The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

A stepping stone trailer

Trailer in park

Jonathan and Andrea proved that a trailer can be a cheap and easy way to work toward buying your dream homestead.  "We spent the first 10 years of our married life living in various rented apartments, a townhouse, and even one 'real' house," Andrea explained.  "We had decided that the city we were living in was getting too big and to live a more sustainable life, and for our sanity, we needed to get out into the 'country'.  We soon realized that finding both a house and a piece of land that we liked together was going to be impossible.  So we decided to focus on the land and build a house."

Gutting a trailer "Andrea had previously indicated that she was not interested in living in a trailer, but when we decided to move to the country, it seemed like a good option and she agreed," Jonathan chimed in.

"Building a house was going to take time, and even longer if we were not living on site," continued Andrea.  "We looked into small pre-built sheds, yurts, small cabins, etc.  But none seemed right for our lifestyle and environment.  So we decided to buy a trailer, live in it till we found land New trailer floorand had the trailer paid off, then move it to the land."

The duo found the perfect trailer for $8,000 in a trailer park with a lot fee of $215 per month.  The 1982 model was old but in good condition, with 924 square feet of interior space broken up into two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen, and a sunken living room.

Installing a trailer

Jonathan and Andrea appreciated the ability to move out of their apartment and into the trailer immediately.  Two years later, the perfect 32-acre property came along and they spent an additional $12,000 having a spot graded for the trailer on their new land, installing a septic tank, and having the trailer delivered and set up.  "[The trailer] allowed us to save money on housing while we searched for the property," Jonathan said, "and now allows us to take our time with choosing the spot on our property for building the type of home we wish to construct, while also allowing us to build at our own pace."

To read more about Jonathan and Andrea's adventures, visit Jonathan's blog, or read the rest of their profile on Trailersteading.


This post is part of our Trailersteading lunchtime series.  Read all of the entries:





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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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