know anything about RVs/ travel trailers by any chance?

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My SO and I are hoping to buy the house we're renting come spring. My mom wants to move back to Calif and live with us so she can finally retire (yaaay!)

She wants her own spot but can't afford one (which works out given we're also scraping by.) I thought about seeing if she'd like a travel trailer vs a room. It will be her and my stepdad in there. My brother is also coming back for college and will be taking a room in our house.

My main question is about winterizing. We live in a snowy part of the state that can easily get up to 4ft a year. I read that when its freezing out, water tanks in trailers need to be emptied. How would they flush their toilet? Our property is on a slope and I'm scared of one of them falling if they were forced to use our toilet/shower. Heck I've already fallen and it was dry out!

I will help with getting things like window quilts and propane (they get a discount since we have propane for the main house too.) I'm planning on suprizing them with a chunky knit blanket as well.

Is there anything else I might be forgetting?

I presume it will be permanently attached to house power? A thermostatted immersion heater will keep the tank liquid. Keeping the pipes from popping may be more difficult for any external or uninsulated pipework. Is the toilet/ drain system to be plumbed into the house sewage? Physically moving to a dump point would be a major pain. Existing house wiring will need to be rated for the extra load, particularly aircon for summer.

We plan on having it mostly be solar and wond but yes it will be hooked to our house just in case for electric.

We dont plan on having permanent sewage hooked to our septic. Considered Watson wicks given its just the two of em and we have a chunk of our yard that isnt really useable for anything else. Nothing runs through it, too small to really put a garden, cant even really park a vehicle there, etc etc.

This had been a interest of mine long ago.. they sell at major camping stores, a wrap for the pipes for just that purpose, also heater matts that go under your water tank . As am okder,am not sure how it works these days, but you are making your mom & stepdad? live in a Trailer .....but your brother gets a room in your home ? Older homes actually had a seperate vent in the heater ducting that would apply heat into the space under the home or treailer in your case Where the water pipes might benefit during the Winter months.?

RVs are poorly insulated and difficult to keep warm. It will cost a good bit in heating, but you probably only spend it at night when trying to sleep. Another idea is to bundle up and use an electric blanket to keep warm, as I do. I do not run the heaters at night, I just use an electric blanket. It gets down to about 50 F in my house, I do not mind, and it keeps the varmints in check, they prefer other houses than mine.

I have known people to live in RVs beside a house and enjoy the electricity hookup and use the house for bathroom and showers, but bear in mind you will have them coming inside all hours of the day and night for these purposes. Depending on your neighborhood and your zoning laws, it may be OK, depends on whereabouts you live.

California is a high cost of living area in general and I am not sure how great it is for poor people, but I understand that college and medical insurance are offered to poor folk for reasonable rates or for free, and that is a great incentive to live there. You can educate me on that matter.

My people own a little 1/20th acre lot in a beachfront community in California. I have considered moving there to open up a taco stand and sell tacos for 99 cents and give advice about life for $99. It would be a combined taco/guru business model with discounts on the tacos for people that purchase life advice. My life advice consists of homespun wisdom that throws cold water on every aspiration and dampens every enthusiasm and it is worth $900 but has been discounted to $99.

Just wished to add that it was not meant to critique your choices, but I am older, and as I have aged,I find that my
body does not appear to regulate my bodys temperature very well these days . zbut have seen thermostat Wars in my own family as I grew up between my mom and my Dad .....So older people might not do aswell in the cold .just a fyi

We are CA natives (lived here 33/34 years of my life.) Lived in OK for a year and still find CA cheaper lol. I grew up here and yeah we absolutely send tourist to tourist areas and charge tourist prices. Most people think of SoCal. We're NorCal people and see the beach once every...oh idk 10 years?

Depending on placement we don't want them to rely on coming in. We live in the forest on a slope. It gets dark out too.

My mom is a retired state employee and is entitled to CalPers insurance upon her return and a host of other benefits for state employee retirees.

They currently lives in a mobile home that also isnt insulated very well. Figured the smaller space would be easier to keep warm and, if places in certain spots, they can get passive heat from the western sun.

To answer regarding colleges and medical,

Yes. If you're income is low enough you can qualify for Medi-Cal. Associates degrees are free but you have to be a resident of the state or qualify under special programs. We have special transfer programs for universities as well. I graduated from a CSU which also gave me a "Through in Two" scholarship because I transferred and remained on track to gradiate in 2 years.

To keep costs low at your taco stand, make sure you pair up with a farmer or get a specific business membership at a Costco or something. Its 1099 so save those reciepts and write it off come tax time. Tourist places charge more for everything. You will make the most money but its also where gas is $5+. Fill up in a residential spot

My brother doesnt get along with our stepdad and my mom, in her words, likes "to go to the bathroom without being bothered." We're a house of gamers (including a child) and a host of animals. We can get quite loud

We also are a house that sets our thermostat to "can we survive?" That is, the heat is set to 40 and we dont have a/c. Trailer is a small space where stepdad and mom can have their privacy, heat/cool to their specifications, etc. They are always welcome to come in. We just dont want them to have to.

SO and I have also considered converting the garage and adding a bathroom so they'd still have privacy but still might have to deal with us noisy folks a bit. We'd also have a shared kitchen which doesn't bother us but again its extra noise. Its also at the bottom of the slope. My Jeep struggles to get out of the driveway when I park near the house so I'm sure their beetle and kia would too (esp when it snows.) I usually park near the road.

Thank you for the education about California social programs. What I like about that is the low cost Medi-Cal, I bet you can get free health insurance in exchange for reporting low income on your taxes. I will have to study the program and see whether it will make economic sense. As for the free Associates degree, I like that too, perhaps I could become a nurse and start up a nursing/guru stand offering life advice for $99 and nursing care for $9.

I expect the life advice segment of the business will earn the most money at the bargain price of $99. Can't beat that. The tacos may be too expensive, but 99 cents sounds like a start, maybe extra for tacos that have meat in them.