Community Forums

TMan59 · 07-03-2016, 10:13 AM

OK, I have to ask, how is a port home different from a second home, winter home, summer home or vacation home?
Is it just a term because the coach is parked there?
I honestly never heard that term before.

Wroughtnharv · 07-03-2016, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMan59

OK, I have to ask, how is a port home different from a second home, winter home, summer home or vacation home?
Is it just a term because the coach is parked there?
I honestly never heard that term before.

A port as I understand it is a place where you can park the RV under cover and have an apartment or small living area that gives one a break from the restrictions of the RV.

I have a couple of patents on a building system that enables the semi-handy to build metal barns and garages with a minimum of tools and equipment. So naturally I envision a metal barn where the RV can be sheltered with area and tools to do modifications and maintenance. It would also have a thousand sq ft for living quarters. Then there's the tools and workshop, the stuff that you can't take with you, welders, forges, anvils, hammers, wood working tools, all the stuff that makes life worthwhile.

Then when the weather demands a move you button it up and it is good until you come back.

Here in north Texas you can build what you want in the country on your land with restrictions only on electrical and sewer. One of the popular methods is the hybrid where from the outside it looks like a barn but inside it is a nice home.

Jim2 · 07-03-2016, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMan59

OK, I have to ask, how is a port home different from a second home, winter home, summer home or vacation home?
Is it just a term because the coach is parked there?
I honestly never heard that term before.

RV Port Home example

rgvtexan · 07-03-2016, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMan59

OK, I have to ask, how is a port home different from a second home, winter home, summer home or vacation home?
Is it just a term because the coach is parked there?
I honestly never heard that term before.

Here is a link for some for sale in S. TX.
No affiliation.

Lots For Sale

B52Guy · 07-03-2016, 05:34 PM

Wow! These are a great group of suggestions! I never thought of the different lakes in AZ....thanks so much for the detailed info. Exactly what I was looking for. We have been driving aimlessly around. Your suggestions will help us focus our hunt.

A port home is only one thought. I'm really tired of being in a really busy residential community that tells me what I can and can't do, so I may just buy a normal home on a few acres....but location is still the key! Thanks so much and keep the ideas coming.

TMan59 · 07-03-2016, 05:42 PM

Thank you for the clarification!

Rotis · 07-03-2016, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B52Guy

Wow! These are a great group of suggestions! I never thought of the different lakes in AZ....thanks so much for the detailed info. Exactly what I was looking for. We have been driving aimlessly around. Your suggestions will help us focus our hunt.

A port home is only one thought. I'm really tired of being in a really busy residential community that tells me what I can and can't do, so I may just buy a normal home on a few acres....but location is still the key! Thanks so much and keep the ideas coming.

Come to, Spring Ridge Estates, you can stay here for free on one of the lots with full hook ups while you check the area out. Gary has lots of 2.5 to 20 acres, all wooded, very private with views of the HooDoo Mountains.

There is no HOA or dues just some common sense CC&R's. You can live in your RV year around if you wish, build a port home or regular home.

Just 30 minutes from Spokane, WA or Coeur d'alene ID, there are 50 lakes and many streams within one hour of here, 8 miles from the Pend Oreille River.

Newport, WA. is a small town right on the Idaho border.

dayle1 · 07-04-2016, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by B52Guy

Hi,
we are thinking we will need two places and will stay at one for four months, travel four months and then stay at the other for the last four. We like being able to sit out on our patio and enjoy a comfortable climate and park our unit in a covered spot...like a port home.

I'm intrigued with the port home concept. Since I am probably going to buy somewhere and I am tired of paying rent to store my RV, I figure why not consider port homes first?

Thanks for your suggestions!

Just some different inputs. Have you considered the effort required to maintain two homes plus an RV, especially if you might be away from one of them for 8 months? Port homes with just a covered spot for the RV look nice with a MH parked there, but it is also very clear when the RV is gone. A port home with an RV garage may be better.

We are away from our 'home' from 3 weeks to 3 months at a time which translates to 4 - 8 trips per year. So convenience and privacy are important. Our port home is a single steel building about 3000 SF, the house inside is less than 1200 SF. The auto garage and RV garage occupy the rest. We can load or unload the RV totally inside the building. Being in Tx, there are no skylights in the RV garage and no windows at ground level, but there are Lexan panels on two sides 8 ft off the ground that let in light but make it difficult to see if the RV is inside the building. No windows in either garage door. The RV portion of the building is 18 x 44 ft with a 14 x 13.5 ft door. Since we always keep our vehicles garaged, it is difficult to casually determine if we are home or gone or how long we might be gone.

Anyway, my suggestion would be a single RV port home and monthly or season stays at a private CG for the other non-travel time. That way you don't have to maintain two fixed homes and you can still pick different parts of the country for that second non-travel time.

Jim T. · 07-04-2016, 05:15 PM

Quote:

We are away from our 'home' from 3 weeks to 3 months at a time which translates to 4 - 8 trips per year. So convenience and privacy are important. Our port home is a single steel building about 3000 SF, the house inside is less than 1200 SF. The auto garage and RV garage occupy the rest. We can load or unload the RV totally inside the building. Being in Tx, there are no skylights in the RV garage and no windows at ground level, but there are Lexan panels on two sides 8 ft off the ground that let in light but make it difficult to see if the RV is inside the building. No windows in either garage door. The RV portion of the building is 18 x 44 ft with a 14 x 13.5 ft door. Since we always keep our vehicles garaged, it is difficult to casually determine if we are home or gone or how long we might be gone.

Interesting. Do you have any pictures of your home/building that you can post?

Jim & Shirley & Abbie (Scottish Terrier)
2013 Newmar Canyon Star 3911
2005 Dodge Grand Caravan - Braun Accessibility Modified Toad
Remco Lube Pump
5 Star Tune
Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C
Coach Net Emergency Road Service

dayle1 · 07-05-2016, 09:36 AM

My original house burned in a wildfire 9/11/2011. The house itself was fairly well protected with metal roof and Hardie concrete siding. Unfortunately, the attached open RV port was not so the entire structure burned. That is why the new structure is all steel with the fully enclosed RV garage. These pics were taken Dec. 2011 when we were able to move the fiver back home and still shows the burned trees. Took another 3-1/2 months to finish the inside. Actual living area is conventional 2x4 walls against 6 inch purlins, so total wall thickness is 10 inches with R30 insulation.

Jim T. · 07-05-2016, 09:45 AM

Thank you. We're thinking of selling our B&S and moving back to TN after 20 years in lower AL. Your home has an appeal to us.

Jim & Shirley & Abbie (Scottish Terrier)
2013 Newmar Canyon Star 3911
2005 Dodge Grand Caravan - Braun Accessibility Modified Toad
Remco Lube Pump
5 Star Tune
Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C
Coach Net Emergency Road Service

Scottybdivin · 07-05-2016, 10:11 AM

Hi Larry. we must be neighbors. That was a horrible weekend. A "perfect storm" of weather phenomena (Dry north winds, single digit humidity, 105 degrees). I'm terribly sorry for what you and many of my neighbors had to endure. This photo was from my front gate. That night when the wind shifted slightly and we were inundated with smoke, we didn't know what was going to happen. Glad to hear you have rebounded.

B52Guy · 07-07-2016, 09:37 AM

Larry (Dayle1),
Thanks for your thoughtful comments and your solution.

Your comments about how port homes and how obvious it is when the RV is gone really struck home. I hadn't thought about that aspect of a port home. However, I have worried about being gone from my current home for long periods of time and I currently live in a gated community and don't store my RV on site....probably the best situations one can have and still travel on a regular basis. However, while I am gone, even with this "best" situation, I still worry about my home I left behind.

Your comments made me focus on that. I can see a port home community where everyone knows everyone and watches out for each other....but I already live in a close knit gated community and was hoping to move out and get some real privacy. I'm wondering if I can have both!

I am slowly leaning towards a regular home with some privacy...but am still concerned about long term security while I am away.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful opinions and comments.

ahicks · 07-07-2016, 12:01 PM

Re: security thoughts while away from your house. At this point in my life, I just make sure I have a decent insurance policy in effect. At that point, it's a matter of making sure the payments are up to date. Anything valuable enough to be worth worrying about (not much!) is transferred back and forth....

Absolute worst case is I need to call an insurance agent when returning. Pretty much worth it in exchange for the freedom I enjoy.