I’ve been in and out my parents while going to community college. I wanted to transfer for my bachelor and the university isn’t close to home. I’ve lost money with bad roommates before and apartments have become expensive. I was curious if RV be a good option and the idea of staying on campus using their amenities as much as I can.
3 Likes
Oh where do I begin?
Gas, maintenance, insurance to start.
It’s going to be parked on a public street?
What are the laws regarding that? Overnight parking is restricted in our city, especially at the beaches and parks. The authorities just do not want to deal with it. Those tickets are expensive. Towing is ridiculously priced.
University campuses require permits and you cannot park an RV on most campuses.
You cannot shower in a dorm without permission to be there and have a resident card.
You may have access to the gyms but that gets to be a hassle to shower there, plus any fees for lockers.
Are there any other options?
3 Likes
An RV park? A trailer parked there (e.g., a fifth-wheel and a pick-up truck or just an ordinary trailer you can pull with a car) is not outlandish if you have a legitimate place to park it. RV park rentals aren’t outlandish.
But certainly not parking on a street!
Interesting idea, but not enough information regarding where you would “park” the RV.
1 Like
I appreciate thinking out of the box to realize your dreams/goals!
25+ years ago I had a friend who lived in his parents’ “tailgate RV” for his last couple years of pharmacy school (I was undergrad at the time… same univ). He had the RV parked at a mobile home park with access to amenities.
I don’t know if this option makes sense economically today or logistically in your locale, but anecdotally I could see it as an option worth exploring.
Good luck!
5 Likes
Oh if you could find a campus you could park it on you could certainly make it work. Using the gym for showers would be doable. I’m not sure if you’d get electric or water hook-up but you could “dry camp”. Very interesting idea.
I imagine you could even make a van work pretty well. I’ve seen some customized with a bed, small kitchen area, camping toilet for emergencies.
4 Likes
Like what?
Where do you plan to park this RV?
Who would be buying this RV? Or outfitting a conversion van?
I think it might be better to look for a room to rent someplace.
1 Like
So, I was just joking with my son about this idea. His dorm room next year is about $10,000. It’s in a crappy old dorm, small room, no AC, etc, etc.
I sent him an ad for a local used conversion van that cost about $6,000. Basically said hey, you could cancel your dorm for next year, pay for a parking permit and live in this. I told him he could probably rent out one or two of the seats to other students. Obviously he’d sleep on the fold down couch in the back. I meant it as a joke but really, why couldn’t you? He said maybe next year…
Buy a used van for cheaper than the cost of a room. “Live” in it for the year and sell it at the end for the same or close to the same amount when you’re finished with it. It’s not actually that crazy of an idea if someone wanted to do it. We had a pop-up camper that we used at campgrounds and used the bathhouses there, not much different than using the gym.
I know it sounds off the wall, and it really is, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be done.
4 Likes
Students have done it, mostly grad students. Unlikely you could park on a campus parking lot overnight. You can always park in a Walmart overnight.
In some places it is really cold, in others it is really hot. My friend has done 2 conversion vans and they cost her about $40k doing almost all the work herself (with her brothers and son doing electrical and woodworking. She thinks it is the greatest thing in the world but I find it very claustrophobic just standing in it (never mind sleeping in it).
If you are in a snowy place, you may get snowed into the parking lot for a few days. If you need mechanical work on the van, that may take a few days and you’d have no where to sleep.
1 Like
Depends what state you are in. Does it freeze in the winter?
Based on subsequent responses… my long ago anecdote was in GA, a southern climate.
1 Like
I know someone who did exactly this at a “tippy top” grad school getting his PhD. He was an engineer and did most of the conversions himself. Parked it in a campus parking lot. No issues at all.
Of course, this was in a warmer weather location, but it is doable.
This is a huge issue. If you are in an area where it freezes, everything changes. The pipes inside the RV/trailer can burst when it’s freezing. Once, we were in Lake Tahoe at a campground and it actually did freeze. We got lucky that there was no damage to our rig as it was right at freezing. For many RVs/trailers, you have to winterize the rig, which might mean you have no running water. That could be the deal-breaker right there.
Getting a trailer with a car might be the way to go. A relatively new trailer is not that expensive. You can leave the trailer at the RV park during the day and have a car for the day. Some of these trailers are really well-outfitted and perfectly fine for a single person.
We’ve done several RV trips with 5 people and a dog in a 30’ Class C RV and have had no problems.
Find a good RV park, many of which are very family-oriented and you’re fine. Rates with full hook-ups (electricity, water, “black water” dumping stations, and Wi-Fi are not bad at all. Depending on where you are, a monthly rate can be very low (e.g., $400/month) with all the amenities. And you have your own shower, toilet, kitchen, plus the use of the communal showers etc at many campgrounds.
As mentioned, many of these trailers have all “mod cons” like a full bathroom, kitchen etc.
Here are some indicative rates in CA for RV parks, fully appreciating rates will vary based on geography: 26 Super Cheap RV Parks in California - Travels with Ted . Most RV parks would probably be delighted to have a semester or full-year commitment, as on weekdays there are many empty spaces. I am sure they would cut a good deal for a long-term commitment.
The RV park managers are usually great and extremely helpful on just about everything.
It’s not for everyone, but let’s just say I’ve somewhat seriously tee’d this up with my kids.
3 Likes
One thing to consider if you are serious is the political climate in the city you are considering. Here in Denver, any licensed vehicle can park on a city street for 3 days (unless it is in a neighborhood that requires a parking permit, has meters, etc). There are TONS of RVs now parking on certain streets for much longer than 3 days, with crap (lawn chairs, shopping carts, furniture, bikes) cluttering the sidewalks. It’s awful. I work in an area that is single level businesses, not a lot of ‘shopping’ traffic, and there are probably 15 or 20 RVs in various states or repair there. The business owners are asking the city council to make changes, to ban the RVs. I have to walk by these RVs on my way to work and I don’t feel safe. And it smells.
So make sure RVs are allowed on the streets of the college town.
It’s actually not unheard of around here; monthly rates run $350-500/month with full hookups, washer/dryer access, bath houses and usually free wifi. Some may winterize the bath houses, so you may not have access in the winter months. I have heard of kids buying an old camper on the cheap and renovating them, but it helps to be very handy. Doesn’t sound too bad, but here’s where it starts to add up: you need to be near a public bus route or you need a car. There usually aren’t campgrounds within walking distance or even biking distance. Students aren’t allowed to park in commuter lots overnight, so even if you have something drivable, you’ll definitely need a permanent place to park.
Edited to add: usually the kids around here who go the campground route have access to a family owned camper, as they can be very pricey.
3 Likes
See if you can get a single. See if there are co-op houses, where you can get a single. Maybe there’s an inexpensive frat that you could join, where you could have a single. Look into nearby off-campus housing.
Sometimes, if you have certain issues that require a single (health issues, mental health issues, etc), you can get an accommodation that you get a single.
I think that living in an RV could be a problem, but if you have a place to park it, and if you can use the school gym to shower, and you have access to toilets, and you can deal with the climate issues, it might be a feasible option.
1 Like