T'smom Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Would it be insane to stay in a trailer for 3-4 months? I think it could be fun, but it's possible that that much closeness might drive us all crazy. There is a place about 45 minutes from us that has permanent campsites. We have relatives/friends that have places there. It's a really great place and we go there a LOT in the summer. Dh works a lot, doesn't have a ton of vaca time. We live in Michigan and it's COLD here. We have to take advantage of every day of nice warm weather. It's not cheap- but we could afford it. If we spend all this money on it, we'd want to really take advantage and stay out there most of the summer (end of spring and beginning of fall) BUT- it is camping. It's walking to the camp-style bathroom. It's not having a dishwasher. It's being literally on top of each other. It's also seeing cousins/grandparents a lot more frequently and really giving our kids awesome summer memories. Dh would stay with us and commute to work. The places out there kindof reflect the housing market right nwo. There are some that have been for sale for a couple years. It is kindof scary that we might not be able to sell if something unexpected happened. Is this something you would consider doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Unless you've done something similar for at least 2+ weeks recently, I would not do it. It would be hard on a lot of levels. Some folks would love it, some would HATE it. Unless you know that you'd love it, I would not, not, not do it. If you can rent a trailer for a month this summer, that's what I'd try first. If you love it, you can go whole hog next summer. Have you checked vrbo.com or similar sites for a nice little house to rent? You'd be amazed what great deals you can find for house rentals. You could do that for a couple weeks this summer if the cost is comparable. Some houses have awesome monthly deals . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Well, we've stayed there for a week and a half a couple times the last couple summers. We've borrowed MIL/FIL's trailer. See, renting a house doesn't appeal to me at all. We're already close to touristy places. Once you're there- you're outside a lot. You don't drive anywhere in the campground (they use golf carts- but really you're close enough to walk to most everything) That's the appeal of the place- to me anyways. That and being with cousins that are out there a lot. I'm not sure I'm communicating well. I don't want to "go" a bunch of places. I want to be in one place that has everything right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I have stayed with dh and a dog on a 36' sailboat for a month or more at a time. It was too small for us to do for long term. When we did it the weather was bad and we were stuck on the boat for a few days at the time. Advantages of a camper is that you can run around outside and you are confined to it. They are wider and can have decent seats. You can reasonably be outside even if it is raining or you can go to the store or any number of things like that. Dh and I have talked about buying a 5th wheel to live in while he is doing contract work away from home. We haven't yet really decided if it is economically the right thing to do for us. I think we could easily stay in it and enjoy being in campgrounds for months at a time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 MamaGeek- being on a boat sounds like fun!!! I also meant to say that renting at this place isn't really feasible. For one, they have a 2 week limit for nonmembers. And we don't have a trailer that moves around. They have little cabins- but, like I said you can only stay there 2 weeks per "season". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 MamaGeek- being on a boat sounds like fun!!! I also meant to say that renting at this place isn't really feasible. For one' date=' they have a 2 week limit for nonmembers. And we don't have a trailer that moves around. They have little cabins- but, like I said you can only stay there 2 weeks per "season".[/quote'] It is a lot of fun and a lot of work both. It is a very different lifestyle. We have talked about getting a bigger boat when dd is a little older and going cruising for a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Do they have any with hook ups--meaning your OWN bathroom and shower in your trailer? That would be huge for me--esp. in bad weather and/or the middle of the night bathroom trips. What are the ages of your kids? Are they old enough and is the campground monitored enough for them to freely play without direct supervision or will you have to be "eyes on" them all the time? How would dh's commute be? Longer? shorter? About the same? Do you have pets or other things at home that would need upkeep/monitoring? Would you have any opportunity for privacy? "TeA" brewing in a camper with kids might not be the best option for the entire summer----then again, families lived in much smaller things for years at a time and all survived. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 We have been thinking about doing something similar. We would be paying to keep our camper on a site at a nearby lake for spring through fall. We could still take it for longer trips elsewhere when we wanted. Our thought would be that we could go for the weekend, or the kids and I for longer, and it would already be set up. I don't think I would want to do it for months on end. That would get old in a hurry IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 It sounds like fun.... until 4 days of rain and mud and yuck... or someone gets sick... you can fill in the blanks. I wish you could have 4 blissfull months of vacation. Not to be a downer but it won't seem like vacation after a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datgh Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 If it is only 45 minutes to home, I would go for it. You can always head home for a few days if you need a break or if you hit a stretch of rainy weather. If you get a long really well with family that are there, then I think you could make some pretty wonderful memories for your kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I'd buy one of those huge, 3 room, 7 foot tall Costco tents instead. You can really enjoy being in one of those, even if it is raining. It feels much more like real camping. Campers don't really count, according to DD. (I raised her right!) You can hang a big battery powered Coleman lantern from the top inside and light up the whole place. Honestly, they are so big that our king size air mattress was dwarfed. And ours was easy to put up because it was based on a dome tent model. It did take two people, though, just from bulk and length of the dome poles issues. And, the price was right, you can fold it into a case the size of a medium duffle bag, and it had windows with screens and zip up/down plastic. Very nice! Frankly, it was embarrassing to put it up for just the three of us, but the Costco deal was so inexpensive that if we had gone to a local sporting goods store we would have paid the same money for something half that size. And it was really nice to have a flap to retire behind for the adults, and another for the kid(s), and plenty more room than that besides. If only that homeless guy had not stolen it out of our garage only 2-3 years after we bought it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T'smom Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Oh, I'm not expecting blissful vacation. Just more fun than being home. We don't really have a good yard//neighbor situation. And Dh would be working- his commute would be about 45 minutes. It's about 3 minutes from home. You can get whatever kind of trailer you want (or can afford!), they do have bathrooms- but no sewer, so you have to have someone come clean it out every week or so. But in our IL's situation, they still sometimes stink. Using the camp bathrooms avoids that. Some people have trailers that are the kind that could be pulled by a truck, but they're just permanently parked there. Others are "park models" that don't move. People build porches, decks, 3 season rooms off of them. I'm new to the cold-weather climate and feel like we have to wring every minute out of summer that we can. Out there, we'd have the beach, pools, hiking trails, tennis/basketball courts, etc. Without having to "go" somewhere. We were probably out there 2x a week last summer to swim or do some special activity. I LOVE the beach. And we could leave to go home whenever we wanted. Dh would be at the house daily when he took his lunch break. We want to make sure we get out money's worth! I don't know. I really want to, but it would be an expensive regret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 If it is only 45 minutes to home, I would go for it. You can always head home for a few days if you need a break or if you hit a stretch of rainy weather. If you get a long really well with family that are there, then I think you could make some pretty wonderful memories for your kids. :iagree: It is close enough to home that you could head home for a week or two here or there. I think it sounds lovely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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