Thoughts on mother-in-law living in a travel trailer out back?

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: moshquerade
She's good enough to watch your kid but not good enough to live in your house? I think it would look pretty bad that you have her stashed out back in a camper.

If you read the thread, we don't have room for her in the house if we were to have another child. Also the shower and kitchen are upstairs, and she wouldn't be able to be going up and down the stairs regularly.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: moshquerade
She's good enough to watch your kid but not good enough to live in your house? I think it would look pretty bad that you have her stashed out back in a camper.

If you read the thread, we don't have room for her in the house if we were to have another child. Also the shower and kitchen are upstairs, and she wouldn't be able to be going up and down the stairs regularly.

You don't have a second child yet and you can always install one of those chair elevators in your stairwell.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
You don't have a second child yet and you can always install one of those chair elevators in your stairwell.

A chair lift wouldn't really work. We have a half flight of stairs, a landing, and then another half flight of stairs in the opposite direction.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: moshquerade
She's good enough to watch your kid but not good enough to live in your house? I think it would look pretty bad that you have her stashed out back in a camper.

If you read the thread, we don't have room for her in the house if we were to have another child. Also the shower and kitchen are upstairs, and she wouldn't be able to be going up and down the stairs regularly.

Oh, I read it. It's called making your house live able for her. Do it yourself or hire a carpenter. How difficult would it be to build a bathroom downstairs? And they do make stair lifts.

Stair lifts for landings:

Installation Design Considerations

If your staircase has a sub-landing at the top, with a few steps to the left or right, most companies can fit a manual or motorised folding platform which bridges the gap between the top of the stairlift and the landing, although the number of stairs and the amount of available headroom will need to be taken into consideration. This allows the user to get off the stairlift and walk straight onto the landing, avoiding the need to have a curved or two straight stairlifts installed.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Stai...-And-Elderly&id=231767

 

[waffleironhead]

Ok some things to consider.

1)Running power(I would imagine you would need to bury some cable to keep this thing powered.)
2)Running water.(For year round usage a garden hose would not suffice especially in freezing conditions.)
3)Emptying the sewage.(costs of having the tank emptied on a regular basis)
4)Cost of winterizing the unit(can the plumbing withstand winter usage?)
5)Put in a sidewalk/path from house to RV to limit lawn destruction.

I'm sure there are more considerations, but that is just a start.

 

[Drakkon]

We did the exact same thing for my grandmother after grandfather passed away. She bought a travel trailer and moved onto uncle's property and hooked up to electricity and water. The only problem was sewage - they ended up just having it close enough to the house she could use the bathroom inside and any water that came from a drain was pipped to a ditch. As a long term solution it didn't work for that reason and eventually they needed to find a way to hook it into a septic tank (which was allowed by their zoning). Of course this was in the desert in CA where it never got that cold, on farmland (like 5 acres), and my relatives are originally from Arkansas where this was all quite normal.

 

[Jumpem]

Originally posted by: Drakkon
We did the exact same thing for my grandmother after grandfather passed away. She bought a travel trailer and moved onto uncle's property and hooked up to electricity and water. The only problem was sewage - they ended up just having it close enough to the house she could use the bathroom inside and any water that came from a drain was pipped to a ditch. As a long term solution it didn't work for that reason and eventually they needed to find a way to hook it into a septic tank (which was allowed by their zoning). Of course this was in the desert in CA where it never got that cold, on farmland (like 5 acres), and my relatives are originally from Arkansas where this was all quite normal.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Soapy Bones]

As someone with a good amount of knowledge of the RV Industry I would say that its going to be hard to find something in your price range that is suitable for 4 season use, especially something that is going to be used in that kind of cold. There are some manufacturers that make all season RVs that have much higher insulation factors, heated holding tanks, and have higher capacity furnace.

A few things to keep in mind:

- Holding tanks on RVs are all below the floor inside the frame. They are not heated and in below freezing temps for extended periods of times they can freeze up and that would be a mess. Some have electric heat strips on the bottom but I'm not sure how well that holds up.
- Plumbing in general is not insulated and can sometimes run through the floor and would be subject to freezing.
- For your purposes perhaps a "park trailer" would be more suitable as they typically have a standard house type refrigerator, larger water heater and laundry hookups.
- Keep in mind that most appliances and lighting systems can run off of 12 volt batteries except for air conditioners or microwaves. The refrigerators and water heaters can run off of propane. Trailers usually come with 2 30 lb tanks for gas and those could be empty on a weekend of use with the furnace on all the time.
- Finally - the industry standard is a 6 gallon water heater. Let me tell you... that's a VERY quick shower. The park trailers typically have an electric only heater upwards of 20 gallons which would be much preferred. They also can have house type toilets with no holding tanks for a direct sewer hookup which may be preferred in this situation.

 

[preCRT]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: waffleironhead


I would imagine that her time spent out back in the trailer will be at a minimum as humans are social creatures. She will go out there to sleep at night, but that will be about it.

Do you have an attached garage that you can renovate into living quarters?

Yes, we have a garage but I dont want to convert it.

And she would stay in the trailer most of the time. She doesn't like walking long distances. And she is not social due to her health issues. She went to her husbands funeral last week. Before that the last time she had left her house was for my wife's baby shower last November.

You want your agoraphobic frail MIL to stay in a trailer behind your house instead of renovating your garage? It'll be easier on your wife & MIL if MIL was in your home, not isolated out back.

 

[Ruptga]

Originally posted by: preCRT

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: waffleironhead


I would imagine that her time spent out back in the trailer will be at a minimum as humans are social creatures. She will go out there to sleep at night, but that will be about it.

Do you have an attached garage that you can renovate into living quarters?

Yes, we have a garage but I dont want to convert it.

And she would stay in the trailer most of the time. She doesn't like walking long distances. And she is not social due to her health issues. She went to her husbands funeral last week. Before that the last time she had left her house was for my wife's baby shower last November.

You want your agoraphobic frail MIL to stay in a trailer behind your house instead of renovating your garage? It'll be easier on your wife & MIL if MIL was in your home, not isolated out back.

He said he gets 100" of snow per year, I wouldn't want to give up my garage in those conditions either.

Edit: sorry he actually said 200"

 

[skyking]

elevation man, it is all about elevation. If you can locate the travel trailer within a 1% slope to your septic tank, you can get it hooked up. You must use at least 4" pipe for that slope.
You can get very decent used trailers for a fraction of new price especially now.
http://www.ballantyne-rv.com/r...duct_page.asp?sn=1048A
Same size, excellent condition, half the price.
Block it up, don''t plan on using the outriggers for extended installations. Same goes for the stairs, they will not hold up just hanging off the frame.
Remove the tires and get it as low as possible for her.
Put skirting around the bottom to seal out the cold. Make a nice landing at the door to keep it clean inside.

 

[GasX]

She can't climb stairs but she can chase your rugrat around?

 

[amdskip]

Stick the money into your house and build on a bedroom/bathroom on the first floor. You will get something back for your investment and make it easier for everyone.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: amdskip
Stick the money into your house and build on a bedroom/bathroom on the first floor. You will get something back for your investment and make it easier for everyone.

The idea of her out in that trailer all alone in a place that gets 200" of snow annually just seems . . . grim.

 

[nageov3t]

I'd compare the cost of a trailer/upkeep versus, say, renovating your garage or something.

 

[TehMac]

I'd say invest in expanding your house man. It sounds a lot easier than hassling out a permit, plus, your MIL sounds like a frail old bitch, I doubt she would last long in that thing...unless that's the idea.

But regardless, I'd just expand now. Especially since it's the spring-summer time. Better take advantage of this and build in some new shit. Your wife will appreciate it too.

 

[xanis]

I'm going to side with some of the other posters and second an addition onto your house. Seems to make a lot more sense and would be a lot better for your MIL... especially if she's going to be watching your kid.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Jumpem

Originally posted by: SagaLore
You want to entrust the care of your baby to a woman without enough strength to climb stairs?

She is able to hold him and pick up him and such. She just has some leg disease and uses a cane to get around.

Would this disease ever temporarily debilitate her, until she can get help?

Something about this scenario scares me. Either your grandma is going to get hurt, or your child is going to get hurt.

Go ahead and put in the trailer, but why don't you live in it, while she lives in the house.

 

[BoomerD]

Either build an addition to the house, or build a "mother-in-law cottage" out back for her.

Putting a frail old lady in an RV is not going to do much for her quality of life...although maybe that's the point.:roll:

You say it gets COLD there...RV's just aren't made for living in to begin with, and in extreme heat and cold, they can be downright miserable.
(I "lived" in one for years when I chased construction)

Even a small single-wide mobile home would be a MUCH better option than an RV.

 

[cardiac]

A travel trailer is not the answer, not with your weather. We camp in a 2009 Puma travel trailer and use it about 30-40 days per year, and the are not made for cold weather. Yes, they are easy to heat due to the small square footage, but they are not insulated well. If you buy a 4 season trailer, with a heated underbelly, larger furnace, and good insulation, you are gonna spend a fortune. Arctic Fox, Northwoods, and Holiday Rambler make some nice 4 season trailers. Go check the prices.
Also, if she has mobility problems, a travel trailer is not the easiest thing to get around in. Everything is compact.

Seriously, if you are set on putting her out there in a trailer, get a used 12X60 mobile home and have someone run a septic line, water, and at least 60 amp electric to it. Used mobile homes are very cheap. Look on your local Craigslist or the local paper.

Bob

 

[sdifox]

Your theoretical second child doesn't need a separate room in the next 7 years. Just reconfigure the house a little.