We haven't lived in a camper while we built, but we did travel for 2+ years in a motorhome while looking for a home, land and what state to live in. In retrospect, we would have gotten a large, comfortable but less expensive fifth-wheel or trailer (which sounds like what you want to do) instead of the 45 foot luxury, expensive, used motorcoach we got. We were always too afraid of messing up the custom everything to enjoy it. If you are willing to live in a smaller space for a while, do without some luxuries, and you think you'd be content and flexible, you'll be fine. It can be enjoyable and liberating to see how little you need! If you take the opportunity to, you can make it a time to really slow down, simplify, escape the tyranny of stuff and take the experience for what it is and what it offers. The mistake we made was we tried to bring all our "stuff" with us - computers, exercise machines, a library of books - and it just got in the way and made it cluttered, physically and psychologically. Some luxuries you may have to be content without: baths (most have showers only), a big, fully equipped kitchen, etc. We stayed in hotels sometimes just to take baths! How much you enjoy it is more about your mindset than anything else, I think.

Our building inspectors are on to this idea and don't like it much. Seems that some people then never build the house. I've already got my building permit for the house, but in the mean time, I'm finishing a shop/garage that could serve as a living area. The county has really quized me (and at least one neighbor) about the building's intended use. A couple of creature comfort issues that you may need to think about. First, a concrete slab can take a year to dry out. You may have moisture/comfort issues that are normally ignored in a garage. Same would be true for insulation and vapor barriors. Not an issue in most garages, but a real issue if you have a family living in one. Basically, the garage would need to be a primo-garage; smoke detectors, 4" plumbing stack, GFCI recepticles throughout, etc. Not a problem if you're intending to get a legitimate certificate of occupancy for the structure, but kind of complex if it's a garage that's used once for temporary housing. Even if you go legit, you'll need to make sure that two occupied structures are allowed on the property under the zoning regulations. For my area, that requires a 5 acre parcel. Moderate Mark

I did this once in the 1980s. Even in a town with tight zoning and strict enforcement of buiding codes, they had no problem with granting the varience I needed to set the mobile home closer to the road then the setbacks allowed. The connection to the septic tank would never have met code for a permanent installation. (Too steep and above grade.) I had to get the building permit for the permanent house first and promise them the mobile home would be removed within a year. They told me that if steady progrss was being made on the house, they would be happy to grant an extension of the 1 year limit. When the project was finished, I sold the mobile home for a bit more than I paid for it. As an aside, a co-worker was moving to California at the time and needed a place to park some of his modest automobile collection until he settled in. I promised him that I would dutifully start and drive his mostly restored 1960 Bentley on a regular basis. The folks in the neighborhood who initially thought "trailer trash" when they saw the used mobile home being towed in were at a loss for words when I pulled the Bentley into the drive. Wayne

We purchased land (just under 4 acres) with an ugly mobile home (fortunately tucked under a lodgepole overhead structure) with plans on building. Due to life's twists and turns, our building project took longer than expected, but our little house (a cabin-cottage hybrid also known as The Cabbage) is nearly complete. In addition to living onsite during construction, I am self-employed and work as a graphic designer/illustrator from my home studio, so I have lived this project 24/7 for the past few months. Being a bit of a control freak, I am very happy to have been here to answer questions, clarify a few issues and correct problems before going very far. A couple of things to keep in mind: Although we had already been living in the lovely (not) tin cabin, our county required us to pay for a permit to have a second home on the property during construction. This struck us as pure greed and we considered fighting it, but finally shut up and signed the check. Insurance took a bit of finagling and two separate policies. Our existing home owners' and auto insurance company wouldn't do builder's risk. Another company did not like the mobile home. Others disliked the horses (you know, the vicious miniature kind!) or our proximity to the forest. The first broker gave up, but the next one found the answer within minutes... I don't know if all builders are like this, but ours had a difficult time accepting that, while this is a building site, it is also our home. We have horses, chickens and dogs. The property is fenced with a driveway gate which our GC wanted kept open at all hours. Not gonna happen. We finally agreed upon 7:30-5 M-F, with weekends by request. Despite a sign on the gate saying DO NOT OPEN GATE and our phone #, we've had workers come in unannounced on the weekend and leave the gate wide open. This may seem obvious, but make sure any children and pets are indoors, off-site or secured well away from any workers or vehicles. Keep a close eye on any outdoor animals -- the drywallers dumped joint compound where it could run into our chicken run. Really? Glad I caught that one in time! On the other hand, one of our miniature horses has a thing for construction workers and -- she whinnies at them constantly! If it can be broken, it will be. One of the big trucks slammed into our driveway gate, bending a hinge. Plants well away from the building site have been squashed. One group of subs used our hose, left it running, then drove over it when leaving, puncturing it. We've made a point not to leave any tools within sight -- I don't want to think anyone would deliberately take anything, but it's so easy to borrow that shovel and then toss it in the truck without thinking. Better to keep your stuff out of sight. That said, the good has far outweighed the bad, and I've really enjoyed talking with the different workers. I've provided home-baked cookies every day and made an effort to know everyone's name -- hopefully they think of us as more than an address and a day's work. My husband is a bit jealous that he has missed out on so much -- I can't imagine not having been here to see every step of the process.