Live FT in RV in AZ or NV?

[whoot]

Last year I left my job on the East Coast, and got one in Texas, where I now live in an apartment. My current job will probably end in 6-9 months, so I am thinking about where to go next. I want to live in my Casita full-time in a place that doesn't have tornadoes. I was thinking of planning to move to Arizona or Nevada. I would need to work, so I imagine I could stay at a year-round RV park in my Casita, and drive to work at a nearby city. Probably Phoenix or Las Vegas, since I work in IT. My RV has A/C, and I would treat it like a little mobile apartment. I originally got it so I could save money on rent, and assume AZ/NV campgrounds are similarly cheaper than AZ/NV apartments. If I go to AZ/NV, I wont have to worry about ice/snow, and I can get rid of a lot of my snow survival gear. Less is better! Any reason I may not want to go to AZ/NV?

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by whoot

Any reason I may not want to go to AZ/NV?

If you like semi desert with generally dry weather. And you don't mind hot summers with low humidity, you're good to go.

You also get wonderful monsoon rains, fantastic views for endless miles, no crowds outside of the larger areas like Las Vegas and Phoenix. Down to earth people. Unlimited camping opportunities with lakes, rivers and mountains. Etc, etc.

If you want it a bit cooler, with easy access to Yosemite and the fantastic Eastern Sierra, go north to Carson City.

What's not to like?

[Jon in AZ]

June - August anywhere below about 5000’ is going to be pretty hot for RV living in Arizona, even with A/C, in a thinly insulated camper like a Casita. That covers about 2/3 of the state, including the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. If you can park your rig at a higher elevation and telecommute... perfect.

Arizona has great RV weather twelve months of the year, provided you’re mobile.

[whoot]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

June - August anywhere below about 5000’ is going to be pretty hot for RV living in Arizona, even with A/C, in a thinly insulated camper like a Casita. That covers about 2/3 of the state, including the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. If you can park your rig at a higher elevation and telecommute... perfect.

Arizona has great RV weather twelve months of the year, provided you’re mobile.

Is it realistic to stay at a campground close to Phoenix during the 9 cooler months, and commute from a more elevated campground during the 3 hottest months? Or maybe there are no elevated campgrounds anywhere near Phoenix. What would be a cooler city to live in, everyone mentions Flagstaff - are there others?

[whoot]

Originally Posted by Raspy

If you like semi desert with generally dry weather. And you don't mind hot summers with low humidity, you're good to go.

You also get wonderful monsoon rains, fantastic views for endless miles, no crowds outside of the larger areas like Las Vegas and Phoenix. Down to earth people. Unlimited camping opportunities with lakes, rivers and mountains. Etc, etc.

If you want it a bit cooler, with easy access to Yosemite and the fantastic Eastern Sierra, go north to Carson City.

What's not to like?

That all sounds great!

[John in Santa Cruz]

the greater Reno area is hard to beat. thats where my son has been living these past 4-5 years. Carson City is kinda on the Tahoe side of Reno IMHO. hah hah.

winters can be damn cold.

[Raspy]

We're in Smith Valley. It's just great to be able to go to Tahoe for lunch. North to Reno, or south to Yosemite and the whole Eastern Sierra so easily. Death Valley in about three hours. I never get tired of it after living in the Bay Area for 40 years. While driving on 395 and passing near here, in my 20s, on the way to LA from Reno, and back, I always thought it was too quiet for me. Not enough action. Now, that's just how I like it. Lots of high desert thundershowers in the summer, are just icing on the cake.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by whoot

Is it realistic to stay at a campground close to Phoenix during the 9 cooler months, and commute from a more elevated campground during the 3 hottest months? Or maybe there are no elevated campgrounds anywhere near Phoenix. What would be a cooler city to live in, everyone mentions Flagstaff - are there others?

Flagstaff is the only larger town (or small city) at a high elevation. It has the opposite problem for RV living: too cold in winter. High cost of living, terrible traffic, but fun college town.

Prescott is a mid-altitude large town that could allow year-round RV living. Don’t know about employment opportunities. Large retiree population.

Commuting during summer... Payson is a livable summer elevation about a hour plus from the eastern suburbs of Phoenix (Mesa, Tempe, Chandler). Chandler is the tech hub. Long but easy drive on a good four-lane highway.

Don’t know as much about Tucson area.

[ZachO]

Why do you want to live in your Casita? Just for the cool factor? To save money?

I get wanting to live in a camper. But the RV park thing, not so much. More crowded than an apartment building with less privacy. And even where I live, in a small ranching community of 5,000 people, it would be around $400/month to live in an RV park. I love living out of my camper, by I'm not paying $400/month to do it.

Your reasons are your reasons and your decision doesn't need to make sense. You can do something just cause you want to and that's cool. But do it with open eyes. RV parks cost at a minimum typically $50/night with hookups. Places which allow monthly rentals may give a discount, but you can do the math. For those costs, why not spread out in an apartment and save gas money and time commuting? For me, no moderate savings in rent is worth 2 hours of my time every day commuting that I can never get back.

Right now I pay nothing to live in my camper in the summer, and make some money on the side house sitting. But I do track my gas expenses. Luckily the farthest out of town I have to camp is 20 miles, down a 70mph road where the traffic that annoys me is if I actually see more than 10 cars. Or get stuck behind a tractor. And my job has no set hours, so I'm not rushing out of the camper at 7am every morning. I can relax, take my time, catch up on emails in the camper before heading in to the office etc.

Anyway, I really like when people start thinking like you. But I don't see the benefit of paying $5-900/month or so in rent to live in a tiny, tiny space surrounded by people 15 feet away, driving 40 miles each way to work. I have to question the motive. If it's just for the experience of the thing, fine. But it doesn't sound like it would save a ton of money, and to be honest the quality of life sounds like a step down.

[slowpat]

Showlow seemed just right to me, as did Payson. Showlow is higher elevation and has winter. Payson is where we stopped in the winter and changed into summery clothing when going down to The Valley to shop in the winter.

I lived for a couple years "up on the rim". Our population tripled in the summer. I enjoyed the less populated time of year. I lived in Overgaard. We got snow in the winter, but it usually melted quickly. Cold nights with days above freezing was the way winter worked there.

You still have to deal with thunderstorms starting in July. No tornados but tree tops can be blown to pieces by a lightning strike.

It was excellent country for mountain biking.

Being a PNW native, I found the lack of natural lakes to be a problem.

[whoot]

Originally Posted by ZachO

Why do you want to live in your Casita? Just for the cool factor? To save money?

I get wanting to live in a camper. But the RV park thing, not so much. More crowded than an apartment building with less privacy. And even where I live, in a small ranching community of 5,000 people, it would be around $400/month to live in an RV park. I love living out of my camper, by I'm not paying $400/month to do it.

Your reasons are your reasons and your decision doesn't need to make sense. You can do something just cause you want to and that's cool. But do it with open eyes. RV parks cost at a minimum typically $50/night with hookups. Places which allow monthly rentals may give a discount, but you can do the math. For those costs, why not spread out in an apartment and save gas money and time commuting? For me, no moderate savings in rent is worth 2 hours of my time every day commuting that I can never get back.

Right now I pay nothing to live in my camper in the summer, and make some money on the side house sitting. But I do track my gas expenses. Luckily the farthest out of town I have to camp is 20 miles, down a 70mph road where the traffic that annoys me is if I actually see more than 10 cars. Or get stuck behind a tractor. And my job has no set hours, so I'm not rushing out of the camper at 7am every morning. I can relax, take my time, catch up on emails in the camper before heading in to the office etc.

Anyway, I really like when people start thinking like you. But I don't see the benefit of paying $5-900/month or so in rent to live in a tiny, tiny space surrounded by people 15 feet away, driving 40 miles each way to work. I have to question the motive. If it's just for the experience of the thing, fine. But it doesn't sound like it would save a ton of money, and to be honest the quality of life sounds like a step down.

Your many questions make a lot of assumptions that I do not agree with, and will not argue about. I will say that living in my RV allows me the most freedom about choosing who my neighbors are, and how long I have to live next to them. I also save easily $10k a year versus an apartment, which was like getting a free Casita after 2 years. The small size also creates a self-regulating lifestyle that prevents me from buying too much crap. Those are the main reasons.

[whoot]

Originally Posted by slowpat

Showlow seemed just right to me, as did Payson. Showlow is higher elevation and has winter. Payson is where we stopped in the winter and changed into summery clothing when going down to The Valley to shop in the winter.

I lived for a couple years "up on the rim". Our population tripled in the summer. I enjoyed the less populated time of year. I lived in Overgaard. We got snow in the winter, but it usually melted quickly. Cold nights with days above freezing was the way winter worked there.

You still have to deal with thunderstorms starting in July. No tornados but tree tops can be blown to pieces by a lightning strike.

It was excellent country for mountain biking.

Being a PNW native, I found the lack of natural lakes to be a problem.

Thanks, I will check out those places. I lived in Portland for 1 year, when they had a drought, there was almost no rain. After I left, it rained for like 6 month, lol.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by whoot

Your many questions make a lot of assumptions that I do not agree with, and will not argue about. I will say that living in my RV allows me the most freedom about choosing who my neighbors are, and how long I have to live next to them. I also save easily $10k a year versus an apartment, which was like getting a free Casita after 2 years. The small size also creates a self-regulating lifestyle that prevents me from buying too much crap. Those are the main reasons.

Similar to living on a boat, which I did for many years. It offers benefits that some appreciate and some don't understand.

Some do it just to save money and some do it because of the freedom and lifestyle.

With my first boat, it was all about freedom and lifestyle. And I had a very good run with it. Sailed thousands of miles and had a fun place to live close to where I needed to be for work. Even went to Mexico for six months.

Second boat was all about convenience, where I lived about 5 hours away from where I worked. I came down about once a week and stayed on the boat. In that case, I was moored for about $400. per month with all utilities, pool, spa, workout room, etc. And surrounded with apartments with rents that started at about $5,000. per month. I could be gone for months if I wanted to, or just go out for the weekend.

Having a house in a large city, and not being there all the time, can be a problem. But having one in the country, if designed right, can simply become a home base that is fine left alone for months. That opens the door to all the travel one might want, while having some roots at the same time, or always having a place to come home to. And a place for a nice shop and a place to have more stuff, if desired. This is the situation where having a fun travel trailer is really nice.

[whoot]

Originally Posted by Raspy

Similar to living on a boat, which I did for many years. It offers benefits that some appreciate and some don't understand.

Some do it just to save money and some do it because of the freedom and lifestyle.

With my first boat, it was all about freedom and lifestyle. And I had a very good run with it. Sailed thousands of miles and had a fun place to live close to where I needed to be for work. Even went to Mexico for six months.

Second boat was all about convenience, where I lived about 5 hours away from where I worked. I came down about once a week and stayed on the boat. In that case, I was moored for about $400. per month with all utilities, pool, spa, workout room, etc. And surrounded with apartments with rents that started at about $5,000. per month. I could be gone for months if I wanted to, or just go out for the weekend.

Having a house in a large city, and not being there all the time, can be a problem. But having one in the country, if designed right, can simply become a home base that is fine left alone for months. That opens the door to all the travel one might want, while having some roots at the same time, or always having a place to come home to. And a place for a nice shop and a place to have more stuff, if desired. This is the situation where having a fun travel trailer is really nice.

I currently have a pickup truck as my TV, but I plan to get sturdy cargo van - which I can also stealthcamp in. That will allow be to bring my RV to places I want to stay at, and just travel in the van when I just want to take a quick trip. I see the van as my 1-5 day home, and the RV as the 6+ day home. There is guy named Rusty78609 on YT that buys little house-less lots, and moves between them every few months. He drycamps in his Casita. He has a lot in TX and one in NM right now. He also sells the lots when the go up in value, so they serve as a source of income. If I had an internet-based job I would do the same. Here is his NM lot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxDu6aqjFPc

[ZachO]

Yep, I'm not interested in arguing either. Like I said, your reasons are your reasons and that's cool.

If you've already done the research into what RV parks charge per month and that it's cheaper than an apartment, great.

You have a lot of your own assumptions going into this. I'll be interested to see how they play out against reality. I hope well. Like I said, I like seeing people try this sort of thing.

[Bruce H]

Arizona is great if you can migrate with the seasons. But if you are locked to one location because of a job it will be more difficult.



The most expensive problem to overcome is utilities (power, water and sewage disposal), with sewage disposal being the most difficult of those to deal with. $20 per day plus electricity for monthly rates at a park with full hookups is about the bottom. Depending on how much power you use, you are looking at $700+ per month. That is no bargain. There are many areas on BLM land where you can stay at no charge for 14 days weather permitting. Then you have to move a minimum number of miles away. That is for dry camping with no utilities. You don't want to have to hook up every few days and go to an RV dump.



Next you have to deal with local zoning. Many places don't allow living in an RV even if you own the lot. Then you must realize that in many (most) areas there is a prejudice against people living in RVs. Even someone living in a half $million dollar motorhome is considered homeless and you get the "not in my neighborhood" treatment. Stopping to sleep in a rest area or on a parking lot is considered "camping" if you are doing it in an RV. Not so much if you are doing it in a truck sleeper.



Next, the weather in Arizona has its extremes. The "hot season in the desert is more like eight months. You can expect regular temps to reach 100 degrees or more beginning in April. That is outside. It really gets warm inside an RV if the power is interrupted or the air conditioner quits. You won't be able to sleep in that. The flip side of that is the mountainous northern areas in winter. It is beautiful up there but major snow storms sometimes shut the highways down for days. You don't have enough insulation in that Casita to be comfortable when the temperatures are zero and below for several days. And if you have a power failure you could have real problems.



Last, there are fewer tornadoes in Arizona but in the summer (eight months) there are rattlesnakes. They will seek shade under your car and trailer in the daytime and they will be crawling around looking for food at night. Better have a good flashlight if you need to go to your car for something at night. I would rather face the tornadoes.

[Jon in AZ]

Rattlesnakes... not a big problem with reasonable awareness and precautions. We had one under our porch a few weeks ago, first time. Local game and fish dealt with it. We also encountered one in a Tucson campground several years ago with a large bulge in its belly, slow and lethargic. Left it alone and it crawled away to sleep off the meal.

The real problem in the desert lately has been pack rats. They aggressively chew into bio-plastics used in many newer vehicles to insulate wiring, among other things. Last time we camped near Phoenix, the campground was lit up like a Christmas tree all night and almost every hood was open to discourage the destructive pests. Might be better in RV parks in developed areas, don't know.

Agree that the desert hot season is longer than the three months I mentioned, but outside those three months it can at least be doable in an RV with access to electricity and A/C.

High elevation winters vary in severity. This past winter was close to record levels for snowfall, and the frequency was unprecedented (2-3 storms a week), so not a great indicator of “normal.” This was the first year we ran out of heating wood for our house and had to burn more expensive propane.

4000-5000’ is kind of the sweet spot for year-round living without heavy insulation. I lived for 4 years in an RV my first few years’ teaching at 5300’. Winters were the biggest challenge, and my trailer was a four-season unit with enclosed holding tanks. It was affordable mainly because my employer provided inexpensive space rent with unlimited utilities. Affordable, clean RV parks... remember you're competing with our large population of snowbirds.

Yes, the Southwest is a climate of extremes: summer and winter, day and night, wet and dry... Agree- best when you can move around according to the weather.

[Carpentryteacher]

We visited my daughter in Flaggstaff,,in late April,,/19,, when we visited Sedona we were ty old that alot of the campers were out on Federal land for free,, just gave to move periodically.. that might be an option. Good luck

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Carpentryteacher

We visited my daughter in Flaggstaff,,in late April,,/19,, when we visited Sedona we were ty old that alot of the campers were out on Federal land for free,, just gave to move periodically.. that might be an option. Good luck

problem with free boonie camping is, 1) no utilities, so no air conditioning. IIRC, the OP said he had a Casita 16, these have very small water and grey tanks. 2) they usually aren't secure places you'd want to leave your trailer for the day to get supplies, go to work, whatever.

[whoot]

I'm not talking about staying out in the desert, I am talking about staying in an RV park. With hook-ups. There are several in Phoenix. Their monthly rents are about half that of Phoenix apartments. For example: Desert’s Edge RV Park | Best Location in Town! $650 Covered Wagon – RV Park $450 I've lived in my Casita when it was -7F degrees and when there was 30 inches of snow. I'm not worried about it dropping below 32F for a few days. I'm actually more use to freezing weather than I am to hot weather. I have no idea how common things like snakes and scorpions are in (AZ) campgrounds.