FEMA Trailer or ??

[TX_92_Notch]

My wife and I are closing on a 49 acre property near Union Valley (southeast of Royse City) on Friday. There is no house so we're tossing around options for a temporary 'home base' to have somewhere to hang out while we're there cleaning up, riding 4 wheelers, fishing, etc.

We're going to build a house soon but we need somewhere to chill, take a dump, store some cold drinks, etc. until the house is built.

We're not planning to sleep there or anything. The main purpose is a bathroom (preferably without the need for septic, meaning a tank that can be emptied).

I've seen people buy FEMA trailers to use for ranch shacks. An RV is an option but seems like it would be more $$ than a FEMA trailer.

What other options do you guys know of?

PS Must have room for a cowskin rug on the floor.

[kingjason]

Originally Posted by TX_92_Notch

My wife and I are closing on a 49 acre property near Union Valley (southeast of Royse City) on Friday. There is no house so we're tossing around options for a temporary 'home base' to have somewhere to hang out while we're there cleaning up, riding 4 wheelers, fishing, etc.

We're going to build a house soon but we need somewhere to chill, take a dump, store some cold drinks, etc. until the house is built.

We're not planning to sleep there or anything. The main purpose is a bathroom (preferably without the need for septic, meaning a tank that can be emptied).

I've seen people buy FEMA trailers to use for ranch shacks. An RV is an option but seems like it would be more $$ than a FEMA trailer.

What other options do you guys know of?

PS Must have room for a cowskin rug on the floor.

Buy one of those 10k sheds that you can use for a garage later. I mean, what's your budget? I think Ulrich has some ok prices.

[TX_92_Notch]

Originally Posted by kingjason

Buy one of those 10k sheds that you can use for a garage later. I mean, what's your budget? I think Ulrich has some ok prices.

I'm not going to say budget doesn't matter, but my intent is to buy something to use until we move in and then sell the temporary whatever-we-buy. The thought is that it only costs us whatever depreciation we see from purchase to resale.

If I buy an RV for $7,500 and sell it in 18 months for $7,000, then it cost $500 to provide us a home base until the house was finished.

I don't want to spend $50k or something crazy as I want to minimize losses and maintain cash for the build. But I could see spending as much as $10k-15k or so?

The downside to buying a shed is that I'd have to add a bathroom and whatever else we would need for a 'home base' type setup. A FEMA trailer or small RV already has a bathroom, table, couch, etc. all built in. I'm less concerned with buying something I can reuse long term. Perfectly fine buying something temporary - get our use out of it and sell it to someone else.

[Trip McNeely]

My brother in law bought a FEMA travel trailer sight unseen at an auction out of Baton Rouge. He won the bid with hardly any other bidders and at about half the cost of a new one. Trailer was a year old. When they went to pick it up it looked like it had never even had a person in it. Plastic still on items inside. Long story short I would look at those govmt auctions and see because he scored a real deal on his.

[TX_92_Notch]

Originally Posted by Trip McNeely

My brother in law bought a FEMA travel trailer sight unseen at an auction out of Baton Rouge. He won the bid with hardly any other bidders and at about half the cost of a new one. Trailer was a year old. When they went to pick it up it looked like it had never even had a person in it. Plastic still on items inside. Long story short I would look at those govmt auctions and see because he scored a real deal on his.

My former FIL bought one and it wasn't bad. I tournament fished with a close friend and he had one at Lake Fork. I'm not sure how they handle sewage, if at all. That's one benefit to a travel trailer - water tank and sewage tank.

[Craizie]

I dont know much about RV's but its gotta be a real piece of shit for $7500, right?

[TX_92_Notch]

Originally Posted by Craizie

I dont know much about RV's but its gotta be a real piece of shit for $7500, right?

Heck if I know. I've never owned one or known anyone that has. I don't need a brand new one but I also need one I can resell in a couple of years.

[Craizie]

Originally Posted by TX_92_Notch

Heck if I know. I've never owned one or known anyone that has. I don't need a brand new one but I also need one I can resell in a couple of years.

My boss has some small ass RV that needs work and he's selling it for like 20K.

[IHaveAMustang]

Originally Posted by Craizie

My boss has some small ass RV that needs work and he's selling it for like 20K.

The chinaflu did wonders to the RV resale market. I bought my 19' TT in 2014 brand new for 11,400. When it was hit with some hail last year I had insurance come out to evaluate it, and they totaled it out at 10,700. I chose to retain it and they cut me a check for 8,600. No way my (then) 7 year old TT was worth that much.

Also, I would not buy any type of recreational vehicle (aside from Fiberglass made like Casita) 2020 to now. QC went in the gutter as everyone bought them during/after COVID

[Trip McNeely]

As long as you don’t have bump outs it shouldn’t be as bad. Bump outs and the roof are the weak points. The roof you can work with and do some things to help, bump outs not so much.

[JC316]

Originally Posted by Craizie

I dont know much about RV's but its gotta be a real piece of shit for $7500, right?

Depends really. That will get you a halfway decent bumper pull with slideouts. If you want a motorhome, it will get you a mid 90's with no slides.

[TX_92_Notch]

Originally Posted by JC316

Depends really. That will get you a halfway decent bumper pull with slideouts. If you want a motorhome, it will get you a mid 90's with no slides.

Definitely bumper pull. We're not looking to vacation in this thing. We need somewhere to take a dump, hang out in between four wheeler rides, girls read a book if they want while I'm working on the tractor, etc.

I just don't want a POS that I'll own forever or lose my shirt selling it.

The more I think about it, the more I think a travel trailer makes sense. I can hook up a generator for power when we're there (and take the generator home when we're not there), it has black water tanks for storing toilet waste (no septic needed), and it has water tanks if we choose to use them.

[Craizie]

Originally Posted by TX_92_Notch

Definitely bumper pull. We're not looking to vacation in this thing. We need somewhere to take a dump, hang out in between four wheeler rides, girls read a book if they want while I'm working on the tractor, etc.

I just don't want a POS that I'll own forever or lose my shirt selling it.

The more I think about it, the more I think a travel trailer makes sense. I can hook up a generator for power when we're there (and take the generator home when we're not there), it has black water tanks for storing toilet waste (no septic needed), and it has water tanks if we choose to use them.

How many people are you planning on living in this thing?

[TX_92_Notch]

Originally Posted by Craizie

How many people are you planning on living in this thing?

Exactly zero. It's nothing more than a hang out spot while we're at the property. We'll camp out at times and someone might sleep in there but we're not going to spend many nights inside, if any.

The property is 3-4 miles from our current home. We just don't want to pack up and leave every time someone has to use the restroom.

[slow84lx]

Congrats on the land purchase.

The trailer idea is a good one. Doesn't necessarily have to be a FEMA one to be a good deal and in nice shape. I've seen a more than a few "FEMA" trailers that I wouldn't want to go inside of.

[TX_92_Notch]

Originally Posted by slow84lx

Congrats on the land purchase.

The trailer idea is a good one. Doesn't necessarily have to be a FEMA one to be a good deal and in nice shape. I've seen a more than a few "FEMA" trailers that I wouldn't want to go inside of.

Thanks. We're still pinching ourselves. We lived on 0.18 acres in 2016, then 7.8 acres and now we'll be building a home and shop on this 49 acre property.