I have already pretty much decided to sell my house and travel when I retire. I’ve looked at and priced motorhomes, and decided that used is the only way to go for me. But, for a lot less money I can buy a nice used travel trailer. That I’d have zero debt, plus i’d only have to maintain my pickup. If I get a motorhome, I’ll have to sell the pickup and buy a lighter car.
I’ll be staying in one place for weeks or months, so mileage on the truck isn’t a real concern. And motorhomes are expensive as hell to maintain and repair.
So I’ve so decided on the travel trailer except for one concern:
I wonder if one can actually live in the confined area od a 19’ travel trailer. I’m not at all claustrophobic, plus I spend a lot of time outdoors.
Okay, I’m single and will likely have a dog and or cat.
Does anyone live in a travel trailer, or know someone who does? What opinions can you offer?
BTW; I have “Living Aboard Your RV”, suggested, I think, by someone on the SDMB. And I plan to rent one for a couple weeks to see what it’s like. But two weeks and ten years may be quite different.
I’ll be cutting loose in less that five years. I promise to not Bogart the parking or block the view along the PCH. 
Thanks,
mangeorge
My sister and brother in law lived in a 22" travel trailer with their 2 kids and 2 (big) dogs for about 6 months when a 100’ tree fell on their house.
They seemed to survive.
One suggestion. If you already have a pickup, look into a couple of year old 5th wheel. Lots of people buy them, use them a few times and decide tey are too much trouble, and park them for 2 years or so. When they get tired of the paymets they sell them, cheap. My FIL got a great price on one this way.
My business partner lived in a 21-foot trailer (that was later mine) while his house was in escrow for about four months. Now, that was a '71 model, so it was probably a little more used than you’re thinking of going with, and trailers have improved greatly in the last 35 years. But the thought of (and he confirmed this) that normal-sized six-foot-tall man taking a shower in a two-foot by two-foot stall was mind-boggling. He said he’d have to put away the toilet paper and just use the whole bathroom compartment as a shower (which may have contributed to the dry-rot, hmm…)
He balanced a tiny TV on the tiny counter, only ate out, had to take all of his laundry out, and he barely fit on the bed. He parked it at work, so he had the air conditioned control room to escape to when things got too tight, but he said it was a pretty miserable four months.
I have a '95 23-foot trailer that’s just fine for just me and the dog for about a week or so, including outside time. But add the kids into the mix and about a week’s worth of camping is more than enough for me. And I *fit * in my shower.
And especially if you buy used, don’t think you’re going to get away with no maintenance on the trailer. After last weekend’s trip, I have a stabilizer jack to fix, a small leak in the roof to find, and a mystery short in the water pump. I’ve done a lot of work on the two I’ve owned, and my friends that can afford to buy newer ones have to do things too.
How big is your truck? You might want to go with something bigger. I pulled a 27-footer back from a trip last weekend, and my diesel performed admirably. Of course, I was pulling it back because my buddy’s diesel blew out a transmission, but that wasn’t the fault of the trailer. We think.
There is a lady I work with who says she lives in a travel trailer. She says all she ever does at home is watch TV and mope around, so what is the point of needing more?
She also lives in a very rural area on a rented piece of land - a few acres or so, I’d guess.
I haven’t talked extensively about it with her or even seen the place, so I can’t offer much more than that. I could maybe ask her some things if you have any specific questions in mind, though.
I’d chalk it up to personal preference. There are plenty of people in this world who get by on less. With the housing market being so expensive here, I’ve even considered this myself.
I have no problems with the fittings and all that. Most newer trailers are pretty effecient. I saw one with a 30"+ TV. Some have slide outs in the common areas.
My main concern is feeling squeezed in.
My pickup is a Honda Ridgeline, which won’y accomodate a 5th wheel, but I’ve contacted other owners and they say towing is a breeze as long as you mind the 5000 lb spec. Maybe a little more.
Your Honda is going to limit you quite a bit. You should look for an ultralite trailer, which are made by most manufacturers. These have an aluminum frame, fiberglass skin and hard foam insulation. Slideouts will add significant weight to your trailer, but if you’re going to live in it, you may find them necessary. Keep in mind that that 5,000 pound limit is gross weight, meaning the weight of your trailer with all your crap in it. If you still have five years, you might think about buying a larger truck, say a used 3/4 ton with a V-8 so you can tow something heftier. Even a small stick-built trailer will exceed your weight limit. If you’re going to live in it for ten years, I would really recommend upping your expectations.
As for living in it, just make sure you keep it well-ventilated and clean. Moisture is the constant enemy of RVs and the average human gives off a lot of it. I would also invest in a generator if you’re not planning to stay in parks with hookups. Also, check the roof seals at least once a year to make sure no moisture is getting in. Moisture in the walls will cause them to delaminate.
Oh, and do your homework before you buy. Many trailers look nice, but are pure crap. Some Keystone and Forest River trailers (such as the Keystone Outback) are downright dangerous.
I do it and have, off and on now, for over a year and a half. My trailer is older, a '79, and a fifth wheel, which means I have no way of hauling it when I change locations. When we moved it back in April, it made about a 90 minute trek. That cost (in east Texas to Dallas) under $300. In addition to those facts, it is a 40 footer with roughly 280 sq.ft. I’m single, but I have a full-size bath and refrigerator (just not together), a queen size bed in the loft, my computer work station, ample room for entertaining at least one and both a cat and dog.
So far, I haven’t had any problems or issues. And this comes from a person who IS claustrophobic. I love that I can take my house anywhere, that I don’t have to pay taxes on it, it’s inexpensive and I still retain some of the advantages of renting… like the complex mowing my grass. As a matter of fact, I’ve become so smitten with the whole concept that I’ll never live in conventional housing again, if for no other reason than it feels good to not be so wasteful.
However, someday I might hope a Prince Charming out there could at least help me upgrade to a park model. Stewart Homes, keep the light on.
If you have any day-to-day questions for me, please don’t hesitate to yell. Good luck! 
I still might wind up with a mid-size motorhome. But then I’d likely have to trade my Honda for something more towable. Forty feet, like faithfool’s trailer, is easily liveable.
A trailer within my pickup’s capacity is around twenty feet, which might be okay, but I’m not sure. As I mentioned above, several owners have assured me that towing a trailer that size is a piece of cake, but due to Chefguy’s comments I’m going to check a little further. I don’t plan to move very often, and then most will be in one day hops overnighting in parks and such. There’s a very helpful mobile community out there.
Very important to me is to have no debts. I already pay my credit card’s balance monthly, and will have everything else paid off before long.
I need to rent both a travel trailer and a motorhome for a couple weeks each so I can compare.
mangeorge
Am I the only one who read the title of this thread to the tune of “Love in an Elevator”?
Probably.
Mangeorge, I’m with those who think you would be happier getting a bigger truck and a fifth wheel trailer. Pulling any kind of decent sized trailer with a small truck can be done, but you will have a noticeable performance hit, especially going up hills.
We have a medium to large size tent trailer (19 ft. travel length, 24 ft when folded out) and it’s great for weekend getaways, but I wouldn’t want to live in it for any extended length of time. A travel trailer the same size would be better (and heavier), but most “full-timers” I know either have a fifth wheel or a motorhome, due to the extra interior room that they can provide.
If you’re going to do this for 10 years a truck/trailer is the only way to go. You’re going to be staying in places for several weeks, perhaps a month or so, at a time. You don’t want to have to untether and stow everything each time you want to run an errand in the truck, or fight traffic and finding parking for a motorhome.
A fifth wheel rig is much more stable, shorter overall, and easier to maneuver. A P/U w/ a diesel would pull better and be much more economical.
Sounds like a great way to spend a few years, good luck.
Worse than the performance issue is the damage you do to your transmission and drive train elements from heat and mechanical stress.
Yes, you are.
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Is there a Mr. Carlyjay?
mangeorge
Yes, you are.
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Is there a Mr. Carlyjay?
mangeorge
Oh, yes. I ground up the transmission in a half-ton pretty decently, and last weekend my buddy with a 3/4 ton obliterated his. Bigger trailers, and we work those trucks pretty hard, but that’s definitely something to watch out for. How cheap is a complete rebuild on a Ridgeline?
Too bad about your trucks. We used to recommend to people that they get a tranny cooler installed. It’s cheap insurance for the weekend RV-er.
This is a great plan for the next ten years or so, but what happens for the ten years after that? You will have no debt when you start your adventure, but what will you do when 11 years later you get seriously ill and you no longer have a house full of equity to fall back on should you need the funds? If you have planned for this kind of thing then go out and travel to your heart’s content. If not, you may have some more planning to do yet.
Yeah, I know. And I had one, as did my friend (and does my current truck). He just got his truck back yesterday with a tranny cooler for an F-550 in it, plus many other beefy upgrades. 
My parents do not live in their R.V. but they spend months at a time on trips. They take 3 or 6 month trips around the country. I have learned a bit from listening to them. They have a new, big shiny R.V. with slide outs. Before that they had just a regular big old R.V.
The problems, as far as I can tell, with living in an R.V. are the following:
A) Laundry. Their new R.V has a washer/dryer but it is so small that it will only handle like two pair of jeans at a time. They spend like one day every two weeks at a laundrymat.
B) Storage. Getting all their stuff stored so that the R.V is balanced and they have room is apparently something of a pain in the ass. Also, they have tons of storage in the R.V but they still don’t have enough.
C) Breakage. They are always fxing something. They, and their friends, end up fixing some minor thing every trip. These things are way better than they used to be but they do get damaged easily.
D) Parking. Finding places can be hard and they end up staying in Wal-Mart parking lots at times.
E) Space. They have two people in the R.V. They have been married for 30 some odd years. They still get on each others nerves all the time due to lack of space.
F) Stuff. This is related to B and E. If you get something new, something old has to go.
G) Phone/internet access. Depending on where you are there may not be phone service which means no internet service. My dad got it so that they can connect using their cell phone but it is REALLY slow. Also, some places charge a bunch for an internet connection, though the prices are dropping according to my Dad.
H) Air conditioning. If you are in a hot area the A.C. may not keep the place cool enough to be comfortable. The A/C works but if you are in a place like Las Vegas during the summer you will be hot.
My parents spent about 9 months in their old R.V. while their new house was being built. They decided that R.V.s are great for trips but they really wouldn’t want to live in one for a long period of time.
Having said that, if you don’t have much stuff and don’t mind some minor inconviences, living in an R.V can be done. They know some full time R.V. people who are happy to be done with the whole house thing.
I will say that if you are going to do this, it might be a very good idea to consider paying more to get more space. No one I know who has an R.V ever has enough space. They always want more storage. They all also love slide outs.
Slee