Full-time in LL

[david2015]

Hi,
I'm considering  living full-time in a RV.

I like the LL products because a little condensation won't destroy your rig.   The downside?  Insulation.  The universe rarely sets its thermostat just for me, and Al's ability to conduct heat is pretty good.  Not copper-good, but pretty good nevertheless.

What are your thoughts/experiences with full-timing in general, and in a LL trailer in particular?


Thanks!

David

[whoofit]

I don't feel that any of LL's options are large enough to live comfortably in full time. Major lifestyle changes would need to be made. Sure, for one person maybe two in a nomad mode it may be just enough. Sure, just enough may be what you seek and more power to those people. But where would we put the full size Christmas tree and 20 guests on Christmas Eve? How would Santa get in with no chimney?

I'd need to relocate or better yet become nomadic and transient on a seasonal basis.

[david2015]

[quote timestamp="1444872379" source="/post/16057/thread" author="@whoofit"]I don't feel that any of LL's options are large enough to live comfortably in full time. Major lifestyle changes would need to be made. Sure, for one person maybe two in a nomad mode it may be just enough. Sure, just enough may be what you seek and more power to those people. But where would we put the full size Christmas tree and 20 guests on Christmas Eve? How would Santa get in with no chimney?

I'd need to relocate or better yet become nomadic and transient on a seasonal basis.[/quote]Thanks for your thoughts.  Come to think of it, I'd hate to have my sommelier and cheese monger start fighting over space

[whoofit]

[quote source="/post/16059/thread" timestamp="1444889734" author="@david2015"][quote source="/post/16057/thread" timestamp="1444872379" author="@whoofit"]I don't feel that any of LL's options are large enough to live comfortably in full time. Major lifestyle changes would need to be made. Sure, for one person maybe two in a nomad mode it may be just enough. Sure, just enough may be what you seek and more power to those people. But where would we put the full size Christmas tree and 20 guests on Christmas Eve? How would Santa get in with no chimney?

I'd need to relocate or better yet become nomadic and transient on a seasonal basis.[/quote]Thanks for your thoughts.  Come to think of it, I'd hate to have my sommelier and cheese monger start fighting over space [/quote][p]OK, good, now we have at least a partial head count. Three adults. Here is my advice. Fire them and send them away. You all would be forced to become Vegans in order to stay thin enough for full timing in a LL anyways...that eliminates the Cheese Monger by attrition and wine by nutrition... 8-)[/p][p]
[/p][p]As for me, I like toys. Have several kayaks, a canoe, a dirt bike, a RIB, several bikes, a sled, Ham radio equipment, a gun safe and lots of preps. I love having all of these. Not enough to need to sit sleep and eat on them though. There may be a time to slow down....live like the prairie tribes....only time will tell. But I see a snowbird routine for us more than an abrupt mid life change to a life style without.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I lived in a cramped 10x50 mobile home as a teenager with my Dad. Even that was stifling. It was aluminum sided and was 30 years old so don't discount other brands of TT just because of condensation. There are far more spacious solutions in TT's especially for full timers.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Oh, and to add, that 10x50 mobile home still stands today. It is occupied. It is now ~60+ years old
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[david]

We lived aboard full time for about four months a dozen years ago, half camping in rustic places and half in an RV park. Here are some considerations:

1. You need at least a 25' box length RV to be comfortable for two. Ours was a 26' fifth wheel and was cozy but comfortable. Unfortunately neither the 28' CL or the 28' fifth wheel layouts work for us. See #2.

2. Since unlike camping you will be spending time inside on rainy and cold days. Look very carefully at the layout and if there are two comfortable places to sit, read and hang out all day. We removed one of the seats and table of a dinette to make room for a reclining chair to accomplish this on our RV. We believe that it is much more important to be comfortable all day than to have a place to eat a couple of times each day. A couple of fold up TV tray tales solved the problem for us.

3. Internet is important for many people. The aluminum skinned LL may block RV wifi signals, so you may need an external antenna/router to pick up RV park signals.

4. Insulation. This is entirely dependent on climate and time of the year. We were in southern California so it was mostly irrelevant, but in some parts of the country winter heating will be important and in the south, cooling will be equally important.

The LLs have about R6 wall insulation and maybe R10 on the roof and near zero on the floor or at best R3-4 with rubber foam tiles. They also have single pane windows. That will need a lot of heat in a cold winter. For example at 30 degree average outdoor temperature it will take a 1,500 watt heater running continuously to keep it at 70 degrees inside. At RV park rates that can be a couple of hundred dollars a month for heat. Cooling will be roughly half of that in the Gulf Coast in July. Not the end of the world, but a four season RV with good insulation and double pane windows will cut that in half.

David

[pinstriper]

Full timing in an RV is more or less living in a tiny house, without the hipster cache.

[whoofit]

[quote source="/post/16065/thread" timestamp="1444919570" author="@pinstriper"]Full timing in an RV is more or less living in a tiny house, without the hipster cache.[/quote][p]Well, not sure what hipster cache is but then there is this. I find it odd that most folks that do "attempt" to live in an RV often come full circle and retreat back into society. That free spirit lifestyle is a meager one. [/p][p]
[/p][p][video src="https://youtu.be/Kbrwhq4ooWs"][/video][/p][p]
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[leslie]

I can see the attraction to going full time in an RV. When we have come to the end of our scheduled trips, I don't want to go home. Just a little way away from where we were camping is another place that I want to go. Since we don't have a schedule, we did extend two of our trips this summer.

I really enjoy our custom Camplite 21-BHS with the tip-out bunk. There has been no condensation whatsoever. I attribute this to the extra ventilation provided by the tip-out.

If I were going to go full time, I would want a customized Aspire, the toy hauler with the back door that can convert to a patio with a little fence around it. My customization would be two tip-out bunks, placed opposite each other, and eliminate the two rear couches. The Aspire has the bug screen that pulls down from the ceiling, so this would be just like sleeping outside. It also has glass doors to close when you need to keep the weather outside.

 I saw the Aspire in person at last year's Tampa RV show with fasteddie and koolkaren. I am looking forward to going to the Tampa RV show again in January. My husband and I are making plans to go with our youngest son. Ought to be a good time!

[charliem]

They also have single pane windows.

David

[font size="3"]David,

Are you sure? All windows on my 2014 21RBS are, in fact, double "glazed" molded plastic windows with a trapped air pocket between. Not sure how effective they are, but certainly better than a single sheet of plastic. [/font]

[david]

Charlie:

I will have to take another look. They sure seem like single pane plastic. But maybe as you say they are two panes with a thin air gap. My 16TBS was built in the winter of 2013/4 so should have the same stuff as yours.

David

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/16073/thread" timestamp="1444937400" author="@david"]Charlie:

I will have to take another look. They sure seem like single pane plastic. But maybe as you say they are two panes with a thin air gap. My 16TBS was built in the winter of 2013/4 so should have the same stuff as yours.

David[/quote]It's more than you'd think. I bet it's more of a gap than typical double-paned. Just pinch when it's open and even the corners have a 1/2" of thickness or so. I think it increases toward the center where the "bubble" gets bigger.

[joanne]

[quote source="/post/16055/thread" timestamp="1444865509" author="@david2015"]What are your thoughts/experiences with full-timing in general, and in a LL trailer in particular?
[/quote]I've met more that one couple who were full-timing in campers no larger than my 16' LL.

They looked happy to me.

--Mike

[pjcd]

There are people that full time in Oliver trailers, they're pretty tight. Everyone is different.

[gnies]

I am full timing in mine during the summer at a seasonal campground and it's only a 13QBB and it's working great but I do have a shed to store my stuff

http://livinliteforum.com/index.php/topic=27.msg102.html#msg102