Living in A Fifth-Wheel -- Two Years! (A Three-Part Series)

 Actually, our anniversary is about 25 months. It is hard to believe we have made our permanent home in a fifth-wheel trailer this long. But we have! 

Our current view

And it was a good decision. 

We began doing this for several reasons:

*We wanted to sell our house.  Both the Brick and I began to feel that owning it was holding us back from things we wanted to accomplish before we died. Income from its sale would not only fund those things (like a world cruise), but give us a foundation for retirement.  (Little did we know then that the cruise would be cancelled mid-sail because of Covid19, but that's another story. Still, we were supposed to go on that cruise. I'm sure of it.)

*Housing prices skyrocketed in our part of Colorado. This was great for selling our home -- terrible for buying another property. Better to wait until things evened out (they always do), or just find a cheaper state to live in.

*We wanted to travel -- and yet be able to sleep in our own bed at night. We could volunteer, research, visit people we'd always wanted to.

   McNeal, AZ.  

*I could keep teaching out of state -- and the Brick and the dogs could go with me. (Lonely hotel rooms are no picnic, I can assure you.) 

*The Mama's health has been steadily declining. We both felt that we would soon be needed in Michigan for weeks at a time, instead of just a few days visit. With a trailer, we could go "home" at night, even if we were parked in the barnyard next to her house.

   * Finally, we believed that a trailer would pay for itself... instead of renting an apartment; getting a hotel room; going out to eat, instead of cooking in; and so on. If we were careful how much we paid for it, and kept track of our expenses.

     We were right.

     Our first trailer ended because of a fortuitous fender-bender. We'd gone to an appraisers conference in Santa Fe, and crawled our way back home through a blizzard. We got to Castle Rock just fine -- then ran into a van in the Safeway parking lot! At the time, I was quite frustrated. (Why, God, why?!?) But the insurance adjuster found multiple roof leaks that we didn't know we had. He totalled it; we had 24 frantic hours to get our things out. Fortunately (or was this God's plan, all along?), we hadn't quite put the house on the market yet. We moved back into our house -- and started looking again.

     Fifth-wheel #1

     We'd looked for months for Trailer #1. The one we bought had been in storage for more than a year, and its sellers wanted it gone. The Brick bargained the final price down at least $2000.

     The insurance payout for Trailer #1 was more then $6000 than what we'd originally paid. 

     And that money went into Trailer #2, our current abode. The sellers lived in it for a year themselves, so we knew it was doable. It included an extensive hookup of solar panels up-top...which was also the Brick's dearest wish. And other than some banged-up cabinets (they stored their bikes inside) and a water tank that needed replacing, it was nicer, and about 4 1/2 feet longer, than Trailer #1. That little extra space made a big difference in spaciousness.

  

Fifth-wheel #2  (Both trailers were/are Arctic Fox -- a brand we settled on, after much research)

     The Brick bargained this trailer down about $5000 from the asking price. Solar panels included, which should have added $3000+ to the mix. The final price was almost exactly the amount of our insurance payout. 

     Do I think this was all a series of fortunate coincidences? I do not. They often came just as we needed them -- including our current 'landlord,' who offered to let us stay on his property and act as caretakers. (He came to us. And asked almost exactly to the day the house sale finalized.)

      Then there were the friends who let us stay with them, after the house sale and during tank repairs on the trailer. (It took a month. Yes, these are good friends.) In many ways, problems like this (Where do we stay? When do we go?) were fleeces we laid out before God. He has always made our next steps clear, even if we have to be patient and wait a little. If getting the fifth-wheel was okay with Him...and that was another fleece...then He would take care of us in a trailer, just as quickly as a building. 

And He has.

NEXT:  Living in A Fifth-Wheel:  Pros and Cons