I'm going to put shelter at my place this Summer. I want it to sleep four comfortably. No need for anything elaborate. This is deer camp, not a second home. I do have electric on the property. I have two choices.
1. 16'x24' - Garage on slab. I know this'll be cold, and take a lot to warm up. But, for the short duration of the deer season, I'll bite the bullet and run electric heat while I'm away just to keep it from freezing and burn wood while there. This option will take a lot of work. It's moving a friend's unfinished garage, without siding, basically a shell made of OSB. He put it up last year and decided he needs taller walls. These are 8'. I'll have to frame in the front, install a couple windows, and a door, siding, soffets, etc... I'll have to wire it myself, insulate, add a real roof (It's roll rubber roof right now.) Then I have to furnish it etc... All in, I bet I'll be over $12K on the cheap, probably a lot more than that. The slab will be about $4K. He's asking $4K for the 2x6 framed garage, moved. Once it's in place, finished, and furnished, this would be a great, comfortable, secure option. The downside is effort involved, many trips back and forth while building it out. I'm also not expert at construction of any sort. So, there will be plenty of error I'm sure. Or, I'd have to pay to have the work done. There is some value in the satisfaction of a job well done on your own though.
2. Spend the same amount on a solid concrete slab of the appropriate length and width, and drop a used camper on it. I've looked at a couple used campers lately, up to 37' in length, and old models in good condition are very reasonably priced. If I went this route, I'd have shelter in just one trip up. All I'd have to do is plug it in. They are all mostly furnished already. Downside here is I can see a problem staying warm during a cold deer season like we had last year, and normally do. Also, it can't be as secure as a building on a slab. There is a lot more maintenance and more that can go wrong. Once it's infested, it's tough to purge the mice, etc....
I'm leaning toward option #1. But the lazy me thinks the trailer would be a lot simpler. Advice?
1. 16'x24' - Garage on slab. I know this'll be cold, and take a lot to warm up. But, for the short duration of the deer season, I'll bite the bullet and run electric heat while I'm away just to keep it from freezing and burn wood while there. This option will take a lot of work. It's moving a friend's unfinished garage, without siding, basically a shell made of OSB. He put it up last year and decided he needs taller walls. These are 8'. I'll have to frame in the front, install a couple windows, and a door, siding, soffets, etc... I'll have to wire it myself, insulate, add a real roof (It's roll rubber roof right now.) Then I have to furnish it etc... All in, I bet I'll be over $12K on the cheap, probably a lot more than that. The slab will be about $4K. He's asking $4K for the 2x6 framed garage, moved. Once it's in place, finished, and furnished, this would be a great, comfortable, secure option. The downside is effort involved, many trips back and forth while building it out. I'm also not expert at construction of any sort. So, there will be plenty of error I'm sure. Or, I'd have to pay to have the work done. There is some value in the satisfaction of a job well done on your own though.
2. Spend the same amount on a solid concrete slab of the appropriate length and width, and drop a used camper on it. I've looked at a couple used campers lately, up to 37' in length, and old models in good condition are very reasonably priced. If I went this route, I'd have shelter in just one trip up. All I'd have to do is plug it in. They are all mostly furnished already. Downside here is I can see a problem staying warm during a cold deer season like we had last year, and normally do. Also, it can't be as secure as a building on a slab. There is a lot more maintenance and more that can go wrong. Once it's infested, it's tough to purge the mice, etc....
I'm leaning toward option #1. But the lazy me thinks the trailer would be a lot simpler. Advice?