Living in a motor home?

[brentspeak]

Besides paying for the rig and the diesel/gas, what other kinds of expenses go along with owning one? Are there special "property" taxes assessed? How much does it usually cost to keep these huge vehicles heated/air conditioned?

[goldcanyonaz]

1. Rent, propane, electric, water, etc. We were in an RV for almost 3 years upon leaving Michigan.

You have to rent your space which can cost anywhere on average $150-$500 a month.

Our average cost when living in our RV in Arizona was:

$325 for rental space
$100 for electric (air condition)
@25 for water
$100-150 per month in gas

You also really have to be good friends with whomever you live with because such close quarters could lead to murder quickly if otherwise.

[brentspeak]

2. That's much less per month in gas than I figured

I guess you kept it parked and didn't really move it around much. Is the engine kept on much of the time?

How safe are the car parks?

[goldcanyonaz]

3. The engine gets turned off once you park it. You use your hooks ups for electric, water, etc.

Most parks are very safe, we never had a problem in the almost 3 years of living in one.

The gas I referred to was propane, not fuel for the engine.

[enigmatic]

4. 2 places to go for info

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/33.cfm

http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?s=def3f24a670b0375eb6fc0f305cd04c9&showforum=3

[brentspeak]

5. Thanks

[david13]

6. They are not car parks, they are rv/resorts. You can get monthly

spaces. Those are the cheapest. Then if you stay there for a month and don't drive, you won't pay for gas/diesel. If you drive, you pay.
Propane to heat and cook depends on how many times you eat at Marie Calendars, as opposed to cooking, and how cold it is. If it's 35 or 40 at night, and you like it at 78, you will easily spend $100 a month on propane. There is so much glass, and thin walls, and thus you lose heat fast.
Electric may be $50 a month, or more or less.
Insurance is a big beast. You want good stuff. California law requires you to have it, or your registration is suspended. But you want to cover your contents and the box. If there's a problem.
Repairs may run $10 to $100 a month, depending on what goes out.
You can get daily or weekly rates, but they are higher. In all of southern California, the cheapest park is $600 a month. But that includes electric & cable. But the parks are fairly safe.
Don't forget satellite. Phone, or cell phone.
Those tires are minimum $750 each.
It's sort of like owning a boat. Constant expense. But you can go anywhere in the country. A lot of workers who are mobile, road work, construction, etc., use them for a job here or there for 3, 4, 5 months or whatever. Then, on to the next job.
dc

[brentspeak]

7. I was toying with the idea of an RV as an alternative to renting

but it sounds much more expensive than I realized. Maybe at a later time...

[mnhtnbb]

8. I have friends (who have a house in Idaho) and they drive their motor home to Yellowstone

each year where they live in it while working at the park for the summer. The rest of the year
they are retired.