As a tiny house owner, you can live in a tiny home community, an RV park, or on private land. In some municipalities, however, you may need to live in an RV park if you live in a tiny house on wheels or a park model home. This is because both are classified as RVs, and some cities have strict rules that require RVs used for permanent residence to be located in RV parks.
RV parks run the gamut between the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you can find one of the good ones, you can have a great experience. Below, we go over some important pointers that can help you move into a park where you will be happy in your tiny home.
- RV parks have different rules about what types of homes they will accept.
Not every RV park accepts every type of home. Some may accept tiny houses, while others may not. Here are several reasons why.
Lot Size
Your park model home may require a wider lot than some RVs. Not all RV parks have wide enough lots to accommodate all models of tiny houses.
Appearance
RV parks often have rigid rules about the appearances of homes that can be pretty arbitrary. It is at the park owner’s discretion to determine whether your home fits their preferences or not.
Some RV park owners will love your tiny house. Others may feel it is too eccentric for their park.
10 Year Rule
Many RV parks have a rule that states that only homes under 10 years old (or 5 even) can park there. If your tiny home is older than that, they may turn you away.
These parks also usually are the ones with strict appearance rules, as well as a lot of constraints around what you do with your lot. They tend to be expensive as well.
Long Term vs. Short Term Residents
RV parks that cater to short term residents and vacationers may refuse tiny house owners, or only allow them temporarily.
So, you will need to call around to find out which parks may accept your home and let you stay long-term. You then will need to send in a photo of your tiny house to find out if it passes the appearance test for the park you hope to live in.
- You usually will be renting, not buying your lot.
Most RV parks only offer spaces for rent. That said, some RV parks do have a few spaces you can buy. So, this is something worth inquiring about if you are interested in owning your lot.
- Lots tend to be narrow, but not always.
RV park lots on average are usually narrower and smaller than lots at tiny house communities. At some parks, people are packed together like sardines.
But if you search around, you can find RV parks where the lots are much larger and homes are farther apart. Taking the time to find one of these parks can vastly improve your quality of life.
In a situation where the spaces are narrower, but you still want to rent a lot, you will be more comfortable if the lots are diagonally oriented, as this results in a little more separation between each home.
- There are some helpful amenities.
One nice thing about living in an RV park is that RV parks usually have some amenities available. The most common ones are a laundry room and showers. While your tiny house probably will have both, you may sometimes find these facilities convenient. Some RV parks may also have a community center, a gym, or additional amenities.
- Rules can be strict.
One of the downsides about living in an RV park is that the park owner will usually have strict rules about everything from when and how you are allowed to maintain your home to what you are allowed to do to personalize your lot.
Visiting a park ahead of time and taking a look around is a good way to get a feel for how much flexibility park residents enjoy. Check to see what people have been able to do to personalize their lots.
- Privacy is limited.
RV parks usually do not offer much in the way of privacy. If you are allowed to modify your lot, you may be able to increase your privacy by putting up a fence or growing some privacy bushes.
But in general, unless you are located at the edge or corner of an RV park, you probably will keep a lot of your windows closed.
Try to find a park where you socially mesh with the other residents. This will make it enjoyable to spend time out on your porch, rather than feeling you need to spend most of your time indoors.
- Pricing ranges widely
One more useful thing to know about RV parks it that pricing can range quite a bit even within a relatively small geographical region. It is not uncommon to find a difference of hundreds of dollars a month between RV parks within a relatively short drive of one another.
It may surprise you to learn that the more expensive parks are not necessarily nicer. In fact, the most appealing parks for long-term residents ironically tend to be the less pricey ones.
Less expensive parks are more likely to be located on the edge of town or in the countryside. They also tend to be more welcoming of long-term residents, and less strict about the appearances of homes or lots. So, they can actually be the best fit in many cases for someone who wants to live in a tiny house.
So, do not move into the first RV park you find without further investigation. Search around. And don’t stop at what you find listed in Google Maps. There are lots of very nice RV parks that do not have much of an online presence, if any, and are great options.
If you are interested in moving into a park model home, please contact us for a personalized quote and help selecting a floor plan.
