I would have lived right next to our build had it been possible (there was no room for a travel trailer). As your build progresses, there are lots of advantages to being onsite 24x7.

If you can work out the logistics (what will you do w/o septic?), it can be a great way to go.

If your kids were older, I would say don't even consider it!! But as little as they are, and you will only live there during the week, then go for it!! For toilet, you could get a porta-jon brought in. Lock it up though....use it for your family only and not construction workers. For bathing and dish washing, I would use a long hose and discharge the gray water on your own lot. You have 5 acres and I am pretty sure this is 100% legal as long as the water does not drain to someone else's land.

If it were me, I'd either skip the kindergarten or put DD in a closer one until I moved in. Not a whole lot goes on in kindergarten except for reading and math basics and socialization. If your kids have some friends nearby to play with, I'd buy some reading and math primers to work on at home and call it good.

We looked into this just about a month ago. My DD is going into second grade and I really did not want to have to move her in the middle of the year. The idea is a great idea I think but I do think it is for everyone. Esp. if you have young children! It was not for us. I had to face the fact that I was going to have to start DD in second grade in one school and move her to another. She said she did not mind and liked being the new kid! WHEW!

We decided against it because, number one, the space was just not there for what we could afford. We also have a dog. Then , there was no privacy at all. We would have to shut down everything once DD went to sleep at night. We would have to pull the RV out once a week to dump (not a big deal but it factored in). We just found it to be more of a hassle then anything. The only positive thing we could have gotten out of it was being at the site 24/7. That would have been great! DD's number one problem was no room for toys or to do her coloring, homework etc. We did find one RV that had a ton of storage but to spend that much money on something that we really would only get use out it for 3-5 months was not the right option for us.

I would suggest if you know anyone with a RV to spend a few nights/days in it. It might be something that would work for you :-) I love to camp but the thought of living in a RV with one little one for more then a few months I feared I would never want to camp again! LOL!

Good luck with what ever y'all decide!!

Thanks for the thoughts so far.
As for sewer, we live in an area with 3 lakes and a nice river, so lots of campgrounds. Don't think that would be too big a deal (maybe, LOL!). Also have thought about a composting toilet or something along those lines. We will have a 24'x30' shop finished this week to store things/play in, as well as the basement for the kids to ride their scooters and big wheels. We will also have a bit of privacy from the site, so that should be ok.

My main concern is if it is worth it for 3-4 months. Have to factor in resale of the travel trailer and tight living quarters. Like I said, we *should* have some area to roam around when we feel too claustraphobic. The kids should go to bed at a decent hour (8ish) once school starts, and weather should be good for at least 3 months...
Oh decisions, decisions!

chiefneal, we did consider homeschooling, but for several reasons decided against it.

BTW, keltex, we do own a TINY pop-up camper, LOL! But I don't think that will qualify for getting the feel of it! My dh's grandparents have a 24' travel tralier, so that might be an option for a couple of weeks to see how it goes...

I'm trying to view this realistically, but positively as well. It *could* work, it *could* be an adventure.
Of course, it could end up being miserable as well, LOL!

You know...the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of just sending your 5 year old to a school near your temporary home (and not the one an hour away). She is only 5....changing schools in the middle of the year is not going to hurt her a bit. We used to camp in a nice, big 30' camper and even after 10 days, it was tight. If you have a nice place to stay now, I'd stay there and send the 5 year old to a closer school for a litle while.

LOL that is just how we were thinking! Trying to be realistic and positive at the same time. I think we worried about living in it for to long of a period and then not using it at all after we moved into the house. Our builder has one and he said it sits all year except for two weeks when they go camping. He was even nice enough to suggest us staying in his. :-)

Good luck on your decision! You will know if it is the right one!
Kelly

We are going to be in our RV during our build. WE leave on Sunday and begin work in about 2 weeks on the house. We will be there while the subs do their thing, and if they have any questions, we'll be close by. :o) (otherwise, we live clear across the US).

We have FIVE children, and while I'm not exactly looking forward to being crammed in such tight quarters for so many months, it will be okay. WE'll spend lots of time exploring that side of the US, and at least we know the rv life is only temporary. I imagine the house will seem extra large when we finally get to move in. LOL!

I think you have chosen a great solution. The weekends will seem nice in your current place, and you can do the camper for the week... it will be okay.

We already have sewer at our new home, so we just hook right up to that.... no dumping needed for us (which is a good thing with 7 people in there!). And we have electricity pole there, so we just hook up to that as well.

Our RV is nice, so we're not exactly roughing it, but I know it will probably get tiresome before it is over. But think how much more we'll each appreciate our new homes, right?!! You can do just about anything for a while, especially when you know the end results will be worth it. :o)

Congrat's on selling your home so quickly. Wow!!

We rented a "construction" trailer and lived in that on the job site for almost 18 months when we built our previous house, and loved it! Of course, we didn't have little kids living with us, so it was almost like an extended 2nd honeymoon (yeah, right!). It saved us a fortune in gas and commuting time. We were the GC, so we needed to be there every day anyway.

My requirements for our trailer was that it had to have air conditioning, be big enough for our California king bed, and be hooked up to the sewer line. The trailer was a 12' x 40' long box, with windows along the 40' long wall and a door at each end. We had the place we rented it from divide it into 3 rooms and add a tiny bathroom (the shower was about the size of a phone booth, but, hey, it worked!). One 12'x10' room was the construction office, one room was our living room/kitchen/dining room, and at the end opposite the office was our 12'x11' bedroom.

At the time we rented it the cost was about $250-$300/month. We hooked it up to the sewer lines (that was important, and, fortunately, the sewer was already there when we bought the lot), and to the power lines. It was quite tight, but it also was so convenient... and when we finally got to move into our home it felt HUGE. *lol*

Our son dropped out of college about 6 months into the build and wanted to come "home." Well, we just rented a much smaller trailer from the same place for him, basically a box on wheels with 2 windows, and he used our bathroom. He loved the privacy of his separate space, and made do with the bathroom situation.

We had to sign a 6-month lease, but it was a great decision for us. You might check into this for yourselves, because with a 40' trailer you could easily have 2 bedrooms. Good luck!

Building a home is stressful enough as it is, and many of my clients suffer marital strife because it. That's why I advise you to get into the most stress-free situation you can, and I can't imagine that being a travel trailer with 2 adults and 2 small kids. You may think you can handle it now, but if (when) the build is going over budget and way over time (very common), the additional stress of cramped living, with no clear idea of when it will end, can push things to the breaking point.

How about seeking out a rental home near your new build site, rather than buying a trailer? I bet it would be cheaper and a whole lot less stressful that way.

We went 13 months in a 30' travel trailer with 2 kids that turned 13 and 17 in that time.

What made it possible was that we were connected to an old house that we were converting into a shop/barn, which provided us with electric, water and sewer. There was still one big room that hadn't been demolished, so we had a "family room" of sorts. I'd likely do it again, if necessary.

It sounds like another thing that makes my situation different from yours is that we wanted a travel trailer anyway. Finally moving out of it was just like getting a new toy. When we bought it, we had it towed by family right to the spot it would sit while we lived in it, next to the shop/barn/house. So, I basically owned the thing for over a year before ever buying a hitch for it. Once we were mobile with it, it was like, "cool!, we have a camper". If I did not intend to keep it, I'd likely look for other accommodations.

If you're real savvy in the rv market, it would be possible to buy one right, live in it for 6 months and then sell it for nearly no loss at all. But, having little time and a large need foils that whole plan.

Having storage on the property is a real asset, no matter which way you go.

Since campgrounds are close by, I'd look for one with a cabin to stay in for the next few months. Put your mailbox up at the jobsite and register your permanent residence at your house-to-be.

You might even consider buying a camper and setting it up at one of those nearby campgrounds, instead of the jobsite, especially if they have the hookups.

To answer the question on the investment, though. You have to buy "right" to begin with. That's probably not going to be easy to do until after Labor Day. Then, providing you did a good job on the buy and caring for the camper, you'll have to sell in Spring when the next camping season comes around to have a chance a breaking even.

If you have kids in kindergarten, I don't imagine you guys are that old. What about work? Is your job nearby if you have one, or are you going to have to travel a great distance to your job?

I don't know if your new build is near a bigger town. You may find a corporate apartment which around here is rented for a shorter time than the standard 6 months lease. Mainly used for business people who come to town for a short amount of time.

As for living onsite, I think it would be ideal. I think the subs would work harder as you would be there to make sure they aren't screwing off. Also the presence of people living there would discourage theft and vandalism.

CB

I can speak from the point of view of someone who lived in a 30' camper as a child. My parents lost their house when I was 10, and our family of 5 (younger brothers ages 7 & 5) moved into a 30' gooseneck trailer. There was a pretty difficult initial adjustment period, when tempers were short because of the lack of space. But then we didn't have 5 acres of land, which I'd imagine would help with the spreading out, at least by day. We were in a campground, with neighbors right on either side of us.

Anyway, after the initial adjustment (1-2 months), everyone kind of settled down, and we kids began to enjoy all the family closeness. When my parents were able to rent an apartment, we missed being around each other all the time, so much so that my bedroom stayed empty while I slept in a bunk in my brothers' room.

I think it's a good experience, and I know that it brought our family closer.

Cheers!
Heather W

Thanks, Heather for that nice story. I am hoping it can bring us closer as a family as well.

totallyblessed - you are brave! I have also thought about how nice it will be to move into our new house. The house we are living in now is 30 years old with the original shag carpet, linoleum floors complete with duct tape to hold 'em down, pink fixtures and incredibly hard water. BUT, we are living here rent-free for as long as we need to, we live right on the lake, and have family close by, so we are ever so thankful for this opportunity. I've adjusted to the 'oldness' of this house, so I think I can handle the camper. And I have said many times how much we will appreciate our new home.

susi so cal - Unfortunately, we are in a rural area, and I have never seen anything like that in this area, but sounds like a really neat idea.

As for schools, the school our dd will be attending is pretty much it. The other school I could send her to is 35 minutes away, so, to me, the extra 20 minutes or so is worth the extra drive time.

I guess I feel that either situation (driving vs. camper living) will have it's own set of stresses. But driving (and staying in town all day) sure seems like it would get old, very old, very quickly. I wish I could just hurry this build already! It seems to be going at a snails pace.

jennymama, I debated whether to post my experience or not since most are supportive. My experience DEFINITELY was not, and we don't have kids.

4 years ago we had to lift our existing house to fix structural damage due to a water main break back in the '60's. Lift house, blow out basement, pile, put in new basement, set house back down. Pretty straight forward and only around 2 months.

We rented a 16' travel trailer (no kids, but 1 cat at the time), and lived in our backyard in this *thing* the whole time, so I'll give you my experience on the negatives:

- Sound: You can hear friggin crickets through this thing (even though it was "new"). Never mind the sound of construction!

- Hot water: What is that??? Non-existent. I kid you not, we had enough hot water that ONE of us could get our hair WET, but that was it. The rest of your shower was COLD water. Thankfully, our neighbors across the street took pity on us and offered their shower for us on weekends.
During the week, getting ready for work, was HORRID!

- Insulation: Again, I swear non-existent. If you need A/C, expect that thing to run 24/7. Open your wallet.

- Storage: We had 16' for 2 people, you have 30' for 4 people. Storage space SUCKS! These things are meant for holidays, not for actually living in. Both DH & I had to have office clothes as well as "construction" clothes. We had only 1 very small closet - maybe 2.5 feet? I Seriously recommend that you consider your closet space.

Never again!

When we decided to tear down, luckily my FIL had a rental property vacant that we could move in to. I can honestly tell you, I would never ever ever do that again. But then again, I am in a fairly major city - so noise is an issue as well as the above issues I've mentioned.

Best of luck to you!

Lora

Jennymama ~ We rented our construction trailer the same place that construction companies rent theirs, so even if you're in a rural area, you might consider checking it out. A lot depends on how much roughing it you're willing to put up with AND if you can get a decent bathroom installed if one doesn't come with your trailer. Luckily, the hot water heater in our trailer was enough for one of us to take a warm shower if we didn't linger. A couple of hours later, we'd have enough hot water for the other of us to get a shower... *lol*

We already owned a spare refrigerator, so that, plus a 2-burner hotplate and a microwave, was our kitchen. Sink was in the bathroom - large pots we washed outside in a big bucket. With house rental prices being what they are in the San Diego area, we figured we saved about $1500 per month on rent alone living like this, not to mention a fortune in gas!

We lived in a 26' fifth wheeler with a new born and a 2 year old during a build. It was trying but we made it thru fine. With your kids being older it may be more difficult. The big downside is no septic. What are you going to do with the waste. You can't expect the kids to "hold it" until you go to a campground. Believe me it will be a big issue. My recommendation is to compromise on the kindergarten and enjoy comfortable living during the build. There'll be enough other stresses. Tom

Loralee, you crack me up!

Sounds... two things stood out for me. The Eastern Screech Owl that seemed to be nested directly over my bed is one. The other one is rain hitting the "dome" in the bedroom. (You know, those little 12"x12" pieces of domed plastic that you can crank up for ventilation.) Maybe they should start calling them drums instead of vents or domes.

Hot Water. There's a reason the put them little slide-stoppers on the shower head. NO WAY are you going to stretch 6 gallons for a conventional shower. Wet, stop, lather, open to rinse, stop, wash hair, open to rinse, stop. If you're really good, you can sneak a cycle in there to use conditioner, too.

There's all kinds of little quirks. Stepping out of the camper, down 2 metal steps and onto the ground can get old. (Especially for DW after an appendectomy.)

Being couped up in my bedroom allowed plenty of time for researching everything in preparation for our build. Strange thing, though, is that I now have the tendency to go to my bedroom now to watch television or surf. Gotta break that habit, for sure.

I personally love a good thunderstorm while camping, especially in a good tent. So, storms were no sweat for me in the tt.

The absolute worst part of the whole thing was hearing the tyvek on the shop blowing. (Especially knowing that I had to head out there with a stapler to re-tack it.) It's only within the past few weeks that I've stopped being nervous when the wind kicks up.

It's an experience, that's for sure.

In reading through all of these posts I feel camaraderie in that we are not the ONLY people to ever try such a crazy thing.

I drove my Kindergartener to school in our future district for the first year of building (only 30 min each way). After that our house sold. We had a large dog which made getting an apartment impossible. Also, in our town there wasn't one rental property available. Having no choice, we bought a 35 foot 5th wheel and moved in.

My 5 and 7 year old don't mind it much. We had to pack away most of their toys, but they can play in the basement of the new house when they go stir crazy.

Our mistake was thinking that we could store some of our property in the house we were building. We were closed in with framing and windows, so we placed tubs of our possessions in the basement that was to remain unfinished. Unfortunately, we had to beef up our joists and do electrical and plumbing through this basement. The contractors tracked dirt and garbage all through our stuff. Also, the kids and I went through some tubs that ended up getting left open and trashed. To make a long story short, a lot of our possessions got ruined.

Would I do it again? I don't know... My moniker on this site is due to our living arrangements. We didn't have a lot of choices, but this is very, very hard.

Pros:
1. Cheap
2. Living on site to protect the house, meet contractors, etc. is invaluable.
3. Living in the neighborhood and letting the kids attend their school.
4. No problem waking up in the morning. As others have said, you hear it immediately when someone drives up and starts working early.

Cons:
1. Showers - it is very hard to live with 2 minutes of hot water in a 2 foot cubic shower.

2. Laundry -- this was always a challenge. I detest laundramats.

3. Dirt -- we don't have pavement outside so we have went through 3 carpets during the year we've been onsite. I keep buying cheap carpet from lowes, and cutting it to lay on top of the trailer floor. We are in the Pacific NW. The mud in the winter was unbearable. The foot of snow we had for a week was easier. You and the kids will go through shoes often. Also, your child will be the one to track dirty shoes into the school when you forget to check them.

4. Storage -- the kids and I get frustrated when we can't find stuff that we need. Simple things like toys to bring for show and tell is a struggle. Loralee above described it well. Getting ready to go somewhere is tough. It takes twice as long to find clean clothes, get dressed, wait for the power to blow because of the blow dryer, etc. You need to be VERY organized.

5. Garbage -- I feel like we are living in a junk yard. Our own stuff is spread into the house and outside the trailer. There is construction debris and trash left by contractors everywhere. It is hard to live like this when the mess outside is everywhere.

6. Marital issues -- You really need to have a good relationship with your spouse and be patient and easy going. It seems like every week there is either an issue with the trailer or the house that causes lots of stress that I was not strong enough to deal with. If it wasn't for my understanding and patient DH we wouldn't have made it.

7. Mold -- It seems like almost every trailer we've heard of has mold/ water leakage issues. Our trailer is a 2001, and it came with some smells that I was sure I could get rid of. Unfortunately, despite all my cleaning, they still linger. It is just gross. We covered our trailer with plastic to keep water out, but somehow it still gets in. The AC blows out mildewy mold spores that smell.

8. Cooking -- I feel like we've lived for a year on cold cereal, sandwiches, and microwave dinners. I haven't got used to the cooking thing and I hate not having a dishwasher to sterilize dishes. There is very little space and the refrigerator and freezer are shoddy at best.

I know that it sounds like I am a total b*#!@#. I am just tired and frustrated. We moved into this trailer thinking that we would be here 3-5 months. However, because we are our own contractors and doing a lot of the work ourselves, we are bad estimators on time. We have lived in the trailer for 13 months and have at least 3 more to go. I am grouchy a lot. I keep trying to focus my energy on the 7,000 Sq foot house we are building and how much space I will someday have.

Good luck!

I have been on lurking this site for months, all through the build of our new home. Love the advice. So useful. Couldnt have done it without you. But nothing has inspired me to post a follow up as much as your question. Our house also sold quickly, 1 week. Started our build in May. Moved into a 22 ft. trailer (DH, dog and I) on June 1. Granted we have no children, but the biggest "challenge" has been the septic. We purchased a "blue" tank from the RV store for Gray water. DH dumps every couple days. Of course the bigger the blue tank, the less dumps you have to make (no pun intended). And I dont know how "outdoor-sey" you are. I think you really need to be an outdoor-type to go this route... but at any store that sells camping supplies, you will find ... "Double Doodie" bags. No lie. Thats what they are called. Also found them under "WAG bags". The bags have a "gel" in them which turns the contents to a solid. They are then landfill safe. We have an small shower tent that doubles for the "outhouse." We love being on site. Could not imagine it any other way. You are right there and can catch things quickly. It is an adventure though. One you will never forget. Hope to be in our new house mid-September. They actually started to dig our septic yesterday. :) Good luck to you.

You really do need to be very organized. We spent a little extra to keep us comfortable. We borrowed a 10x20 canopy for extended outside living space. (Like a large dining fly). It keeps the sun and rain off of us and we don't feel so trapped inside the trailer. Also purchased a 10x20 piece of outside carpet. As much as I hate it, it sure does keep the trailer cleaner, gets you out of the mud and bugs. Cant live without our Rubbermaid closed shelving unit. Lots of extra storage. Its under the canopy so I can get to it anytime in any weather. We went so far as to also purchase yet another 10x20 "garage". Like a big tent, 4 sides, zipper front. Tons of storage in there. In a 22ft trailer, there is no room for towels, etc. I keep all that in blue plastic bins. We can reuse the Rubbermaid, garage storage, and bins even after the house is built. You just have to be creative and remember that its only for a little while. As you watch your house go up, you'll be so glad you are there to see it. Its the ultimate camping adventure.

I don't think it would be as bad for you as for some since you will have an escape on the weekends. You have the potential of only staying there 4 nights a week if you drive in on Monday on the way to school and drive out on Friday after school. You can do your laundry on the weekends and you will be able to have good meals and showers then as well. I think if you can find an affordable trailer then I would do it if I were in your situation. Being at the site will be very valuable.

Where are you located? what part of the country? Travel trailers are not very warm and take a lot of engery (and money) to heat. Seems like if your living rent free, you could put that money into something you want for your home. Plus it would be very stressful to be cramped into a travel trailer with 2 small children. Where would they do homework play with toys etc?
To me, I think I would move the daughter to another school for the year.
This way they have their own space and will be less stress. Believe me building can be VERY stressful.

Thanks for all of the great advise and words of wisdom. All the personal stories have been great and help me to get a 'feel' for what we might be in for, LOL!

As to being outdoorsy, yes, we are...to an extent. After kids came along, we decided creature comforts are nicer :-)so we bought a pop-up camper vs. camping in a tent. Dh is also about to retire from the military and has completed his tours in Iraq, so he's one of those guys that can live anywhere, in anything. I was pregnant and had a almost 2 year old when he left, and it was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do, and a real stress on a marriage! I know house building is a different kind of stress, but, I think if we can make it through that - we can make it through anything. And we will have our 'retreat' at our current house on weekends, with a nice, hot meal courtesy of my mom just down the road. Dh will also be able to take his showers at work during the week, so that should help with the hot water situation.

We are going to give it a go and see what happens. I am trying to figure what all we will need to get us set-up (electric and phone are now in). We are located in northern Arkansas, so weather should be ok until late October. When I read that the A/C, heaters are not very energy efficient, does that mean it may take more $ than, say, heating or cooling a house? Or that it just doesn't do a very good job? My comparison is a TINY pop-up camper...it does fine, of course, there's not much to heat/cool.

I am a realist, and like to know what to expect, so all of your replies have been much appreciated.

This thought fleets through my brain every so often. I actually said it outloud to my dh today. I don't even remember if I got a verbal response w/ the eyeroll or not! LOL

I do agree driving an hour both ways for school would be out of consideration for me, I was wincing at the 15 minutes we were possibly going to have to do this year. I think I would first check and make sure there were no extended stay hotels, or even a hotel w/ suites that would give a discount for extended stay. Personally I like solid walls and a room for my children to go to when they go to bed. But like someone else said if you went on Monday morning and knew you'd be leaving friday afternoon you could survive. I had a hell of a final semester of college driving hours and hours every week but knowing that it was just for a short time made it doable.

jeannekay - If we had to stay there 24/7, I would have to think alot harder about it, LOL! Having a place to go at anytime makes it so much easier to swallow. Knowing I have a place to do laundry, a yard for the kids to run around in, a place to take a hot shower, a real kitchen to make a hot meal...that, for me, makes it sooooo much more doable!

Jenny, to answer your a/c question.

Basically the bulk of trailers out there are not insulated particularly well. Fiberglass are probably a little easier to cool than aluminum. Bottom line is that you just don't cool the camper to 68 degrees during the day when it's 98 outside. You set the temp low enough to help take the edge off and then at night you can set it as low as you want.

Ahhh, thanks bungeeii, in that case, I sure hope these 100+ degree days break soon!

We looked at a camper tonight, but unfortunately, the 2nd bed was the couch. Not sure the kids can sleep there for 3-4 months!

Jennymamma,
I'm a bit short on time (have to go turn in registration papers for my 2nd and 1st grader 8 and 6 years old). I didn't have a chance to read through all the responses to your question but wanted to chime in with our experiences. When my kids return back to school in two weeks it will be our one year aniversary in our 5th wheel toy hauler. In a nutshell, we lived in our house for 6 years, tore it down and are currently rebuilding. Our new house is currently getting rough plumbing and electric. We suspect we'll be in the trailer until Oct or Nov. All in all our trailer living hasn't been that bad. We've had our share of ups and downs. Like when we went through a stretch where our pipes would freeze every morning and we would have to wait until later in the day or go to the gym to shower etc. Now we laugh because this summer we've had solar powered hot water. On warm days we don't even have to turn on the hot water for showers, dishes, etc. All in all, we've adapted pretty well. If you're looking at it for a relatively short period, based on our experiences, I'd say go for it. If it were me I'd probably try to start my daughter in the school she'd be going to once the house is finished. My daughter made it through kindergarten living in a trailer and actually it was quite the buzz among the kids who came over for playdays. Kids think it's so "cool" to live in a trailer. But....I really think a lot of it depends on the personality of your family. Just today a mom brought her son over to play and she made it VERY clear she could NEVER live like we currently live and that she can't believe we've done it for a year. We're pretty laid back, love to camp and have figured out a way to make it work. Don't get me wrong. I'm looking forward to the kids going back to school (small space has been tough this past month) and I'm looking very forward to having SPACE. Good luck with your decision!

Thanks ehoops! I appreciate you sharing your story!

I have a question, though. How hard is it to find a camper that has a bit of privacy for adults/kids for beds? I'm finding it very difficult to find anything more than a pull-out couch for the kids to sleep on. Was thinking of bunk-beds or something. And thinking about a 30' camper.

Anyone up to a quick education for the best camper set-up for a family of 4 with a 5 and 3 year old? Oh, also not looking for anything new.

We used to have a 30' Jayco camper. It was the bunk-house model. It had two bunk beds in one end (and a door you could close) and a small bedroom in the other end (with an almost queen-sized bed). The livingroom had a small couch (which also pulled out into a bed if needed) and a place to put a TV. The kitchen area had a 3 burner stove, oven and refrig (which could all run off propane). The dinette table seated 4. The AC was quite capable of cooling that trailer down to comfortable levels, even here in SC. It had no slideouts, but was very roomy like it was.

ccoombs1 - That sounds exactly like what I am looking for. Didn't think it would be so hard!

jennymama,

I just got done with just shy of 2 months in our 38' 5th wheel (living space was 26 feet). It wasn't bad but it was just me, DH and our golden retriever and doxy. I think much more then 3 months and we would have begun to feel cramped. We moved in our new home on August 8th. Woo Hoo!
My sister has two girls ages 8 and 6. They just bought a Fleetwood Pioneer Spirit that has a very nice floor plan (I think it cost under $18k but not sure). It worked well for 2 recent week long trips they took to look for homes in Utah. The best part was the bunk bed set-up. It made it so that they didn't have to tear down the couch to put the girls to bed each night. Even more important it gave each girl her own "space" during the day. The link below is their floor plan

Here is a link that might be useful: Pioneer floor plan

the last thing i would do is have my kids start kindy in a different school system. while some may adjust well to being the new kid, even more do not. while i don't think living in a trailer would be much fun, i would do it. we're living in an existing house on our property which will come down after we're moved in to our new build in the rear of the property. it's not much bigger than a trailer and it's a pretty crappy house but it's home ...for now. the fact that it is temporary is a great source of comfort for me! GL with your plans and especially with kindergarten!

Sorry jennymama,

I posted the wrong floor plan for my sister's trailer. The link below is the correct one.....

Here is a link that might be useful: Correct Pioneer floorplan with bunk beds and couch

1>Seems like a VERY dangerous environment for kids: you'd better have them indoors, always, or no more than 3 feet away if outdoors. You could simulate the situation by giving them a big box of sharp tools, nails, tacks, staples, splintered wood, live electric cords, cordless saws, etc., and see how they fare...

2>Don't know where you live, but wanted to warn you that it's very tough to winterize these things, especially if you have to move them to dump the septic. If you are expecting temps to reach the lower 20s and stay there for more than a few hours, its going to be a challenge.

Update

Well, we purchased a camper. We are hoping to be in it in about 1 week. I still feel it is the right/best decision for us. I will let you know once we get in how we are faring.
Oh, and we did find a camper with bunk beds. Very similar to the layout kats posted. So, there are options for sleeping arrangements.

oruboris - I agree that we need to be careful about the potential dangers. Luckily, our camper will not be very close to the house (we have 5 acres). that should help.

Thanks for all of the thoughtful responses!

Jennymama, I just wanted to say congratulations on your new quarters! I came to this thread late so have just been reading through the posts...I kind of started chuckling about halfway through at the different "camps" we are all in (those who say "go for it" and those who shudder at the thought of living in a travel trailer for several months, LOL.) I wanted to do that when we were building on our land, and two years later I still think our lives would have been easier in many ways had we done so (we also thought about going ahead and building the shop and putting a small bathroom in it, to live in during the build.)

I think you have three really big considerations that will make you very glad you did this. One is that the drive to your dd's school would take up so much of the time that you will need for dealing with things as the house is being built, not to mention time that could be better spent with your younger one. Two hours a day, five days is a week is a LOT of time that you just gave yourself! The two other things will be important to your sanity and comfort over the next few months, and they are the facts that you can put your travel trailer a bit away from construction site for privacy from the comings and goings of the workers (and safety for the kids re: construction materials) and also that you have that big finished shop. If you can keep that for your own stuff and not have it become a repository for storing construction stuff, it will be a real asset as far as storing kids' toys and household goods. You can both have things with you that might take up too much room in the camper, and start to move more of your stuff when it gets closer to time for the move.

Good luck with the build and enjoy the outdoors.

briosafarm,

Thanks for your thoughts! Dd started school yesterday, and I am already looking forward to getting the camper set up on our land (Errr, insisting on it)!

Good luck.

Well, thank your husband for his service from us here at these forums.

I'm sure you'll both adapt after having used the pop-up before. Having water, electric and a storage building are going to make this much easier.

Given there is no septic, I would let the water from the sinks and shower run out into the yard. There's a cap you can buy for the the drain-out that has a connection on it for a garden hose. Run the hose as far away as is needed and leave the gray water valve open. As you use the shower or sinks the fresh gray water will drain off through the hose. This will reduce your "dumps" to the black water alone. I bet you can get away with dumps weekly instead of nearly daily.

If you still have that pop-up, that might come in useful as well.

We lived in a travel trailer when we built our first home. Our oldest was just starting kindergarten and I was pregnant with the second. I had more time with the children and the house because I didn't have much house to clean. Thought we would be finished before the new baby arrived, but missed getting the final and power to the new house by about a week. That build took about 9 months with us doing some of the finish work. We live in a benign climate on the coast of central California. I would do it again, no problem. I liked being so close to what was happening every day. I missed that in our last house. If you live in a hard winter climate that could be much more difficult with small children. Good luck!

GL on the camper... maybe you could put up some kind of fence for the kiddies?

We are taking our camper to our land this weekend.
I may be off-line for a bit, but when I get internet again, I will let you know how we are doing and post pics (we are FINALLY to the framing stage!).