filed since the builders initial documents.
Then I dug a little deeper and it was a mess. We sold and RAN.

[Magnum]

Originally Posted by BeNimble

As usual, useless misleading comments.

You can't live full-time in a RV legally, they are except from housing codes because you don't live in them full time. Can you break the law? of course.
Designing your life around doing something illegal is a horrible decision.
But if you want someone to tell you its ok, someone will (see above)

These issues are usually dealt with at the County level, individual cities (incorporated) will also have their own rules. With that said there are jurisdictions which will allow you to live full time in your RV, usually the only requirement will be a septic system. I used to work as a Zoning Evaluator in a major city.

[HamSkoolie]

I'm a former Planning Commissioner and former Airport Land Use Commissioner. Later I built a SPEC house in another jurisdiction and after that I was elected Chairman of an HOA. I've been around the bureaucrats a lot.
As has been said, the less populace and less prosperous and area, the less you're likely to be harassed and the more likely you'll be able to act FREELY.
In general, and every state is different in some way, the States enact laws and then the counties enact laws, and then the cities enact yet more laws. The more level of bureaucracy you have claiming jurisdiction over the parcel of land you're renting from them (property taxes are rent, if yo don't believe me try not paying them and see if yo get evicted) the less freedom you'll have.
There are still places in this country that have ZERO building codes (which doesn't really mean zero it just means that have no ADDITIONAL ones) and likely have no one checking on codes. Some of these are even in small cities (very small).
Bottom line is that you must research each and every state you're interested in for the State level garbage. Then the county or counties you're looking at, and don't forget overlaying environmental, FEMA, and other bureaucratic agencies that claim dominion over you.
And as has been said before...... it could also change with a stroke of the pen or a single election.


OPTIONS:
Build a "barn" with a septic system to handle a bathroom, work sink, and provide an RV parking pad alongside it with a dump and potable water so that you can avoid storage fees and have a location to dump and refill potable water. Don't mention living there.
Then just park the Rig inside, out of sight.


Build an "RV PARK" with 4 or 5 sites. You can make a bit of money (be sure to claim it on your taxes or spend it all on improvements to the park). Or, if you're a horrible business operator, you might only have a friend or two show up once in a while. But the park is legit.


Still, you'll have to have an idea of the local BS rules, what to say, and more importantly what NOT to say.


Our plan? A place down South OR up North and connect with someone else with an opposite geographic place AND opposite cycle of when they want to be N or S. Then we take care of their place when they're gone and they take care of our when we're gone.

[Magnum]

"And as has been said before...... it could also change with a stroke of the pen or a single election."

If you are already living on your property legally, in most cases you would be "Grandfathered in" at least in my experience and previous jurisdiction.

[The Bussalo]

Hi husky,

Where about are you in Wisconsin? My wife and I are in the Madison area, and are moving into our build at the end of October.

I have done extensive research, contacting multiple different counties and their zoning boards so I understand the laws here pretty well. In Wisconsin, the only legal possible way to park on a piece of land and live full or part time out of your skoolie is to get your lot zoned as Agricultural Recreational and open up your own campground. Every other zoning classification will not work. If you want details as to why I'd be happy to explain.

Other information you might find helpful:
Dane county only permits RV's and Campers a maximum of 8 months of stay at any specific camp ground. Other counties vary on length but from what I found they all are significantly shorter.

If you wish to temporarily park at a family or friends place you legally are only able to stay there for 29 days, then you must leave (we found this out the hard way).

If you have any other questions let me know!

Good luck

[Scott_s_b]

I live in California, a state known for having a few laws and regulations. If you are not in the city and have a septic system, at least here, no one will care if you are living in a bus or whatever else. Your land, you can do what you want.

[o1marc]

Don't they let you pitch a tent anywhere in Calif. these days. Use the gutter for your toilet?

[Rock-N-Ruth]

Originally Posted by o1marc

"from what I understand you can't just park a skoolie on a piece of undeveloped land for long periods of time. But what if the land was out in the country and far away from other people and even towns? Could you do it if you bought unzoned land? Are there resources other than just Google to look up what zoning restrictions are for areas of certain states?"

I assumed he was referring to land he would own. I don't know of anywhere like described above, not talking in any city or town, but land out in the country away from people and towns that I could not park my RV and spend the night, or the next , or the month, or forever. If you know differently, post a link to the denial. I don't think anyone could tell me I can't live full time in the RV parked in my driveway right now.

In Luna county, New Mexico, you may live in an RV on your own land for 256 days out of the year with a permit. There are varying levels of enforcement.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Rock-N-Ruth

In Luna county, New Mexico, you may live in an RV on your own land for 256 days out of the year with a permit. There are varying levels of enforcement.

256 is a curious number for that requirement. Like, if they want to make sure you're mobile, 264 would work as well. Can you just go on vacation and leave the RV behind, or do they require you to take the RV off the property as well?

[LargeMargeInBaja]

Starting a couple-three years ago, we workkamp a small organic teaching farm near the outskirts of Eugene, Oregon.
.
Some of our neighbors -- in various versions of RecreationVehicles and home-made ExpeditionVehicles -- started here fifteen years ago.
.
As you might imagine, our bunch is good neighbors with our nearby neighbors in stand-still houses.
We share our products generously, inviting everybody to pot-latches and pig roast luau meet-n-greets.
We level ruts in the gravel road with the tractor, we run into town on errands for elderly shut-ins.
We usually have a 'cup of sugar' to loan.
.
Our RedHeelers and their progeny are frequent passengers on trailers hauling lumber scraps and compost to share, supervising every trail-ride and cook-out as we build relationships with the mules.
.
Another aspect of 'good neighbors' is providing some 'face time' to goofball squatters.
After understanding our commitment to our neighborhood, most goofballs slither away to a less cohesive community.
.
Oops.
As usual, I got off on a tangent.
What was the q?

[Lherrlinger]

Hey bud so it just depends on the land you buy…. Some have restrictions. Some could be residential lots With restrictions and minimum square footage of build. Unrestricted property there’s no limitations on build build time etc. you just need to look for unrestricted property. Some places are all fancy and say you can’t even have a towable trailer in your yard some other places say RVs conversions whatever is fine as long as it’s unrestricted land.

[flattracker]

I will add a comment:
Parking your bus or motorhome or tiny house that is registered on your own land out in the sticks (in Oregon east of the Willamette meridian) won't get you in trouble. You could likely pour a concrete pad to park on without a permit. If you want a septic tank installed, and you can do it yourself, you can readily purchase the components and do so flying under the radar, BUT Oregon requires a permit for septic tanks. Before you can obtain the septic permit for a location in the sticks you must first get a Conditional Use Permit. The requirements for a CUP can be very steep. A lot of land in rural Oregon is accessed via National forest service roads. If you access your land on a forest service road you are required to have at least 240 contiguous acres.


Getting electricity can be very expensive too.



The bottom line is: If you wish to exist below the radar of code enforcement in the sticks you may be able to do that, in the right location, if your needs are very humble. If you wish to do things all legal, it can be difficult and expensive.



The simplest way to do what you want is to find an RV park that tolerates a skoolie and stay there. Always pay the rent, don't make noise, and keep your space clean and you would always be welcome back. Making your skoolie look nice would also probably help.

[Rock-N-Ruth]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

256 is a curious number for that requirement. Like, if they want to make sure you're mobile, 264 would work as well. Can you just go on vacation and leave the RV behind, or do they require you to take the RV off the property as well?

You can park your RV on your property year round. It is your property. You just are not permitted to live in it full time. As I mentioned though, enforcement varies. Ruth and I have been living on our land in various rvs since 2011 without a permit and have faced little pressure from code enforcement. We did have some encounters in 2017 that resulted in the county deciding to leave us alone.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Rock-N-Ruth

You can park your RV on your property year round. It is your property. You just are not permitted to live in it full time. As I mentioned though, enforcement varies. Ruth and I have been living on our land in various rvs since 2011 without a permit and have faced little pressure from code enforcement. We did have some encounters in 2017 that resulted in the county deciding to leave us alone.

Where I live (a suburb of Philly) you can legally park a motorhome at a house you own or at a house or apartment that you rent (of course your landlord might not permit that) but you are not allowed to live in it for any length of time. However, a feisty neighbor would have to go to some lengths to document and prove to code enforcement that someone was actually living in it. There are actually a few motorhomes and campers parked in my neighborhood that I suspect have people living in them at least some of the time (leveled with jacks, slide-outs deployed, lights on at night sometimes etc.).

It seems like it would be extremely difficult to prove that someone was living in a motorhome for 257 days out of the year instead of just 256.

[Husky]

Originally Posted by The Bussalo

Hi husky,

Where about are you in Wisconsin? My wife and I are in the Madison area, and are moving into our build at the end of October.

I have done extensive research, contacting multiple different counties and their zoning boards so I understand the laws here pretty well. In Wisconsin, the only legal possible way to park on a piece of land and live full or part time out of your skoolie is to get your lot zoned as Agricultural Recreational and open up your own campground. Every other zoning classification will not work. If you want details as to why I'd be happy to explain.

Other information you might find helpful:
Dane county only permits RV's and Campers a maximum of 8 months of stay at any specific camp ground. Other counties vary on length but from what I found they all are significantly shorter.

If you wish to temporarily park at a family or friends place you legally are only able to stay there for 29 days, then you must leave (we found this out the hard way).

If you have any other questions let me know!

Good luck

At the moment I live in Grant County. That's all good information to know, I'm probably gunna have to do a lot of my own digging. Not gunna lie, it all sounds pretty intimidating that a piece of land needs to be zoned as agricultural recreational and opened as a camp ground, what all does that exactly entail? Are there lot size requirements? What if I did intend to put up some permanent structures like a septic system, a slab for parking, or a small building?

And the staying time isn't really that much of a problem for me. The whole point of buying a small piece of land in the North and South is to bounce back and forth between them every year to avoid the extreme seasons, so being told that I can only stay at one place for 8 months isn't so big of a deal because that's what I was intending in the first place.

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

256 is a curious number for that requirement. Like, if they want to make sure you're mobile, 264 would work as well. Can you just go on vacation and leave the RV behind, or do they require you to take the RV off the property as well?

curious....256 is the largest integer that will not fit in a 1 byte (8bits) integer data field in a data base, 0-255 fits.....maybe they just don't want to update the software and hardware ($$$), similar to the year 2000 date field problem with old hardware and software

[john61ct]

Arbitrary, math fan decided, have to draw the line somewhere

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Arbitrary, math fan decided, have to draw the line somewhere

maybe the law is based on coincidence or randomness, but my bet is on binary math and cost efficiency utilizing current resources - hardware memory and/or software (probably) influencing it. Trying to make the old system last a little longer.......kinda depends on how long ago the law was passed. They might have had a larger number in mind, say 365 days, but when they learned that it would have to have a new computer system or database to be able to implement the law they changed the number to fit the old system. Memory used to be expensive relative to modern costs, and new software is always expensive. Fitting the budget and easier, quicker to implement.



11111111 binary = 255 decimal
11111111 10000000 binary =256 decimal ....takes twice as many bytes



1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, ...256 (9th position, takes 1 more bit to represent it) is in next byte
1+2+4+8+16+32+64+128=255 = largest integer capable of being stored in 1 byte, anything higher is going to produce an error/flag/not true/whatever that would result in a message to code enforcement.

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by kidharris

curious....256 is the largest integer that will not fit in a 1 byte (8bits) integer data field in a data base, 0-255 fits.....maybe they just don't want to update the software and hardware ($$$), similar to the year 2000 date field problem with old hardware and software

I was also going to make a joke about one-byte computer systems - but then my dad got a job. Haw.

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by musigenesis

I was also going to make a joke about one-byte computer systems - but then my dad got a job. Haw.

Supposed to be a "He" in front of that "Haw". He-Haw, He-Haw