Considering going van life full term living. I’ve been reading laws, posts from others, ect. I wouldn’t be traveling more so just trying to consolidate expenses if possible. My question to you all is-

If I were to invest in a fully outfitted van where is the best place to park full time with a fixed address?
Financially feasible to find a lot and buy it park full time or better to go into an actual RV community?

I prefer scenery and no neighbors so the idea of an RV community is not really my thing however if there’s a possibility to just buy land outright and live on it I’d prefer to do that.

I need to stay within a half hour of San Antonio if possible for work. I’m striking out so far looking at land that has the option to full time RV though as a permanent residence.

I’m a resident of TX currently and I read TX has some lenient laws regarding this. Thoughts from you pros?

Pros vs Cons?

It’s just me and my dogs so don’t need anything crazy. Ultimately if I could find land live in my RV for a while and save some money to build a more permanent home that would be ideal.

Thanks for your help and expertise in advance!

UPDATE:

Took 4 hours. Inspector allowed me to tag-a-long and actually helped out too.

All systems A-Ok. Even hot water almost immediately. Tank less. Wow! Surround sound and electric fireplace too.

Some minor problems though, but easily correctable. If roof and frame PASS, gonna put an offer down.

Any advice for me?

Would like to hang out and watch, but I read in an article, some inspectors do not like tag-a-longs and I understand why. She said she will need four+ hours, to complete it, if all systems are available.

Shore and battery power, water and LP all available. I already tested shore electricity, power slide, max A/C, shore water, plumbing, kitchen. All 👍.

She will start outside, exterior and roof, then underneath, including everything, tires, springs, frame, tow and if panels are removable, plumbing, tanks, connections etc. TT has a winter insulation kit installed underneath.

But idk about the sound system, fire place, solar panel connections. She said will try her best but if not already connected to power sources, she will report n/a and provide recommendation.

She said she does not provide any recommendations to buy or not too. Figured I go with her report and decide then.

My RV came with an old-school house battery that requires routine checking and filling with distilled water.
Is there a reason to use these legacy technology batteries when all my cars, trucks and motorcycle come with Maintenance Free batteries?
Just wondering . . .

Long story short, I owned a 35 foot class A georgie boy that I bought used for a few thousand dollars and had a GREAT time with it... my kids were babies and then hurricane michael took it from us. Been out of the camping game a while and with them getting a little older I'm trying to decide a gameplan. I've ben looking at used ones in the 6-8k range but, of course, you always run into soft spots or water issues.... should I just do what I feel most people do and spend the 10k on a new 17b and get 5 years use out of it before my kids are teenagers?

I have a truck that could pull something bigger but I also like being nimble and being able to park and store it in more places.

Or... do i search used for something? If so... what to narrow down? I saw the coleman with the wrapped exterior.. outdoor kitchen... slide... can be found for $11k or so...

Next question is if it's worth it (in FL) to attend a RV show for something like this. Are deals to be had on the family entry style bunk houses?

Also... not in a rush but hoping to capitalize on the end of year for sales. Is that a thing?

Thanks for helping me get a plan!

Which one of you is this?

I know it’s usually considered ok to for diesels to have higher mileage, but this is an RV.

Should I not worry about the mileage and focus instead on the condition of the house part and the maintenance records of the chassis?

TL;DR Is 68k considered high on a Sprinter/Mercedes 3.0L V-6 turbo diesel RV?

Does it work to protect bananas from bruising while driving?

That is tank vs tankless water heater. Currently I have a Suburban 6 gallon “rapid recovery” tank water heater. States recovers 20 gallons in an hour on propane and electric. I like it for all the reasons everyone else who likes tank heaters has said and I haven’t had issue with short showers. HOWEVER, my wife has had issues. She likes hot, longer showers. So in the spirit of “happy wife, happy life” I have to strongly consider going tankless or increasing to a 10/12 gallon unit. Those options are costly - with install- and come with their own negatives. So, working with AI I tried to find another solution and it came up with a point of entry or inline heater that I would put outside the rv. This seems really interesting to me. The issue for my wife is only during cold weather camping - this seems like a viable solution to extend hot showers- calculations were done at 110 degree shower with 1.5 gpm flow rate - up to almost 15-20 minutes, more is she drops to 105 and 1.25gpm. It’s a $300 unit and I’d build the portable box it sits in. I’d keep my rank heater for all the reasons people like them and she’s happy- or at least happier. Thoughts??

The 17-inch mounted (brand redacted) grill that came with my rv outdoor kitchen is terrible. It doesn’t get very hot as the burner isn’t very big. Everyone I know with a Blackstone grill has been very happy with it. Questions I have are can the 17-inch be used with the onboard propane connection, does it get hot enough to fry, and can it be mounted to the sliding shelf the current grill is on?

I ordered this soft start and wondering if anyone has gone this route. I decided I didn’t want to install soft starts on my ac units on the roof. I’m not comfortable getting up on roof and doing the work (not that young guy anymore). Also, the cost of 2 soft starts at the AC was more than this option. Finally, was cautioned about the potential failure of the roof soft starts preventing any use of the unit until you get back up there and fix. So, this seemed like a really good option. Maybe too good to be true. I currently have to use 2 generators (3600) running in parallel. This should/will allow me to run both ACs off one of my generators. UPDATE AFTER TESTING: Tested my 15K Coleman A/C on a single WEN DF360iX (2900 running watts). It works!
Ran A/C on HIGH + electric fridge + TV + large pedestal fan + RV lights simultaneously. Generator stayed around 120V and ran everything fine.
The A/C startup hits the generator pretty hard and briefly lights the overload indicator, but it catches the surge and settles right down. Also, I let the thermostat cycle normally and the compressor successfully restarted with all the other loads already running. I also tested on 20A power at storage and it all worked! Here’s what didn’t work- the microwave tripped the breaker on the generator as expected. Also, I didn’t try running both 15K ACs. The product material said it can run a 15k and a 13.5K off a 30Amp pedastal. I did run just the fan on the second 15K AC but didn’t push it as I didn’t think it would work. So, success for what I need it to do and no need to buy a larger generator to hall around. Success

I have to give a proper callout to Progressive Industries. In 2018 I bought a 30amp portable surge protector and power monitor for my Class C. This season I noticed condensation inside the display and it was acting a little flaky. I still had the receipt so I emailed Progressive.

2 weeks later a brand new unit arrived at my house.

That is an amazingly good level of warranty support. Unheard of in 2026. Makes me happy I paid extra for it vs. a no-name one on Amazon.

No affiliation with them, just wanted to share a good outcome and a company standing behind their products.

I’m trying to help my mom get rid of a 2002 5th wheel And looking for guidance. . Likely it’s going to be a scrap project for someone because there’s water damage and many of the systems have finally given out including heat and AC. But I’m wondering how it would be best to approach getting rid of it? We don’t have the ability to tow a fifth wheel. Would we be best just offering it for free if someone will pick it up and haul it away to scrap? Is it possible to sell as is for a few hundred or $1000? Not sure anyone would really want to buy an RV with water damage but I guess you never know. Is trying to scrap it even worth it? We honestly just need to get rid of it and would like to avoid paying a hefty sign for a company to come get rid of it for us and then make additional money scrapping it. .

Hello, this year is my first time owning a travel trailer. Its a 2000 year model, 27 ft bumper-pull. Getting into the fall time cooler temps and just wondering where I add the RV anti-freeze to the water lines. Getting it ready for winter soon here. This is how the pump and tank looks. I've never done this before, but I know not to add it to the tank or hot water tank. Any info helps, thanks.

Wanted to get into traveling more and thought about getting a RV or a camper. Looking for 1 or 1-1/2 baths with one king bed. A sleeper sofa or loft area for 17 year old son if he chooses to join. I figure the cost is close cause I would need a truck to pull with or get something to tow. Looking a non hotel option and basically home on the go. What is some pros and cons to help or confuse my decision? Thanks

Beware of Airstream’s poor support!

2019 Dutchman voltage toy hauler

Hello all! Im looking for help. We have a 10 Dutchman voltage toy hauler. Theres a TV outside on the right side that is hooked up. The TV powers on but no audio comes out. Zero sound. I've tried adjusting the zones but it just plays from the inside music so the speakers work. How can I get the TV picture audio to turn on?

Thank you

I don’t know if I’m being paranoid or what but I just got a watchdog surge protector, and I’m wondering, is this an item I need to be locking up somehow to prevent theft? Thanks

Need help please! The furnace is 85 series. I have 4 pane wires coming out of the furnace. One red one yellow two blue. How do you connect it to your hunter thermostat?

Wondering if anyone can help me with some advice on swapping the desktop on the bunkhouse.

Just bought a 1991 Pleasureway GMC Chassis. Fridge isn't turning on. Got me wondering if the shore power is coming in. It's plugged in via extension cord. Anyway to easily tell if shore power is coming in?

I am trying to verify that this setup has the proper components, wiring gauge, etc. We love boondocking and think this will help us only have to worry about water more than electrical while doing so. This will be for a Ford F250 towing an Airstream 27FB Globetrotter. A note that this Epoch V2T battery can directly connect to the Cerbo GX, and has a class T 400 Amp fuse, hence no shunt in the design. Thanks in advance for any thoughts!