Priced out of traditional housing, more Americans are living in RVs
20 comments
·September 22, 2025RandomBacon
If anyone is thinking about this, please do research into how crappy modern, mass-produced RVs are built.
Lemon Laws do not apply to RVs (except maybe in one state).
Many RVs can easily spend most of a year waiting to get a single item half-assed repaired multiple times while the 1 year warranty runs out and the 20 other things don't get fixed.
There is a relatively-new YouTube channel called Liz Amazing that showcases RV horror stories, including the most recent one where a luxury RV manufacturer didn't properly install VINs on the RV leading to a $600k fine for the user:
zdw
Back around 2000, I bought a Honda Civic, and in buying insurance the VIN number was entered wrong by the insurance company employee - had a 1 instead of a 7 or something, due to the handwritten process in use at the time.
A few years later, after dutifully paying my insurance, but moving a few times for school the registration had lapsed and I got pulled over. They ended up taking the license plate because of this, that my car was "uninsured", and apparently I was paying for nothing for the last few years..
I cleared up the registration the next day and the insurance as well, but a few weeks later had to go to court to clear up the ticket. The judge asked me "Why didn't you check that the numbers matched on the insurance forms?", to which I replied "Did you check this with the last car you insured?". They let me off.
This is all to say, how is it possible that someone got $600k fine for a mistake that is obviously not the fault of the buyer?
blackbell
>please do research into how crappy modern, mass-produced RVs are built.
Any brands you/Liz Amazing suggest?
greenavocado
RVs are absolutely garbage quality. Damage is not a matter of IF but WHEN, so it is essential to budget for big ticket, frequent repairs. And you will be replacing your roof in ten years at best.
davidw
In Portland, it's legal to live in an RV on someone's land as long as there is a proper sewer/electric/water hookup. This is beneficial because it makes for more dispersed RV living rather than concentrating everyone in an RV park.
This Sightline article talks about some of the people it has helped:
https://www.sightline.org/2025/09/11/homes-on-wheels-are-fil...
Long term, we should make other more permanent forms of housing cheaper and easier for people to get into, but this is a good solution for some people some of the time.
themafia
Made that choice 12 years ago. I have no regrets. I was also very lucky. I found a good RV park that had grass yards surrounded by fences with plenty of trees for shade.
The RV itself has been incredibly sturdy and I've only had a few issues. I did have to spend 1 day upgrading the electrical from 30 amp to 50 amp so I could run the A/C and the Water Heater at the same time. I had to replace the city water inlet check valve after 8 years. The spring valve on my toilet broke after 5 years but it was less labor to just install a new one. The mattress got replaced immediately.
Otherwise, if you can get a good park to live in and don't have large pets or children, I can only highly recommend it.
alistairSH
Was this an RV or a mobile home (single wide, double wide)? Different products (for those who aren’t aware).
ProllyInfamous
My landlord (owns four duplex units) moved out of the other side, into an RV on his land, in order to rent out an additional $900/month unit. No A/C, in the American Southeast [not worth it IMHO].
Freaking property owners are starting to get priced out (of living)!
nradov
It's a sad situation and really shows our collective failure to build enough housing. But in articles about the financial struggles of single parents, why do journalists frequently not report anything about child support payments? The reader is left to wonder whether the father of the Stitt children is paying his share, or dead, or a deadbeat. In a number of cases I know about the custodial parent didn't even bother to pursue a legal support order. Even a few hundred dollars per month can make a huge difference in paying rent. I understand that navigating the legal system is difficult and many single parents are overwhelmed, but most counties have social workers or legal aid agencies that will help with court filings and collections.
999900000999
>She house sat for a family member to get her finances back in order, but she found it difficult to afford a rental apartment on the $58,000 a year she gets in disability and Social Security payments.
It's not for everyone, but that's more than enough to retire in much of the world. You can get a very nice apartment in much of Seoul for around 700$.
Food and healthcare is going to be better too.
its-kostya
> “If we don’t adapt, we won’t change, and if we don’t change, we’ll be mad, and if we’re mad, that just sucks. You don’t want to be mad.”
What positive attitude in such a rotten situation. It really hurts reading such stories about hardworking honest people.
hk1337
They can be an option for some but i wouldn't do it.
- it can be more expensive to repair items on or in the RV
- i wouldn't want to permanently reside in an RV in an area where tornadoes are a possibility
- they're a depreciating asset
Retric
They provide a back door around terrible zoning laws, temporary shelter while you build/rebuild a home, or and for a few they solve the need to keep up multiple seasonal homes.
So yes as a permanent dwelling you are wasting a great deal of money on an engine etc, but they do make sense for a surprisingly wide range of lifestyles.
64718283661
How about truck+trailer combo. The vehicle can be used without taking your house everywhere. And the reliability of each of these things alone is higher than an RV
brudgers
[delayed]
greenavocado
35ft fifth wheel RV: Truck burns 14 MPG on a good day. Tires $1000+ every 30-50k mi. 6-9 mpg towing if using gasoline
mfkp
Now do the math on driving your RV everywhere (or purchasing a separate smaller vehicle that you can use to get around town, and tow behind the RV when traveling). I'd assume that would cost more.
null
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I had considered doing this about 3 years ago. I purchased a 1986 Vixen 21TD (a BMW diesel powered, 5 speed motorhome, build specifically as a motorhome, and gets 30mpg).
Ultimately, my goals ended up changing. I did a bit of modifications (modern brakes, improved electrical, upgraded alternator, 300aH 12v Lithium, and more), but I ended up only doing a couple trips in it.
It was really incredible, being able to have enough space to work, traveling anytime I want without worrying about crashing at a friend's place, or paying for a hotel or being stuck in a boring part of a city where the hotel is, etc.
I did a ton of research before purchasing, and loved the fact that it was fully built from the ground up to be a motorhome, rather than how modern conversions or RVs are built. It has a full queen size bed, and a wet bath, and I could comfortably stand when the roof is up.
Alas, the home life ended up being for me.
P.S. It's for sale.