Last time, I talked about how I had to be realistic about not being able to afford a specific trailer or to have one "winterized". So to stay with reality, we need to research alternatives to buying new or even "gently used."
What other options are there?
We could buy a ratty old fifth wheel and renovate, or completely gut and remodel it. We could also just buy a trailer frame and build on that, or find an actual tiny home trailer to build on. But neither one of us has any type of building or renovating experience, so we'll really need to buckle down and learn the ins and outs if we go that route.
We decided against building from scratch. The time and research required isn't an issue... It's the noise. We've figured out a few spots we could work on a trailer, (we have no room at home), but the surrounding people wouldn't be very happy about the noise required to build from scratch...(saws, hammering, drills, etc...) At least a remodeling job keeps most noise inside and to a minimum. Lots of research still needs to be done on every aspect, though, to tell us what we want, what we can live with and how to change it to what we want or need.
We've compiled a list of necessities to focus on;
-toilet/black water
-running water/grey water
-heating/cooling (winterizing)
-cooking
-refrigeration
-laundry
-power/lighting
-security
-internet
-cell phone service
-income
All are crucial to our lifestyle, so just in case we need to remodel, change or add on, we need to know exactly what to do. Even if we buy a completely usable trailer with everything we need, there might be something that just won't work in the long run for us.
Plus, everything needs to be CHEAP. Whenever people think "cross country RV trip" or "full time RV living" they think "expensive". Rightfully so. There are many things that can cost a large chunk of money, even regularly, if you're not prepared for it. We aim to do this with a very small budget, so research will be geared towards "how to do this without spending money".
So next up, we're going to start going through this list and figuring out how it should be done. This is our home and life we're talking about... Cutting corners and laziness just won't do!
P.S:
This is all new to us. If you think we missed a necessity, please let me know!
**This article is part of a series of our research and thought processes on switching to a mobile tiny home and traveling the country on a tight budget. If you'd like to see the rest, check the tag "mooretravellers", otherwise, here are the links to my previous articles:
•[https://steemit.com/intoduceyourself/@mommanatural/hello-again-steemit-i-m-back](Hello Again Steemit, I'm Back!) May 28, 2018
•[https://steemit.com/tinyhouse/@mommanatural/why-choose-a-mobile-tiny-home](Why Choose a Mobile Tiny Home?) May 29, 2018
•[https://steemit.com/tinyhouse/@mommanatural/what-type-of-tiny-home](What Type of Tiny Home) May 31, 2018