Park Model Costs and Maintenance

We have now owned our park model for 11 days. It has been a crash course in maintenance and upkeep. We had already been talking to friends about the costs involved, in a more general way, but after we handed over the check we were thrust into the midst of it very quickly We knew that we had less than two weeks to get everything settled and ready for our 8 month-long departure.

Some people have asked about the price, storage costs, etc. As I said in a post last week, many of the used park models in here go for the mid 30 to mid 40k range. (New ones are in the 55k range, and that is just for the park model house without the Florida room.) We knew if we bought anytime soon, it would be because we found a bargain, and it had to be something that was in good enough condition that we could live with it until we had a chance, and the funds, to make the changes we wanted to make. This place fulfilled both parts of that as we were able to get it for the very reasonable price of 23k. Even though there are a lot of upgrades we want to do, it is in good enough shape now that we can live in it with only very basic changes. And the rent for a park model which is a flat cost for 6 in/6 out is only $200 more than we have currently been paying for the four months we have been staying here. For the time being, while we are working at Amazon, we will only be here for four months, but once we are done working there for the peak season, we will be able to stay longer.

As far as storage, Adelaide Shores has a storage lot here where we can store our rig for a pretty minimal cost per month. Owners are able to park their rig on the street outside their place for up to 48 hours. So when we arrive, we can park on the street, unpack what we need to bring in, and then go park the rv in the storage lot for the next four months. Then reverse the process when it’s time to leave. We also like that we are able to access our rig at any time, so we can make frequent checks on it throughout the winter to make sure that everything is looking good there.

After we took possession, we spent the next two days cleaning and sorting. The place came furnished, but there was quite a bit that we didn’t want to keep. So we put stuff into bags and boxes and brought it over to a nearby donation place.

Underneath Harry found all kinds of old construction debris so he pulled all that out and we paid a local guy who does a lot of work in the park to come by and take it all away.

 

 

We also had a bug guy come by and do the annual spraying. He will come every other month and spray outside, and then spray inside twice a season.

We also had the a/c serviced and got the good news that our air conditioner appears to be in great condition.

Today we went over and closed the place up for the last time until next December. It was bittersweet as we are already looking forward to next season. But I know that as soon as we get our wheels rolling I will be excited to get going and looking forward to the next three months visiting our families.

We’ll be pulling out on Monday morning!