# Camper/Trailer Living in seattle



## christianarchy

I searched and looked through the alternative housing forum 18 months and couldn't find much on the subject. Sorry if there's already a similar thread.

Do you guys know much about parking a camper somewhere and staying there pretty long-term?

Know anyone that's done it?

I know it can't be done in a yuppie area, but in south seattle/georgetown, its so run down that i dont think it'd be harassed all the time. That's where me and my lady plan to park ours. We'd kinda be relying on neglegance.

There's a trailer in south seattle that's just on the side of a neglected road and has been years, and it's obvious people are living it, so I know it can be done. I should just get the guts to knock and meet the people and see how they do it but I wanted to ask about it here first?

We also may park it in some woods outside Seattle, ever done that?

Any knowledge, thoughts, or experience on the subject would be helpful.

Thanks!


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## finn

I'm pretty sure it's a process of moving it from place to place where people don't care about it anymore. But parking it in the middle of nowhere but in sight of others invites looting, if you're in the city and you're friends with your neighbors, your home will be that much safer.


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## christianarchy

finn said:


> I'm pretty sure it's a process of moving it from place to place where people don't care about it anymore. But parking it in the middle of nowhere but in sight of others invites looting, if you're in the city and you're friends with your neighbors, your home will be that much safer.



Trailers don't drive like RVs though and we weren't planning on getting a car/truck...you think it could be done without moving it?

The threads I read on car/van living consisted of driving somewhere else quite often but that'd be really tough because of car expenses.


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## finn

What I'm trying to drive at is that the people living in that trailer have probably been part of that community for some time, which is why they haven't gotten removed. If you plop down your trailer at a random spot, it's going to be a crap shoot. Do you have any friends who have a truck with a tow hitch? You can rent one, too, either way, finding a nice semi-permanent place for a trailer isn't going to be that easy...


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## christianarchy

finn said:


> What I'm trying to drive at is that the people living in that trailer have probably been part of that community for some time, which is why they haven't gotten removed. If you plop down your trailer at a random spot, it's going to be a crap shoot. Do you have any friends who have a truck with a tow hitch? You can rent one, too, either way, finding a nice semi-permanent place for a trailer isn't going to be that easy...



i'd probably have a friend get the trailer there in the first place, but i wouldnt like to call in favors every few days to move it. your probably right about being part of the community though, thats a big piece. i feel like the district hardly has anyone that would report it, but i'm probably wrong about that. sucks that people roll like that. i'll try to meetsomeone that would let me chill in front of their house of something probably.


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## christianarchy

ArrowInOre said:


> There is one rubber tramp in here, though not much lately. Angela..She lives in her (currently not rolling ) mini van somewhere in Oregon. She would be a great source, expecially as a solo rolling female....That's all I got to offer as far as info or sources of...



pm'ed her, thanks much for the reference.


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## veggieguy12

Yeah, Finn's right. If you can just go inhabit that trailer, what's to say you're the first and only ones? Suppose someone comes there and wants to evict the squatters (you) who took to it while he was away on a job?

Also, maybe you're okay to forsake getting mail and electric and water - but where you gonna get food? And will you be able to warm/insulate a trailer enough for some of the colder times?

You don't need to own a truck to move it, how about just borrowing one? Or hiring one? Post a "need help moving trailer home" ad on CraigsList, because you won't be able to rent if under 21 years old.

There is a parking lot spot just south of the Argo Yd in Seattle, there are some vehicles parked on the lot, but I'm not sure they're not abandoned. Last I saw it, there was space to put a trailer, anyway. It's by an apt. bldg, too.


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## christianarchy

veggieguy12 said:


> Yeah, Finn's right. If you can just go inhabit that trailer, what's to say you're the first and only ones? Suppose someone comes there and wants to evict the squatters (you) who took to it while he was away on a job?
> 
> Also, maybe you're okay to forsake getting mail and electric and water - but where you gonna get food? And will you be able to warm/insulate a trailer enough for some of the colder times?
> 
> You don't need to own a truck to move it, how about just borrowing one? Or hiring one? Post a "need help moving trailer home" ad on CraigsList, because you won't be able to rent if under 21 years old.
> 
> There is a parking lot spot just south of the Argo Yd in Seattle, there are some vehicles parked on the lot, but I'm not sure they're not abandoned. Last I saw it, there was space to put a trailer, anyway. It's by an apt. bldg, too.



not sure if i completely understand the first paragraph. we'd be getting our own trailer, to clarify, legally, and then parking it somewhere, not occupying someone elses.

as for food, it wouldnt be a problem so long as we were kinda in the city. i know we could park a trailer in the middle of nowhere and be good forawhile but we dive for most of our food, so being in sodo would be nice. theres plenty in seattle to scavenge, and fnb on the weekends, plus we might work some sort of self-employing job. we're yet to figure that out. 

as for insulation and cold, i figured it might be better than some squats. lots of squats have a leak in the insulation, plus i dont think insulating/layering up/having lots fo blankets would be too tough to do. and i wouldnt have too much trouble getting it moved once, i just dont wanna have to constantly move it.

haven't hopped a train yet, wheres the argo yard? most of the yards are pretty damn far from town aren't they?


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## veggieguy12

christianarchy said:


> not sure if i completely understand the first paragraph. we'd be getting our own trailer, to clarify, legally, and then parking it somewhere, not occupying someone elses.



my mistake!



christianarchy said:


> haven't hopped a train yet, wheres the argo yard? most of the yards are pretty damn far from town aren't they?



GoogleMaps!


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## christianarchy

veggieguy12 said:


> GoogleMaps!


holy hell, thats basically exactly where i wanna be. right between sodo and georgetown..
sometime when im headed there, ill get a more exact location and check it out.
so stoked, thanks for the tip!


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## Angela

The minivan's not rolling anymore and recently got sold for scrap when the transmission went bad. Now my home base is a tent but I sent ya a pm. I spent three years living out of a van but that can be a little different than a trailer that you don't have a way to move quickly if you need to. PM me if you have any more questions. I think there are a couple more rubber tramps in here somewhere or other folks that have spent time doing it but I don't know off the top of my head who they are.


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