Twisting in the wind

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

20x30x10 or 24x24x10 "shed" with concrete floor and 3/4 bath - makes a good shed for when you're not up there camping, a good shelter for winter "camping" - and when you finally move up there it's a good shop space while building the real house and after.

 

[Taylortractornut]

What about a maetal carport type building, Carolina Carports builds one that is a nice building and is weather rated. I know a couple hunt clubs that use them have them come out and put up a building One had a slab poured and a 25x20 building put in. The other one had one set in on peirs and then they insulated the sides and top and left a gravel floor in it with carpet rolled out on it. It has a small bathroom in the back and a kitchenette type thing in the corner. It has a roll up door on one end and a walk in as well. I put in the septic tank and cleared pad for it. They had 3 of the Northern hydraulics solar chargers in there that charged batteirs for a light at night and to run a water pump to pump water out of a tank they use to collect rain water.

 

[mbohuntr]

Don't know how bad taxes are where you are, but people here in NY that have had camps in their families for generations are removing(some burning) those camps and bringing in travel trailers to lower the taxes.

 

[CurlyDave]

Camper all the way.

Instant shelter, and you can haul it off at the end of its useful life.

I bet a cabin would be in the wrong place.

Plus it is almost impossible to design a cabin that can be effectively expanded.

 

[jinman]

In my area, if you put down a permanent foundation, your taxes are affected. If you put a camper or portable building, they are not considered permanent structures and are not tax liabilities for property taxes. My 24x24 building sits on four 4x6 skids and is portable, so I've never been taxed on it in 8 years. YMMV depending on tax laws in your area.

Also, my camper and cabin were always in clear view of the road. At night I had floodlights automatically come on to light the area. I've never lost anything to thieves or vandals, but all my neighbors with stuctures hidden from the road have had thefts and vandalism. Go figure. . . .

 

[Ridgewalker]

Thanks! for all the comments. Ya'll have about convinced me that a camper is the way to go for now. The camper would be close by the highway and in view whereas the current build spot is back in the woods out of sight. That seems to be best for a shelter that I will only see on weekends as far as security goes.
I do have good neighbors on my left and across the highway, a father and son who keep an eye on the place. Plus I keep finding new spots to build, I saw a great 1/8' moon and million stars this week from spot on the edge of my field that I hadn't noticed before, some 60' short leaf pines bracketed the view and it was gorgeous! It's my new #1 build spot . (Subject to change)

The camper would also be close by the well and power pole, I would have to dig a trench to run those services down to the other spot. I hadn't thought about taxes so that also makes a camper attractive.

I think I may have stopped twisting!

 

[IXLR8]

If you have stopped twisting.. how about some pics of your place. Where the trailer might go, locations the house might go, what makes this place special to you, etc.

 

[john_bud]

4-6K for a trailer is the Tajmahal!

You can get a decent camp trailer for $1000. It's gonna depreciate, why not get one cheap?

Also, 4-6K will build a 30x30 pole building with insulation.

jb

 

[CurlyDave]

The camper would also be close by the well and power pole, I would have to dig a trench to run those services down to the other spot. I hadn't thought about taxes so that also makes a camper attractive.

If you have power and water the camper just got a lot cheaper. A lot of campers have generators, which you don't need. Ones with no generator, or a broken generator are much less expensive.

DW and I lived in a parked motorhome on our property for about 18 months before and during the build of our house. At first we lived off the generator, trucked in water in a 65 gallon poly tank in the bed of my pickup, trucked out sewage in a second tank, and only stayed weekends.

When we got the well in, we bought an external generator to power the pump, and I learned how to pump the sewage away with a macerator and 100' of 3/4" hose. Went into a small gravel pit and disappeared with no odor or flies. No exactly legal, but when I think of what the bears, deer and other critters do, no harm. We stayed 4 or 5 days at a time.

When we got power, I retired and moved into the parked motorhome permanently, while DW kept working (she is younger and her sentence isn't up yet). She came up 5 or 6 days every 2 weeks.

Then we got the septic in, and I deliberately put the tank in a place where there was gravity flow from both the house and the camper. I could have lived in the camper forever, but DW wanted a house.

 

[MarkV]

I am with the camper crowd because of taxes also. You might want to check on insurance too. Liability is fine without any structures but even a portable tool shed will change that here. Not sure how they feel about a camper that stays on site.

MarkV